September 3-9
China
Legal experts expressed concern over proposed revisions to the Public Security Administrative Punishments Law (治安管理处罚法) to punish comments, clothing, or symbols that “undermine the spirit” or “harm the feelings” of China. Nine days into a month-long public comment period on the draft revisions, 71,769 persons had submitted a total of 85,829 comments. As of Sept. 12, the numbers had climbed to 109,900 suggestions from almost 90,000 people. The NPC does not release any information about the content of the suggestions, however, making it impossible to know how many were supportive and how many opposed the proposed new provision.
The Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress released the five-year legislative plan for its current term ending in 2028. The plan includes 79 first-tier laws that are likely to be passed in the current term and 51 second-tier laws that may require more work. The NPC legislative plan is approved by the Communist Party’s central leadership.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) released seven typical cases involving prosecutorial public interest litigation to address water and environmental pollution. Six of the cases are administrative lawsuits against local government agencies that failed to fully perform their duties; one a civil lawsuit against a polluting company.
The SPP, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, and the China Disabled Persons Federation jointly released five typical cases involving prosecutorial supervision over administrative agencies where the interest of the disabled was involved. The cases touch on property rights, government subsidies, insurance, government permits, and identity fraud.
Hong Kong
The Court of Final Appeal said the government has a constitutional duty to provide a framework for legal recognition of same-sex relationships, and gave it two years to do so. The five-judge panel stopped short of calling for marriage equivalent to what is available to heterosexual couples, which activists have been demanding. A 2019 study by the Equal Opportunities Commission said that same-sex couples receive differential treatment compared to heterosexual couples in more than 100 legal areas, including housing, employment, medical care, inheritance and immigration.
The Court of Final Appeal refused to allow four Labour Party members to appeal their convictions for violating Covid-19 social distancing rules during a Labor Day protest in 2020. Group gatherings were limited at the time to four people, so the four had marched as a group to government offices, while four colleagues from the League of Social Democrats marched as a separate group. All eight were given suspended sentences of 14 days’ imprisonment. The court said an appeal was not warranted because no issues of great and general importance were at stake.
Japan
The Supreme Court ordered Okinawa prefecture to approve a central government plan to relocate a US military base on the island. It was the latest move in a decades-long struggle between Tokyo and the prefectural government, which wants the US base to be substantially reduced. The Supreme Court affirmed a decision by the Fukuoka High Court last March that upheld the legality of a central government order for Okinawa to approve design changes in the base construction plan.
The Education Ministry is considering legal action against the Unification Church after it failed to respond properly to government inquiries. The ministry asked the church to submit reports on its organizational management, assets, donations, and lawsuits; it said the church’s response was timely but unsatisfactory. The government reportedly may ask a court to impose a civil fine or even disband the group.
Koreas
South Korea's National Human Rights Commission proposed legislative changes to prevent extended solitary confinement for inmates. The law currently caps solitary confinement at 45 days, but an inmate with bipolar disorder was recently held in solitary for 114 days due to consecutive solitary confinements. The commission suggests prohibiting consecutive solitary confinements and limiting disciplinary actions against mentally ill inmates.
South Korean doctors' associations, including the Korea Medical Association and the Korean Hospital Association, filed a constitutional appeal against a new law requiring surveillance cameras in operating rooms. The law takes effect September 25. The groups argue that the cameras will violate physicians’ personal rights and undermine doctor-patient trust.
Teachers in South Korea took a coordinated leave of absence and held rallies to protest student misbehavior, parental harassment, and an ambiguous clause in the country’s Child Welfare Act meant to prohibit child abuse. Teachers say that the clause’s ambiguity allows parents to file child abuse charges against teachers who take reasonable disciplinary action against student misbehavior.
Taiwan
The Taipei District Court ruled against former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), Taiwan People’s Party chairman and presidential candidate, in his effort to bring criminal defamation charges against US author Ethan Gutmann. Ko, who is a medical doctor and organ transplant surgeon, maintains that Gutmann defamed him in a book about Chinese organ transplants.
The Taiwan High Court ordered a Taipei elementary school to pay NT$1.23 million (US$38,531) in compensation to a student who was sexually assaulted by a coach when she was in sixth grade. The teacher is now serving a prison term after being convicted of sexually assaulting a minor.