April 10-16
China
Jinhua Municipality in Zhejiang Province released a guidance opinion on reducing custodial compulsory measures in criminal cases, aimed at “building a region with the lowest detention rate in Zhejiang.” The opinion prioritizes non-custodial measures such as bail in cases punishable by three years imprisonment or less, as well as more serious cases if the defendant meets certain criteria. It also recommends applying “fast-track” expedited procedures in non-disputed minor cases, and resolving the cases within 24 hours of police arrest. (in Chinese)
China’s anti-trust watchdog imposed a record-high $2.75 billion fine on Alibaba after an anti-monopoly probe found the e-commerce giant had abused its dominant market position for several years. The fine underscores the challenges ahead for companies, especially tech giants, as the new State Administration for Market Regulation builds its strength by adding staff and resources. In February, China issued revised antitrust rules for so-called “platform economy” companies, meaning internet firms offering a variety of services from e-commerce to food delivery. The draft data protection law being considered by the National People’s Congress Standing Committee also is seen as part of a broader effort by Beijing to rein in the power of its technology giants such as Alibaba and Tencent.
China’s internet regulator has launched a hotline for reporting online comments that defame the ruling Communist Party and its history. People may report fellow netizens who “distort” the Party’s history, attack its leadership and policies, defame national heroes and “deny the excellence of advanced socialist culture” online. China passed the Law on Protection of Heroes and Martyrs in 2018, which criminalized the act of distorting, defaming, desecrating, or denying the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs.
More than 70 video-streaming, production company and industry associations in China issued a joint statement calling for a boycott of user-made videos featuring copyrighted content. The statement said the companies would take “focused” and “necessary” legal action against videos found to include unauthorized content. Some content creators expressed frustration with the one-size-fits-all prohibition, arguing that sharing audio-visual derivative work has become part of the culture and is unlikely to be stopped by such a statement. (in Chinese)
Beijing People’s Procuratorate released its 2020 working report on protection of intellectual property and 12 “typical cases” at a press conference. According to the report, city-wide people’s procuratorates approved official arrests of 179 suspects in 116 crimes against intellectual property, indicted 216 defendants in 131 cases. 12 typical cases cover issues involving trade secrets, trademark, copyright, and new forms of IP infringement such as those using web crawlers. Typical cases are not binding precedents but frequently referred to by judges. (in Chinese)
By the end of 2020, China had established 566,000 physical public legal service platforms (公共法律服务实体平台) at five administrative levels ranging from province to village, according to the Ministry of Justice. These platforms provide various legal services to the public, including legal aid, consultation, mediation, and notarization. In 2020 alone, such platforms provided more than 18 million services and handled 8.77 million phone calls. In addition, 2,368 county-level areas began experimenting with offering defense counsel to all criminal defendants.
The Ministry of Public Security announced at a press conference that the total number of criminal cases filed nationwide has dropped for five consecutive years, while the incidence of eight major types of crimes and administrative violations has dropped for six consecutive years. Since 2014, more than 2,500 police officers have died in the line of duty and nearly 40,000 have been injured. The ministry spokesperson also addressed achievements in fights against crimes endangering state security, cyber security, financial order, etc. (in Chinese)
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate released its development plan for procuratorial work during the 14th five-year plan, including measures to improve juvenile prosecution. It laid out plans to strengthen the fight against sexual abuse of minors, implement early intervention in juvenile cases, mandate synchronized audio-video recording of interviews with underage victims, and adopt a “one-stop” interview mechanism for underage victims. It also plans to establish a set of rules for evaluating testimonial evidence from juveniles. The development plan also covers cyber crime, intellectual property, corporate compliance, prosecutorial hearings, supervision and oversight of prosecutorial work, etc. (in Chinese)
Hong Kong
HSBC and Meng Wanzhou, the CFO of Huawei Technologies Co. reached a settlement over access to documents that Meng believes may help her case in Canada, where she is fighting extradition to the United States. Judge Linda Chan of Hong Kong’s High Court approved the settlement. Ms. Meng turned to the Hong Kong courts after losing an earlier legal battle in the U.K. to force HSBC to hand over the documents.
Publicly inciting others to boycott voting or cast invalid ballots could be prosecuted and punished with up to three years in jail, according to new legislation designed to implement a Beijing-decreed overhaul of Hong Kong’s electoral system. That would include public communication through speeches, broadcasts, screening and playing of recordings, or publishing of materials such as emails or leaflets. Chief Executive Carrie Lam said individual citizens may refrain from voting or damage their ballot to invalidate it, but “inciting voters” to do so collectively will be regarded as damaging or manipulating the election. Legal scholars warned of “real constitutional problems” in the legislation.
