China’s industrial output rose 5.7 percent year-on-year last year, hitting its annual growth target range of 5.5 to 6 percent. It showed that China has stabilized the economic fundamentals against growth pressure and external turbulence, said Miao Wei, minister of industry and information technology.

According to Miao, the high-tech sector is playing a bigger role, as witnessed by the fact that the segment registered a year-on-year growth rate of 8.8 percent and outpaced the overall industrial output growth in the period.

Miao noted that emerging industries also maintained sound momentum. For instance, productions of urban mass transit vehicles and solar photovoltaic cells has increased 32.6 percent and 26.8 percent year-on-year respectively.

Last year, sales of vehicles were down by 8.2 percent year-on-year with new energy cars also experiencing a drop. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Monday it expected that the market will start to stabilize and recover this year.

In response to questions on whether China will cut subsidies for new energy vehicles in June and whether it will completely stop offering such subsidies by the end of 2020, Miao said the issue is still under discussion and the ministry “is likely to postpone the timeline”.

“To build the ‘mansion’ of manufacturing next year, China will first ratchet up efforts in the research and development of core technologies. A group of State-level innovation centers on manufacturing will be built next year,” said Miao.

He added that accelerated steps will also be made to transform traditional industries to boost the “resilience” of the construction.

“Efforts to transform traditional industries and nurture emerging sectors are of significance to China,” said Wang Peng, deputy president of the China Center for Information Industry Development, a government think tank.

To maintain stable growth of the manufacturing industry, the first and foremost approach is to leverage advanced technologies to transform traditional industries, which accounted for 80 percent of the total sector, Wang said.

“Emerging industries, on the other hand, will decide China’s position and competitiveness on the global stage. Sectors including 5G, artificial intelligence and the internet of vehicles will not only pull up manufacturing but will also stimulate investments in new infrastructure,” he said.

China kicked off the commercialization of 5G in late October. GSMA, a global association of mobile operators, predicted the number of 5G users in China will reach 400 million by 2025, accounting for about one-third of the world’s total.

By the end of last year, a total of 130,000 5G base stations have been built and more than 13.8 million smartphones have been shipped, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Monday. US investment bank Goldman Sachs painted an even more optimistic picture, predicting that China would build about 1 million new 5G base stations this year, up from its original prediction of 600,000.

Another report by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology said that the superfast 5G is expected to directly bring 10.6 trillion yuan ($1.5 trillion) in economic output between 2020 to 2025, and 8 million jobs by 2030.

In terms of 6G, Wen Ku, head of information and communication at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, pointed out on Monday that China will maintain a steady pace in developing the next-generation technology.

“We started related work of 6G in 2017, but it is still in its infancy since we are still in the process of developing the 5G technology, including in terms of independent networking and applications,” Wen said.

Miao added that China has enlarged the IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group to IMT-2030 to join global efforts in promoting standards on such technologies. “Whether for 5G or 6G, China will never close the door on making globally unified standards.”

On Monday, 77 new confirmed cases of the virus — 2019nCoV — were reported on the Chinese mainland, bringing the total number of confirmed cases on the Chinese mainland to 291, six of whom died, the National Health Commission said on Tuesday afternoon. Among the new cases, 72 were reported in Hubei province, two in Shanghai and three in Beijing.

In addition, 27 suspected cases were reported on Monday, bringing the total number of suspected cases to 54, the commission said.

Taiwan health authorities said on Tuesday said a woman of about 50 years of age was confirmed to be infected with the virus, the first such case on the island.

In the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, no confirmed cases were reported as of Tuesday evening, but the number of suspected cases rose to 118 as of Tuesday noon, according to official data.

Wuhan, the center of the outbreak, reported 60 new cases on Monday and two additional fatalities — a 66yearold man and 48yearold woman. Both of them died on Monday due to multiple organ failure, the Wuhan Health Commission said. The total death toll from the virus climbed to six, all in Wuhan.

Zhong Nanshan, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a prominent expert on respiratory diseases, said existing evidence shows the new virus can spread from human to human, and the epidemic may spread further, given that China will see a massive human migration during the upcoming Spring Festival holiday.

The source of the infection has not been located, and its means of transmission is not clear. Health experts agree the possibility exists for mutation of the virus, according to the National Health Commission.

