January 7-13
China
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced sanctions against five US defense companies in response to the US government’s approval of a $300 million sale of equipment to help maintain Taiwan's tactical information systems. The companies are: BAE Systems Land and Armament, Alliant Techsystems Operation, AeroVironment, ViaSat and Data Link Solutions. The sanctions include freezing any property the companies hold in China and prohibiting organizations and individuals in China from engaging in transactions or cooperation with them,
A Supreme People’s Court research report recommended overhauling the system of collateral consequences for persons convicted of crimes, and said family members and social contacts of convicted persons should generally not be placed under restrictions. Aside from prison and fines, criminal convicts (and sometimes relatives and contacts) currently may face restrictions on school enrollment, employment, social activities, place of residence, and travel. The majority of such restrictions come from local and sectoral legislation, the report said, and do not sufficiently distinguish between serious and minor crimes. The report also called for erasing criminal records for minor offenses.
The Communist Party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) indicated that its focus in 2024 will be on corruption in the financial sector, state-owned enterprises, universities, sports, tobacco, medicine, grain purchasing and marketing, infrastructure projects, and statistics. In his speech to the CCDI’s plenary meeting, Communist Party General Secretary Xi Jinping did not signal any change in his approach to dealing with corruption, which emphasizes the party policing itself.
Hong Kong
The 2024 Legislative Council agenda includes considering a Safeguarding National Security Bill to supplement the National Security Law imposed by China’s National People’s Congress in 2020. The local legislation will be introduced by the city’s Security Bureau. Also on the agenda are bills relating to cybersecurity, animal cruelty prevention, and tax cuts for families with newborns.
Prosecutors said that former Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai’s email exchanges with former US officials are evidence that he conspired with foreign forces. The email records were introduced along with a 61-page document containing facts admitted by 76-year-old Lai, who has pleaded not guilty to colluding with foreign forces and sedition. His trial began on December 18, 2023.
Pro-establishment lawmaker Doreen Kong said that requiring journalists to obtain government permission to access the city’s vehicle registry is inconsistent with the city’s constitutional guarantee of press freedom. The new rule took effect on January 8, 2024. It was the government’s response to a Court of Final Appeal ruling on June 5, 2023, that investigative journalist Bao Choy did not violate the law when she accessed the registry to investigate the 2019 Yuen Long mob attack. Commissioner for Transport Angela Lee said there are no objective criteria under the new rule for evaluating journalists’ applications.
A Hong Kong court live-streamed a hearing for the first time in effort to enhance confidence in the judiciary. Aside from occasional time lags, the experiment went smoothly. Cameras showed the plaintiff’s lawyer and the judges’ bench in a Court of Final Appeal civil case. A second case will be streamed on January 16.
The West Kowloon Magistrates’ Court sentenced Hong Kong activist Chu Kai-poon to three months in prison for wearing a shirt with the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” at the Hong Kong International Airport. The court said Chu’s actions risked reviving the 2019 political protests.
Japan
Tokyo prosecutors made their first arrests in a large-scale investigation into alleged financial reporting crimes by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s largest faction. House of Representatives member Yoshitaka Ikeda and one of his secretaries are suspected of under-reporting Ikeda’s 2018-2022 political funds statements. The LDP faction once led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is suspected of distributing funds off the books to its individual members.
The Transport Ministry introduced emergency safety measures after a fatal plane collision at Tokyo Haneda Airport on January 2. The measures, effective nationwide, include more visible stop line markings on taxiways leading to runways and use of clearer languages in traffic control communications.
Koreas
A law took effect in South Korea that allows authorities to order stalking suspects considered at high risk of further offense to wear electronic tracking devices even before conviction. Victims are to receive text messages if the suspect comes near them. Persons convicted of stalking may be required to wear electronic ankle monitors.
The Supreme Court upheld previous judgments requiring Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp. to compensate the victims of forced labor during Japan's colonial rule in the Korean Peninsula from 1910 to 1945. The decision follows similar court decisions in December 2023 involving Nippon and two other Japanese firms in five separate cases.
South Korea’s legislature voted overwhelmingly to ban the consumption of dog meat in a bipartisan vote. After a three-year grace period, the breeding and slaughtering of dogs for human consumption will be punishable by up to three years in prison or a 30 million won ($22, 800) fine. An association of dog breeders and sellers said the ban will affect about 3,500 farms and 3,000 restaurants.
An appeals court overturned the conviction of a local company, SI Innotec, charged with violating trade laws by supplying Taiwan with submarine manufacturing equipment without South Korean government approval. A three-judge panel at the Changwon District Court decided there was not sufficient evidence to consider the equipment as military goods that require export approval. Two other companies, Keumha Naval Technology and S2&K, are also charged with breaking trade laws over their work on the Taiwan submarine program.
The Seoul Central District Court plans to establish a special court for criminal cases where the defendant or the victim has a disability. The court has deployed two judicial support officers dedicated to assisting individuals with disabilities. It will also improve accessibility by providing braille documents and sign-language interpreters.
The South Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare said the government will increase subsidies for infant day-care centers, which have been struggling financially as birthrates decline. The ministry said the subsidies will help private and family day care centers stay open.
Taiwan
Shielding Taiwan’s elections from potential interference by China is such a concern for the self-governing democracy that it’s been willing for years to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of eligible voters to do so.
Narratives casting doubt on US support for Taiwan’s interests were widespread ahead of the January 13 presidential and legislative elections. Current Vice President Lai Ching-te emerged victorious with 40% of the vote in a three-way contest, but will be hamstrung in carrying out his agenda as the Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang or KMT) took control of the legislature.