August 7-13
China
In a high-profile sexual harassment case, a Beijing appeals court rejected the claims of a former intern at state broadcaster CCTV against a prominent TV host. The plaintiff, Zhou Xiaoxuan (also known as “Xianzi”), said she would probably seek a retrial although chances of success are slim. Zhou accuses Zhu Jun of groping and forcibly kissing her in 2014 when she was an intern working for him, allegations he denies. She sued him in 2018, and in 2021 the Haidian District Court rejected her claims. The latest rejection came from the Beijing Municipal No. 1 Intermediate Court.
China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) released the third batch of five typical cases involving corporate compliance issues in data security, insider trading, document fabrication, illegal mining, and bid rigging. At a press conference, the SPP spokesperson summarized the cases, background, and significance of the release. The SPP launched a pilot program in March 2020 allowing for deferred prosecution and non-prosecution in certain kinds of corporate crimes, and expanded the program nationwide in April 2022.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai is seeking judicial review of a national security search warrant authorized by a magistrate that allows police to search his phones. Lai, owner of the now-shuttered Apple Daily, said the phones contain protected journalistic material. Judicial reviews are considered by the Court of First Instance and examine the decision-making of administrative bodies. He and six former staff members face multiple charges under the National Security Law and a colonial-era sedition law. Lai has been detained since December 2020. He is expected to be tried in late 2023 or early 2024.
The case against four student leaders at the University of Hong Kong who are charged with advocating terrorism has been adjourned again until October 20 because of an unspecified “new development.” It is the first National Security Law case in which all defendants have been granted bail and the first one related to university affairs. The four students were arrested after their student union council expressed “deep sadness” at the death of Leung Kin-fai, a 50-year-old man who attacked and seriously injured a police officer, then killed himself. The student union council praised Leung’s “sacrifice.”
Japan
Japan’s Immigration Services Agency granted refugee status to a 30-year-old Kurdish man with Turkish nationality after eight years of legal battle. The agency rejected the man’s initial application and only acceded after the Sapporo High Court ruled that he met the criteria for a refugee. An estimated 2,000 Kurds with Turkish nationality reside in Japan, but this is the first time one has gained refugee status.
Koreas
The standing committee of North Korea’s parliament revised the space development act and passed new laws about national self-defense and the production and sale of medicines. The standing committee also decided to convene the full parliament on September 7 to discuss “the law on the socialist rural development and the law on landscaping and organizational matter.”
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol pardoned Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of the Samsung conglomerate, who served prison time after being convicted of bribing former President Park Geun-Hye. The case triggered massive protests in 2017 that toppled Park. Lee was released on parole in August 2021 after serving 60% of his 2 1/2-year prison term. Anti-corruption fighters said the pardon reinforces the popular view that business leaders are above the law, especially the heads of the family-controlled empires known as chaebols that dominate the economy.
The Seoul Administrative Court ruled that an employee who slipped and died after heavy drinking with a boss should be treated as the victim of a workplace accident, and ordered the Korea Workers' Compensation and Welfare Service to pay funeral expenses and survivors' benefits.
Taiwan
The Ministry of Labor raised the monthly minimum wage for live-in foreign domestic workers more than 17%, from NT$17,000 (US$567) to NT$20,000 (US$667). The minimum wage for Taiwanese workers is NT$25,250 (US$842) per month.The new wage rate applies only to new contracts signed on or after August 10. As of the end of June, Taiwan had about 201,410 migrant workers employed as family-based caretakers and about 1,430 as domestic helpers.
Taiwan’s Supreme Court upheld a 2 1/2-year prison sentence given to an elderly man in a “compassionate killing” case. Chen, 79, was convicted in 2020 of suffocating his daughter, who had been bedridden since childhood and was cared for by Chen and his wife for nearly 50 years. Chen also attempted to kill himself after his daughter’s death. The Supreme Court affirmed the district court’s lenient sentence but rejected Chen’s request for a suspended sentence and corrected the district court’s suggestion for a presidential pardon, stating that courts have no authority to make such a recommendation.