■ Movies
Filmmakers cry foul
Chinese moviemakers are accusing local TV stations of joining the thriving movie piracy industry. The Chinese Movie Copyright Association says TV stations air up to 1,500 pirated Chinese movies a year, costing studios up to 75 million yuan (US$9.4 million) in lost revenues, the Xinhua news agency reported yesterday. "The number of movies illegally aired is startling -- more than 100 in the first six months of the year, and most of them are very recent," Meng Yu, the association's legal director, was quoted as saying. Beijing is under pressure from its trading partners to stamp out the piracy. But China's own studios say the damage to them is even greater than to their foreign competitors as pirates rob them of their important domestic market.
■ Energy
Skilling told to pay up
Federal prosecutors want former Enron Corp CEO Jeffrey Skilling to turn over nearly US$183 million for helping perpetuate one of the biggest business frauds in US history -- his alleged share and that of his late co-defendant, company founder Kenneth Lay. Lay died on July 5 of heart disease. Prosecutors said that with his conspiracy conviction, Skilling is "liable for all the proceeds attributable to all co-conspirators, indicted or unindicted, including Lay," because they participated in the same scheme.
■ Vehicles
Honda to set up bike plant
Japan's Honda Motor Co will build a new motorcycle plant in India through a joint venture in an attempt to expand its already dominant share of the fast-growing subcontinental market, a report said yesterday. A total of US$420 million will be invested by 2010 in the factory, which will have an annual production capacity of 1.5 million motorbikes, Nihon Keizai Shimbun said. With the investment, Honda plans to boost its annual output in India by about 50 percent to 7 million units, including those produced by wholly owned subsidiary Honda Motorcycle and Scooters India, the report said.
■ Economy
Japan confident on outlook
More than 90 percent of major Japanese firms expect the domestic economy to keep expanding through next spring, but rising oil prices and a potential US slowdown are looming concerns, a survey showed yesterday. The poll of 100 top Japanese firms also indicated that 60 percent expect the Bank of Japan to increase interest rates again before next March, after raising rates last month for the first time in six years, Kyodo News agency said. The survey, conducted late last month to early this month, found that 94 of the 100 companies expect the economy to recover either moderately or strongly, while 86 companies cited high oil prices as a potential problem, Kyodo said.
■ Equities
Indonesia may outperform
Indonesia is likely to continue outperforming other Asian stock markets over the next 12 months because of its declining interest rates, a trend that will boost consumption and economic growth, said Manulife Asset Management (Hong Kong) Ltd senior portfolio manager Manish Bhatia. "Our expectation is that Indonesia will continue reducing interest rates and as interest rates come down, consumption can pick up and that will become a solid leg for the economy to stand on," said Bhatia, who helps manage around US$450 million in assets in Asia-Pacific funds.
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
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
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
The China Coast Guard has seized control of a disputed reef near a major Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, Beijing’s state media said, adding to longstanding territorial tensions with Manila. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions from other countries as well as an international ruling that its position has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, and Manila is taking part in sweeping joint military drills with the US which Beijing has slammed as destabilizing. The Chinese coast guard
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