December 23-January 14
China
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress issued its first interpretation of the Law on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong SAR. Asked by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee to decide whether foreign counsel who are not licensed to practice in Hong Kong may represent defendants in national security cases in the city, the Standing Committee responded that the Hong Kong government - and not Hong Kong courts - has full power to decide the question. At a press conference, an official from the Standing Committee explained the background and basis for the interpretation. An English translation of the interpretation is available here (paywalled) and a detailed analysis of the interpretation is available here.
The Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress submitted a report to the Standing Committee recommending that when local procuratorates assign prosecutors from lower levels of government in their jurisdiction to temporarily staff special investigations, the people’s congresses at the higher level must approve the temporary appointments. The question of whether and how such temporary assignments should be handled has arisen in several high-profile cases in China’s special campaign against organized crime. (in Chinese)
The Supreme People’s Court (SPC), Supreme People’s Procuratorate, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Justice, and General Administration of Customs jointly announced the decriminalization of acts violating COVID-19 restrictions. According to the announcement, pending charges of impairing the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and violating border health control are being dropped as of January 8, 2023.
The SPC released its 35th batch of guiding cases: four criminal cases involving use of individuals’ private information collected through facial recognition, social media accounts, cell phone verification codes, and identity cards.
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) fined China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) 87.6 million yuan ($12.6 million) for abusing its dominant market position by raising prices and forcing publishers and educational institutions to work with it on an exclusive basis. The penalty is equivalent to 5% of CNKI’s revenue generated in China in 2021.
Revisions to the Sports Law, Agricultural Products Quality and Safety Law, and Women’s Rights and Interests Protection Law all took effect on January 1, 2023. The National People’s Congress has released draft amendments to 13 laws for public comment through January 28.
A rights activist in Hunan, Ou Biaofeng, was sentenced on December 30 to 3 1/2 years in prison after being convicted of inciting subversion of state power. The court also ordered him to pay 70,000 renminbi in “illegal income” from articles he wrote for Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper and the now-defunct Apple Daily. The articles – which also appeared on the Human Rights Campaign website – were critical of Beijing. He has been in detention for two years since he tweeted on behalf of another dissident.
Hong Kong
The Committee for Safeguarding National Security approved amending the Legal Practitioners Ordinance to limit participation of overseas lawyers in national security cases. The next step will be for Hong Kong’s Legislative Council to adopt the amendment. The move follows the Dec. 30, 2022 interpretation of the territory’s National Security Law by China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee, which said that the Hong Kong committee and Hong Kong chief executive - rather than Hong Kong courts - have the power to decide whether overseas lawyers may participate in national security cases. Hong Kong’s courts had ruled that a British barrister could represent former Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai, a British national, at his trial on national security charges. Lai, 75, is accused of colluding with foreign forces.
The former chief editor of Hong Kong’s now defunct Stand News said at his sedition trial that it should not be a crime to cover an allegedly illegal event such as the unofficial primary election held by opposition parties in July 2020. Chung Pui-kuen spoke in District Court on the 19th day of trial for him and Patrick Lam, former acting editor-in-chief at Stand News. Forty-seven participants in the primary election have been arrested and accused of conspiracy to commit subversion. Prosecutors allege that Stand News glorified the candidates and promoted their allegedly illegal agenda by reporting about them.
West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court ruled that the law against inciting people to boycott polls or cast invalid votes is constitutional. Former student leader Jacky So, who filed the constitutionality challenge, was given a suspended two-month jail term after he pleaded guilty to the charge in light of the ruling. The magistrate ruled that inciting people to cast invalid ballots “was not facilitating democracy.”
The High Court heard a constitutional challenge involving use of public toilets by transgender persons. The applicant K, who identifies as a male but was born a woman, is seeking to amend the Public Conveniences (Conduct and Behaviour) Regulations to allow transgender people to use public toilets for their chosen gender before they have undergone full sex reassignment surgery. The government’s attorney said the existing rule furthers its aim of minimizing the chance of sexual offenses and meets social expectations of sex segregation in bathroom settings. A judgment is expected in late February. In a separate case, the Court of Final Appeal heard arguments against the government policy that transgender people cannot change the sex on their Hong Kong identity cards if they have not undergone full sex reassignment surgery. The two plaintiffs in this case are transgender men whose British passports state their sex as male.
