■ AUTOMOBILES
License plate costs millions
Without batting an eyelid, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) businessman dished out a record US$14 million for a car license plate at a charity auction in the UAE on Saturday. "It is not huge compared to my family's fortune," Saeed Abdel Ghaffar Khouri said after bidding 52.2 million dirhams (US$14.2 million) for an Abu Dhabi license plate bearing the single number "1." "The price is fair. After all, who among us does not want to be number one," Khouri said. Emirates Auction which organized the sale said on its Web site that it had been expected to set a new world record for the most expensive car license plate in the world. Funds from the auction will be given to charities, including one that will set up a hospital for casualties from road accidents.
■ BANKING
Bank urged to cut rates
An influential think-tank yesterday urged the central Bank of Korea to cut interest rates quickly to prevent market instability stemming from wide interest rate gaps with the US. In a report published yesterday, the Korea Institute of Finance (KIF) noted that foreigners have been snapping up South Korean bonds to capitalize on the country's high interest rates compared with those of the US. "In light of foreigners' rush to the local bond market, the Bank of Korea should cut the interest rate in a pre-emptive manner," the think tank said. "If the interest rate gap between South Korea and the United States lasts for a long period, it could come as a destabilizing factor for the local bond market." Should foreign investors suddenly withdraw funds from the local bond market, it would throw the market into chaos, it warned. Citing inflation concerns and uncertainty about the global economy, the bank last Wednesday kept its key interest rate unchanged for a sixth straight month.
■ TRADE
Bush talks cotton
US President George W. Bush told West Africa's cotton producers that US subsidies to US cotton growers were a matter for Washington, Beninese President Boni Yayi said on Saturday. Yayi was speaking at a joint press conference with Bush, who spent three hours in the small west African country at the beginning of a five-nation tour of the continent. Bush "considers that the question of these subsidies was an American matter, and told me that he was well aware of the importance of this sector in the life of our people," Yayi said. The US leader advised West African countries to grow cotton and process it for added value.
■ AUTOMOBILES
Plastech deal extended
A tentative deal for auto parts supplier Plastech Engineered Products Inc to continue sending parts to Chrysler LLC has been extended. The deal was set to expire on Friday. But Chrysler spokesman Kevin Frazier says it has been extended to Feb. 27. Both companies are awaiting a ruling expected tomorrow from Bankruptcy Judge Phillip Shefferly on Chrysler's efforts to retrieve equipment from Plastech. Dearborn-based Plastech filed for bankruptcy protection on Feb. 1 after Chrysler said it was severing business with it. Four Chrysler plants closed briefly when Plastech stopped shipping parts, but Plastech resumed sending parts under the tentative deal. Plastech supplies about 500 components for nearly all Chrysler's vehicles.
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: MOFA demanded Beijing stop its military intimidation and ‘irrational behavior’ that endanger peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region The Presidential Office yesterday called on China to stop all “provocative acts,” saying ongoing Chinese military activity in the nearby waters of Taiwan was a “blatant disruption” of the “status quo” of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. Defense officials said they have detected Chinese ships since Monday, both off Taiwan and farther out along the first island chain. They described the formations as two walls designed to demonstrate that the waters belong to China. The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said it had detected 53 military aircraft operating around the nation over the past 24 hours, as well
‘LAGGING BEHIND’: The NATO secretary-general called on democratic allies to be ‘clear-eyed’ about Beijing’s military buildup, urging them to boost military spending NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte mentioning China’s bullying of Taiwan and its ambition to reshape the global order has significance during a time when authoritarian states are continuously increasing their aggression, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. In a speech at the Carnegie Europe think tank in Brussels on Thursday, Rutte said Beijing is bullying Taiwan and would start to “nibble” at Taiwan if Russia benefits from a post-invasion peace deal with Ukraine. He called on democratic allies to boost defense investments and also urged NATO members to increase defense spending in the face of growing military threats from Russia
LEAP FORWARD: The new tanks are ‘decades more advanced than’ the army’s current fleet and would enable it to compete with China’s tanks, a source said A shipment of 38 US-made M1A2T Abrams tanks — part of a military procurement package from the US — arrived at the Port of Taipei early yesterday. The vehicles are the first batch of 108 tanks and other items that then-US president Donald Trump announced for Taiwan in 2019. The Ministry of National Defense at the time allocated NT$40.5 billion (US$1.25 billion) for the purchase. To accommodate the arrival of the tanks, the port suspended the use of all terminals and storage area machinery from 6pm last night until 7am this morning. The tanks are expected to be deployed at the army’s training
FORUM QUARREL: China’s TAO took unfriendly action against Taiwan with its ‘22 guidelines’ against ‘independence diehards’ and reporting system, the council said The government’s denial of permits for Shanghai Municipal Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) Director Jin Mei (金梅) and nine Chinese journalists to attend the Twin-City Forum in Taipei next week were to protest against and express disapproval of China’s 22-point set of “guidelines” to penalize “diehard” Taiwanese independence separatists, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Beijing on June 21 unveiled the “22 guidelines” that allow its courts to try “Taiwan independence separatists” in absentia, with the death sentence applicable. The government must review permit applications based on the cross-strait situation, the MAC said. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office took unfriendly action against Taiwan
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