EDITORIAL: Hou You-yi faces uphill battleEver since New Taipei City Mayor and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate Hou You-yi (侯友宜) dropped to the third place in the polls, political drama and disarray has been rife in the pan-blue camp. Instead Hou, Ko and Gou are locked in a “three-way battle” where the victor could snatch the anti-DPP votes and the chance to take down the DPP’s presidential candidate, Vice President William Lai (賴清德). Hou thought he could repeat his success in the local elections by once again sticking to the middle ground and appealing to independent voters, while relying on KMT voters to rally later in the campaign. Despite past rifts with the KMT, Gou is still considered to be “KMT lineage” by some KMT voters. Second, as Ko continues to close the gap with Lai in the polls, Lai should worry about his lack of growth in support and seek to boost his popularity.

Hou unveils his ‘consensus’ viewStaff writer, with CNANew Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), who is the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) presidential candidate, on Monday said he would support a version of the so-called “1992 consensus” that conforms with the Republic of China (ROC) Constitution. New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi speaks at a news conference in New Taipei City yesterday. Photo: CNAHe said he is against interpreting the “1992 consensus” as referring to “one country, two systems,” as done by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and strongly opposes President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) “stigmatization” of it. Hou did not comment on criticism that he merely echoed the KMT’s long-held position of “one China, different interpretations” — which gives tacit freedom to Taipei and Beijing to come to separate conclusions as to what “China” means. The speech referred to the “1992 consensus” as a political “foundation” to enable negotiations and exchanges, while “one country, two systems” was characterized as a “policy” and “plan” for achieving “peaceful reunification.”The DPP has refused to accept the “1992 consensus” on the grounds that Beijing has never acknowledged the ROC’s existence and that agreeing to the “1992 consensus” would imply accepting China’s claim over Taiwan.

Saudi and Kuwait claim gas field eyed by IranAFP, RIYADHSaudi Arabia has said it enjoys “full rights” along with Kuwait to a disputed gas field in the resource-rich Gulf, pushing back against claims by Iran, state media reported late on Tuesday. The field, known as Arash in Iran and Dorra in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, falls under “joint ownership between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the State of Kuwait, and they alone have full rights,” the official Saudi Press Agency reported, citing a foreign ministry source. The Saudi Arabian statement appeared one day after Kuwait reinvited Iran to participate in talks on their sea borders. Iran and Kuwait have held unsuccessful talks for many years over their disputed maritime border area, which is rich in natural gas. Saudi Arabia is also a part of the dispute as it shares with Kuwait maritime gas and oil resources in the area.

Photo: AFPSingapore imposes the death penalty for a litany of crimes, including murder and some forms of kidnapping. It also has some of the world’s toughest anti-drug laws: trafficking more than 500 grams of cannabis can result in the death penalty. Photo: AFPIn a program first introduced in the 1990s, they were offered the option to pose for photographs before their death. ‘VENEER OF THOUGHTFULNESS’Little information is publicly available about Singapore’s death row inmates. The Transformative Justice Collective, which provides support to families of death row prisoners and advocates for the abolition of the death penalty, estimates about 53 people are on death row, the majority convicted of drug offenses.

Forex reserves top US$564 billion as assets gain valueFed effect: The fund movements likely had to do with market expectations that the Fed would raise interest rates through September, an official saidBy Crystal Hsu / Staff reporterThe nation’s foreign exchange reserves last month grew US$1.97 billion to a record US$564.83 billion, as its assets denominated in European currencies gained value, the central bank said yesterday. The changes in value came after the US Federal Reserve kept its policy rate unchanged and other advanced countries raised interest rates to tame inflation, Tsai said. Foreign fund flows played a neutral role after remitting US$3.43 billion of capital and wiring over US$3 billion of profit abroad, Tsai said. As of Tuesday, the local currency dropped 1.31 percent against the US dollar, staying within a “stable” range, Tsai said. The fund movements likely had to do with market expectations that the Fed would raise interest rates through September, in a continued bid to fight inflation, Tsai said.

EDITORIAL: Hou moving backward with KingNew Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate currently trailing in the polls, earned himself a new nickname after an event at the Huang Fu-hsing (黃復興) military veterans’ branch in Kaohsiung on Saturday last week. Hou was seated next to former Kaohsiung mayor Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the party’s 2020 presidential candidate, as a show of unity to bolster Hou’s flagging campaign. As New Taipei City deputy mayor, Hou had called for the scheduled decommissioning of the Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant in the city’s Shihmen District (石門) and the Guosheng Nuclear Power Plant in the city’s Wanli District (萬里) before 2018. As mayor, he voted against the party line, opposing restarting construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant in Gongliao District (貢寮) in the December 2021 referendums. After King joined the campaign, Hou suddenly moved closer to policy positions remarkably similar to those of the Ma administration.