Hong Kong University recommended that a group be set up to “protect academic freedom ... in conformity with national security law (NSL) provisions,” according to a letter sent to senior faculty staff. “Reaffirming HKU’s core commitment to academic freedom and institutional autonomy, the letter recommends that mechanisms be created to ensure that, in the sphere of (teaching and learning), these values are safeguarded to the fullest extent possible within the framework of the NSL,” said the HKU vice president for teaching and learning, Ian Holliday. The letter nevertheless stoked fears that the NSL will encroach upon academic freedom.
A Hong Kong court sentenced Jimmy Lai, the 73-year-old founder of Apple Media, to 12 months in prison for his role in a peaceful demonstration in 2019. Three activists and a labor leader were given sentences of eight to 18 months for their role in the protest. In a separate hearing on Friday, prosecutors added two more charges, accusing Mr. Lai of conspiracy to commit subversion and obstructing justice.
Japan
Japan’s Justice Ministry is considering increasing the statutory penalty for online slander after the death of professional wrestler and reality show cast member Hana Kimura, who was the victim of such abuse. Kimura died in an apparent suicide in last May at age 22 after seeing many insulting comments on Twitter over her behavior on the popular reality television show “Terrace House.” A man in his 20s was fined by Tokyo Summary Court for posting insulting comments, and a second man was referred to prosecutors last week. The current statutory penalty for insulting people is less than 30 days in jail or a fine of less than ¥10,000. It is still uncertain when the ministry will refer the matter to legislators because of concerns over the impact on free speech rights.
The Diet is deliberating five bills related to digital reform, which has become a signature policy of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga’s administration. Addressing a plenary session of the House of Councillors, Suga said the bills’ purpose is to “realize a digital society, comparable to other counties, in which anyone can enjoy the benefits of digitization to the fullest.” He proposes to create a new government agency to accelerate digitization of administrative procedures and develop related policies.
Koreas
The death of a young plastic surgery patient who was operated on by a so-called “ghost doctor” has brought renewed attention to the dangerous practice and the inadequacy of current laws to stop it. A “ghost doctor” performs a surgery for which another surgeon was hired. If ghost surgery is performed by a licensed doctor, it could result in charges of causing harm or fraud. Performing surgery without a license can be punished with up to five years in prison. But such charges are hard to prove. The mother of the recently deceased patient has become an advocate for reforms including mandatory installation of CCTVs in operating rooms and revoking the licenses of convicted physicians. Both proposals face push-back from the industry.
South Korean President Moon Jae In instructed government officials to consider taking Japan to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to block its decision to release into the sea treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. The chief cabinet secretary of Japan said the Japanese government has yet to receive a notice from the South Korean government about such a legal action, but added, “Japan will offer careful explanations to the international community to foster understanding” of its water release plan.
Taiwan
Taiwan’s constitutional court is reviewing a high-profile case in which an indigenous man was convicted of hunting protected animal by using an illegal firearm. The man, known as Tama Talum, was sentenced to 3.5 years in 2015. The constitutional court is expected to issue its interpretation on the status of indigenous hunting culture next month. Indigenous people make up 2% of Taiwan’s population. For several decades, indigenous groups have pushed for land rights and greater self-governance. Scholars and activists say the outcome of this case could have major implications for the indigenous rights movement.
The murder of a 29-year old woman by a male stalker has led to further calls to strengthen anti-stalking legislation. The victim had reported the stalker to the police, but police were legally unable to take action because current law only applies to individuals formerly in a relationship. She died after a staged car accident meant to facilitate kidnapping her. Public outrage has centered on the deficiency of the current anti-stalking law and the government’s failure to act since similar cases occurred. Fifteen versions of anti-stalking legislation have been proposed by the DPP or opposition party legislators, but the Executive Yuan has not yet put forward its own version of such legislation.
Taiwan has amended the Seafarers Act to protect sailors from pirates. The amendment says that seafarers on Taiwanese ships should be informed of the risks involved when sailing to piracy-affected areas. Crew members should not be subject to punishment or fines by their employers if they do not agree to travel to piracy hot spots.
Taiwan’s attorney general filed an extraordinary appeal with the Supreme Court on behalf of Lu Chin-Kai (in Chinese), a death row inmate convicted of a sex offense, on the grounds that Lu’s in-court waiver of an appeal without a lawyer present was invalid. In the extraordinary appellate brief, the attorney general referred to court decisions in Germany and Japan in arguing that Lu’s waiver of appeal was invalid and that he was deprived of the right to a lawyer at the hearing. Lu was convicted in 1994. In 2006, a reexamination of DNA evidence excluded Lu’s involvement, yet his petitions for retrial were rejected. The case against Lu suffers from other serious flaws including a coerced confession and failure to properly preserve evidence. The Taiwan Innocence Project took up Lu’s case in 2012. (in Chinese)