■ Asean
Expanded summit mulled
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is studying the possible expansion of an East Asia summit to include other dialogue partners, its foreign ministers said yesterday. But agreement on how to accept new members into the summit will first have to be reached, the ministers said at they gathered in the central Philippine resort island of Mactan in Cebu for an annual retreat. Malaysia will host the first East Asia Summit in December to include ASEAN and its "Plus Three" partners China, Japan and South Korea. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. However Australia, New Zealand and India have also expressed a desire to join the summit.
■ Internet
`Update' contains virus
Users of Microsoft Corp's Windows operating system may be the target of a scam luring them to a phony security update that installs a virus on personal computers, the San Jose Mercury News reported. An e-mail message claiming to be from Microsoft leads users to a Web site where they are asked to download a security update that actually infects their computer with a virus, the newspaper said, citing anti-virus software maker Sophos Plc. The so-called Trojan horse virus allows hackers to take control of the user's computer. The scam may be timed to take coincide with Microsoft's scheduled update for Windows tomorrow, the newspaper said. Microsoft is aware of the problem and said Windows users should only get security updates from its Web site, www.microsoft.com, the newspaper said, citing a company statement.
■ Telecoms
Verizon to buy MCI stake
Telecom operator Verizon announced on Saturday it had reached an agreement to buy Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim's 13.7 percent stake in MCI, as it struggles with rival Qwest Communications to take over MCI. Verizon said it paid some US$1.1 billion for the shares, after Slim pushed Verizon and Qwest Communications to shore up their offers for the company. On Wednesday, MCI had rejected a new US$8.9 billion takeover bid by Qwest in favor of a lower US$7.5 billion offer from Verizon. By Friday, Qwest announced that a majority of MCI shareholders now favored its offer over Verizon's. Earlier this week, Qwest instructed its proxy solicitor, The Altman Group, to canvass MCI shareholders.
■ European Union
Euro adoption unchanged
The reform of the EU's stability and growth pact will not enable the bloc's newest members to adopt the euro currency more quickly, European Central Bank (ECB) President Jean-Claude Trichet said on Saturday. "I think that the situation has not changed as far as entry of the new [EU] countries" into the euro zone, said Trichet, who was attending an international meeting in Warsaw. The ECB said last month it was "seriously concerned" about modifications to the pact which requires EU countries to keep their budget deficits below 3.0 percent of gross national product. The rules also have been loosened to allow for including certain criteria, such as the cost of pension reforms, in calculating the budget deficit. Some analysts said that would make it easier for the new EU members to bring their state budgets below the limit by 2007.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
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