July 10-16
China
The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) issued a judicial interpretation clarifying issues concerning personal security protective orders in domestic violence cases. The court said that filing for divorce is not a prerequisite for applying for a protection order; expanded forms of domestic violence to include exposing someone to hunger and coldness, as well as regular slander, threats, stalking and harassment; expanded the scope of eligible applicants to include close relatives, police, women’s federation staff, and relevant organizations if the victim is not able to make the application; lowered the required standard of proof; and increased penalties for violation of protective orders. At a press conference, an SPC vice president said that people’s courts nationwide have collectively issued more than 11,000 protective orders since 2012.
Prime Minister Li Keqiang told a meeting of the State Council that the equal employment rights of workers shall be guaranteed and discrimination against persons who test positive for Covid-19 is strictly prohibited.
Plainclothes security attacked hundreds of protesting bank depositors in the city of Zhengzhou, Henan when they gathered outside a branch office of the central bank to demand their money back. The protesters made deposits in four rural banks offering high rates of return, but their funds were frozen earlier this year when investigators accused the banks of financial misconduct.
Authorities in Shaanxi Province issued Opinions on Further Strengthening the Protection of the Rights of Women and Children, putting emphasis on preventing domestic violence, protecting rural women’s land rights, promptly rescuing the victims of human trafficking, and ensuring equal employment opportunities. According to the document, police shall list “domestic violence” as an independent cause for calling 110 and issue letters of warning in no fewer than 10% of domestic violence incidents. Courts shall issue personal security protective orders in no fewer than 75% of domestic cases accepted by the court.
Hong Kong
The UN Human Rights Committee concluded its consideration of the fourth periodic report of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China on how it implements the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. Committee experts questioned Hong Kong government officials about rights restricted by the National Security Law enacted in June 2020. The committee will issue its concluding observations and recommendations later in July.
Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal (CFA) has overturned the conviction of a man found to be carrying 48 six-inch zip ties near the site of an election rally in 2019. A trial court convicted real estate agent Chan Chun-kit of possessing an offensive weapon with intent to use it for an unlawful purpose. Prosecutors alleged that Chan intended to use the ties to illegally bind street railings in anti-government protests. Chan’s lawyer argued, and the CFA agreed, that the zip ties did not fall within the meaning of an “instrument fit for unlawful purposes” under the Summary Offences Ordinance. Government critics had said the conviction was an example of over-aggressive application of laws to punish suspected participants in the 2019 protests.
Japan
Japan's health ministry is seeking to amend the Hotel Business Act to empower hotel operators to reject guests suspected of having a high-risk infectious disease if they do not comply with anti-infection measures. The proposal would allow hotels to turn away a guest who exhibits symptoms such as fever and coughing but refuses to wear a mask. Under the current law, hotels may reject guests only when certain that they have an infectious disease.
Koreas
South Korea’s Constitutional Court held a hearing to review the constitutionality of the death penalty. The constitutional petition was filed in 2019 by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea Committee for Peace and Justice. The court considered the death penalty in 1996 and 2010, and each time affirmed its constitutionality. However, the country has not carried out an execution since 1997.
Following the US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, a South Korean Catholic bishop called for Korea to reinstate its ban on abortion. South Korea criminalized abortion until 2021, when it was decriminalized pursuant to an order of the Constitutional Court. Six bills related to abortion are currently pending in the South Korean parliament, including one that would ban it after six weeks.
A legislator from the opposition Democratic Party proposed providing an end-of-life option for patients with terminal illnesses. Under the proposal, which has not been formally tabled in the National Assembly, persons suffering from irreversible illness and unbearable pain could apply to the health ministry for permission to obtain life-ending medication, and physicians who assist them would be exempt from criminal punishment.
Taiwan
The Taiwan High Court upheld a trial court's decision that portions of the diaries of former Republic of China Presidents Chiang Kai-shek (蔣中正) and his son Chiang Ching-kuo (蔣經國) dating from their terms in office belong to the state. Taiwan’s Academia Historica, which is the legally designated home for presidential records, sued members of the Chiang family who arranged for the diaries to be curated for 50 years at Stanford University's Hoover Institution in the United States. The ruling can be appealed.
The Taiwan Innocence Project (TIP) announced that the Taiwan High Court’s Taichung Branch exonerated its client, Chang Chen-Chung (張振忠), after eight years in prison and three rounds of retrials. Chang was originally convicted of burglary in 2014. Shoe prints found at the crime scene led to another suspect, who was convicted of the same crime the following year. TIP said misidentification by an eyewitness and procedural errors contributed to the wrongful conviction. Chang is the twelfth exoneree represented by the TIP.