May 14-20
China
The Beijing LGBT Center, founded in 2008 to provide community space, medical advice, and cultural programming for the LGBTQ+ community, abruptly announced its closure. It was the latest indicator of China’s backtracking on gender inclusiveness that has included censoring LGBT WeChat accounts, disciplining university students for handing out rainbow flags, state media describing lesbianism as a “Westernized lifestyle,” and media regulators criticizing gender non-conforming men.
Chinese police detained Son Jun-ho, a South Korean soccer player for the Chinese soccer club Shandong Taishan, on suspicion of accepting bribes. Chinese media reported that Son and teammates were questioned about alleged match fixing.
The Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court convicted John Shing-wan Leung (梁成運), a 78-year-old US citizen with Hong Kong permanent residency, of espionage at a closed trial and sentenced him to life in prison. Few details were available in the court’s sentencing announcement.
Liang Litang (梁利堂), a 63-year-old US citizen, was charged by US prosecutors in Boston with conspiracy and acting as an agent of the Chinese government. Liang is accused of providing information about Chinese activists and dissidents in Boston to the Chinese government.
The Shanghai police detained 21 suspects in an alleged scheme to launder money by tipping livestream hosts. Police said the suspects laundered nearly 100 million RMB ($14.4 million). They said it was the first case of its kind reported in China.
Hong Kong
The Court of First Instance rejected attempts by former Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai to challenge the National Security Committee’s decision to block his UK lawyer from participating in his trial. Lai argued last month that the city’s committee overstepped its powers by advising the immigration chief to reject any future visa applications by barrister Timothy Owen. Chief Judge Jeremy Poon wrote in the ruling that under the National Security Law, Hong Kong courts do not have jurisdiction to review the legality of the National Security Committee’s work.
Hong Kong prosecutors asked the High Court to overturn the acquittal of a couple who taunted a middle-aged construction worker before other persons set the man on fire in November 2019 during violent anti-government protests. The construction worker had chased vandals who trashed a railway station, and the couple confronted him verbally. The prosecutor argued that their words could have incited others to set the man on fire. A magistrate judge in a lower court rejected that argument.
Japan
Under pressure from other members of the Group of Seven and multinational companies, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party submitted a bill to the Diet aimed at promoting understanding of the LGBTQ community. However, critics decried the bill’s weak language, such as a statement that there “should be no unfair discrimination” against sexual minorities instead of the original “discrimination is unacceptable.” Japan does not legally recognize same-sex unions.
Koreas
The Supreme Prosecutors Office is pursuing retrials for 100 fishermen who were abducted by North Korea while at sea in 1968, released in 1969, and upon their return home were convicted and imprisoned on various charges, including violation of anti-communist laws. The office said it had confirmed that the men were unlawfully detained during the original investigations. Prosecutors and courts have already moved to reverse convictions in similar cases.
The Seoul High Court rejected the request by a self-described socialist to be excused from South Korea’s mandatory military service and allowed to perform an alternative form of service. The plaintiff filed an administrative lawsuit after the government rejected his application for alternative military service. A district court that earlier rejected his suit said an ideology that runs counter to the constitution cannot become the basis for conscientious objection from military service.
The Seoul Central District Court ordered the country’s biggest adoption agency to pay 100 million won ($74,700) in damages to a 48-year-old man for mishandling his adoption as a child to the United States. However, it rejected his claims against the South Korean government. It was the first case in which a South Korean adoptee sued the country’s government and a domestic adoption agency over fraudulent paperwork and failure to thoroughly screen adoptive parents.
Taiwan
The Legislative Yuan amended the law to allow same-sex couples to adopt children not biologically related to them. The move came in the form of amending the Act for Implementation of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748 (司法院釋字第七四八號解釋施行法). Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage in 2019.
The Legislative Yuan approved amendments to the Human Trafficking Prevention Act (人口販運防制法) to increase penalties, including for attempted trafficking. Last year, hundreds of Taiwanese were lured to Cambodia by lucrative job offers, only to be held against their will and forced to work in telecommunications scams or as prostitutes. The legislature also amended the Money Laundering Control Act (洗錢防制法) to curb a growing number of fraud cases.