September 11-17
China
The Cyberspace Administration of China has released draft revisions to the Cybersecurity Law for public comment. An unofficial English version of the revisions is available here. All comments must be submitted before September 29, 2022. The current law was adopted on June 1, 2017.
The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council released regulations that require businesses owned by the central government to establish chief compliance officers, prepare compliance risk lists, and build a compliance alert system under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. A draft of the Measures on Central Enterprise Compliance Management was released in April for public comment. The final document will take effect on October 1, 2022. (in Chinese)
Hong Kong
New trade unions seeking to register in Hong Kong must declare that that “all the purposes and objects of the trade union are lawful,” according to the new application form. It is unclear if existing trade unions must sign similar declarations. Nearly 500 new unions registered in the wake of the 2019 protests, but about 60 disbanded in 2021 in reaction to the political chill from the National Security Law. Five founding members of the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists, one of the new crop of unions, were sentenced this month to 19 months for sedition for their roles in publishing a series of children’s books.
A magistrate has declined to dismiss sedition charges against two frequent court attendees who were arrested for comments made as spectators in court. One of the defendants, Pastor Garry Pang, is also charged of committing “acts with seditious intention” on YouTube, where he published videos about court cases related to the 2019 protests. Pang argued that his criticism of judges and the legal system was aimed at improving the city’s judiciary and that he had no seditious intent. Hong Kong’s colonial era sedition law was unused for over 50 years but is increasingly being used along with the National Security Law to suppress free speech. Pang has been held in custody for four months.
Japan
The Japanese government will submit a bill aimed at protecting freelance workers to an extraordinary legislative session this fall. The bill will require improved working conditions for freelancers and timely payment after completion of work. A study in 2020 estimated Japan has about 4.62 million freelancers.
The UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recommended Japan take steps to improve its treatment of persons with disabilities, including providing inclusive education for children with disabilities and abolishing laws that permit forced hospitalization of some persons. Japan ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2014.
The Mito District Court ruled that the government must pay about 1.65 million yen ($11,500) to the mother of a 43-year-old Cameroonian man who died in detention at the Higashi-Nihon Immigration Center in Ushiku, Ibaraki Prefecture, in 2014. It was the first time a government immigration center was held liable for the death of a detained person. Since 2007, 17 foreigners detained at Japanese immigration centers have died from illness or killed themselves, including the high-profile case of Wishma Sandamali from Sri Lanka in 2021.
The National Police Agency announced that there were 114 ransomware cyber attacks in Japan in the first half of this year, a significant increase from 61 cases in the first half of 2021 and 85 in the second half of 2021. Most of the cyber attack victims this year are automobile groups and hospitals, with 70% of these attacks originating from the US, Britain, China, and Russia.
Koreas
South Korea’s Constitutional Court was scheduled to hold a public hearing on the constitutionality of the National Security Act. The law was enacted in 1948 in response to threats from North Korea, was revised in 1991, and since then has survived seven challenges in the Constitutional Court. No previous hearings have been open to the public. Challengers say the law is vaguely worded and infringes on freedom of thought and speech.
South Korea’s National Assembly debated a bill proposed by the ruling People Power Party that would ban recording phone calls or other conversations without consent from all participants. Proponents say the measure is needed to protect privacy. Opponents say it would harm underdogs who may need to record conversations in order to protect themselves in unfair situations, such as in whistle-blowing cases. The current law allows a single participant in a conversation to make a recording without consent from anyone else.
Taiwan
The Ministry of the Interior is seeking to amend the regulations that govern verification of past conduct by foreigners seeking to naturalize (歸化國籍無不良素行認定辦法). It is seeking to bar persons who have committed sexual offenses against children from becoming citizens. The Nationality Act (國籍法) says that foreigners applying for citizenship must “have no bad conduct and have no criminal records as certified by the police clearance certificate.”
The Financial Supervisory Commission plans to tighten oversight over local investment brokerages by revising the Regulations Governing Responsible Persons and Associated Persons of Securities Investment Trust Enterprises (證券投資信託事業負責人與業務人員管理規則). The revised regulations would hold company board members accountable if fund managers are found to be involved in fraud or malpractice.