October 9-15
China
The National People’s Congress Standing Committee is scheduled to convene its 37th session from October 26 to 30, following the conclusion of the Communist Party’s upcoming 20th National Congress (October 16-22). Three returning bills and four new bills will be reviewed at this session, including the third reading of draft revisions to the Law on the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests and the first reading of amendments to the Legislation Law.
The Supreme People's Court held a press conference to introduce its achievements in “intelligent court construction.” Court officials highlighted five aspects of the “intelligent court system” including easy-access judicial service platforms, data-driven and -assisted adjudication, an intelligent enforcement system, information disclosure platforms, and improved regulations.
The State Council temporarily relaxed restrictions on foreign investment in travel agencies and private non-enterprise units operating care homes in four municipalities and provinces. In Tianjin, Shanghai, Hainan, and Chongqing, foreign-invested travel agencies may now offer outbound Chinese tourist services and foreign-funded non-profits may operate care homes. The temporary relaxation, a pilot measure, continues until April 8, 2024.
The Wuhan Declaration on the Coexistence of Humans and Nature is being drafted for release at the forthcoming 14th meeting of the Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP14). The Ramsar Convention is the intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources; it was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. COP14 is scheduled to be held from Nov. 5-Nov. 13 in Wuhan and Geneva. It is the first time that such a meeting is being held in China. A framework for global wetland protection and development after 2025 is also being drafted by the convention’s standing committee.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong's own national security legislation was put on hold for further research and a bill to complement Beijing-imposed National Security Law was removed from the schedule of the Legislative Council (Legco). Chief Executive John Lee said the postponement allows time for more comprehensive legislation to be drawn up. According to the chairman of Legco’s security panel, the existing National Security Law is “incomplete” because it does not cover all seven offenses spelled out in Article 23 of Hong Kong’s Basic Law. A pro-Beijing politician said Hong Kong officials expect more instruction from Beijing after the 20th party congress is held later this month.
A luxury yacht connected to a sanctioned Russian tycoon has docked in Hong Kong, but Chief Executive John Lee said he will implement only United Nations sanctions. Alexey Mordashov, one of Russia’s richest men, is believed to have close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was sanctioned by the US, UK and European Union in February after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. US and European authorities have seized over a dozen yachts belonging to sanctioned Russian tycoons.
Hong Kong’s High Court has temporarily barred the government from invalidating more than 20,000 Covid-19 vaccination exemption certificates issued by seven private doctors accused of handing them out without conducting proper clinical review. The court’s action came one day before the exemptions were set to be nullified. The court ruled that government could not annul the exemptions until a legal challenge was resolved.
Japan
Tokyo has begun accepting applications to register same-sex partnerships, a move welcomed by the LGBTQ community even though registration does not offer the same legal benefits as marriage. Couples may register if at least one partner lives, works, or studies in Tokyo; both must be at least 18 years of age and not already married or in a partnership. Although similar partnership certification systems have been adopted by other Japanese municipalities, Tokyo’s move has a bigger impact as more than 10% of Japan’s population lives in the city.
A group of lawyers has asked the justice and education ministers and the prosecutor-general to seek dissolution of the Unification Church. The National Network of Lawyers Against Spiritual Sales said that the Unification Church’s numerous illegal acts, including coerced donations, have been recognized in civil lawsuits, and courts have ordered the church to pay a total of over 1.5 billion yen (roughly $10.3 million) in compensation. The church has paid 11.4 billion yen ($78 million) in civil cases that have ended in settlements, the lawyers group said.
Japanese cabinet ministers agreed to scrap a law that forces women pregnant at the time of divorce to wait 100 days before remarrying. The law, which until 2016 set the waiting period at six months, was adopted more than a century ago to aid the identification of the father - something that DNA-testing can now achieve with more accuracy. The ministers also agreed to remove a rule that grants parents the right to “discipline children to whatever necessary extent.” The civil code changes must now be approved by parliament.
Koreas
Unmarried couples in South Korea face various disadvantages, according to a report from the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. An institute survey asked 159 men and 177 women between the ages of 19 and 49 in 291 households with unmarried couples whether they had experienced any kind of discrimination or inconvenience. More than 28% reported obstacles in accessing government welfare; 21.2% said they experienced inconvenience in getting daily services; 12.5% said they were not allowed to be their partner's guardian at the hospital.
Legal experts are calling for the government to revise a legal provision that exempts persons from criminal liability for property crimes against family members. Article 328 of the Criminal Act states that property crimes are not punishable if committed against close family members. Siblings living separately and more distant relatives are subject to prosecution only with the victim's consent. The exemption received attention after a celebrity accused his brother of embezzling nearly 6.2 billion won ($4.5 million) and the brothers’ father claimed responsibility - allegedly because he could not be punished. The justice minister said during a National Assembly session that the law “doesn't seem applicable in today's society.”
Taiwan
A months-long investigation into a suspected sexual predator has yielded a large volume of computer files and videos of hundreds of victims aged 10 to 70, according to Tainan police. The suspect, a 41-year-old video editor and photographer, allegedly used fake names on social media to lure women by offering them modeling jobs and then forcing them to pose naked. The suspect faces charges under the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act along with fraud, blackmail, coercion, and offenses against sexual morality for allegedly distributing and selling sexually explicit videos online for profit. Police have asked victims to come forward and help with the investigation.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) is being criticized for mismanaging the police force following an incident in which police officers injured a man they mistook for a fugitive. Last month, four police officers erroneously arrested a man and caused injuries that required hospital treatment. One officer put a knee on the man’s throat and struck him in the head after he was handcuffed. Hou defended the police and said violent crime has fallen. Economic Democracy Union convener and lawyer Lai Chung-chiang said the officers’ actions were excessive.