Japan
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party is prioritizing discussion of four amendments to the constitution when the Diet convenes its ordinary session on Jan. 23. These include recognizing the Self-Defense Forces in the constitution and adding an emergency clause that would extend the terms of Diet members during natural disasters or other emergencies.
The Health, Labor, and Welfare Ministry has reportedly drafted guidelines that would classify as child abuse some efforts to force children to participate in religious activities. Police have typically responded to complaints about some behaviors of the Unification Church by citing freedom of religion. The draft guidelines will use a question-and-answer format to clarify which faith-based acts fall within the scope of abuse as stipulated in the Child Abuse Prevention Law.
Koreas
Disability rights activists said they will continue their daily protests on Seoul subways until the government increases spending to protect their rights - including improving subway accessibility. Solidarity against Disability Discrimination began the protests last year, sometimes leading to hours of subway disruptions and confrontations with police. The Seoul Central District Court on Dec. 21 enforced a compulsory mediation between the protesters and Seoul Metro. It ordered the company to construct new elevators at 19 subway stations by 2024, and also banned the protesters from rallying inside subway trains for more than five minutes.
The National Assembly secretariat triggered a debate about freedom of expression when it shut down an art exhibit featuring satirical works about President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee in the lobby of the National Assembly Members’ Office Building. The exhibit was to include 80 pieces by 30 artists. Some of the artists took part in a similar exhibition at the Assembly building in January 2017, when the target of their satire was then-President Park Geun-hye.
The Korea Customs Service announced it will lift its ban on importing full-body sex dolls, ending a long-running dispute. Although the law does not specifically prohibit imports of sex dolls, customs authorities had been seizing most of them under a broad ban on importing goods that may harm public morals. Courts have recently sided with the importers, saying that the use of sex dolls should be left to individual discretion.
The Seoul High Court ordered the government and now-defunct Sewol ferry operator Chonghaejin Marine to pay a total of 88 billion won ($70.6 million) to the families of those killed in the 2014 ferry sinking. The ferry sinking left 304 persons dead or missing. Litigation began in 2015 but was paused for several years while a special committee of lawmakers investigated the disaster. In January 2020, the committee revealed evidence that the state had spied on the victims’ families, which led to the conviction of military security service officials.
Taiwan
The Supreme Court of Taiwan overturned the murder conviction of Lin Chin-kui (林金贵), who has been serving a life prison sentence since 2007. The decision finalizes a 16-year legal battle that saw Lin acquitted by the High Court’s Kaohsiung branch in 2018, but re-convicted in 2020 after the prosecutor appealed.
The Legislative Yuan passed revisions to the Crime Victims Protection Act (犯罪被害人權益保障法) after the third reading. The amendments enhance protection of victims’ privacy and increase compensation to victims or next of kin in cases of manslaughter, murder, crimes resulting in severe injuries, and sexual assault.
The Legislative Yuan approved the third reading of proposed amendments to the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防治法), which would require heated tobacco products (HTPs) to comply with the law, ban e-cigarettes, and raise the legal age for buying cigarettes to 20. The clauses on e-cigarettes and HTPs are to take effect one month after the amendments’ contents are announced to the public. The clauses on vapes with additional flavors as well as regulations on packaging are to take effect one year after the amendments are announced.
The Executive Yuan proposed a bill to amend 52 of the 97 articles in the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法) to attract professionals and keep families together, while also raising penalties for people who overstay their visas. The new rule would apply to consultants at academic institutions, university lecturers and other “white-collar” professionals as defined in the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法). The fine for visa overstays would increase from NT$2,000-$10,000 to NT$30,000-$150,000 (US$66-$330). The bill has been sent to the legislature for deliberation.