EDITORIAL: PLA tableware ban is just a first stepThe Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) on Thursday announced a ban on food containers made from polylactide (PLA) at eight venues that is to come into effect on Aug. 1, the first step in banning the polymer, which is typically made from plant starch. PLA, one of the three most common bioplastics, is typically made from the starch found in sugarcane, corn, sugar beet and cassava. As the EPA said, Taiwan has no composting facility for recycling PLA. Therefore, the EPA’s ban on PLA in certain venues can be seen as a step toward reaching its plastic reduction goal. However, PLA food containers at the eight venues are estimated to account for less than 10 percent of all PLA products in Taiwan, so there is still a long way to go.

At an avocado orchard in a kibbutz in central Israel, a tractor slowly pulls a device through the trees. A farmer drives a tractor pulling a pollination device at an avocado orchard near the Eyal kibbutz in the center of Israel on April 24. Photo: AFPSuch artificial pollination can help boost crop yields to feed the world’s growing population, BloomX founder and CEO Thai Sade said. Green Wadi chairman Shmuel Friedman, whose company is and agricultural consultancy that offers its services to countries in Africa, Asia and the Gulf, said there is demand for Israeli technology and expertise. “We have a good reputation in agriculture,” said Friedman, a former Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development official.

EDITORIAL: Helping Palau helps TaiwanThe Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday said that it would continue to provide assistance to Palau for tourism and infrastructure, with the Pacific ally under pressure from China to break ties with Taiwan. China Airlines has two direct flights per week between Taiwan and Palau, but, despite always being full, they cannot meet tourism needs. If the flights are always full, there is clearly demand for travel to Palau, so promotional work should be straightforward. The government could pay Taiwanese to work on infrastructure projects in Palau at no cost to the Palauan government. Taiwan could cooperate with those agencies to help develop and fund infrastructure in Palau.

Noes the West should give ChinaBy Joseph BoscoChina has a long tradition of fascination with numbers. However, there were deliverables from the US side, at least enough to give Beijing more talking points in its false narrative that Washington ever concurred with its “one China” principle. The expanded list now included “five noes and four no intentions to”: Respect the PRC system and do not seek to change it; do not seek a “new cold war”; do not seek to oppose China by strengthening alliances; do not support Taiwan independence; and do not advocate “two Chinas” or “one China, one Taiwan.”The four “no intentions to” were: No intention for conflict with China; no intention to seek “decoupling” from China; no intention to obstruct China’s economic development; and no intention to contain China. China can be expected to expand its allegations of bad faith and deal breaking by US presidents. The US and the West should stop suggesting that they are indifferent to the nature of Beijing’s communist system and declare it the problem that it is.

Mexico defeat Haiti to secure spot in quarter-finals, Qatar held by HondurasAFP, MIAMIMexico on Thursday secured their spot in the CONCACAF Gold Cup knockout stage with a game to spare after beating Haiti 3-1 in Glendale, Arizona. The win, with all the goals coming in the second half, means Mexico lead Group B with six points from two games, with Haiti three points behind. Qatar and Honduras both have a point each after they drew 1-1 after a stoppage-time equalizer from the Central Americans. Mexico’s Santiago Gimenez, left, scores past Haiti goalkeeper Alexandre Pierre in their CONCACAF Gold Cup Group B match in Glendale, Arizona, on Thursday. Qatar took the lead against Honduras in the eighth minute when Tameem Mansour rose to head home an excellent cross from Mostafa Meshaal.

Extreme rain over mountains alarming scientistsFor every degree Celsius the world warms, severe precipitation at higher elevation increases by 15 percent, study showsAPA warming world is transforming some major snowfalls into extreme rain over mountains instead, somehow worsening both dangerous flooding like the type that devastated Pakistan last year as well as long-term water shortages, a new study found. Heavy rain in mountains causes a lot more problems than big snow, including flooding, landslides and erosion, scientists said. A researcher said flooding could occur more frequently as a warming world transforms some major snowfalls into heavy rain over mountains instead. That includes much of the American West, where Ombadi said “it’s very pronounced,” as well as parts of the Appalachian Mountains. Photo: AFPAbout one in four people on Earth live in an area close enough to the mountains or downhill that extreme rain and flooding would hit them, Ombadi said.

Chipmakers struggle amid geopolitical turmoil: CEOReuters, SHANGHAIGeopolitics and the national security concerns of some countries are threatening the globalization of the world’s chip industry and its future growth, the chairman and acting CEO of memorychip maker Yangtze Memory Technologies Co (YMTC, 長江存儲) said on Thursday. A staff member for Shanghai Precision Measurement Semiconductor Technology gestures next to a giant mock-up chip during Semicon China, a trade fair for the semiconductor industry, in Shanghai, China June 29, this year. Photo: Reuters/Nicoco Chan“Our industry itself is cyclical, and each practitioner has his own way of dealing with the cycle. “For YMTC that I manage, we can no longer procure parts and components for equipment we had legally bought. If it is fair, please set up some fair rules to buy back the equipment,” he said.

