GOAL! The value of flat-panel displays produced in Taiwan during the first 10 months of 2006 exceeded 1 trillion Taiwan dollars (US $31 billion). The value for the whole year is expected to approximate TWD 1.3 trillion, indicating that Taiwan will displace South Korea as the world‘s top exporter and producer of large flat panels. In 2002, the government initiated a “two-­trillion, two-star” program, aiming to achieve TWD 1 trillion production in both the semiconductor and display industries. The semiconductor sector attained that goal in 2004.

PHOTO: Jonathan Drake/Bloomberg News/Landov

A Singapore cable broadcast is disrupted.

UNDERSEA CABLES DOWN An earthquake that struck Asia’s Luzon Strait on 28 December with a magnitude of 6.7 damaged several telecommunications cables: APCN-2, connecting eight Asian countries; one stretching from South Korea to the Netherlands; and C2C, linking the East Asian countries to the Unites States. Altogether, seven undersea systems accounting for 90 percent of East Asia’s telecom traffic were temporarily knocked out. The financial impact was limited, however, because of the holiday season.

CLIMATE SERVICE? Scientists led by Edward L. Miles, professor of marine studies and public affairs at the University of Washington, in Seattle, have proposed the creation of a U.S. national climate service, to help citizens, businesses, and governments apply knowledge about climate variation and change. They argue that because of advances in understanding climate impacts, the time is ripe for that knowledge to be integrated regionally and nationally to better prepare for climate shifts.