INTERNATIONAL

China Cracks Down on Booming Telecom Sector: The government ordered cordless telephone, pager and electronic information vendors to obtain new permits and banned foreign operations in a new crackdown on the booming but ill-regulated industry. The new rules were carried in the official Economics Daily. They follow a similar clampdown on foreign satellite television. The rules appear aimed at reasserting Communist Party control over China’s chaotic airwaves and protecting them from foreign influence. Foreign firms already have extensive manufacturing joint ventures in China and their technology is welcome, but none have been allowed to invest in the telecommunications system itself.