February 18-24
China
The State Council warned local governments not to impose heavy fines and fees in an effort to compensate for falling tax revenues and shrinking income from sales of land use rights. In the Opinion on Further Standardizing and Supervising the Setting and Enforcing of Fines (关于进一步规范和监督罚款设定与实施的指导意见), the State Council said excessive fines and fees could weaken business confidence and undermine public trust.
The Ministry of Justice, National Development and Reform Commission, and Legislative Affairs Commission of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress held a symposium to discuss drafting new legislation to support the development of the private sector and protect its legal rights, including property rights. The official China Daily newspaper said that “legal and institutional arrangements will be made to ensure the equal treatment of private and state-owned enterprises … (and) better implement the existing supportive policies.”
The Supreme People's Procuratorate and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions jointly issued a notice instructing their subordinate offices to coordinate with each other to safeguard workers' rights and interests. When employers refuse to correct illegal practices, local trade unions can hand relevant information over to procuratorates to enforce the law. The notice also encourages procuratorates to consult with trade unions about suspected violations of employment law.
Hong Kong
Eight persons pleaded guilty to participating in an alleged plot to plant bombs that would kill police during the city’s 2019 protests. The guilty pleas came at the opening of a trial for 14 defendants, including the eight. The 14 defendants, alleged members of two radical protest groups, are accused of planning to place the bombs along the route of a protest march. Ten are charged under the anti-terrorism act, the first time the law has been used since it was enacted in 2002.
The UK-based NGO Hong Kong Watch issued a statement condemning the Hong Kong government’s plans to introduce domestic security legislation under Article 23 of the Basic Law. The statement, written with the support of Human Rights Watch and signed by 86 civil society organizations from around the world, said many provisions of the proposed law were vague and criminalize the peaceful exercise of human rights. The government rejected the statement as “skewed.” The government has not released the draft law’s text but published a description and justification of the law, and invited public comment through February 28, 2024.
Correctional Services Commissioner Wong Kwok-hing said he may seek a legal amendment to bar prisoners who are granted early release from leaving the city. Several released prisoners have left Hong Kong, most recently Tony Chung, founder of the group Studentlocalism, who sought asylum in the UK in December. Currently, a prisoners who have served two thirds of their sentence may be released under supervision, and need only inform their supervising officer if they wish to leave Hong Kong.
The Court of Final Appeal refused to allow the prosecution to appeal the acquittal last August of seven of the city’s most prominent pro-democracy activists on the charge of organizing an unauthorized protest march in 2019. Former Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai and former legislators Martin Lee, Lee Cheuk-yan, Margaret Ng, Leung Kwok-hung, Cyd Ho, and Albert Ho were originally convicted of both organizing and participating in the August 18, 2019 march that drew an estimated 1.7 million participants. The seven are now seeking to overturn the participating charge as well.
Japan
Japan’s immigration authorities want to revoke the status of permanent residents who repeatedly break the law or don’t pay taxes and social security contributions. The plan is in line with the government's decision to launch a new foreign trainee program to attract more workers to supplement its aging and shrinking workforce. The immigration agency is expected to submit bills on the issue during the current legislative session.
The Tokyo District Court held a closed-door hearing on the government's request to dissolve the Unification Church due to its aggressive donation solicitation practices. The church came under scrutiny after the assassination of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022. Abe’s accused killer reportedly told police that he targeted Abe because of his perceived links to the church, which he said encouraged his mother to make excessive donations that ruined the family.
The alleged leader of a Japanese organized crime group was accused in the US of attempting to sell weapons-grade nuclear materials to an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration agent. Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, was among four people arrested in Manhattan nearly two years ago and has been in jail awaiting trial on drugs and weapons charges. The new indictment for international trafficking of nuclear materials and related charges is now added to the earlier charges.
Koreas
The South Korean government warned striking doctors to return to work immediately or face legal action. About 7,800 medical trainees and residents are striking to protest the government’s plan to raise medical school admissions by 2,000. The strikers say that medical schools can’t offer quality education to that many more students.
The family of a South Korean victim of wartime forced labor received compensation from Hitachi Zosen Corp. The family withdrew 60 million won (US$44,830) from the Seoul Central District Court, where it had been deposited by Hitachi Zosen in compliance with the court’s verdict. Other victims and their families have won similar damage suits against Japanese companies, but this is believed to be the first time a Japanese company has complied with a compensation order.
The South Korean personnel management ministry said civil servants involved in drug-related crimes will be fired even if it is their first offense. The ministry said it will produce specific guidelines for enforcement.
A new graduate of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology filed a petition with South Korea’s human rights watchdog after the presidential security service forcibly led him out of his graduation ceremony for shouting at President Yoon Suk Yeol. The graduate, who belongs to a small progressive party, shouted a demand that the government increase its research and development budget.
Taiwan
Prosecutors in Taoyuan are investigating three police officers for alleged brutality against a 17-year-old boy whom they detained on suspicion of being involved in a kidnapping. The boy, surnamed Huang, said the police struck him multiple times and gave him electric shocks in order to force a confession. They released him eight hours later without charges. The Taoyuan police precinct apologized to Huang and his family.
China’s coast guard boarded a Taiwanese tour boat in waters near Taiwan’s Kinmen Islands and conducted an unprecedented inspection of the vessel and crew before letting it go 30 minutes later. The Chinese action was seen as a response to a Taiwan coast guard confrontation the prior week with a Chinese speedboat. In that incident, the Chinese boat fled after being ordered to stop, but then capsized, and two of the four persons on board drowned. The Chinese Coast Guard said it now plans to hold regular law enforcement patrols in the waters between the mainland city of Xiamen and Kinmen.