Europe trip ‘successful,’ Minister of Justice saysBy Jason Pan / Staff reporterTaiwan opened the door to more international cooperation with European nations as Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang (蔡清祥) visited Germany and the Netherlands earlier this month to discuss enhanced mutual legal assistance and reciprocal visits. “It was a very successful trip with meetings held with top justice officials of the hosting countries, and mutual judicial cooperation and further partnership with Taiwan were discussed,” Tsai said at a news conference on Wednesday at the Ministry of Justice in Taipei. It was very significant to have a personal meeting in Berlin on July 4 with German Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann, Tsai said, adding that he invited Buschmann to Taiwan. Minister of Justice Tsai Ching-hsiang, right, shakes hands with German Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann in Berlin on July 5. “Buschmann said he would be happy to arrange a visit, so I really believe it was a very successful trip to European countries,” he said.

Taiwan, Britain to start trade talksBy Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporterTaiwan and the UK are to begin official-level talks on an Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) in three key areas with the aim of signing a memorandum of understanding. Photo courtesy of the Office of Trade NegotiationsThe UK and Taiwan will begin engaging businesses on the ETP in due course, it said. Taiwan would coordinate trade policies and rules on trade issues of common concern with the UK under the ETP framework to establish a long-term trade partnership, it said. Deng said that having signed its first agreement with the US, called the US-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade, Taiwan could ink similar agreements with other countries. The UK and Taiwan have been holding annual ministerial trade talks since 1991.

President Tsai touts need for Taiwan, EU investment agreementStaff writer, with CNAPresident Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) touted the need for a bilateral investment agreement (BIA) between Taiwan and the European Union during a meeting with members of a European Parliament delegation yesterday in Taipei. Tsai made the comments while receiving the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) led by Estonian MEP Urmas Paet. She said that such a deal would “strengthen our partnership” and consolidate the unity of democracies, without elaborating. President Tsai ing-wen, right, receives the Members of the European Parliament led by the vice chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) Urmas Paet, standing in the centre. The 15-member delegation includes seven other MEPs, namely Reinhard Butikofer, Michael Gahler, Tonino Picula, Nathalie Loiseau, Dominik Tarczy?ski, Jakop G. Dalunde and Susanna Ceccardi.

Drugs, not nanny, to blame for baby’s death: prosecutorsSUSPICIOUS: An autopsy found traces of ketamine in the 11-month-old girl’s body, and prosecutors later found ketamine in the hair of her fatherStaff writer, with CNAFollowing an investigation into the death of an 11-month-old girl at the home of a nanny in 2021, the Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office has decided not to file charges against the nanny and her husband, local media reported yesterday. Evidence indicated the girl’s death was not caused by the nanny, surnamed Tsai (蔡), who did everything she could to help when the girl fell at her home, local media quoted prosecutors as saying. Video footage showed the girl standing with her hand holding the edge of a table before falling, prosecutors said. Prosecutors later found ketamine in the hair of the girl’s father, while tests on Tsai and her husband produced no such results. As a result, the girl’s father, who has a record of involvement with drug dealers, is being investigated for negligent homicide and facilitating the consumption of drugs by a minor, local media reported.

This trip was not something that ordinary Chinese students had a fair chance of joining. He said that when he led a delegation to China in March and April, his initiative was enthusiastically received by several Chinese universities, so he decided to promote similar exchanges. In this sense, student “exchanges” have all been in one direction. If Ma thinks the policy of promoting cross-strait student exchanges is his baby, he could have said more about this more substantial aspect. If cross-strait exchanges cannot serve Taiwan’s interests, at least they should not serve those of the CCP.

US, Japan make fast World Cup startsLEFT WANTING: Vlatko Andonovski said he wanted more scoring in the US’ 3-0 romp over Vietnam, in which veteran soon-to-retire star Megan Rapinoe came off the bench England yesterday squeezed past Haiti 1-0 as they began their FIFA Women’s World Cup title bid in unconvincing fashion, but holders the US and former champions Japan were far more comfortable, while Denmark outplayed China 1-0 in the late game. European champions England have been touted as the prime challengers to a US team chasing an unprecedented third consecutive World Cup crown. They would have to do far better than the display they put on in front of nearly 45,000 spectators in Brisbane, where a Haiti side making their World Cup debut could have snatched a point at the end. A Georgia Stanway

IMF lifts global economic outlook, but inflation a dragAP, WASHINGTONGlobal growth would see a slight improvement compared with previous IMF projections, but “many challenges still cloud the horizon, and it is too early to celebrate,” the organization’s chief economist said on Tuesday. IMF economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas gave his assessment as the organization projected that global economic growth would slow to 3 percent this year and next year, down from 3.5 percent last year. IMF research director Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas speaks at a news conference during the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings at the IMF headquarters in Washington on April 11. The IMF lifted its outlook for US growth this year to 1.8 percent, up 0.2 percentage points from April, but expects it to slip to 1 percent next year. The IMF’s growth forecast for China was unchanged at 5.2 percent this year, while India’s growth prospects would rise to 6.1 percent, up 0.2 percentage points from April.

