Anti-green alliance is a ragbagBy Chen Wen-ching 陳文卿Let us imagine a situation where a man is dining at a restaurant. To put it more straightforwardly, the non-green alliance is rife with conflicts and contradictions between the groups of which it consists. The so-called non-green alliance might soon end up in a series of self-contradictions. Before the alliance has a chance to confront the pan-green camp, it might well start consuming itself. If the non-green alliance is against “anti-communism” or against “anti-unification,” Taiwanese must express their opinions on these issues.

Notes from Central Taiwan: Do exchanges reduce tension with China? Politicians like former president Ma Ying-jeou believe that exchanges across the Taiwan strait are a panacea for peace. The group from China is almost certainly apart of Beijing’s “united front” operation against Taiwan. Taiwan’s universities once hosted thousands of PRC students as well. People-to-people exchanges cannot reduce tensions because tensions are caused by the desire of CCP elites to kill Taiwanese (and their own people) to annex Taiwan.

Rising crude drives local gasoline and diesel prices higherBy Chen Cheng-hui / Staff reporterGasoline and diesel prices are to increase by NT$0.3 and NT$0.4 per liter respectively today after global crude oil prices continued to rise last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said in separate statements yesterday. Saudi Arabia and Russia’s cooperation in cutting crude oil production also helped support oil prices, it added. Other factors, such as a decline in Russia’s crude oil exports, a lower-than-expected drop in US crude inventories and disappointing second-quarter GDP data from China, also boosted crude oil prices last week, Formosa said in a separate statement. Based on CPC’s floating oil price formula, the cost of crude oil last week increased 0.08 percent from a week earlier, it said. The price of premium diesel is to rise to NT$28.1 at CPC stations, and NT$27.9 at Formosa pumps.

Lai, Ko ratchet up campaigningBy Chen Chien-chih and Lo Hsin-chen / Staff reportersVice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate, and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday attended a series of events for supporter groups as they ratchet up their campaigns. Lai launched a supporters’ club of religious groups in central Taiwan, with more than 500 organizations participating in the event in Taichung. Vice President William Lai, front, center, gestures during a launch of a club in support of his election campaign for president in Taichung yesterday. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je, front, center, gives a thumb-up during a group photo with supporters in Pingtung yesterday. Photo: CNAThe DPP is a peace-loving party, Lai told the group, adding that it fought for Taiwan’s democracy and would fight for peace.

Youth is China’s economic futureBy Nancy QianIn May this year, China reported that unemployment among those aged 16 to 24 had reached a record-breaking 20.8 percent, with the high-paying, high-skilled jobs that university graduates are trained for growing scarcer. Chinese students and their parents are finding this new economic reality difficult to accept, given the tremendous sacrifices they have made for higher education. All this is done with the expectation of enjoying future security in a rapidly growing economy — except that economic growth has waned. Young women tend to suffer more than young men in the labor market. To stem the reversal of its economic fortunes, China must address the root of the problem: the lack of high-paying, high-skilled jobs.

Taiwan should regulate TikTokBy Roger Wu 吳哲文As next year’s presidential election gets closer, there are increasing concerns in Taiwan regarding the issue of election interference by China. These users regard TikTok as a source of news, information and entertainment, with other Chinese apps like Xiaohongshu becoming main amusement sources in people’s daily lives. TikTok and Douyin even pose a threat to national security and privacy due to loopholes in data security. If Beijing is capable of doing this, who can ensure that it would not use TikTok as a tool, waging a larger scale of public opinion warfare against Taiwan? Furthermore, the controversy over the draft digital intermediary service act has meant that the government has had to shelve it, missing the opportunity of regulating Chinese apps such as TikTok.

Copper stills at the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery produce whiskey in the town of Yamazaki, between Kyoto and Osaka, on March 27. Yamazaki Distillery senior general manager Takahisa Fujii speaks in an interview at the distillery in the town of Yamazaki in Japan’s Osaka Prefecture on March 27. The Yamazaki Distillery welcomes dozens of visitors from Japan and abroad each day, but those hoping to stock up on aged varieties come away disappointed. A street leading to the Suntory Yamazaki Distillery in the town of Yamazaki in Japan is pictured on March 27. Judith Ly, a German visitor to the Yamazaki Distillery, said she makes an exception for Japanese whiskey.

TPP files lawsuit against SET News over alliance newsTPP TO BOYCOTT: Members of the party decided not to take part in SET News’ political talk shows as a response, a spokeswoman saidBy Huang Hao-chen / Staff reporterThe Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on Friday filed a defamation lawsuit against SET News over its report that TPP Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) has been in talks with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to forge an alliance in next year’s elections. The party is seeking NT$1 million (US$32,010) in compensation for defamation and tarnishing personal reputation, said Vivian Huang (黃珊珊), the campaign director of Ko’s presidential bid. Taiwan People’s Party presidential candidate Ko Wen-je’s campaign director Vivian Huang, second left, presses the accusation bell at the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday, before filing a lawsuit against SET-TV. The party initially just wanted SET News to withdraw the story, but Ko has decided to sue, “believing only that can have a deterrent effect,” Huang said. TPP members will boycott SET News by not taking part in its political talk shows, TPP spokeswoman Chen Chih-han (陳智菡) said.

