March 17-23
China
An intermediate court in Zhuhai City sentenced a man to eight months in prison for violating a restraining order following a domestic violence complaint. It is the first time a Chinese court has imposed a prison sentence for disobeying a restraining order. The court had issued the order when the man beat and threatened his ex-wife after their divorce. Police held him in administrative detention twice, but he intensified his abusive behavior, resulting in his arrest in January 2024. In its July 2022 regulations governing restraining orders, the Supreme People’s Court said that violating restraining orders could constitute a crime.
A Shanghai court handed down the death penalty to a former executive of Yoozoo Games who was convicted of fatally poisoning the company’s founder in 2020 over a business dispute. Police detained Xu Yao shortly after Lin Qi died. Yoozoo owns the film rights to The Three-Body Problem, a best-selling Chinese science fiction trilogy, and Xu headed up a subsidiary in charge of business related to it, according to Chinese media reports.
The brutal bullying and murder of a 13-year-old boy by three classmates triggered public reflection on rising juvenile crime. Commentators on social media wondered where the children learned to be violent. Domestic news reports said the victim and suspects were all “left-behind children” whose parents live far from home as internal migrant workers. China has an estimated 67 million such children, many of whom are poorly supervised by relatives or boarding school staff. Experts said it could become the first case in which a murder suspect under age 14 is prosecuted since the criminal code was amended in 2021 to allow children as young as 12 to be held criminally responsible for murder and severe injury cases.
The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the China Disabled Persons' Federation jointly issued regulations on promoting the employment of persons with disabilities by strengthening employment services. The regulations stress companies’ legal obligation to ensure that disabled persons constitute no less than 1.5% of their entire staff, to make legally required social insurance payments on their behalf, and to refrain from assessing special fees or withholding part of their pay. It is not uncommon for companies to put disabled persons on their payroll to meet the legal quota in name only, but refuse to let them come to work or give them full pay.
The US firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP became the latest international law firm to announce a reduction in its China-based legal staff. The firm said it will close its Shanghai office and lay off eight employees, including one lawyer and one consultant. Reuters reported late in 2023 that 32 US law firms have reduced their attorney headcount in China in the last decade.
Hong Kong
The city’s legislature unanimously approved a new national security law imposing severe penalties for treason, insurrection, theft of state secrets, sabotage, and external interference. The law, which takes effect on March 23, also modifies criminal procedure rules; for example, police may seek permission from magistrates to prevent suspects from consulting with the lawyers of their choice if national security might be threatened. The Hong Kong Bar Association, Hong Kong Journalists Association, and legal scholars have expressed concern about the chilling effect of the expansively defined new crimes. The law supplements a National Security Law imposed by China’s legislature on Hong Kong in 2020, under which nearly 300 persons have been arrested and most public political opposition has been suppressed.
Multinational firms in Hong Kong scrambled to understand the potential implications of the new national security law on their operations. Some business executives expressed concern about vague provisions that criminalize disclosing state secrets.
The court where former Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai is on trial heard testimony from former activist Andy Li about an international crowdfunding campaign to pay for advertising in major global media in support of Hong Kong’s 2019 protest movement. Li was a co-founder of the group Fight for Freedom, Stand With Hong Kong, which coordinated the advertising efforts. Li testified that the campaign raised more than US $1.8 million and that Lai’s American aide, Mark Simon, allowed his personal bank account to be used by the campaign. Li has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces. Prosecutors allege that Lai and foreign governments orchestrated the massive street protests.
Japan
The Japanese Bar Association urged the Tokyo city government to suspend a controversial redevelopment of the historic 163-acre Meiji Jingu Gaien park. The government approved the project in February 2023 based on an environmental assessment submitted by the developers. In the latest salvo in a growing opposition campaign, the bar association argued that the environmental assessment lacked sufficient data and used flawed research methods.
The Kumamoto District Court dismissed claims by 144 persons who say they were unfairly excluded from a 2009 special relief program for victims of Minamata disease - severe mercury poisoning caused by eating contaminated seafood. The court acknowledged that 25 of the plaintiffs were affected by mercury-tainted industrial waters in Kumamoto Prefecture, but said the statute of limitations for bringing such claims had expired. Under the special relief program, about 38,000 people became eligible for one-time payment or medical benefits, but many others were rejected based on age and place of residence. Nearly 1,800 persons across Japan have sued to challenge their exclusion. By contrast, in September 2023, the Osaka District Court ordered the government to recognize 128 previously excluded plaintiffs as Minamata disease sufferers.
Koreas
The South Korean government has taken action to suspend the medical licenses of two senior doctors for supporting a month-long strike by medical interns and residents, one of the doctors said. Park Myung-Ha, a senior member of the Korean Medical Association, said he and a colleague received government letters saying that their licenses would be suspended for three months from April 15. The Health Ministry said it would not confirm administrative action against individual doctors. About 12,000 junior doctors have participated in a strike that began February 20, 2024, to protest the government’s plan to increase medical school admissions.
Prosecutors sent investigators to search for evidence in the office of former Supreme Court Justice Kwon Soon-il as part of an investigation into a high-profile property development scandal in the city of Seongnam. Prosecutors allege that several high-ranking officials were each promised 5 billion won ($3.8 million) by the management firm Hwacheon Daeyu, which is at the center of the scandal. Kwon, who was a Supreme Court justice from 2014-2020, is accused of advising the firm without officially registering himself as a lawyer.
Taiwan
The Ministry of Health and Welfare apologized and offered proposals to reform the rules governing foster care and adoption following the death of a 1-year-old boy in foster care, allegedly from sustained abuse. The Taiwan Children's Rights Association announced plans to hold a rally on April 4, Children's Day, to spotlight the urgent need for legal reforms such as increasing the role of local governments in supervising and training caregivers and social workers, and not merely punishing abusers.