August 14-20
China
Chinese-Canadian tycoon Xiao Jianhua (肖建华), who was abducted from a Hong Kong luxury hotel in 2017 and was subsequently reported in mainland police custody, was convicted in Shanghai of financial crimes including “illegally absorbing public deposits, betraying the use of entrusted property, illegal use of funds, and bribery” and sentenced to 13 years in prison. Xiao founded the Tomorrow Group, a holding company with stakes in banks, insurers, and property developers, and is said to have acted as a broker for senior Chinese leaders. Government regulators have restructured his business empire.
The prosecutor’s office in Dongyang city in Zhejiang Province joined other local government agencies in issuing regulations to protect the rights and interests of minors in the entertainment industry. This city hosts one of China’s well-known film studios, where more than 6,000 minors were employed in 2021.
An official with the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) said at a news conference that national authorities do not require new mothers to submit marriage certificates in order to receive maternity benefits from the government-administered insurance program. Local governments frequently deny maternity benefits to single women, but a new NHSA document calls for nationwide standardization of benefits policies. Single motherhood is gradually gaining social and official acceptance as the government seeks to encourage births.
Police in Suzhou detained and interrogated a woman for five hours because she was posing for photos on the street while dressed in a Japanese kimono. Police accused her of “picking quarrels and provoking troubles,” a vaguely defined, catch-all crime that is routinely used to muzzle dissidents, journalists, and activists. The woman was cosplaying a popular manga character. The incident triggered mixed reactions on China’s social media.
The Ministry of Justice released statistics about lawyers and basic-level legal service providers (BLSP) for the year 2021. As of the end of 2021, China had more than 574,800 licensed lawyers and 58,000 BLSPs. The statistics include information about lawyers’ education levels, numbers of law firms, and foreign law firms with representative offices in China.
Hong Kong
Pro-democracy advocate Joshua Wong, legal scholar Benny Tai, and 27 other defendants in Hong Kong’s largest national security case are reported by local media to be preparing to plead guilty. They are among 47 activists and politicians accused of subversion for their roles in organizing an unofficial legislative primary election to select opposition candidates in July 2020. A magistrate this week lifted reporting restrictions on the case. The secretary for justice has ordered that the case be tried by a panel of three specially selected security law judges rather than a jury.
National security police arrested two men, identified by police as “administrators of a social media group,” on suspicion of “doing an act or acts with seditious intention” while sharing anonymous comments about Hong Kong’s civil service institution. Local media reported that the social media group at issue was a Civil Servants Secrets group on Facebook.
Japan
Prosecutors allege that the Tokyo Olympics sponsorship process was tainted by bribery. They arrested Haruyuki Takahashi, a former senior member of the organizing committee, and three men linked to the clothing company, Aoki Holdings Inc., that dressed the Japanese Olympic team. Takahashi is suspected of taking a total of 51 million yen ($378,000) between 2017 and 2021 from executives seeking favorable treatment for sponsorship and licensing contracts.
Koreas
South Korea’s Supreme Court is expected to decide soon whether to uphold a lower court’s order that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries sell South Korean assets to compensate victims of forced labor during World War II. Mitsubishi appealed to the top court in April. A district court ordered the Japanese firm to sell about 500 million won ($376,477) worth of trademark and patent rights it holds in South Korea.
A Seoul court heard testimony from Vietnamese survivors of alleged atrocities by South Korean troops who fought with the US and South Vietnamese during the Vietnam War. Nguyen Thi Thanh, now 62, was eight years old when South Korean soldiers allegedly massacred residents of her village in central Vietnam. In recent years, South Korean civil society organizations have uncovered official documents and witness accounts of multiple atrocities by South Korean troops in Vietnam between 1964-1973. In April 2020 Ms. Nguyen became the first Vietnamese to sue the South Korean government. She is seeking an official apology and about 30 million won ($23,000) in compensation.
Taiwan
The ruling Democratic Progressive Party, the main opposition Kuomintang Party, the Taiwan People's Party, and the New Power Party have all announced support for a constitutional amendment to lower Taiwan's voting age from the current 20 to 18. The proposal was passed by the legislature in March but must also be approved by a national referendum, which will be held on the same day as local government elections on Nov. 26.