July 3-9
China
The China Securities Regulatory Commission is planning rule changes that would allow it to block a Chinese company from listing overseas even if the unit selling shares is incorporated outside China, closing a loophole long-used by the country’s technology giants. The China Securities Regulatory Commission is leading efforts to revise rules on overseas listings that have been in effect since 1994 and make no reference to companies registered in places like the Cayman Islands. The planned rule changes would require firms structured using the so-called variable interest entity or VIE model to seek approval before going public in Hong Kong or the US. The changes are subject to approval by the State Council. In recent days, China has intensified its crackdown on technology firms with the cyberspace regulator announcing a probe into Didi and pulling the company’s app from stores. The following day, the regulator announced investigations into three more apps operated by U.S.-listed Chinese companies.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) launched a six-month campaign among local procuratorates concerning the review of the necessity of pre-trial detentions. The campaign will focus mainly on three types of cases including those with a maximum sentence of less than 3 years, cases involving operation of private enterprises, and cases where the defense has sought a review of the necessity of detention. After the campaign, the SPP plans to revise relevant documents and compile and release typical and guiding cases. (in Chinese)
The standing committee of the municipal people’s congress in Shenzhen promulgated a data regulation of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone. The regulation, which will take effect on January 1, 2022, is described as China’s first local-level, comprehensive data protection legislation. It bases personal data processing rules on “notification-consent” and provides for the withdrawal of user consent. It also treats the personal data of minors under the age of 14 as sensitive personal data and prohibits companies from making personalized recommendations based on such data except for the purpose of safeguarding their rights and with the express consent of their guardians. (in Chinese)
WeChat, the popular social media platform in China, has deleted dozens of LGBT accounts run by university students and said that some had violated online rules. LGBT rights supporters responded on social media by protesting the abrupt closure of these accounts. LGBT student groups are not banned but traditionally do not get the support of university authorities in their work to raise community awareness.
The SPP has announced a 100-day campaign to investigate duty-related crimes committed by procuratorate staff. The campaign will last from early June to late September and focus on five types of cases: 1) cases handed over by “education and rectification” offices or the central supervision team, 2) cases in which political and legal cadres allegedly provided protections for “criminal syndicates,” 3) cases involving abuse of power in handling sentence commutation, parole or suspension of imprisonment, 4) major, complicated high profile cases, and 5) duty-related crimes committed by officials at the county or higher levels. (in Chinese)
The Opinions on Strictly Combating Illegal Activities in Securities was jointly released by the General Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the General Office of the State Council. The Opinions consist of eight major parts and 30 articles, including “further strengthening judicial collaboration in cross-border supervision and enforcement,” and “strengthening regulation of Chinese shares.” Check here for the main takeaways. (in Chinese)
The SPC issued new provisions on handling disputes over infringement of new plant variety intellectual property rights. The provisions, which took effects on July 7, expand the scope of protection of variety rights, enhance protection strength and effectiveness, facilitate right holders defending their rights, clarify exceptions, and standardize the identification process, according to an official of the Intellectual Property Court of the SPC. (in Chinese)
The SPC issued Provisions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Civil Cases of Disputes over Patent Rights Related to Registered Pharmaceutical Products, which took effect immediately. It is expected to improve the interface between civil litigation procedures, drug review and approval procedures and administrative adjudication procedures, and unify the standards of administrative enforcement and judicial adjudication concerning intellectual property rights. (in Chinese)
Hong Kong
Beijing laid down a new to-do list for Hong Kong to enforce its national security legislation, criminalize additional categories of national security crimes, and require judges to seek guidance from the National People’s Congress Standing Committee to interpret the application of the national security law in Hong Kong. At high-level forum on national security, top mainland officials sent the message that safeguarding national security is the responsibility of every administrative, judicial, and law enforcement officer. A senior NPC official said additional legislation is needed to fully enact Article 23 of the Basic Law, which enumerates seven categories of crimes endangering national security.
Hong Kong police arrested nine people on suspicion of planning bomb attacks, including six high school students. Police said that the six, ages 15 to 39, supported Hong Kong independence and planned to use explosives to attack transportation facilities including train stations and tunnels this month. Police alleged that they set up a lab at a hotel and were producing the explosive acetone peroxide. The nine were accused of engaging in terrorist activities under the national security law enacted by China a year ago. Police also froze about HK$600,000 ($77,000) in assets.
Two university students were found guilty of rioting during the 2019 siege of the Chinese University of Hong Kong campus. Two other students were acquitted of the same charge, as the prosecution failed to show that they were at the scene. The two convicted students were seen throwing bricks and Molotov cocktails towards police as students sought to block their advance across a footbridge outside the university campus on Nov. 12, 2019.
