■ Global Economy
Growth of 4.75% projected
The world economy, led by Asia and the US, is projected to grow 4.75 percent this year, the strongest performance in a generation, according to a semiannual forecast from the Institute for International Economics. "It is clear we are in a boom right now -- a US boom, a world boom," C. Fred Bergsten, director of the research group, told an audience at its Washington headquarters. Global growth may reach 4 percent next year, the strongest two-year performance since the early 1980s, the group said. With record-low interest rates and high budget deficits in the US and elsewhere, nations have few weapons left to protect their economies from a sudden increase in oil prices or other shocks, it said. Oil prices have jumped 18.5 percent from a year ago.
■ Aircraft Makers
Boeing upbeat about 7E7
US aircraft maker Boeing Co said yesterday it expects steady demand for its new 7E7 Dreamliner jets in Asia. The mid-sized 7E7 "is right for a lot of airlines," particularly those in Japan, Southeast Asia and the Middle East, said Thomas Pickering, Boeing's senior vice president for international relations. Boeing says the 7E7s, which carry 200 to 250 passengers, will be lighter and more fuel-efficient than other comparable models. Pickering refused to give sales targets or details of continuing negotiations with Asian airlines. But he said Boeing is in close contact with key customers to discuss "every aspect of the airplane." The company has said it plans to sell 2,000 to 3,000 of the 7E7 jets in the next 20 years, although it didn't provide a regional breakdown for the sales.
■ Fortune 500
Asians under-represented
Ethnic-Asians are woefully under-represented on the boards of the Fortune 500 list of top US corporations, Chinese-American leaders said Thursday. Asian- and Pacific-Americans make up about 4 percent of the US population, but the percentage of seats they hold on the boards of top firms represents only about one-fourth of that number, the Committee of 100 said in its first "report card" on Asian-American corporate representation. The group said that the lack of Asians on the board of the top global companies represented missed opportunities for corporate America as it is not tapping a significant Asian talent pool. "We believe this report card makes a compelling case for corporate America to diversify its boards with more Asian-Pacific Americans," said committee chairman Bob Lee.
■ Internet
Number of Web sites jumps
China had about 600,000 approved Web sites by the end of last year, up 60 percent over 2002, state media said yesterday, pointing to the booming popularity of the Internet since it first became available in the country in the early 1990s. About 90 percent of the Web sites came from China's eastern, northern and southern provinces, and few were from the economically backward western region, the Xinhua news agency said, citing a report by the government-linked China Internet Network Information Center. Beijing, Guangdong Province, Zhejiang Province and Shanghai ranked in the top four for numbers of Web sites, accounting for nearly 57 percent of the total, the report said.
AIR DEFENSE: The Norwegian missile system has proved highly effective in Ukraine in its war against Russia, and the US has recommended it for Taiwan, an expert said The Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) Taiwan ordered from the US would be installed in strategically important positions in Taipei and New Taipei City to guard the region, the Ministry of National Defense said in statement yesterday. The air defense system would be deployed in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), the ministry said, adding that the systems could be delivered as soon as the end of this year. The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency has previously said that three NASAMS would be sold to Taiwan. The weapons are part of the 17th US arms sale to
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
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