China Airlines Agrees to Plead Guilty to Price Fixing
Company agrees to pay $40 million criminal fine
China Airlines agreed to plead guilty and to pay a $40 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the air transportation industry, the Department of Justice announced Monday.
According to a one-count felony charge filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Taiwan-based China Airlines engaged in a conspiracy to fix the cargo rates charged to customers for international air cargo shipments to and from the United States from at least as early as January 2001, until at least Feb. 14, 2006. The department said that China Airlines joined an ongoing conspiracy among cargo carriers that began at least as early as Jan. 1, 2000. Under the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, China Airlines has agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing antitrust investigation.
By The Numbers: International Air Freight Industry.
China Airlines is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum fine of $100 million for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.
The charge is the result of a joint investigation into the air transportation industry being conducted by the Antitrust Division’s National Criminal Enforcement Section, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General.
As a result of the ongoing investigation, a total of 18 airlines and eight executives have been charged to date. More than $1.6 billion in criminal fines have been imposed and four executives have been sentenced to serve prison time. Charges are pending against the remaining four executives.
The Press Democrat | The euro climbed above $1.37 for the first time since March. It rose as high as $1.3777 against the dollar before pulling back to $1.3741 in late morning trading in the U.S. Friday's high was nearly a penny above the $1.3683 level touched just a day ago. | A manufacturing report out of China buoye... more »
'Gandhi's teachings helped Obama shape his life'
WASHINGTON: Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography and his teachings on social justice through non-violence have helped US President Barack Obama shape his life, a senior US official has said.
"Barack Obama, first African-American President and a student of those principles, identifies Gandhi's autobiography and Taylor Branch's terrific three-part biography of (Martin Luther) King as works that helped shape him," said Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia.
"The President has repeatedly noted that Gandhi and King were among his heroes," he said while delivering the 27th Annual Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Lecture at San Diego State University in California.
Earlier this month, Blake had said, Washington was abuzz with unveiling of the new Oval Office decorations - a tradition that follows the election of each new President.
The new Oval Office rug is the centrepiece of the room, and on it President Obama had inscribed the famous Dr King mantra which reads: 'The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.'
"That same sentiment helps animate our foreign policy agenda and our strategic partnership with India. We are democratic countries founded on the principles of tolerance and pluralism, driven by optimism and knowledge-based economies," Blake said.
Gandhi's message, along with his philosophy and brilliant strategy of social justice through non-violence, was always consistent, he added.
"Dedicating his life to the peaceful empowerment of Indians of all backgrounds, he inspired hope and peace among many and set a powerful example for future change-makers to follow," Obama's point man for South and Central Asia said.
Referring to Gandhi's statue here, he said, this is a permanent reminder of the enduring relevance of social justice in US and often invokes comparison to another great visionary.
Martin Luther King furthered the causes of peace and tolerance in US by dedicating his life to peaceful movements against segregation, discrimination and poverty, he added.
Last year, US celebrated the 50th anniversary of Dr and Mrs King's historic 1959 visit to India that in many ways inspired and invigorated the civil rights movement in the US.
King's trip was a landmark of the Civil Rights Movement - a moment in US history that gave due reverence to the impact of one historical movement to another, a continent away, he noted.
"In his autobiography, Dr King wrote that 'Gandhi was the guiding light of our technique of non-violent social change. His wholehearted embrace of 'Gandhian' principles was clearly instrumental to the eventual success of the American civil rights movement," Blake said
WASHINGTON: Mahatma Gandhi's autobiography and his teachings on social justice through non-violence have helped US President Barack Obama shape his life, a senior US official has said.
"Barack Obama, first African-American President and a student of those principles, identifies Gandhi's autobiography and Taylor Branch's terrific three-part biography of (Martin Luther) King as works that helped shape him," said Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia.
"The President has repeatedly noted that Gandhi and King were among his heroes," he said while delivering the 27th Annual Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Lecture at San Diego State University in California.
Earlier this month, Blake had said, Washington was abuzz with unveiling of the new Oval Office decorations - a tradition that follows the election of each new President.
The new Oval Office rug is the centrepiece of the room, and on it President Obama had inscribed the famous Dr King mantra which reads: 'The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.'
"That same sentiment helps animate our foreign policy agenda and our strategic partnership with India. We are democratic countries founded on the principles of tolerance and pluralism, driven by optimism and knowledge-based economies," Blake said.
Gandhi's message, along with his philosophy and brilliant strategy of social justice through non-violence, was always consistent, he added.
"Dedicating his life to the peaceful empowerment of Indians of all backgrounds, he inspired hope and peace among many and set a powerful example for future change-makers to follow," Obama's point man for South and Central Asia said.
Referring to Gandhi's statue here, he said, this is a permanent reminder of the enduring relevance of social justice in US and often invokes comparison to another great visionary.
Martin Luther King furthered the causes of peace and tolerance in US by dedicating his life to peaceful movements against segregation, discrimination and poverty, he added.
Last year, US celebrated the 50th anniversary of Dr and Mrs King's historic 1959 visit to India that in many ways inspired and invigorated the civil rights movement in the US.
King's trip was a landmark of the Civil Rights Movement - a moment in US history that gave due reverence to the impact of one historical movement to another, a continent away, he noted.
"In his autobiography, Dr King wrote that 'Gandhi was the guiding light of our technique of non-violent social change. His wholehearted embrace of 'Gandhian' principles was clearly instrumental to the eventual success of the American civil rights movement," Blake said.