Amid the severe situation, China is ramping up efforts in several areas. On Monday, President Xi Jinping ordered that resolute efforts should be made to curb the spread of the virus, stressing putting people’s safety and health as the top priority.

Premier Li Keqiang chaired a State Council executive meeting on Monday to coordinate measures. He called for all related authorities to fully estimate the situation and increase cooperation among government departments.

Li ordered stricter preventive measures at hospitals and better protection for medical workers. The Wuhan Health Commission reported on Tuesday morning that 15 medical workers in the city have been infected.

Also on Tuesday, the National Health Commission listed the pneumonia caused by the virus among Grade B infectious diseases, a category that includes such major infectious diseases as SARS, AIDS and polio.

Currently, however, the new virus will be treated as a Grade A infectious disease, which requires the strictest prevention and control measures, including mandatory quarantine of patients and medical observation for those who have had close contact with patients, according to the commission.

At present, only two infectious diseases — bubonic plague and cholera — are classified as Grade A infectious diseases in China.

Wang Yuedan, an immunology professor at Peking University, said managing the new disease as Grade A will greatly help in its control and prevention. Some other serious infectious diseases, such as SARS, are also classified as Grade B infectious diseases, but have been managed as Grade A infectious diseases during their outbreaks, Wang said.

On Tuesday, Wuhan Mayor Zhou Xianwang called on locals not to leave the city and people from outside not to come to Wuhan if there’s no particular need.

“Less human migration can reduce the spread of the virus, easing the pressure of prevention and control of the disease,” he told China Central Television.

Hubei Governor Wang Xiaodong asked on Tuesday for full efforts to monitor and report the outbreak. He said no delayed reports or coverups would be tolerated, and he asked for better public communication to respond to public concerns.

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization said in a statement that sustained humantohuman transmission may exist, and warned more cases of the virus could appear in China and outside in the coming days, given travel patterns and increased testing.

The Chinese government is sharing information regularly and working closely with the WHO, it said, adding that a team of WHO experts are working with health officials in Wuhan in response to the virus.

“The WHO encourages all countries to continue preparedness activities,” WHO China said.

Although much remains to be understood about 2019nCoV, including how it is transmitted, the clinical features of the disease, its severity, the extent to which it has spread and its source — progress is underway, it said.

China, along with other affected countries, will attend an emergency committee meeting convened by the WHO on Wednesday to share information about the disease, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said on Tuesday.

Representatives from a number of countries, the WHO and relevant experts will make accurate assessments about the outbreak, Geng told a daily news conference.

The epidemic response command center was established on Monday by Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC,疾管署) in response to the growing spread of the SARS-like virus.

The patient is a Taiwanese citizen who works in the Chinese city of Wuhan, the origin of the outbreak.

Per the command center, the patient reported to epidemic control officials at Taoyuan International Airport when she landed. She is currently under quarantine.

Earlier today, a female traveler showing symptoms of the SARS-like virus is under quarantine at a local hospital, Hualien County Health Bureau reported.

On Tuesday morning, Hualien County Health Bureau Director-General Chu Chia-hsiang (朱家祥) said that the woman, 39, is a Chinese citizen visiting Taiwan Wuhan.

Her fever had broke before she was taken to the Mennonite Christian Hospital, according to Chu. Officials have collected samples per government guidelines to determine if she is infected with the novel coronavirus, dubbed 2019-nCoV by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The command center warned that it is illegal to spread unconfirmed information on the outbreak, hoping to avoid unnecessary incitation of fear.

The announcement came after Hsinchu MacKay Memorial Hospital (新竹馬偕醫院) put up a poster at the entrance of its emergency room on Monday, which read “there is a suspected case in the emergency room, please put on face masks when entering.”

In response, CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said that there have been reports of several suspected cases, most of which have been determined negative.

Hsinchu MacKay Memorial Hospital (新竹馬偕醫院) has since taken down the poster.

Those who have traveled to China and shown respiratory symptoms must report to local hospitals, Chuang said. Not complying could result in a NT$10,000 to NT$150,000 fine.

Doctors warn citizens to wash their hands frequently, wear face masks when visiting crowded sites, and avoid touching eyes and mouth before cleansing.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung and Minister of Science and Technology (MoST) Chu Ngoc Anh made the first video call with Viettel’s gNodeB transceiver in Ha Noi on Friday.

The gNodeB transceiver made by Viettel includes both software and hardware. The device was developed in six months, starting in June 2019.

