July 3-July 9
China
The city of Shenzhen revised its medical regulations to allow patients to set up an advance “do-not-resuscitate” directive to avoid excessive treatment at the end of life. Article 78 of the revised regulations instructs medical institutions to respect patients’ written or recorded advance directives if notarized or witnessed by two or more persons. The regulations also update provisions on disclosure and sharing of medical test results, nurses’ prescription authority, and a requirement to obtain patients’ approval before prescribing medications they would have to pay for themselves.
Former Vice Minister of Public Security Sun Lijun has gone on trial in Beijing on corruption charges. Sun is accused of selling government positions, manipulating stock prices, and illegally possessing firearms, in one of the most high-profile corruption trials in years.
The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) published seven guiding cases that focus on labor disputes. The SPC previously has published only five labor and employment guiding cases. The new cases address such issues as determination and termination of employment relationship, employers’ obligation to prevent sexual harassment, year-end and performance bonuses, non-compete clauses, and hiring discrimination.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) released Measures for Security Assessment of Data Exports, which take effect September 1, 2022. A senior CAC official said the measures are intended to implement provisions of the Cybersecurity Law, the Data Security Law, and the Personal Information Protection Law.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) issued six typical cases involving crimes of secretly crossing the national border. It said that in 2021, procuratorates nationwide approved the arrests of 19,998 defendants in 7,886 cases involving crimes against national border management, up 94.5% and 116.1%, respectively, from the prior year.
Hong Kong
The United Nations Human Rights Committee began reviewing Hong Kong’s rights record for the first time since Beijing imposed the 2020 National Security Law. Hong Kong officials, who participated in the meeting in Geneva by video link, said the law was necessary after the violent protests of 2019, and that enforcement would comply with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Committee members expressed concern over the law’s broad scope and sought assurances that civil society groups who made submissions to the committee would not be punished for it.
Hong Kong court issued an arrest warrant for Issac Cheng Ka-long, the former vice-chairman of disbanded opposition party Demosisto, for failing to appear at criminal proceedings. Prosecutors have charged him with breaching trade description laws by possessing more than 900 boxes of surgical masks that allegedly carried false labels. Cheng announced in April that he had moved to Britain. Authorities also issued an arrest warrant for Tobias Leung, formerly a Demosisto standing committee member, in the same case when he too failed to appear in court.
Japan
The Supreme Court affirmed a civil judgment ordering a prominent television journalist to pay 3.32 million yen (about $25,000) in damages to Shiori Ito, who became a symbol of Japan’s #MeToo movement. Ms. Ito accused Noriyuki Yamaguchi of raping her in 2015 while she was unconscious. She brought the civil suit after police said there was insufficient evidence to charge Yamaguchi criminally.
Koreas
An online survey in June found that reports of workplace harassment have climbed as employees return to their offices. The survey was commissioned by commissioned by Workplace Gapjil 119, an organization that assists office abuse victims. Nearly 30% of the 1,000 respondents said they experienced some form of workplace harassment in the past year, up from 23.5% in a similar survey in March. In 2019, Korea passed a law imposing up to three years in prison and a 30 million won ($25,464) fine on bosses who retaliate against workers for complaining about workplace bullying.
Taiwan
Prosecutors in Taoyuan have charged a police officer with offenses against personal freedom by a public official for allegedly throwing a woman to the ground, handcuffing, and detaining her after she refused to submit to questioning. The police officer stopped the woman as she was walking in April 2021 and asked to see her identification; he allegedly became angry when she called his request “stupid.” Prosecutors did not pursue any charges against the woman.