Taipei - Worldwide notebook personal computer (PC) shipment in 2009 is forecasted to reach 138 million units, growing about 11.3 per cent compared to the expected shipment volume of 124 million units in 2008, a Taiwan research agency said Tuesday.

Worldwide netbook PC shipment volume in 2009 is forecasted to reach 22.64 million units, growing 102 per cent compared to the expected volume of 11.21 million units in
2008, the Market Information Centre (MIC) under the Institute of Information Industry, said in a news release.

Taipei - The Taipei county government, to reduce the digital gap between the countryside and cities, will dispatch a mobile computer classroom to teach people how to use computers, the county government said Tuesday.

Under the programme, the Taipei county government in North Taiwan will dispatch six coaches carrying teachers, computers, desks and chairs to give computer classes free of charge.

"The only requirement is that there must be 18 participants for our class. Applications can be made by individuals or an institution," Chen Shu-hui, from the Taipei county government's Computer Centre, said.

Taipei - Taiwan's jobless rate rose to a five-year high in October, as export orders

Taipei - China's decision to allow Taiwan's former vice president Lien Chan to attend the APEC summit in Peru and to meet with Chinese President Hu Jintao marked a major milestone in cross-strait relations, according to Taiwan media.

China's move can be interpreted as Beijing's response to President Ma Ying-jeou's call for a "diplomatic truce" with China, they said.

A China Post editorial characterized Beijing's embrace of Lien as a positive sign of across-strait detente.

Taip

Taipei - Taiwan's economy, hit hard by the global financial turmoil and a slump in exports, contracted in the third quarter, signaling the start of recession, officials said Thursday.

"We have to revise downward our third-quarter growth to negative 1.02 per cent from 3.04 per cent forecast in August, and this is the biggest decline since the fourth quarter of 2001," said Shih Su-mei, head of the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.