■ AUTOMAKERS
NASCAR head weighs in
NASCAR chairman Brian France has lobbied the US Congress to support a financial rescue plan for the struggling Big Three automakers: Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. The trio, which participate in NASCAR, are pleading with Congress for a bailout to prevent their companies from going bankrupt. “I’m writing you as a concerned American who wants what is best for our general country,” France wrote. France’s letter said that if the auto industry failed, 3 million people would lose their jobs in the first year and another 2.5 million over the following two years. He said personal income in the US would drop by US$150 billion in the first year and domestic automobile production — even by foreign manufacturers — would likely drop to zero.
■CANADA
More than 70,000 lose jobs
Employers slashed nearly 71,000 jobs last month, the worst single month drop in 26 years, in a clear indication that the US recession is beginning to wreak havoc on manufacturers and workers across the border. Statistics Canada said on Friday that the jobless rate had edged up to 6.3 percent last month from 6.2 percent in October, despite the fact that 48,000 fewer Canadians were looking for work last month. Falling commodity prices and the impact of the slumping US housing and auto sectors have dealt a blow to the forestry, mining and manufacturing sectors across Canada.
■AVIATION
Okay Air suspends flights
Okay Airways Co (奧凱航空), China’s oldest private carrier, suspended flights earlier than planned yesterday because airports demanded cash payments for refueling, company president Liu Jieyin (劉捷音) said. Two airports, in Zhuhai and Sanya, refused to refuel the company’s planes on credit, leading Okay Air to stop all passenger routes yesterday, Liu said in an interview broadcast on China Central Television. The company had originally planned to suspend passenger flights from next Monday. Okay Air’s biggest shareholder, Junyao Group (均瑤集團), last month asked for the suspension as it tries to oust Liu, saying the management can’t guarantee safety levels. Losses from daily operations were increasing, Xinhua said, citing Wang Junjin (王均金), chairman of both Okay and Junyao. Okay Air won’t cut staff and has employees on paid leave as it attempts to resume flights before the Lunar New Year holiday next month, Xinhua said.
■AUTOMAKERS
Argentina funds purchases
Argentina announced on Saturday it would make US$9 billion available to finance car purchases in an attempt to slow job losses in one of the industries hardest hit by the global credit crunch. Under the plan, first-time car buyers can get their vehicle financed and demand could be boosted by some 100,000 units a year, Argentinian Manufacturing Minister Debora Giorgi said at Government House. “We are aiming to reorient where funds are going so that they stop being used for financial speculation and start helping bolster the economy and maintain jobs,” she said. There are some rules: The plan covers 12 lower-priced vehicles, two at each of the main automakers in the country. And the car’s value cannot top 31,000 pesos (US$9,100). It can be financed up to 60 months. Some 150,000 people work in Argentina’s auto industry, which exports vehicles worth US$8 billion annually — about 36 percent of manufactured exports. The funds will be taken from the state-held pension system.
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
NEW YEAR’S ADDRESS: ‘No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path,’ William Lai said, urging progress ‘without looking back’ President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday urged parties across the political divide to democratically resolve conflicts that have plagued domestic politics within Taiwan’s constitutional system. In his first New Year’s Day address since becoming president on May 20 last year, Lai touched on several issues, including economic and security challenges, but a key emphasis was on the partisan wrangling that has characterized his first seven months in office. Taiwan has transformed from authoritarianism into today’s democracy and that democracy is the future, Lai said. “No matter what threats and challenges Taiwan faces, democracy is the only path for Taiwan,” he said. “The only choice
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
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