■ Automobiles
Nissan mulls budget cars
Nissan Motor Co is considering developing low-budget vehicles targeting fast-growing markets in emerging economies, officials said yesterday. Creating an affordable car through alliance with its French partner Renault SA, a forerunner of such products, is a possibility, a Nissan spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity, citing protocol. Renault launched the no-frills Logan family sedan in 2004 primarily for developing countries and has set an annual global sales target of 700,000 cars by 2010.
■ Automobiles
Hyundai union to strike
Hyundai Motor Co's labor union voted yesterday to go on strike over a dispute with management over the size of an annual bonus, the head of the union said. Union chief Park Yoo-ki said that 400 representatives of the company's 44,000-strong union voted unanimously in favor of the proposed walkout. Park said the timing and details of the strike were to be decided over the weekend, including whether it would be a full-fledged or partial walkout. Hyundai's union has refused to work overtime since late last month, after workers received a bonus equal to one month's salary, which they say is less than agreed.
■ Automobiles
GM eyes Malaysian Proton
Malaysia confirmed yesterday that General Motors Corp (GM) is discussing taking a stake in struggling automaker Proton, which has also attracted interest from Volkswagen and PSA Peugeot Citroen. "GM is interested in Proton and we are looking at it," Second Finance Minister Nor Mohamed Yakcop told reporters, adding that the government will select a strategic partner for Proton by the end of March. "We have come to the end of our discussion with the various parties and we are now evaluating who is the best," he said. The New Straits Times this week reported that GM is planning to make a bid for Proton.
■ Patents
Starbucks lawsuit rejected
South Korea's Supreme Court rejected a claim yesterday by Starbucks that a local mobile coffee-shop chain infringed on its trademark rights by using a similar brand name and logo, the court said. The Supreme Court upheld an earlier decision handed down by the Patent Court of Korea in March 2005 that Elfreya's trademark and logo are not similar to those of the global cafe chain. The South Korean company was launched in 1999 with the brand name Starpreya and logo of a green circle surrounding the image of what it called a goddess, similar to the well-known Starbucks logo. But the patent court said the two logos were not significantly similar because the Elfreya logo has a goddess while that of Starbucks has a mermaid.
■ Electronics
Canon avoids US suit
Canon Inc, Japan's most profitable electronics and office equipment maker, will buy Toshiba Corp's stake in a flat-panel venture because of a legal dispute with a US company. No financial details were given in a statement released by the two Tokyo-based firms. Kazunori Fukuma, the president of the SED Inc venture, will resign as vice president at Toshiba, and will be hired by Canon to continue serving at the TV subsidiary, the statement said. The transaction takes effect on Jan. 29. Canon is dissolving the partnership to avoid a prolonged court case in the US.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE TRAINING: The ministry said 87.5 percent of the apprehended Chinese agents were reported by service members they tried to lure into becoming spies Taiwanese organized crime, illegal money lenders, temples and civic groups are complicit in Beijing’s infiltration of the armed forces, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report yesterday. Retired service members who had been turned to Beijing’s cause mainly relied on those channels to infiltrate the Taiwanese military, according to the report to be submitted to lawmakers ahead of tomorrow’s hearing on Chinese espionage in the military. Chinese intelligence typically used blackmail, Internet-based communications, bribery or debts to loan sharks to leverage active service personnel to do its bidding, it said. China’s main goals are to collect intelligence, and develop a
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