China will continue curbing tech monopolies: Central bank chief

China will continue to curb monopolistic behaviors of internet platform companies and strengthen the protection of consumer privacy and data security, central bank governor Yi Gang said.

The central bank will work with anti-monopoly authorities to prevent firms from abusing dominant market positions and actively deal with new monopoly problems, Yi said at a meeting of the Bank for International Settlements on Thursday.

China will implement regulations that require platform companies engaged in financial business to establish financial holding companies, according to Yi's speech published on the central bank's website.

China has launched a regulatory crackdown on a broad range of industries, leaving startups and decades-old firms alike operating in a new, uncertain environment.

Will not bow to pressure from Beijing: Taiwan prez after Xi’s ‘unification’ call

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-Wen said the island is facing “unprecedented challenges” and will defend its sovereignty, pushing back after Chinese leader Xi Jinping declared a day earlier that unification will be achieved. Taipei hopes for an easing in cross-strait ties, and resolving differences requires dialogue on the basis of parity, Tsai said in a televised National Day address on Sunday. The government will do its utmost to maintain the status quo amid a “complex regional landscape”.  Taiwan will keep bolstering its defences to ensure nobody can force them to accept the path China has laid down that offers neither freedom nor democracy, she said. (Agencies)