As an anti-doxxing law enters its final stage of drafting, in response to a letter from a coalition representing tech giants such as Google and Facebook, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said that the implementation of the law will prove its effectiveness and ease their concerns. The government is amending the personal data ordinance to include mandatory data breach notification, a mandatory data retention policy, and new rules about the disclosure of personal data. Anyone engaged in doxxing with the intent to threaten, intimate, harass, or cause psychological harm to others and their family members – or “being reckless” about producing such effects – will face up to five years in jail and a maximum fine of HK$1 million (US$129,000). The tech companies said the broad legal wording represents a potential barrier to trade and would discourage them from investing or offering their services in Hong Kong.
One of the “Hong Kong 12,” who were jailed in mainland China after being captured at sea last year while apparently attempting to flee from Hong Kong to Taiwan, pleaded guilty in a Hong Kong court to charges of attempted arson and possessing dangerous objects. The latest charges were related to Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests in 2019. The defendant, 17, and eight others from the group of 12 also face Hong Kong charges of “intending to pervert the course of public justice” by fleeing the city. All 12 were facing various charges related to the 2019 protests when they were intercepted by mainland authorities in August 2020. They sentenced in Shenzhen to terms of up to three years for illegally crossing the border or organizing the crossing. Two are still serving their mainland terms.
Japan
The Japanese government will survey elementary school students to better understand the situation of “young carers” —children who look after their families while attending school. In April, the government published the results of a survey of junior and senior middle school students, which revealed that nearly 6% of second-year students at public middle schools and 4% of second-year students at public high schools said they look after family members. Excessive care burdens have been found to interfere with schoolwork and future life choices, or lead to isolation. The government hopes to identify young carers from an early age via the survey of elementary school students.
Freelance journalist Shiori Ito won a defamation lawsuit against a former associate professor of Tokyo University who tweeted: “Shiori Ito is a fake name!” Tokyo District Court ruled for Ito and ordered the defendant to delete the tweet and pay more than 300,000 yen in compensation. (in Japanese) Shiori Ito, who shared her experience as a rape survivor in her book Black Box, has been an icon of Japan’s #MeToo movement. In 2019, she won a civil claim against a high-profile TV reporter who raped her while she was unconscious.
Koreas
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) staged a rally in central Seoul to demand improved working conditions for irregular workers, a minimum wage hike, and a safer working environment. The government said the rally, with about 8,000 participants, was illegal and vowed legal action for violation of quarantine measures. The KCTU pledged to launch a full-scale walkout in November and called on the government to guarantee freedom of expression and assembly.
South Korea will lower its private lending rate cap from the current 24 percent to 20 percent as part of efforts to ease financial burdens on low-income persons. The Financial Services Commission said it will prepare follow-up measures to prevent any fallout from the coming lending rate cut on low-credit borrowers.
Some South Korean lawmakers want to amend the National Assembly Act to allow babies to be brought into the National Assembly conference hall. Article 151 of act currently restricts access to meeting places to National Assembly members, the prime minister, certain government officials, persons necessary for examining bills, and those permitted by the Assembly speaker. Yong Hye-in, who recently gave birth to a baby during her term, said the amendment will encourage the political participation of women and young people. It also would track a global trend of making it easier for female members of parliaments to continue their lawmaking activities while nursing.
Due to its low birthrate and aging population, South Korea’s government is considering how to keep senior workers in the labor force longer without hurting the hiring outlook for younger workers. While extending the retirement age remains one option, more ideas are needed to balance the interest of employers, younger and senior workers, irregular workers, and the workforce at small-medium businesses.
Taiwan
A former dean and a military instructor at a university were found by a court to have used discriminatory language to a transgender student and ordered to pay damages. The Taoyuan District Court ruled that in rejecting the student’s request for accommodation in the school’s female dormitory, the dean’s comparison of the plaintiff to cross-dressers and the instructor’s remark that “God only created two sexes” violated the Gender Equity Education Act (性別平等教育法). The school was not fined for denying the plaintiff a spot in the female dormitory, as it later set up separate “gender-friendly” accommodations in 2018, the court said.
Lawmakers from Taiwan’s ruling party quashed a caucus proposal from the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to hold an extraordinary legislative session to deliberate amending the Referendum Act (公民投票法) to allow absentee voting in referendums. Fifty-nine lawmakers voted against it, with 39 in favor and three abstaining. Opposing lawmakers expressed concern that China could use the absentee voting process to subvert the results.