May 22-28
China
The State Council has approved the Opinions on Optimizing Notary Services to Better Benefit Enterprises and the People, drafted by the Ministry of Justice together with other departments. At a routine briefing held by the State Council, Deputy Minister of Justice Xiong Xuanguo introduced highlights of the Opinions from six perspectives. (in Chinese)
The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) issued the “Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Trial of Civil Disputes over Bank Cards,” which takes effect May 25. The head of the court’s Civil Division II answered questions from reporters and explained the background, drafting process and significance of the provisions governing identity theft, default fees, and statutes of limitation. (in Chinese)
CNN published a report about the serious problem of divorcing parents snatching and hiding their children from their partners. Nearly 80,000 children are estimated to have been abducted and hidden in divorce cases in 2019, according to a report by Zhang Jing, a lawyer and law professor. Chinese courts tend to give custody to the parent with whom the child is living, even if an abduction occurred. The newly revised Law on Protection of Minors (paywalled) explicitly prohibits parents from snatching children as a way to obtain custody, but the law gives the court discretion to handle such situations in what it deems the best interests of the child. (in Chinese)
Publication of the China Rule of Law Development Report No.19 (2021) (paywalled), also known as the 2021 Blue Book on the Rule of Law, was announced by the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences at a seminar on the development of rule of law in China. The China Justice System Development Report No.2 (2020) (paywalled) and two annual reports on the development of rule of law in Sichuan and Zhuhai, respectively, also were published. (in Chinese)
Hong Kong
For the second year in a row, police banned the annual June 4 vigil held to commemorate victims of the 1989 army attack on protesters in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. Hong Kong had been the only place in China where public commemorations of the bloody event could be held. Police said the vigil would violate COVID-19 prevention measures.
Hong Kong passed a landmark bill drastically overhauling its electoral system this week, following the Decision of the PRC’s National People’s Congress on Improving the Electoral System of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region issued in March. The new law expands the Election Committee by 300 seats to 1,500, and expands the legislature to 90 delegates from the current 70. Several opposition politicians expressed hesitancy about running for office under the new rules, which make it nearly impossible for pro-democracy candidates to stand.
Ten pro-democracy leaders received prison terms for their roles in organizing and participating in a banned protest on National Day in 2019. Hong Kong protest coalition leader Figo Chan and ex-lawmakers Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho, and “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung each were given two concurrent 18-month jail terms. Apple Daily owner Jimmy Lai, former Democratic Party chair Yeung Sum, and ex-lawmaker Cyd Ho each were sentenced to 14 months, while Richard Tsoi of the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China and ex-lawmaker Sin Chung-kai were sentenced to 14 months with a two-year suspension. Activist Avery Ng was sentenced to 14 months for organizing the protest and nine months for taking part, and will serve 14 months and 14 days. The parties described the sentences as unusually severe.
The High Court explained that it denied bail in April to democrat Claudia Mo because of her messages to foreign journalists criticizing the loss of freedoms in Hong Kong. Judge Esther Toh wrote in her judgment: “I consider that there are insufficient grounds for believing that the Applicant will not continue to commit acts endangering national security if bail is granted.” Mo was among 47 democrats taken into custody in late February and charged with “conspiracy to commit subversion” under the National Security Law for organizing legislative primaries.
The High Court rejected a request for judicial review sought by 803 Funds, backed by former Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, which tried to challenge the failure of the building department to enforce the law against an illegal structure at former legislator Claudia Mo’s luxury home. The court ruled that the company lacked sufficient interest in the case or special knowledge or expertise in relevant policies.
Migrant domestic workers have been singled out for strict public health measures as government considers them at “high risk” for the coronavirus, although actual infection rates are low. On April 30, the government required all 370,000 migrant domestic workers to be tested and vaccinated in order to renew their visas. The vaccination requirement was later withdrawn after a public backlash but the testing requirement remained. Although Hong Kong enacted an anti-discrimination law 12 years ago, enforcement remains an issue.