Last April the carrier used a foreign-made device to make a call via the 5G network. Now, after 8 months, Viettel has helped Viet Nam master 5G technology.

According to Viettel, it is now the sixth provider of 5G devices globally. Others include Ericsson, Nokia, Huawei, Samsung and ZTE.

As the Government of Viet Nam sets a goal to go digital, Viettel general director Le Dang Dung said: “The 5G network will determine the success of the digital economy,” adding that: “Many countries are using 5G services to strengthen their science-technology position on the global market and develop their economies.”

Dung said: “It’s why Viettel considers 5G to be the most strategic project of the group.”

Attending the event, MoST minister Anh said the move “is a very rare opportunity, creating a R&D platform for Viet Nam to develop further.”

Viettel said it will start commercialising the devices by June this year and produce the devices on a large scale a year later.

Viettel expected to build civil and military products on the ‘5G technology ecosystem’ developed and manufactured in Viet Nam. Currently, Viettel has more than 110 million customers in eleven countries. — VNS

Available in South Korea since April 2019, 5G services were being used by 4.5 million users as of December.

In central Seoul, banners promoting 5G compatible devices stand out as manufacturers tout their latest products.

A 45-year-old who had bought a 5G device for stock trading said: “I wanted to be able to trade faster even if it is only by 0.1 seconds. I feel like now I can buy and sell faster than anyone who doesn’t use a 5G device.”

A 24-year-old smartphone store employee said, “Downloading movies is less frustrating because I can download them in just a few seconds.”

In China, 5G smartphone services went into full swing last November. According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, shipments of 35 new models of 5G capable phones reached 13.77 million units last year.

Smartphone manufacturer Beijing Xiaomi Technology Co. launched a low-cost smartphone priced at 1,999 yuan (about ¥31,000) in January.

Communication speed is one of the major benefits of 5G, which is capable of transmitting roughly 100 times more data than the current wireless standard, 4G.

This will not only allow faster video downloads, but will also enable the realization of such technological goals as autonomous driving and remote medical procedures.

Various services specially designed and optimized for the 5G network were displayed this month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where major companies jostled to promote their cutting-edge technologies, such as autonomous driving, virtual reality and the transmission of high-resolution 8K images captured by drones.

However, the 5G environment is not yet in a state for the technology to be fully utilized, even overseas.

According to South Korea’s science and technology ministry, there were about 94,000 5G base stations in the country as of December, but the connection is not stable in subways or indoors, with some criticism expressed over the premature launch of the technology.

In the United States, major telecommunication firm Verizon Communications Inc. had made the service available in about 30 cities by the end of December, but the areas where services are available are still limited.

In Japan, the government plans to launch a “local 5G” system in spring, with 5G infrastructure set to be installed in limited areas and facilities. The system is expected to be used for data communication in places such as office buildings, factories and hospitals.

Mobile networks are expected to announce their billing plans and sales prices of compatible consumer smartphones from as early as March.

Rivals sprint out to big lead

By Tatsuro Fukushima / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Japan’s 5G rollout lags behind other countries such as South Korea, the United States and China, with the number of base stations remaining at about 450 in the country.

According to China’s Industry and Information Technology Ministry, the number of 5G base stations in China by the end of 2019 had reached about 126,000 in only a few months, nearly five times NTT Docomo Inc.’s target of 26,000 by fiscal 2024.

Japanese base station manufacturers are also losing ground. According to an estimate by U.K. research firm IHS Markit, Sweden’s Ericsson ranks first in the volume of 5G-related devices shipped, followed by Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea, Nokia of Finland and Huawei Technologies Co. of China. Japanese manufacturers have little presence in the market.

Manufacturers in China and South Korea have invested heavily in research and development, with support from their governments. Huawei, in particular, has been gaining momentum in recent years, with its competitive prices and technological capabilities highly rated.

“If Huawei is top of the pack, European manufacturers are in second place. The question is whether or not Japanese manufacturers could secure third place,” said a senior official at an economy-related government body.

Due to the growing risks of information eavesdropping, it is necessary to ensure the safety of 5G devices.

The Japanese government plans to submit a new bill to the Diet in a bid to promote the introduction of secure digital devices and support Japanese manufacturers in terms of tax breaks and research and development.

Earlier, Seoul’s unification ministry said it is looking at ways to hold talks with Pyongyang on allowing tours to North Korea on an individual basis. The push has gained traction after President Moon Jae-in cited it last week as a way to expand inter-Korean exchanges without violating sanctions.

