■ 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.
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
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
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
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
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