February 26-March 4
China
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Central Committee held a three-day plenary session and approved a Party and State Institutional Reform Plan (党和国家机构改革方案) that has yet to be disclosed to the public. The Central Committee also discussed candidate lists for key government posts. The meeting was held in preparation for the first plenary session of the 14th National People’s Congress, which opens March 5. The NPC’s 2,977 delegates will hear work reports from senior officials and confirm the selection of the PRC president, premier, vice premiers, and heads of ministries. The meeting will also deliberate those portions of the Party and State Institutional Reform Plan that concern the State Council.
The general offices of the CCP Central Committee and the State Council released a guideline on strengthening legal education and theory research in the new era. The document requires law school teachers, students, and personnel to oppose and resist constitutionalism, government separation of powers, and other “Western erroneous views.” The guideline calls for party leadership in all aspects of legal education and legal theory research.
Chinese regulators revamped rules governing its 20 trillion yuan ($2.9 trillion) private fund industry to curb irregularities and risks. According to the newly published Measures for the Registration and Record Filing of Private Investment Funds which takes effect on May 1, 2023, private equity and hedge fund managers will need at least 10 million yuan in paid-in capital to operate. This is about five times the current requirement.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) and the Ministry of Public Security jointly released Guiding Opinions on the Proper Legal Handling of Minor Injury Cases (关于依法妥善办理轻伤害案件的指导意见). The Opinions provide guidance on investigation, evidence collection, dispute resolution, implementation of policies on criminal arrests and improvement of working mechanisms in minor injury cases. They also clarify the definition of self defense in physical fights.
The SPP, the Ministry of Justice, and the National Bar Association jointly issued a document on the protection of lawyers’ professional rights (关于依法保障律师执业权利的十条意见). The ten articles cover the establishment of a procuratorial service platform, the protection of lawyers’ right to information about critical procedural matters, their access to case files, the right to be consulted before prosecutors approve arrests and guilty pleas, and the right to meet with their clients. The document requires procuratorates to incorporate the protection of lawyers’ rights into the performance evaluations of procuratorate personnel, and provides remedies when such rights are violated.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong dropped its COVID-19 mask mandate as of March 1. The mandate came into effect for public transport on July 15, 2020 and soon expanded to include indoor and outdoor areas. It affected children as young as two years old. Hong Kong has launched a promotional campaign called “Hello Hong Kong” to bring back tourists and businesses.
Hong Kong’s Department of Justice proposed amending the Criminal Procedure Ordinance to allow the prosecution to appeal cases in which the High Court has ruled that there is insufficient evidence to justify a trial. Judges currently may halt a prosecution if they deem that prosecutors have not made a prima facie case against the defendant. The department also proposed barring media outlets from reporting on the prosecution’s appeal.
The Hong Kong Women Workers’ Association plans to hold a march ahead of International Women’s Day to promote labor rights, women’s rights, and gender equality. The organizer said it had secured verbal approval from police. The march would be one of the first authorized by police since the large-scale protests of 2019 and the imposition of Covid-related restrictions on gatherings.
The Equal Opportunities Commission is providing a migrant domestic worker with legal assistance to sue her former employer for alleged sexual harassment. By law, migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong must live with their employers. Between 2020 and 2022, 51% of complaints filed under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance were sexual harassment complaints.
Japan
The Osaka High Court upheld a 2018 district court decision to allow a retrial for a deceased man who was convicted in a 1984 robbery-murder case. The man, Hiromu Sakahara, pleaded guilty during the investigation but maintained his innocence at trial. He died of illness in 2011 while serving an indefinite prison term. The court said it had reasonable doubts about the facts and the credibility of Sakahara’s confession.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office indicted six companies and seven individuals over suspected bid rigging linked to the Tokyo Games. Among those named in a complaint filed by the Fair Trade Commission were Dentsu Group Inc. and Yasuo Mori, 56, former deputy executive director of the Tokyo Games Organizing Committee’s Operations Bureau. The companies were awarded contracts to plan test events and manage events during the games. It is the first time the commission has brought criminal charges against advertising firms in connection with bid rigging.
Koreas
The Constitutional Court has upheld a requirement that men born to Korean parents temporarily living overseas must perform military service before being allowed to renounce Korean citizenship. Eight Constitutional Court judges unanimously rejected the petition of a 23-year-old man who was born in the US to Korean parents and held dual Korean and American citizenship. His application to renounce his Korean citizenship was rejected.
The Seoul Administrative Court found that a local hospital infringed on patients' rights to receive treatment when it ordered patients recovering from alcoholism to clean the facilities and prohibited them from having mobile phones. In May 2020, one of the patients filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, which ruled in the patient’s favor. Four hospital officials challenged the decision in court, arguing that the work was rehabilitative and the patients were paid. The officials have now appealed.
The Constitutional Court ruled that a law increasing penalties for car accidents within school zones is constitutional. Under the 2020 law, drivers could be sentenced to life imprisonment if a school zone accident results in the death of a child. The justices rejected a petition that called the aggravated punishment excessive. The court cited data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that South Korea’s traffic accident mortality rate among children ages 14 and younger is the sixth highest among member nations.
Taiwan
The Ministry of National Defense will withdraw proposed amendments to the General Mobilization Act (全民防衛動員準備法) and revise them in response to input from all sides, said Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁). The draft amendments define two phases of mobilization per presidential order — peacetime “mobilization preparation” and emergency or wartime “mobilization implementation.” During mobilization, the central government would be authorized to enforce controls on information networks, including online and offline media and broadcasting. As the draft does not clearly define “mobilization preparation,” critics said this provision could be used by the government to limit press freedom.
The Executive Yuan said it plans to propose an amendment to the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) to toughen sanctions for individuals or private businesses that fail to adopt cybersecurity measures and cause personal data leaks. The government also plans to establish a new agency tasked with reporting and investigating data breaches at private businesses.