Rates to rise more, governors sayBloombergThe global economy and inflation have so far proved surprisingly resilient to a barrage of interest-rate increases, prompting top central bankers on Wednesday to promise more of the same. Meanwhile, Bailey vowed to do what was necessary to bring inflation back to 2 percent after the BOE surprised investors by boosting rates a half percentage point this month. Ueda was the odd one out, emphasizing that Japan’s rates are on hold because underlying inflation remains below 2 percent. Powell acknowledged that a recession was possible because of the Fed’s actions, though that is not his base case. Separately, Sweden’s central bank yeserday raised its key interest rate to its highest level in 15 years, as inflation remains too high.

KMT, TPP silent before the CCPBy Jethro Wang 王濬From June 16 to Monday last week, China held its 15th Straits Forum in Xiamen Province. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) billed it as the largest convention for cross-strait exchanges in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era. The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) sent its Taiwanese Businesspeople Affairs Committee chairman, Chang Kai-chun (張凱鈞). Although the KMT and the TPP say they want peace, neither party has ever condemned the CCP’s military actions when they met with Chinese officials. The only thing the two parties’ officials know is to respectfully listen while CCP officials give them a dressing down.

Vice premier meets with Japan ruling party secretary-generalStaff Writer, with CNAVice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) yesterday paid a visit to Toshimitsu Motegi, secretary-general of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, at the party’s headquarters in Tokyo. Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan, left, and Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party Secretary-General Toshimitsu Motegi react during a meeting at the party’s headquarters in Tokyo yesterday. Cheng expressed gratitude to Japan for its donation of the 4.2 million vaccine doses, pointing out that the figure accounts for about 20 percent of Taiwan’s population. Cheng added that Taiwan and Japan have shared values and extremely close trade ties, and also face common geopolitical challenges. Yesterday afternoon, Cheng also visited contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s 3DIC R&D Center in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture.

Harrison Ford in a scene from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Mads Mikkelsen, left, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge in a scene from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Phoebe Waller-Bridge, left, and Harrison Ford in a scene from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Boyd Holbrook appears in a scene from Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. Photo: APHarrison Ford stars in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Canadian academics tout steps to develop relationsStaff writer, with CNAA group of visiting Canadian academics yesterday said they are pleased to see Ottawa take steps to develop bilateral ties and gain a deeper understanding of Taiwan. The steps include starting talks on establishing a bilateral investment pact and appointing a senior diplomat to Taiwan as top envoy, the academics said. The delegation comprising nine academics arrived in Taiwan on Sunday and is to stay until Saturday. From left, Canadian Global Affairs Institute president David Perry, Bijan Ahmadi, executive director and founding member of the Institute for Peace and Diplomacy, and Vina Nadjibulla, an adjunct professor at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia, pose for a pitcure in Taipei yesterday. It also says that Canada would continue to foster economic and people-to-people exchanges with Taiwan, and support its resilience.

Man fined NT$50,000 for heated tobacco from abroadBy Lee I-chia / Staff reporterA man was fined NT$50,000 (US$1,609) for attempting to bring heated tobacco products (HTPs) purchased abroad into Taiwan, the first such fine imposed under rules passed earlier this year, the Health Promotion Administration said. The Health Promotion Administration on Tuesday said that as no HTPs have passed the assessment, none can be bought in Taiwan or imported. A heated tobacco product is pictured in an undated photograph. After the man explained the situation to the local health department, he was fined NT$50,000 for contravening articles 15 and 26 of the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act, she said. As of June 14, customs officers have reported to local health departments 69 cases of travelers bringing in HTPs from abroad, Liu said.

Mandarin education meet to be held in Taipei next monthBy Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporterThe Overseas Community Affairs Council is to hold the International Summit on Mandarin Education in Taiwan next month to help promote Taiwan’s Mandarin-language education sector. A Web page promotes the Overseas Community Affairs Council’s International Summit on Mandarin Education in Taiwan. The council is working with the American Institute in Taiwan to bolster cooperation in language education based on the US-Taiwan Education Initiative with Taiwan, which was signed in December 2020, the council said. The students are to complete the one-year Mandarin course in the eight-week program in Taiwan, it said. Another 15 university students from the US began an eight-week Mandarin course at NCKU under the Taiwan Intensive Summer Language Program on Monday last week, it said.

More than 1,000 civilians killed under Taliban government‘REPREHENSIBLE’: A UN report said that a rise in IED attacks in populated areas, such as places of worship, has resulted in heavy casualtiesAP, ISLAMABADThe UN yesterday said it has documented a significant level of civilians killed and wounded in attacks in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, despite a stark reduction in casualties compared with previous years of war and insurgency. That compares with 8,820 civilian casualties — including 3,035 killed — in just 2020, according to an earlier UN report. Photo: ReutersThree-quarters of the attacks since the Taliban seized power were with improvised explosive devices (IED) in “populated areas, including places of worship, schools and markets,” the report said. “These attacks on civilians and civilian objects are reprehensible and must stop,” said Fiona Frazer, head of UNAMA’s Human Rights Service. The report also expressed concern about “the lethality of suicide attacks” since the Taliban takeover, with fewer attacks causing more civilian causalities.