India restricts rice exports, fueling inflation fearsAFP, MUMBAI, IndiaThe world’s biggest rice exporter, India, has banned some overseas sales of the grain “with immediate effect,” the government said, in a move that could drive international prices even higher. India would ban exports of non-basmati white rice — which accounts for about one-quarter of its total, the Indian Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution said. Global demand saw Indian exports of non-basmati white rice jump 35 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, the ministry said. The increase came even after the government banned broken rice shipments and imposed a 20 percent export tax on white rice in September last year. India exported 10.3 million tonnes of non-basmati white rice last year and Rabobank senior analyst Oscar Tjakra said alternative suppliers did not have spare capacity to fill the gap.

Workers favor leave on hot days: pollMEASURES NECESSARY: The Ministry of Labor would gather more information on the issue and consider legislating heat-related work leave, Tzou Tzu-lien said yesterdayBy Lee Liang-hui, Yang Cheng-yu and William Hetherington / Staff reporters, with staff writerMore than 90 percent of workers surveyed said they would agree to an amendment requiring employers to allow leave on days when temperatures are high, job bank yes123 said yesterday. Among those surveyed, 93.2 percent said they would support mandated leave on days of high heat, while about 50 percent said that such a policy should be restricted to certain types of jobs and industries. Yes123 spokesman Yang Tsung-pin (楊宗斌) said employers should ensure that employees working outdoors have ample cooling, stay hydrated and get adequate rest in order to prevent heat-related work injuries. Occupational Safety and Health Administration Director-General Tzou Tzu-lien (鄒子廉) yesterday said that the Ministry of Labor would collect more data and look into the issue of legislating heat-related work leave. The survey was conducted through the yes123 Web site from July 5 to 18, and a total of 1,302 valid responses were received.

The court filing said that Ni pressured the victim to have sex when she was a junior-high student and an aspiring archer. In that ruling, the judges also imposed an additional three-month term for having sex with an underage female. They said having sex with a minor is a serious crime which would receive a more lengthy prison sentence in most nations. At high school, “Siao Ting” said that she was confused and thought that having sex would keep their relationship as friends and as coach and student intact. “Siao Ting” has since represented Taiwan in archery at the World University Games, the Olympic Games and other international tournaments.

Nonetheless, anyone who has read his op-ed would know that Gou’s article was filled with fallacies, one that is seriously out of touch with the international community and the public will. After more than seven years of efforts and dedication, the DPP government has finally put Taiwan in the global spotlight. However, the foreign policies proposed by the KMT and TPP presidential candidates would go against the public will and global trends. They are measures to undermine Taiwan’s global and geopolitical status, and eventually serve Taiwan to China on a silver platter. As the presidential candidates revealed their hand, it is up to Taiwanese to make the critical choice about the nation’s future.

Modi condemns state ethnic violence‘MOBOCRACY’: The opposition party called on the prime minister to speak about the violence in Manipur, saying the country would never forgive him for his silenceAP, NEW DELHIIndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi yesterday broke more than two months of public silence over deadly ethnic clashes in the northeast, saying that the assaults of two women as they were being paraded naked by a mob in Manipur state were unforgivable. The shell of a burnt house stands following ethnic clashes and rioting in Sugnu in the Indian state of Manipur on June 21. The clashes have persisted, despite the army’s presence in Manipur, a state of 3.7 million people tucked in the mountains on India’s border with Myanmar that is now divided in two ethnic zones. Police said the assault on the two women happened on May 4, a day after the violence started in the state. They are from the Kuki-Zo community, the Indigenous Tribal Leaders’ Forum, a tribal organization in Manipur, said in a statement.

Export orders shrink for 10th month in all major categoriesBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterExport orders last month shrank 24.9 percent from a year earlier to US$44.18 billion, as demand in all major product categories from all major trading destinations declined by double-digit percentages, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. It was the 10th consecutive month of contraction in the critical economic bellwether, boding ill for customs-cleared exports in the next one to three months. Export orders from the eurozone registered the steepest retreat of 44.2 percent, followed by a 23.6 percent plunge in US orders, the ministry found. Export orders from China and Hong Kong shed 19.7 percent year-on-year last month, as the economic recovery in the world’s second-largest economy turned out to be slower than expected, the ministry said. In the second quarter, export orders decreased 20.4 percent from a year earlier, the ministry said, adding that the annual decline reached 20.8 percent in the first six months of the year.

Zhang retires in tears after opponent erases ball markReutersChina’s Zhang Shuai on Tuesday retired from her Hungarian Grand Prix match in tears after her local opponent Amarissa Toth erased a ball mark on the clay court following a disputed line call. The chair umpire then stepped down to take a look at the mark and confirmed the ball had landed outside the line. China’s Zhang Shuai looks toward the court during her first-round women’s singles match against Croatia’s Donna Vekic at Wimbledon in London on July 5. “Wait, wait, wait. Keep the mark,” Zhang yelled.