■ Robotics
Hello Kitty willing to work
Need temporary help on your company's reception desk? One Japanese employment agency is suggesting you try recruiting a robot. For just under ¥50,000 (US$430) a month, a fraction of the cost of a human temp, the PeopleStaff agency will dispatch Hello Kitty Robo, a robotic receptionist capable of sensing a visitor's presence, greeting him or her and holding simple conversations. The Nagoya-based agency is also offering the services of Ifbot, an elderly-care robot that chats and poses riddles and arithmetical problems to train the brain and help avoid dementia. Ifbot, which also quizzes people about their health, is aimed at hospitals and old peoples' homes.
■ Airlines
Airbus to exhibit A380
Airbus plans to display its double-decker A380, the world's largest passenger plane, at an Asian aviation exhibit in Singapore next month, the European plane maker said. The Feb. 21-26 Asian Aerospace show is billed as the largest aviation and defense technology exhibit in the region. The first delivery of the A380 -- to Singapore Airlines -- is scheduled for November. Airbus orders from the Asia-Pacific region last year accounted for over 45 percent of the global total, with more than 500 firm orders from 13 customers, Airbus said in a statement.
■ Computers
Dell opens Penang center
Dell Inc, the world's largest maker of personal computers, opened a service and support center in Penang, Malaysia, yesterday as part of its expansion plan in Asia. The service and support center is Dell's third in Asia, after China and Japan. It will have 20 employees and serve customers in Australia, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand, Dell spokeswoman Judy Low said.
■ Gas
PNG, China ink agreement
Papua New Guinea and China have signed a "far-reaching" agreement to develop and process PNG's significant gas reserves, the National newspaper reported yesterday, quoting Oil Minister Sir Moi Avei. The framework agreement was signed in Beijing last week by Avei, who is also deputy prime minister, and officials of the state China National Petroleum Corp, it said in its online edition. The accord paves the way for a joint feasibility study into the construction of a northern gas pipeline and integrated methane refinery complex in PNG's Momase region to produce compressed natural gas and LPG, it said.
■ Markets
Kerkorian buys back shares
Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's holding firm said on Wednesday it had bought 12 million shares of troubled General Motors Corp (GM) to take its total stake back up to 9.9 percent. After selling 12 million GM shares last month for tax purposes, Tracinda Corp said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it had bought back the shares this week for a total of almost US$263 million. Kerkorian said in September he may seek a seat on the board.
MILESTONE: The foreign minister called the signing ‘a major step forward in US-Taiwan relations,’ while the Presidential Office said it was a symbol of the nations’ shared values US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, which requires the US Department of State to regularly review and update guidelines governing official US interactions with Taiwan. The new law is an amendment to the Taiwan Assurance Act of 2020 focused on reviewing guidelines on US interactions with Taiwan. Previously, the state department was required to conduct a one-time review of its guidance governing relations with Taiwan, but under the new bill, the agency must conduct a review “not less than every five years.” It must then submit an updated report based on its findings “not later
CROSS-STRAIT COLLABORATION: The new KMT chairwoman expressed interest in meeting the Chinese president from the start, but she’ll have to pay to get in Beijing allegedly agreed to let Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) around the Lunar New Year holiday next year on three conditions, including that the KMT block Taiwan’s arms purchases, a source said yesterday. Cheng has expressed interest in meeting Xi since she won the KMT’s chairmanship election in October. A source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a consensus on a meeting was allegedly reached after two KMT vice chairmen visited China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Director Song Tao (宋濤) in China last month. Beijing allegedly gave the KMT three conditions it had to
STAYING ALERT: China this week deployed its largest maritime show of force to date in the region, prompting concern in Taipei and Tokyo, which Beijing has brushed off Deterring conflict over Taiwan is a priority, the White House said in its National Security Strategy published yesterday, which also called on Japan and South Korea to increase their defense spending to help protect the first island chain. Taiwan is strategically positioned between Northeast and Southeast Asia, and provides direct access to the second island chain, with one-third of global shipping passing through the South China Sea, the report said. Given the implications for the US economy, along with Taiwan’s dominance in semiconductors, “deterring a conflict over Taiwan, ideally by preserving military overmatch, is a priority,” it said. However, the strategy also reiterated
‘BALANCE OF POWER’: Hegseth said that the US did not want to ‘strangle’ China, but to ensure that none of Washington’s allies would be vulnerable to military aggression Washington has no intention of changing the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Saturday, adding that one of the US military’s main priorities is to deter China “through strength, not through confrontation.” Speaking at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, Hegseth outlined the US Department of Defense’s priorities under US President Donald Trump. “First, defending the US homeland and our hemisphere. Second, deterring China through strength, not confrontation. Third, increased burden sharing for us, allies and partners. And fourth, supercharging the US defense industrial base,” he said. US-China relations under
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