“The United States supports inter-Korean cooperation and coordinates with our ROK ally to ensure inter-Korean cooperation proceeds in lockstep with progress on denuclearization,” a State Department spokesperson told Yonhap News Agency, using the abbreviation for South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea.

The comment underscores Washington’s concern that any flow of resources to North Korea could undermine its “maximum pressure” campaign to denuclearize the regime.

Still, US officials have also told their South Korean counterparts that Washington respects decisions Seoul makes as a sovereign nation.

Meanwhile, asked about reports that North Korea has replaced its foreign minister, the spokesperson said, “I don’t have anything for you on this.” (Yonhap)

The country’s exports stood at $25.7 billion in the January 1-20 period, down $40 million from the same period last year, according to the Korea Customs Service.

The rate of decline was also much less than the 2 percent fall in the December 1-20 period last year, the data showed.

By product, exports of semiconductors and petrochemical goods gained 8.7 percent and 19.3 percent, respectively.

In contrast, outbound shipments of passenger cars and wireless equipment fell 6.8 percent and 6.2 percent, according to the data.

South Korea’s economy is expected to have suffered its weakest annual growth in a decade last year, hit by a lengthy US-China trade war and a cyclical slump in the memory chip sector.

For December last year, monthly exports slipped 5.2 percent on-year to $45.7 billion to extend their slump to a whopping 13th consecutive month. However, this year’s outbound shipments are forecast to rise 3 percent.

South Korea’s exports fell 10.3 percent on-year in 2019 to $542.4 billion, according to government data. (Yonhap)

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remark in an instruction on the prevention and control of the disease.

All-out efforts must be made in the prevention and control of the contagion, Xi said, as he called for closer attention to related work.

Given massive population flows during the upcoming holiday of Chinese New Year, which falls on Jan 25, it is an urgent task to properly prevent and control the disease, Xi said.

He urged Party committees and governments at various levels as well as relevant departments to make people’s lives and health a top priority, devise meticulous plans, mobilize all available resources and take concrete and effective measures to contain further spread of the sickness.

Every means should be tried to save and treat the infected, identify the cause of the contagion, strengthen case monitoring and standardize diagnostic procedures, Xi added.

He called for timely disclosure of outbreak information and a deepening of international cooperation.

Measures should be taken to guide public opinion, make relevant policies accessible to the public to uphold social stability and ensure people across the country enjoy a peaceful and happy festival, Xi said.

Premier Li Keqiang also issued an instruction on Monday urging local governments and relevant departments to identify, report, isolate and treat patients in a timely manner and promptly and objectively release information about disease prevention and control.

Li also called for good coordination with the World Health Organization, relevant countries and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and Taiwan province to take united action to resolutely prevent the contagion from spreading.

A State Council executive meeting chaired by Li on Monday also worked out concrete steps to prevent and control the disease.

As of 8 pm on Monday, a total of 218 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infections had been reported in China — 198 cases in Wuhan, Hubei province, where the first case of novel coronavirus infection was identified, five in Beijing, 14 in Guangdong province and one in Shanghai. Japan, Thailand and the Republic of Korea were also reported to have confirmed cases of the disease.

More Chinese cities have stepped up monitoring, prevention and control of infectious pulmonary diseases.

In line with the united prevention and control mechanism of the State Council, the National Health Commission has set up a leading task force group to cope with the outbreak while local governments — including the Hubei provincial government — were asked to shoulder their responsibilities in disease control.

Responding to a question about the outbreak on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a regular news conference that China had informed the WHO, organizations in relevant countries and regions about the disease in a timely manner, and has been in close communication with them.

On Monday, the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that a Chinese woman had tested positive for the coronavirus.

On receiving the report, Chung ordered the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the KCDC to work with other concerned organizations to prevent the virus from spreading, and to inform the public swiftly and transparently about preventive measures.

According to the KCDC, the woman — a 35-year-old resident of Wuhan in China’s Hubei province — arrived at Incheon International Airport on Sunday. She was quarantined upon arrival when she was observed to have a fever and other symptoms linked to the new coronavirus, the KCDC said. She is currently being treated at the Incheon Medical Center.