A bill has been introduced that would allow authorities to investigate wildlife smuggling under the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance. The move would facilitate more in-depth investigations, freezing of assets, and application of harsher penalties. Hong Kong is a major hub of illegal trade in endangered plants and animals. To date, most prosecutions have been of low-level smugglers rather than the heads of criminal syndicates.
Japan
Tokyo High Court has overturned a lower court decision and found it legal for the trade ministry to impose restrictions on a transgender official’s use of women’s restrooms. The court said the restrictions were not “unreasonable” and that the ministry “sufficiently took into consideration” the plaintiff’s concerns. But the court ordered the government to pay the plaintiff ¥110,000 in damages for an illegal discriminatory remark made by her superior. The ruling comes as Japanese activists try to take advantage of the Tokyo Olympics to achieve passage of a law to protect the rights of sexual minorities. But as the Diet session nears its end, there’s more work to be done in the ruling party to push it forward. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch issued a report urging Japan to revise its legal processes for changing gender status.
The Diet revised the Juvenile Act imposing stricter penalties on persons aged 18 and 19, now classified as “specified juveniles.” The move is a response to the amendment of the Civil Code lowering the age of majority from 20 to 18. The revised Civil Code and Juvenile Act both take effect on April 1, 2022. While 18- and 19-year-olds remain subject to the Juvenile Act, meaning that cases first go to Family Court for hearings, the revision will allow young offenders to be tried as adults in more cases. It also will allow disclosure of the names and photos of offenders aged 18 and 19. Concerns have arisen over the prioritization of punishment over rehabilitation in this revision.
Japan’s strict gun control law is causing challenges for coaches and athletes participating in the Tokyo Olympics. Coaches are prohibited from touching athletes’ guns even for normal checks and adjustments, and there are strict limits on ammunition. Officials have tried to address the problems with workarounds to allow the Olympic shooting competition to proceed.
Koreas
Jeju Self-Governing Province Governor Won Hee-ryong publicly disclosed his cryptocurrency holdings and promised to provide updates through a Youtube channel. Won, who previously proposed to make his province a special crytocurrency zone and launch Jeju Coin, said he wants to communicate with the public about cryptocurrencies and push for relevant laws and policies. Although initial coin offerings are banned in South Korea, the island has a special legal status and can bypass such barriers.
North Korea has reportedly banned certain kinds of Western clothing and hairstyles including skinny jeans and “mullet” haircuts in order to prevent a “capitalistic lifestyle” from permeating society. Anyone caught repeatedly flouting the strict fashion rules will be remanded to labor camps. North Korea has also cracked down on “illegal TVs” in Pyongyang to prevent access to South Korean broadcasts.
South Korean lawmakers proposed a bill that would guarantee workers the right to choose whether they are reassigned in a company spinoff. If passed, it will prevent companies from relocating workers to the split-off company without individual workers’ consent. The initiative follows conflicts between Pfizer Korea and MSD Korea with their employees when transferring some of them to Viatris and Organon Korea, respectively.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said that a change of visa status should not be a reason to deny foreigners who have previously made health insurance contributions from the national health insurance program. The opinion was issued in response to a petition made on behalf of an Indonesian migrant worker. The NHRCK deemed denial a form of discrimination against foreigners and called for reforming the insurance system.
Taiwan
The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs has published draft amendments to the Trademark Act for public inspection. A summary of the public feedback is here (in Chinese), and highlights of the primary draft amendments are here.
Taiwan’s Constitutional Court upheld the constitutionality of Article 91 of the Copyright Act, which criminalizes copyright infringements involving the sale or public distribution of reproductions on optical disks and establishes a minimum six-month prison term. The petitioner was sentenced to prison for selling copyrighted Japanese pornographic DVDs. His lawyer argued that the punishment was disproportionate to the crime, and noted that other copyright crimes do not have minimum prison terms. In its Constitutional Interpretation No. 804 (in Chinese), the court reasoned that criminalizing the reproduction of copyrighted materials “clearly conforms with the principle of the law,” and that minimum sentencing for pirating disks “does not violate the guarantees of personal freedom and equality stipulated in Article 8 of the Constitution.”