Foxconn wants junior workers active in union

Foxconn Technology Group, the assembler of most of the world's top-selling electronic gadgets including Apple's iPhone, is trying to increase participation in its union, to help dispel bad publicity over working conditions and labour disputes. Foxconn said yesterday it was increasing the number of junior employee representatives in committees within its union. "Anyone can run to be a representative of the labour union," Louis Woo, a spokesman for Taipei-based Foxconn, said. Reuters, AFP

Taiwanese admiral in espionage investigation

A Taiwanese admiral has been questioned over his alleged involvement in one of the island's worst espionage cases, officials said yesterday. Defence ministry spokesman David Lo said an admiral was being investigated but declined to elaborate. According to reports, the investigation is linked to the September arrest of three senior military officers suspected of leaking secrets to the mainland. AFP

Japan tourism to China down amid island row

Japanese tourists' bookings of packaged tours to China for February and March are down around 80 per cent, as a months-old territorial row hurts relations. Tours to China booked through Japan's seven biggest travel agencies fell 80.3 per cent year-on-year for February and 77.2 per cent for March, the Japan Association of Travel Agents said. Tokyo and Beijing have been embroiled in a sovereignty dispute over a chain of islands in the East China Sea, called the Senkakus in Japanese and the Diaoyus in Chinese. AFP