Now that the first case has been confirmed in Korea, the KCDC has raised the alert level from blue to yellow. The KCDC has a four-stage alert system for infectious diseases, with blue being the lowest and yellow the second-lowest. A yellow alert is issued when the presence of a recently reported infectious disease originating outside the country is confirmed in Korea.

The KCDC said an epidemiological investigation is underway, and that a response center has been launched to prevent the spread of the virus.

According to the KCDC, the woman visited a doctor in China on Saturday with fever, muscle aches and other symptoms and was diagnosed as having a cold. The KCDC said she had not visited the market in Wuhan that has been connected to the spread of the virus, and has had no contact with wild animals.

The woman was on her way to Japan with her family, and the five people who accompanied her have not shown any symptoms.

The KCDC said that because the woman’s illness was detected at the quarantine checkpoint, she did not come into contact with the general population. Individuals who came into contact with her, including passengers on the same flight and flight attendants, are being monitored and the local public health office will respond to any developments, the KCDC said.

In addition to the Chinese woman, seven people who have visited Wuhan in recent weeks have shown symptoms. Four have been released from quarantine, having tested negative for the Chinese coronavirus. The results on the remaining three are pending, the KCDC said.

So far more than 200 people have been confirmed to be infected with the virus in Wuhan, with nearly 140 cases being confirmed over the weekend. According to reports, 170 people are currently being treated for the virus in Wuhan, nine of whom are in critical condition. In addition to Wuhan, two cases have been confirmed in Beijing and another in Shenzhen. The virus has so far claimed three lives in China. Outside China, one case has been confirmed in Japan and two in Thailand.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)

To offer better protection, some technology companies are looking for a way to develop or expand tools that highlight women’s safety.

In Beijing on Jan 10, China’s smart jewelry brand Totwoo launched a kit called Safety, which is expected to combat assaults on women in the country.

If the user feels threatened, pressing the button for four seconds will activate the device that will start recording for 10 seconds. Within 50 seconds, the device will telephone and send text messages to three emergency contacts to alert them, providing a location, first-aid information and audio recordings.

Once a contact responds, the device vibrates and lights up to inform the user. The user can disable the alarm by pressing the button three times in succession.

Around the diameter of a bottle cap, the waterproof piece of jewelry can be attached to a bag, a key or even worn as a necklace.

“In Chinese culture, certain jewelry is sometimes worn as an emblem of safety. Our product brings some truth to that,” says Wang Jieming, who founded Totwoo in 2015.

It makes sense that the company decided to model the trinket in the shape of an apple, the name of which in Chinese is pingguo, sharing the same pronounced ping as ping’an, the Chinese word for “safety”.

Cooperating with China Mobile, the small core module uses a remote SIM, bypassing the need for a physical SIM card. It has certified wireless-charging technology similar to the system used by Apple. Supporting navigation systems such as GPS, Beidou and GSM base station positioning, it can provide accurate location information.

Xin Yang, head of the International Security Defense College in Beijing, a private security training school established in 2011, says an independent device can enhance women’s safety in an emergency, because “mobile phones are often the first item an assailant will attempt to snatch or destroy”.

Reports of females being attacked while out running, taking a taxi or traveling alone have stoked fear and anxiety among women.

According to the World Health Organization, one in three women worldwide have experienced sexual or physical violence in their lives.

According to a 2019 study by the nonprofit Stop Street Harassment, 68 percent of women in the United States reported being harassed in public spaces like streets, trails and parks.

In 2018, Didi Chuxing, China’s leading ride-hailing online platform, came under scrutiny after two female passengers in China were killed by the drivers, raising public concern not just over women’s safety, but loopholes in the company’s driver vetting system.

Late last year, Didi relaunched its Hitch carpooling service, with improved safety features and more rigorous mechanisms for driver and passenger verification. The service allows registered car owners to accept rides each day along preset routes.

Didi has upgraded its existing emergency button to allow users to make a one-click call to police. For long-distance rides, the app records audio during journeys. Daily facial recognition protocol for drivers is also being implemented. Drivers are also required to complete a “safety knowledge test” every day before they start picking up passengers.

With such improved safety features, it will be the test bed for a women’s safety program that Didi intends to roll out to other services, the company says.

As well as the platform’s efforts, the market for safety wearables, while not a new one, is growing. Whether it’s a watch, pendant or ring, the chances are that a woman will have one about her person, meaning potentially dangerous situations can be avoided or alleviated with the quick press of a button.