S&P PMI still negative on poor end-market demandThe S&P Global Taiwan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) was still below the 50 point threshold last month, indicating that operating conditions remained tough for local manufacturers due to weak end-market demand in the US and Europe. Last month’s reading was 44.8, up slightly from 44.3 in May, S&P Global said in a report yesterday. The index has been in negative territory for more than a year, S&P Global said. The health of Taiwanese manufacturers had deteriorated further at the end of the second quarter in light of a sharp retreat in production, along with a solid decline in new business, theBy Crystal Hsu

IPL drives growth in Indian fantasy sports revenueReuters, NEW DELHIThe revenue of fantasy gaming platforms during Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket matches rose 24 percent from a year earlier to more than 28 billion rupees (US$341.6 million) with more than 61 million users participating, a report by Redseer Strategy Consultants said. Fantasy gaming apps gained popularity in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo: AFP“Playing fantasy sports is becoming a craze in the country,” Redseer director Saurian Chachan said, adding that 35 to 50 percent of the revenue of fantasy sports platforms was driven by IPL matches. Last week, fantasy gaming company Dream11 won a three-year contract to become a lead sponsor of India’s national cricket team for three years, replacing educational technology firm Byju’s after the end of a contract in March. Over the past five IPL seasons since 2019, fantasy gaming apps have seen a compound annual growth of 18 percent of cash users every year, while total market revenue in the same period has crossed more than US$1 billion, industry estimates showed.

MediaTek pays nonmanagement highest salaries of companies listed on TWSEStaff writer, with CNAMediaTek Inc (聯發科), the largest IC designer in Taiwan, last year paid its nonmanagement employees the highest average yearly salaries of all the companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), while Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, was seventh, the exchange said on Monday. MediaTek, which specializes in smartphone IC design, paid an average salary of NT$4.867 million (US$156,414) to its nonmanagement employees last year, TWSE data showed. 1 title for pay, average salaries at the firm dropped from about NT$5.15 million recorded in 2021, the data showed. Rounding out the top 10 were communications network IC designer Realtek Semiconductor Corp (瑞昱半導體, No. 10, NT$2.777 million), TWSE data showed.

EDITORIAL: Interviewee harassment unacceptableAs graduation season comes to a close, the yes123 online job bank at the end of last month surveyed 1,260 college graduates to gauge their experiences as they seek jobs, often for the first time. It turns out that many graduates’ welcome into working life is a litany of harassment, starting at the hands of interviewers. Job interviews also provide a distilled case study of the power dynamics at play in so many harassment cases. Is the interviewee going to make a fuss when the interviewer brushes their knee or asks about their plans for marriage? Overt harassment aside, these data also expose a less sinister, but more pervasive disregard for any semblance of work-life balance.

Ko and Hou to join housing justice and judicial reform rallyStaff writer, with CNATwo of the three presidential candidates — former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) — yesterday accepted invitations to attend a housing justice and judicial reform rally on July 16 on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building. Huang said the issues of judicial reform and housing justice are not exclusive to any one party, but are concerns that all Taiwanese share. Internet celebrity Holger Chen, left, and former legislator Huang Kuo-chang, hold a press conference in Taipei yesterday. After meeting with Ko, Huang and Chen went to Hou’s campaign headquarters, where they met his deputy campaign head, Hsieh Cheng-ta (謝政達). Hou had previously expressed support for the rally, Hsieh said, adding that he would “make arrangements” for Hou to attend.

The real problems facing TaiwanBy Michael DanielsenRecent discussions in Taiwan about reviving the cross-strait service trade agreement highlight a fundamental difference between political parties in Taiwan. Such a policy would not solve any of Taiwan’s real problems, but only make Taiwan more dependent on the Chinese economy and Chinese investment. They should develop policies that reform Taiwan to be an even better society. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has introduced initiatives in green technology, biotechnology, smart machinery and the Internet of Things. Without reforms, Taiwan will have a weaker economy and increased dependence on China, and this will weaken Taiwan’s self-determination.

The complicated interplays of these forces and the resulting complex dynamics significantly increase the probability of a kinetic war in Taiwan. The real danger in Taiwan’s impasse is caused not so much by international conflicts, superpowers and their schemings, as by the intramural divisions among Taiwan’s political forces that prevent the formation of a single united front. They seemingly share a common ultimate objective, which is preserving Taiwan’s democratic way of life, but make drastically different assumptions about China’s future and behavior. Having Chinese roots and the Republic of China Constitution’s backing, the pan-blue camp is willing to accept Beijing’s “one China” principle and the “1992 consensus,” which allows alternative interpretations of what “one China” means. Given the imminence and increasing escalation of the US-China conflict, the time for Taiwan’s major political parties to get their acts together and arrive at a consensus strategy on how to preserve Taiwan’s peace and democratic way of life is now.

EDITORIA: Economy likely to remain ‘blue’The National Development Council (NDC) last week reported that Taiwan’s business monitoring indicators remained “blue” for a seventh straight month in May, pointing at a continued economic slowdown, while the index of leading indicators fell for a second consecutive month, adding to worries about persistent weakness in the nation’s export-reliant economy. The index of leading indicators seeks to forecast the economic landscape in the next six months. The NDC’s data showed that the index dropped 0.28 percent in May, following a 0.19 percent fall the previous month. As the leading indicators are still falling, it means Taiwan’s economy is not out of the woods yet. In a nutshell, it would be unlikely for the business monitoring indicators to show significant upward movement in the short term, until a definitive turnaround materializes, and the “blue” signal is likely to linger for a while.

Hsueh made the remarks at a conference on reducing the nation’s neonatal mortality rate, organized by the Taiwan Society of Neonatology and the Taiwan Pediatric Association in Taipei. Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan, at the podium, talks about reducing the nation’s neonatal mortality rate at a conference in Taipei yesterday. National Taiwan University Children Hospital’s Division of Neonatology attending physician Chou Hung-chieh (周弘傑) said the neonatal mortality rate has been increasing in the past three years. Another common cause of neonatal death are perinatal respiratory disorders, he said. A neonatal death database should be established to analyze the cases and improve critical issues, he added.