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.

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.