■ SOLAR ENERGY
Polysilicon glut expected
Solarworld AG CEO Frank Asbeck expects a polysilicon "glut" in 2010 that will cut costs for Germany's second-largest solar company. The price of polysilicon used in solar panels will probably drop to less than US$40 per kilogram, from as high as US$200 this year, Asbeck said yesterday in an interview. Prices may reach US$20 in the next several years as global production climbs to 100,000 tonnes in 2010, from 35,000 tonnes now, he said. "Silicon was never scarce, just the refining capacity, and that will be solved in 2010," Asbeck said. "We expect to see a silicon glut in 2010, and then the prices will fall."
■ MEDIA
Probe not an issue: Reuters
Reuters chief executive Tom Glocer said yesterday he did not expect a probe by EU antitrust regulators to scuttle a takeover of the British news and data provider by Canadian group Thomson Corp. "We expected it would take us into the first quarter next year" for Thomson to complete the takeover, he told reporters during a visit to Tokyo. After an initial review of the deal, the European Commission said on Monday it was launching an in-depth probe running until the end of February to determine if the planned merger represented a threat to competition in Europe.
■ JAPAN
Firms broke overtime rules
A record number of Japanese firms have been ordered to compensate workers for unpaid overtime despite a recovery in the world's second-largest economy, officials said yesterday. The number of companies that paid overtime after being faulted by labor inspectors on unannounced visits rose 10 percent in the last fiscal year to the highest since the statistics were first compiled in 2001. The labor ministry said it ordered 1,679 firms to pay a total of ¥22.7 billion (US$194 million) to 182,561 workers in the year ended in March. The average payout per person came to ?120,000, a ministry survey said.
■ MINERALS
EU punishes dumping
The EU has imposed five-year tariffs as high as 71.8 percent on industrial salts from the US, China and Taiwan, targeting exporters including DuPont Co to protect German firms. The duties punish US, Chinese and Taiwanese exporters of peroxosulfates, used to treat water and metals, for selling in Europe below domestic prices or production costs, a practice known as dumping. The levies, which are 10.6 percent against DuPont and 39 percent against FMC Corp and any other US exporters, follow provisional duties imposed six months ago. The duties are 22.6 percent against Taiwan and as much as 71.8 percent against China.
■ SOFTWARE
Google buys startup Jaiku
Internet search leader Google Inc said on Tuesday that it has bought Finnish startup Jaiku, which makes a mobile phone application people can use to send short messages about where they are and what they are doing. Google believes Jaiku's technology can help develop new ways to use mobile devices, according to a note posted on Tuesday on Google's blog by product manager Tony Hsieh. Founded last year in Helsinki, Jaiku specializes in software that makes it easier to share updates about one's whereabouts and thoughts via mobile phones. The concept is known as "microblogging."
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
‘EXTREME PRESSURE’: Beijing’s goal is to ‘force Taiwan to make mistakes,’ Admiral Tang Hua said, adding that mishaps could serve as ‘excuses’ for launching a blockade China’s authoritarian expansionism threatens not only Taiwan, but the rules-based international order, the navy said yesterday, after its top commander said in an interview that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could blockade the nation at will. The object of Beijing’s expansionist activities is not limited to Taiwan and its use of pressure is not confined to specific political groups or people, the navy said in a statement. China utilizes a mixture of cognitive warfare and “gray zone” military activities to pressure Taiwan, the navy said, adding that PLA sea and air forces are compressing the nation’s defensive depth. The navy continues to
MAKING PROGRESS: Officials and industry leaders who participated in a defense forum last month agreed that Taiwan has the capabilities to work with the US, the report said Taiwan’s high-tech defense industry is to enhance collaboration with the US to produce weapons needed for self-defense, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report to the Legislative Yuan. Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) discussed building regional and global industry alliances with US partners at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Philadelphia held from Sept. 22 to Tuesday last week, the ministry said in the declassified portion of the report. The visit contributed to maintaining bilateral ties, facilitated Taiwan’s efforts to acquire weapons and equipment, and strengthened the resilience of the two nation’s defense industries, it said. Taiwan-US ties
CONCERNS: Allowing the government, political parties or the military to own up to 10 percent of a large media firm is a risk Taiwan cannot afford to take, a lawyer said A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has proposed amendments to allow the government, political parties and the military to indirectly invest in broadcast media, prompting concerns of potential political interference. Under Article 1 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the government and political parties — as well as foundations established with their endowments, and those commissioned by them — cannot directly or indirectly invest in satellite broadcasting businesses. A similar regulation is in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法). “The purpose of banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media is to prevent them from interfering
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