This Week in Asian Law

April 24-30

China

  • China’s internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, joined six other government entities to issue provisional measures governing live-streaming sales promotions. The measures, which will take effect May 25, provide guidance to regulators, e-commerce platforms, operators and hosts in the live-streaming industry. The full text is available here (in Chinese).

  • The National People’s Congress Standing Committee approved amendments to eight laws, with immediate effect: the Road Traffic Safety Law, Fire Protection Law, Law on Import and Export Commodity Inspection, Advertising Law, Grasslands Law, Civil Aviation Law, Customs Law, and Food Safety Law. The committee also amended the Education Law (effective April 30) and Maritime Traffic Safety Law (effective September 1) and two new laws on prevention of food waste and promotion of rural revitalization, respectively. (in Chinese)

  • The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) published statistics about cases handled by prosecutorial organs nationwide involving crimes against intellectual property (IP) over the past year. The SPP also released 12 typical cases involving IP infringement in criminal and administrative cases. (in Chinese)

  • The SPP carried out special activities to promote enforcement of new laws protecting minors, including mandatory reporting of child abuse, guardianship supervision orders, a ban on bullying and violence at school, and restrictions on admitting minors at hotels, bars, and entertainment venues. (in Chinese)

  • An interim regulation on the management of personal information protection for mobile apps was released for public comment through May 26. Check here for full text of the draft and an explanation from the drafters. (in Chinese)

  • The draft of China’s first futures law (in Chinese) is open for public comment through May 28. The draft law, consisting of 14 chapters and 173 articles, expands the scope of the existing Regulations on Futures Trading to cover derivatives trading, cross-border jurisdiction and cooperation, and other topics. The National People’s Congress (NPC) said the draft law will help the sector better serve the real economy and safeguard the country's financial security.

Hong Kong

  • Hong Kong's legislature passed a controversial immigration bill that scholars and lawyers fear will give authorities unlimited powers to prevent residents and others from entering or leaving the city. The government has dismissed those fears as “complete nonsense.” It said the bill aims to screen illegal immigrants at the point of origin amid a backlog of asylum applications and does not affect the constitutional right of free movement.

  • The Hong Kong Bar Association confirmed it is investigating two of its members, veteran Hong Kong pro-democracy advocates Martin Lee and Margaret Ng, after they were found guilty of organizing an unauthorized peaceful demonstration in 2019. The association’s executive committee will decide whether to refer the case to the Barristers Disciplinary Tribunal. The tribunal may fine, censure, suspend, or expel barristers for misconduct. Pro-Beijing groups have urged that Lee and Ng be suspended.

  • Lawyers for six men charged for participating in a 2019 mob attack on commuters and protesters at a Hong Kong railway station said their clients were wrongly identified, and insisted that some of them were caught up in the violence as peacemakers or bystanders. The six are the first group of defendants to stand trial in the matter.

  • The University of Hong Kong said it is cutting ties with its student union because the body had “tarnished” the institution’s reputation and exposed it to “legal risks” linked to national security. In a statement, the university said it will “enforce management rights” over the student union’s offices and facilities, but did not elaborate.

Japan

  • The head of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee took part in an event marking Japan's LGBTQ pride week and called for a collective action to enact a law acknowledging the equal rights of LGBTQ persons. She said she wants people to remember the Tokyo Games as a “turning point in achieving diversity and harmony, including understanding for LGBTQ” issues. Japan is the only country in the Group of Seven major industrialized nations where same-sex marriages are not legally recognized. A Japanese court ruled last month that the failure to recognize same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, but Parliament must act for the law to change.

  • Japan’s Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that denied damages to chronic hepatitis B sufferers who contracted the disease from a state-run vaccination program, recovered and then relapsed. The two plaintiffs sued the state more than 20 years after they first experienced symptoms. The Supreme Court said that damages should be calculated based on when they experienced relapses, rather than when they first developed symptoms. Under a 2012 law, the state is responsible for making a one-time payment to persons who contracted hepatitis B from a vaccination, but the payments are reduced if legal action is not taken within 20 years of developing symptoms.

Koreas

  • South Korea’s Financial Services Commission has announced plans to support victims of illegal and excessive debt collection practices by increasing access to free legal representation for debtors. Last year, free legal representation was provided in 915 cases through the Korea Legal Aid Corporation. As of the end of March this year, legal assistance had already been provided to 881 cases. The commission also seeks to prevent unfair lending contracts by strengthening supervision of loan agreements and to require credit businesses to maintain a minimum number of regular employees.

  • South Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced plans to revise the law to allow both parents to give their surnames to their children at the time of birth. South Korea children currently take their father’s surname unless the parents agree at the time of their marriage registration to give their children the mother’s surname. In its 2021-2025 plan, the ministry also seeks to expand the legal definition of the family to include cohabiting couples and foster families.

Taiwan

  • Delivery workers for several app-based delivery services demonstrated in front of Taiwan’s Ministry of Labor demanding the establishment of a nationwide delivery workers union. The protest was in response to new salary calculation formulas announced by Uber Eats and Foodpanda, which in addition to affecting the livelihood of delivery workers is expected to encourage driving over the speed limit. By establishing a national union, food delivery workers could gain leverage to negotiate with food delivery platforms.

  • Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission has issued rules that subject cryptocurrency exchanges to the Money Laundering Control Act (MLCA) as of July 1. The action came after the Executive Yuan announced that cryptocurrency trading platforms and exchanges would fall under the provisions of the MLCA’s definition of “virtual currency platforms.” However, unlike banks, cryptocurrency exchanges can easily move to another location, making it hard to regulate them.

  • Taiwan’s Atomic Energy Council met with other government agencies to discuss how to protect Taiwan’s fish sector from harm if Japan proceeds with its plan to dump nuclear wastewater from the disabled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean. The wastewater will be treated and diluted, but will remain radioactive. The council will seek to join an international expert mission to be deployed by the International Atomic Energy Agency to monitor Japan's disposal plan.