■CHINA
More funds missing
More than US$34.4 billion went missing from public funds in China in the first 11 months of the year, state media said yesterday, with national auditors highlighting embezzlement, waste and fraud. More than 230 people, including 67 government officials, have been handed over to disciplinary or judicial authorities for their roles in the missing funds, the China Daily said, citing the National Audit Office. The audit covered 99,000 companies, government agencies and public institutions across the nation, Liu Jiayi (劉家義), China’s top auditor, told a national auditing conference.
■FRANCE
Economy grows 0.3 percent
The French economy grew 0.3 percent in the third quarter, the national statistics agency INSEE said yesterday, confirming estimates made last month. However, the government maintains that the economy will shrink by 2.25 percent for the year because of the deep recession that set in from late last year, even though France emerged from the slowdown in the second quarter of this year.
■HONG KONG
Donald Tsang pessimistic
Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang (曾蔭權) yesterday sounded a pessimistic note on the city’s economic recovery, warning it may experience a “double dip in the middle of next year.” Tsang said from Beijing that Hong Kong’s economic recovery “would not proceed smoothly, and I am prepared,” Dow Jones said. “I am a bit pessimistic about the pace of recovery and we may experience a double dip in the middle of next year,” Tsang said. However, he said the city’s government had a reserve of HK$500 billion (US$64 billion), which was “enough for two years worth of expenses,” RTHK reported.
■FINANCE
Banker sentenced to prison
A court in Spain sentenced the chief executive of the country’s biggest bank, Santander, to six months in prison on Monday for making false accusations against clients 15 years ago. The court found Alfredo Saenz carried out the deception when he was head of Santander subsidiary Banesto. Banesto has said it will appeal the sentence. Saenz is not however expected to serve any time in prison as he has no prior convictions.
■SOUTH KOREA
Account surplus continues
South Korea recorded an account surplus for the 10th straight month last month thanks partly to brisk exports, the central bank said yesterday. The surplus was US$4.28 billion last month, down from a revised US$4.76 billion in October, the Bank of Korea said in a statement. In the first 11 months of this year the accumulated surplus amounted to a record high of US$41.2 billion. The current account, the broadest measure of trade with the world, has remained in surplus since February as imports have fallen faster than exports amid the global downturn.
■SOUTH KOREA
Court clears ex-officials
An appeals court yesterday cleared two former South Korean officials of charges they helped private equity firm Lone Star buy a shaky local bank on the cheap in 2003, clearing the way for the buyout group to sell the lender. The court upheld a ruling last year that cleared former finance ministry official Byeon Yang-ho and former Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) chief Lee Kang-won of breach of trust charges. It was alleged they conspired to understate KEB’s value.
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
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
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
RSS