Taiwanese parliament votes against Microsoft

Asian country demands 25 per cent cut in proprietary software.

By Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service
Published: 10:01 GMT, 16 January 06

Taiwan's parliament has voted to end its dependence on Microsoft software, demanding that the government reduce purchases from the software giant by 25 percent this year.

The resolution, passed on Friday, is an attempt by the island's law-making body to end the near monopoly Microsoft has with local government offices, a legislative aide said.

Local newspaper Commercial Times said however that the resolution may not be binding because it runs against fair trade regulations in Taiwan. Officials at Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission declined to comment.

The case highlights the battle Microsoft is facing in Asia, mostly thanks to the availability of open-source equivalents. Most recently, South Korean anti-trust regulators fined the company 33 billion won (£58m) in December for violating fair trade laws, and ordered it to offer two versions of Windows in the country.

Japan's Fair Trade Commission has also investigated Microsoft, and the Chinese government has expressed its support for wider adoption of Linux, both as an alternative to Windows and as a way to support the development of local software companies.

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