May 7-13
China
A ChatGPT user was accused of picking quarrels and provoking trouble (寻衅滋事) for posting a fake news report online. Police in Gansu Province said the accused man used the AI-powered chatbot to create an article about a train crash causing the deaths of nine road repairmen. It was one of the first enforcement actions under recently enacted regulations governing AI-generated content.
Many global law firms and other experts in Chinese law are publishing analyses of China’s newly revised Counter-Espionage Law and how it might affect multinational corporations. See here, here and here. The revisions take effect July 1, 2023.
The Supreme People’s Court released ten so-called typical cases regarding the protection of the ecological system of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The cases include four criminal cases, two cases of public interest litigation incidental to criminal proceedings, two civil claims, and two cases of administrative public interest litigation. The Law on Ecological Protection of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau was adopted by the Standing Committee of the People’s Congress in April and takes effect on September 1, 2023.
Hong Kong
The Legislative Council unanimously passed the Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2023, which creates a process for the chief executive to decide whether overseas counsel can participate in cases brought under the National Security Law. Courts - which previously decided whether to allow foreign counsel to act in individual cases — must now obtain a certification from the chief executive that such lawyer’s participation would not harm national security. The implications for former Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai’s attempt to be defended by a UK barrister at his National Security Law trial were not clear.
The Hong Kong government is considering amending the Regional Flag and Regional Emblem Ordinance to expressly prohibit desecrating the regional flag or emblem by burning, mutilating, scrawling on, defiling or trampling on the flag, the emblem, or their images. Intentionally publishing a desecration of the regional flag or emblem with an intent to insult them would also be banned.
Japan
An immigration bill aimed at addressing the long-term detention of asylum seekers passed the Lower House. The changes will allow Japan to deport asylum-seekers who have unsuccessfully applied for refugee status three or more times, while people fleeing conflict zones such as Ukraine, Afghanistan, or Syria will be allowed to stay as long-term residents under a status similar to refugee status. The bill is expected to clear both houses by the end of the parliamentary session.
The parliament enacted a bill permitting courts to approve placing GPS monitors on suspects deemed at risk of fleeing the country while released on bail. The bill was inspired in part by the 2019 flight of former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn, who was accused of under-reporting his compensation. Separately, measures were approved to prevent accused criminals from learning the name, address, and other personal information of their victims when the victims are strangers.
Koreas
The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency said it plans to transfer 51 suspects in a massive home rental scam to the prosecution on fraud charges. The police also seek to charge 18 of the suspects with organizing a criminal group. The suspects are accused of defrauding tenants for 533 apartments and multi-family housing units of deposits worth 43 billion won ($32.5 million).
The Seoul Central District Court ordered North Korea and its leader, Kim Kim Jong-un, to pay 50 million won ($37,900) to each of three men who were taken prisoner during the 1950-53 Korean War and forced to work in a coal mine. The men escaped in 2000-2001. The court issued a similar verdict in a 2000 case, ordering payments of 21 million won to each of two former POWs. Those plaintiffs have not been able to collect their awards.
Taiwan
The Legislative Yuan upgraded the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to ministry status, with a larger budget and workforce. The legislature also established four specialized agencies -- Climate Change Agency, Resource Recycling Agency, Chemical Substance Management Agency, and Environmental Management Agency -- and a National Environmental Research Institute, which will operate independently as tier-three Cabinet agencies under the supervision of the new Ministry of the Environment.
The Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee approved creating a new category of attorneys called civil attorneys who will be employed by government agencies and public schools and represent them in legal disputes. The new role is contained in an amendment to the Attorney Regulation Act (律師法).