December 11-17
China
China filed a complaint against the US with the World Trade Organization (WTO) over its latest export controls on semiconductors and related technology, alleging the US abuses export controls and threatens “the stability of the global industrial supply chains.” It is the first WTO case China has brought against the US since President Biden took office in 2021. The US says it acted out of concern for national security.
The Shanghai Second Intermediate Court ruled that an agreement on third-party litigation funding is invalid because it it violates public order and good morals. It is the first court decision on this type of agreement in China. Litigation finance, in which investors fund lawsuits in return for a share in a possible award, has ballooned in the US and other countries in recent years.
The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) jointly issued a second judicial interpretation on issues related to the application of law in handling criminal cases involving unsafe manufacture (关于办理危害生产安全刑事案件适用法律若干问题的解释二). It imposes criminal liabilities on safety assessment agents who intentionally provide false evaluations on safety issues. The first judicial interpretation was issued in 2015.
The Ministry of Public Security said it has detained more than half of the suspects on its wanted list six months after launching a campaign against cross-border telecom and online crime. Officials told a press conference that 240 of 470 alleged criminal group leaders have been apprehended, and 80 have been indicted.
Hong Kong
The trial of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai on national security charges has been further adjourned until September 25, 2023, as the government awaits a decision from Beijing on whether foreign lawyers may represent defendants in national security cases. Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal ruled that Lai may be represented by a British barrister but the government asked China’s National People’s Congress to issue an interpretation of the underlying law. Lai recently completed a sentence for protest-related convictions and is serving a six-year sentence related to a contract dispute.
High Court Judge Judianna Barnes overturned the conviction of democracy activist and barrister Chow Hang-tung on charges of inciting others to join an unlawful assembly in 2021, holding that police had not properly justified their ban of the planned Tiananmen vigil. Chow already served most of her 15-month prison sentence, and remains in custody facing charges of violating the National Security Law.
The Court of Final Appeal unanimously upheld the conviction of photographer Choy Kin-yue for taking part in an unlawful assembly in 2020. At issue was whether Choy, who filmed a 2020 public protest, had the “necessary participatory intent.”
A court convicted two men of sedition for social media posts. In one case, a courier pleaded guilty to sedition for 113 posts that attacked Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Hong Kong government, and the Chinese flag, and called for independence for Guangdong Province. He also shared footage of a Hong Kong protest song being played at a rugby match in South Korea. In an unrelated case, the same court sentenced a former bank employee to eight months in jail for publishing 37 “seditious” statements online, including calling China a terrorist country.
In the first case under Hong Kong’s revised privacy law, the Sha Tin Court sentenced customer service assistant Ho Muk-wah to eight months in jail for doxxing his ex-girlfriend on social media. The defendant had pleaded guilty. The government has arrested ten people and filed charges against three since doxxing was criminalized last year.
The Court of Appeal heard arguments about whether same-sex couples should enjoy equal rights under the inheritance laws. The government appealed from the High Court decision in favor of gay widower Henry Li on his legal rights to his late husband Edgar Ng’s government-subsidized apartment. The two men were married in London. Hong Kong does not recognize same-sex marriage.
Japan
The Diet revised a Civil Code provision that banned women from remarrying within 100 days of divorce and presumed children born within 300 days of divorce were fathered by the ex-husband, even if the mother had remarried. The rule had caused some women to not register births in order to avoid having paternity assigned to their ex-spouse. The Diet also deleted a provision giving parents the right to discipline their children.
The Nagasaki District Court rejected a claim for government support from the children of World War II atomic bomb survivors, saying there was insufficient evidence that the children were harmed by their parents’ exposure to radiation. The plaintiffs argued that they suffered genetic harm and psychological distress. The Hiroshima District Court will rule on a parallel lawsuit in February. The Japanese government provides financial assistance including the cost of medical care to recognized survivors.
Plaintiffs appealed a Tokyo court ruling that held the government's ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional. The plaintiffs were among same-sex couples who filed similar lawsuits in 2019 in district courts in Sapporo, Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. So far, only the Sapporo court has agreed with the plaintiffs, while the Tokyo and Osaka courts ruled against them and the Nagoya and Fukuoka courts are scheduled to issue decisions next year. Japan is the only Group of Seven country that does not recognize same-sex marriage.
Koreas
The Seoul Administrative Court cancelled a disciplinary warning issued by the Korea Communications Commission against a Christian broadcaster that aired anti-gay remarks, saying the warning violated the principle of religious freedom. The court said the Christian Television System should not be expected to consider public interest on the same plane as public broadcasting. The commission appealed.
South Korea’s Supreme Court finalized a not-guilty verdict for President Yoon Suk-yeol’s 76-year-old mother-in-law, who was accused of opening a long-term care facility for the elderly without a medical license and illegally taking state health insurance benefits along with three business partners. A district court found her guilty last year, but the Seoul High Court overturned the conviction in January.
A disability advocacy group staged a rush-hour subway protest in Seoul and demanded more government spending to protect the rights of people with disabilities. The Solidarity Against Disability Discrimination began holding subway protests last year.
The Seoul Administrative Court ruled that an Egyptian facing political persecution in his home country should be granted refugee status along with his wife and children. The man, who fled Egypt after being jailed and tortured there, was twice denied refugee status by the Justice Ministry.
Taiwan
The Executive Yuan approved draft amendments to the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act, the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act, and the Organized Crime Prevention Act, to prohibit persons convicted of serious criminal offenses from running for public office. The amendments also would bar overseas funding for election- or recall-related advertisements. The bills go next to the legislature.
The Legislative Yuan passed bills to revamp the pension schemes for civil servants and public school teachers hired from July 1, 2023 onward. The bills, the latest move to reform a debt-ridden public pension system, will require public workers to make contributions into individual accounts rather than a common pension fund.
The Executive Yuan and the National Immigration Agency release Taiwan’s first-ever report on the implementation of the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The report assesses the effectiveness of the government’s measures to promote equality for ethnic minorities, including indigenous peoples, new immigrants, and migrant workers.
The Cabinet approved a draft amendment of the Organized Crime Prevention Act (組織犯罪條例) to aggravate jail terms and fines for criminals who lure people into extraterritorial organized crime, after Cambodia-based scam operations were found to have Taiwanese associates.