Promoting water safety educationBy Lin Cheng-wu 林政武When I read the article “Schools should teach students about water safety” published in the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper), it reminded me of my childhood. As there were no computers, mobile phones and other electronic products back then, my friends and I often went to the beach for fun during the summer holiday. As a splash in the water is exciting and can cool the heat of summer, children never take safety to heart. Schools have been promoting water safety in recent years, while the government has been introducing students to the dangers of playing water sports aside from in swimming pools via forums, videos, class meetings and discussions. Overall, as a schoolteacher, I think schools have done ample in terms of water safety education.

Outrage over coach’s jail sentence for underage sexABUSE: The victim testified that when abroad, her coach would criticize any bad performances and ‘punish her’ by forcing her to have sex with him in his hotel room A prominent archery coach surnamed Ni (倪) yesterday was handed a two-year, nine-month prison sentence for abusing his authority and having sex with an underage girl in his charge in a second ruling by the High Court. The court filing said that Ni pressured the victim to have sex when she was a junior-high student and an aspiring archer. The affair continued until she had enrolled in university. The Hsinchu District Court in the first ruling last year had convicted Ni on eight counts of abusing his authority and sexual misconduct against the victim, who was identified as “Siao Ting (小婷)” toBy Yang Kuo-wen and Jason Pan

Fed likely to hike rates to 22-year highMORE THAN 99% CERTAIN: Most FOMC members believe further rebalancing of supply and demand is needed to ensure US disinflation will continue, analysts said After pausing last month, the US Federal Reserve is widely expected to hike interest rates again on Wednesday, adopting its most restrictive monetary stance for 22 years despite recent signs of slowing inflation. After 10 consecutive hikes in just over a year, the Fed halted its aggressive campaign of monetary tightening last month to give policymakers more time to assess the health of the US economy, and the impact of recent banking stresses on lending conditions. In the weeks since, positive upgrades to economic growth and cooler inflation data have reinforced the likelihood that the Fed’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee

NHI to cover advanced liver cancer treatmentADJUSTING STANDARDS: A study showed that the median overall survival with the combination therapy was 5.8 months longer than with another treatmentBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterA treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common type of primary liver cancer, is to be covered by National Health Insurance (NHI) from Tuesday next week, the National Health Insurance Administration said yesterday. Medical Review and Pharmaceutical Benefits Division head Huang Yu-wen (黃育文) said the policy covering atezolizumab plus bevacizumab combination therapy is expected to benefit 2,072 people with advanced liver cancer, allowing them to save about NT$3 million (US$95,688) in annual medical expenses. In 2019, the NHI included three types of immune checkpoint inhibitors — nivolumab, pembrolizumab and atezolizumab — for the treatment of eight types of cancers, including liver cancer. Photo: CNAHowever, immunotherapy for liver cancer was removed from the list the following year, as NHI funding is limited and studies at the time suggested that its efficacy was not significantly better than targeted therapy, Huang said. Huang said that as the combination therapy has been adopted as the standard first-line therapy for treating advanced hepatocellular carcinoma in clinical treatment guidelines, and considering the clinical evidence and benefits to people with liver cancer, the Pharmaceutical Benefit and Reimbursement Scheme Joint Committee on June 15 approved the inclusion of the treatment in the NHI system.

Man sentenced to five months in jail for poisoning waterBy Wang Ting-chuan and Jason Pan / Staff reportersThe New Taipei City District Court has sentenced a man to five months in jail for allegedly putting rat poison in a water storage tank over a disagreement with a tenant, causing illness and skin rashes to a family. The man, surnamed Hung (洪), can pay a fine in lieu of jail time, the court said. Yang reported the incident to police, and lab testing found that the particles contained the ingredients of rat poison. Police gathered some of the discarded contents, which lab tests confirmed to contain the components of rat poison, it said. We still suffer from the fear that the water tank could be contaminated by rat poison,” she said.

And the government has yet to announce when the water release will begin. Photo: AP“If you ask me what I think about the water release, I’m against it. Katsumasa Okawa, who runs a seafood business in Iwaki, says those tanks containing contaminated water bother him more than the treated water release. “I think the treated water release is unavoidable.” It’s eerie, he adds, to have to live near the damaged plant for decades. Local fishing was returning to normal operation in 2021 when the government announced the water release plan.

foodpanda won “Best Companies to Work For” in 2023 HR Asia AwardsFocusing on Diversity and Inclusion, Work-life Balance, and Career Developmentfoodpanda Taiwan won “Best Companies to Work For” in the 2023 HR Asia Awards. This recognition underscores the company’s commitment to creating an ideal work environment, concentrating on diversity and inclusion, work-life balance, and career development. At foodpanda, employees are inspired to exchange innovative and creative ideas. The winners of the 2023 HR Asia Awards for Best?Companies?in Asia have been announced, and foodpanda has made it to the list for the Taiwan region. “Winning the 2023 HR Asia Awards for Best Company to Work For is a significant milestone for us.

The Liberty Times Editorial: Let Taiwanese democracy shineFormer president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), under the auspices of his Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, invited a group of 37 teachers and students from five universities in China to visit Taiwan for a summer exchange program that lasted from July 15 until Sunday. People can judge for themselves whether the itinerary arranged by Ma for the visitors has informed or misinformed them about Taiwan. In contrast, Chinese media have said nothing about Qin’s mysterious absence. The main players in the Sunflower movement were university students, just like the Chinese students who have just concluded their visit to Taiwan. The topic of Taiwan’s Sunflower movement also brings to mind the democracy movement that shook Beijing and other parts of China in 1989.