April 7-13
China
The Supreme People's Court released the draft of its second judicial interpretation of the Marriage and Family Section of the Civil Code for public comment. The draft interpretation consists of 21 provisions covering marital property, inheritance, child custody and support, property division upon divorce, and cohabitation. It recognizes a right to claim compensation for domestic work when couples separate and refines the calculation of compensation in divorce cases. It clarifies that courts may issue protection orders when one parent has kidnapped and is hiding minor children from the other. The comment period ends April 30.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) approved the criminal prosecution of three teenagers accused of killing their 13-year-old classmate in March 2024. In 2021, China lowered its age of criminal responsibility from 14 to 12 for cases of intentional homicide or intentional injury resulting in death, but SPP approval is required.
A district court in Guangdong Province ruled that a baby developed from a frozen embryo that was implanted after its father’s death has no inheritance rights with respect to the father’s estate. The father, surnamed Wen, died in a traffic accident in January 2021. His extramarital lover, Ling, later underwent embryo transfer and gave birth to a baby boy. The court said there was no evidence affirming Wen’s consent for the embryo transfer and no legal agreement between Wen and Ling. Wen left a wife and another child.
Newly approved regulations in Fujian Province will strengthen the ability of women to obtain information about their spouse’s assets. The regulations on implementing the national Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of Women take effect June 1. They allow women to apply to real estate management companies, vehicle management companies and others for information about their spouse's property. It is common for spouses to hide, transfer, sell, destroy, or squander joint property in the event of divorce.
Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA) applied for judicial review of the government Transport Department’s new rules requiring journalists to seek approval directly from the transport commissioner to access records in the vehicle registry such as ownership information. The HJJA said access to the registry in the past has been instrumental in uncovering misconduct in public office. But in the nearly three months since the new rules were introduced requiring journalists to submit detailed justifications for accessing information, no application has been approved.
The international press association Reporters Without Borders or RSF said that Hong Kong immigration officers denied entry to one of its Taipei-based staffers. Aleksandra Bielakowska, who planned to meet with journalists and attend a hearing in the trial of former Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai, was questioned and her luggage was searched before she was turned away at the airport.
A Portuguese man has become the first European citizen jailed under the National Security Law. A court sentenced Joseph John, 41, also known as Wong Kin-chung, to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to inciting secession. John holds a Portuguese passport and Hong Kong residency and was previously based in the UK. He was arrested after returning to Hong Kong to visit his family in 2022. John operated the social media accounts of a little-known group called the Hong Kong Independence Party, which urged the UK and US to send troops to Hong Kong after the 2019 protests.
Japan
A Japanese man who was denied a survivor’s pension after his wife died from work-related injuries filed a constitutional claim in Tokyo District Court. He argued that he was a victim of gender discrimination because surviving men must be at least 55 years old or disabled when their spouse dies in order to receive a survivor pension, but women do not.
Japan’s finance minister said that frozen Russian assets should be handled in keeping with international law. The European Union and Group of Seven nations (G7) have frozen about 300 billion euros of Russian central bank assets following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The United States has floated the idea of confiscating the assets outright.
Koreas
South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party emerged victorious in legislative elections, even though its leader, Lee Jae-myung, repeatedly had to interrupt his campaign for a National Assembly seat to appear in Seoul Central District Court, where he is on trial on corruption charges. The court refused to reschedule the hearings or excuse Lee, who claims that the charges are political. Lee narrowly lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon Suk Yeol and is setting himself up for another run in 2027.
The Democratic Party’s legislative victory means the South Korea continues to have a split government, with the executive branch controlled by Yoon’s conservative People Power Party while the liberal Democratic Party controls the National Assembly. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and other senior PPP officials offered to resign following the defeat.
A court sentenced a man to three years in prison for brutally attacking a convenience store worker in Jinju last year. Police reported that the attacker told the woman: “Since you have short hair, you must be a feminist. I'm a male chauvinist, and I think feminists deserve to be assaulted.” The woman suffered serious injuries. Women's rights groups criticized the sentence as lenient.
Taiwan
Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) proposed measures to tighten national security. Chen Kuan-ting proposed increasing the sentence for treason. Lai Jui-lung and Chung Chia-pin suggested revising the Legislators’ Conduct Act and Organic Act of the Legislative Yuan to prevent legislators, aides, or others from taking notes or photographs that might disclose classified or otherwise sensitive materials. Puma Shen proposed revoking the residency rights of mainland Chinese spouses who have committed national security violations. The DPP has accused the Kuomintang or Nationalist Party of passing secrets to or colluding with China.