November 5-11
China
China joined the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, greatly simplifying foreign document authentication. From November 7, 2023 onward, official documents sent between China and other contracting countries require only an apostille certificate issued by the country of origin; consular authentication is no longer required. The convention has 126 contracting parties.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate (SPP) released five guiding cases related to the enforcement of parole. According to an SPP spokesman, the number of parole cases has been decreasing since 2019 and some provinces have not had a single parole case in the past two years. By releasing the first batch of parole guiding cases, the SPP said it was sending a signal to prosecutors across the country to appropriately implement parole laws and policies.
Hong Kong
Beijing accused US lawmakers who are seeking to sanction 49 Hong Kong legal officials, judges and prosecutors of being in a “sinister collusion with anti-China disrupters.” A bipartisan group of US lawmakers last week introduced the Hong Kong Sanctions Act to require the White House to formally evaluate whether the named 49 Hong Kong officials should be sanctioned for their roles in enforcing the 2020 Hong Kong National Security Law.
A Chinese official said Hong Kong can “use unique assets to help further develop international trade laws.” Li Yongsheng, acting commissioner for China’s Foreign Ministry office in Hong Kong, praised the local legal system’s compatibility with both mainland China and foreign jurisdictions. He also reaffirmed China’s commitment to relaxing trade rules. He spoke at the opening session of Hong Kong Legal Week 2023, which invited sector leaders to discuss global business opportunities.
The Hong Kong Housing Authority is appealing a recent court ruling that same-sex couples enjoy rights of inheritance. A spokesman said the case would have a great impact on housing policies. The underlying lawsuit was brought by the late Edgar Ng Hon-lam after learning that he could not leave the apartment he bought under the government's Home Ownership Scheme to his husband. After Ng died, his husband took over the case. Separately, the head of the Equal Opportunities Commission, Ricky Chu, said the EEOC spent more than year studying possible legal changes to bolster LGBTQ rights before being told by the Department of Justice that the proposed amendments were beyond its powers. Hong Kong does not allow same-sex marriage but its courts have ruled that same-sex couples married legally in other jurisdictions have various specific rights.
The Hong Kong government rejected as “misleading and slanderous” a call by ten Catholic archbishops and bishops from eight countries for the immediate release of former Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai. Lai, 75 and a Catholic, has been held in jail since late 2020 on charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. His trial has repeatedly been postponed but is now set to begin December 18. Catholic leaders from Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, Lithuania, Nigeria, the United Kingdom, and the United States wrote in their open letter that “there is no place for such cruelty and oppression in a territory that claims to uphold the rule of law and respect the right to freedom of expression.”
Japan
The Japanese branch of the Unification Church said it plans to allocate up to 10 billion yen (US$66 million) in a fund to compensate persons who say they were harmed by the group’s high-pressure fundraising tactics. At a press conference, the head of the branch, Tomihiro Tanaka, said the church had done nothing wrong but offered what he said was a “sincere apology” for the sufferings and difficulties of former followers and their families. The government has asked a court to revoke the church’s status as a religious organization, but the process could take months or years.
Koreas
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family issued a set of guidelines to help public companies, government offices, and local governments comply with the new Stalking Prevention Act. The guidelines focus on creating a body to investigate cases and counsel victims, and separating victims from their alleged stalkers by changing work schedules and locations. The ministry plans to issue more detailed procedures by year end.
In the wake of an end to South Korea’s ban on sending leaflets into North Korea criticizing its regime, North Korea threatened to respond with a “shower of shells.” The South Korean Supreme Court ruled in September that an anti-leaflet law was an excessive restriction on free speech. A statement published by North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency was the regime’s first response to the ruling.
Taiwan
The Executive Yuan approved a draft Nutrition and Healthy Diet Act (營養及健康飲食促進法) to punish false advertisements about food products and promote good nutrition through steps such as developing diet guidelines and requiring schools to serve or sell healthy meals. Taiwan has pledged to comply with the Rome Declaration on Nutrition and the UN Framework for Action.
Taiwan’s Constitutional Court partially stuck down a provision in the Medical Care Act (醫療法) that banned anyone except medical institutions from advertising medical services. The ruling means that individual doctors may advertise their practices. The court said the advertising restriction infringed on the freedom of speech and occupation and the right to equal protection.