PRESS DIGEST-Taiwan - Sept 3

TAIPEI, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Taiwan newspapers carried the following stories on Thursday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

CHINA TIMES

-- The island reported a spike in the number of people hospitalised for H1N1 infections, with the youngest being an eight-month old infant, health authorities said.

-- China sent a representative to its tourism office in Taiwan, a sign of improved trade ties.

UNITED DAILY NEWS

-- The Dalai Lama said during an interview with a local television that it was too early to say whether his visit to Taiwan had hurt Taiwan's relations with China.

-- A cabinet reshuffle will change personnel in the ministries of defence and the interior, top officials said.

-- Taiwan's top oil companies would likely announce their first gas price cuts in 1-½ months on Saturday, following a drop in crude prices.

LIBERTY TIMES

-- A low-pressure system near the Philippines could turn into a tropical storm over the weekend, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau warned.

COMMERCIAL TIMES

- China's top PC brand Lenovo (0992.HK) is set to announce a plan to enter the smartbook PC market by the end of this month at the earliest, likely taking on its Taiwan competitors such as Acer (2353.TW) and Asustek (2357.TW) in the mini, low-cost computer segment.

-- Monthly sales of chip designer Mediatek (2454.TW) could reach a record at more than T$12 billion ($365 million) in August, and analysts say the company's third-quarter sales could surpass its own estimate of between T$32.3 billion and T$33.7 billion.

ECONOMIC DAILY NEWS

-- Top executives from Taiwan's Formosa Plastics group are set to visit Chinese rival Sinopec group next week, paving the way for possible cooperation between the two groups.