November 17-23
China
A man drove a car into a group of people near an elementary school in central China, injuring multiple students. No deaths were reported. Police said the driver was in custody but released no information about his motive. It appeared to be the eighth case in less than eight weeks of someone attacking a group of strangers to vent a personal grievance - now dubbed “revenge against society” attacks. The Supreme People’s Procuratorate convened a meeting to discuss the cases and issued a statement expressing resolve to resolve conflicts in society, punish and prevent crimes, and protect social stability.
The Supreme People's Court and Supreme People’s Procuratorate jointly issued a judicial interpretation of the crime of refusing to enforce a court judgment or ruling. Article 313 of the Criminal Law provides that if the losing party in a civil case has the capacity to carry out a court judgment but refuses to and circumstances are “serious” or “very serious,” they may be criminally prosecuted, fined, and imprisoned. According to the interpretation, serious circumstances could include falsifying, hiding, or destroying evidence of ability to carry out the judgment, or using violence, threats, or bribes to block others from giving testimony on the matter. Very serious circumstances could include engaging in fake litigation to impede enforcement or gathering a mob to block execution of the judgment.
A transgender woman won compensation from a hospital that subjected her to electroshock without her consent in an effort to “cure” her. The Changli People’s Court in Qinhuangdao, a city in Hebei Province, awarded a 60,000 yuan (US$8,280) award to Ling’er, a 28-year-old performance artist who was registered male at birth but identifies as a woman. Her parents sent her to a mental hospital in 2022 after she told them she identified as a woman.
The Ministry of Commerce is gearing up to begin implementing stricter export control regulations on December 1. On Nov. 15, it released a unified dual-use items export control list, consolidating previously dispersed lists. The Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Export Control of Dual-use Items (中华人民共和国两用物项出口管制条例) require Chinese firms to get approval to export to foreign businesses on a new Control List similar to the US Commerce Department’s Entity List. China also may prosecute companies that supply products containing Chinese inputs to companies on the Control List - taking a page from the US sanctions playbook.
A judge on the Shanghai High Court said in an article published on the court’s official social media account that individuals may legally own cryptocurrency even though transactions using cryptocurrency have been banned since 2021. The legal status of cryptocurrency in China has been mired in confusion, as reports indicate that crypto mining in China continues.
China said it will resume visa-free entry for Japanese nationals starting Nov. 30. China previously granted citizens of Japan, Singapore, and Brunei visa-free travel for up to 15 days but suspended the program during the COVID-19 pandemic. While China reinstated the measure for Singapore and Brunei in July 2023, it delayed doing so for Japanese nationals, likely due to the governments’ tense relations. They may now stay visa-free for up to 30 days.
Hong Kong
The Hong Kong High Court sentenced 45 of the city’s leading pro-democracy politicians to prison terms ranging from four years and two months to 10 years for holding an unauthorized primary election in 2020. The court deemed the election exercise a conspiracy to commit subversion. The 45 included former law professor Benny Tai, student activist Joshua Wong, former legislators Claudia Mo and “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, journalist Gwnneyth Ho, and numerous former district councillors. Thirty-one of the group pleaded guilty in order to get lighter sentences; 14 were tried and convicted, and two were tried and acquitted.
The US State Department condemned the sentences and said it would impose new visa restrictions on Hong Kong officials responsible for enforcing the National Security Law. China’s Foreign Ministry responded that it would take countermeasures but gave no details.
Jimmy Lai, former publisher of the Apple Daily newspaper, finally took the witness stand in his long-delayed trial on charges of sedition and colluding with foreign forces to undermine the government. He said he never used his high-level foreign government contacts to influence their policies toward Hong Kong, only told them what was going on in Hong Kong and asked them to voice support for Hong Kong. Lai, 77, has lost weight during nearly four years in solitary confinement, and his international defense team has said he is denied access to appropriate treatment for his diabetes. Supporters fear that Beijing, which has labeled Lai the mastermind behind the 2019 anti-extradition protests, intends to keep him in prison for life.
The High Court ordered a retrial of two defendants who were acquitted in 2021 of taking part in an unlawful assembly and violating the anti-masking law during the 2019 protest movement against allowing extradition to mainland China. Prosecutors had appealed their acquittal.
Japan
The Ministry of Justice said it has begun pilot programs at three prisons to test the effect of providing more clinical treatment, jobs, and social reintegration support for inmates with mental and developmental disabilities. The goal is to reduce recidivism. Under an amendment of the Penal Code that takes effect in 2025, the government should focus on rehabilitation rather than retribution. The ministry will evaluate the pilots with a view to expanding them to prisons nationwide.
The Saitama District Court issued an injunction banning anti-Kurdish demonstrations within 600 meters of the office of the Japan Kurdish Cultural Association in Kawaguchi, Saitama Prefecture. The association’s lawyer said demonstrators have used loudspeakers to shout such things as “Kurds should get out of Japan.” The injunction also banned acts that defame the group and are disrespectful, such as putting up banner or handing out fliers with hate speech such as: “Refugees should go back to their home countries.”
The public interest litigation group LEDGE filed a lawsuit against the state challenging the power of judges to restrict the clothing that people wear in court under the guise of maintaining order in the court. Plaintiffs in three separate incidents are seeking 3.3 million yen ($33,000) in damages. In one cases, a judge in the Fukuoka District Court ordered an LGBT activist to conceal the rainbow pattern on his socks before allowing him to enter the court to witness a verdict.
Koreas
The South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection Agency referred the former national security advisor and other senior government officials under the former Moon Jae-in administration to prosecutors on suspicion of abuse of power. The audit agency alleges that the officials intentionally delayed publication of an environmental impact assessment for a US-supplied advanced missile defense system, thereby delaying its deployment.
The wife of Lee Jae-myung, head of South Korea’s opposition Democratic Party, appealed her conviction and fine for using a government credit card to buy 104,000 won ($74.53) worth of meals for the wives of three former and current DP lawmakers. The credit card was issued by the Gyeonggi regional government, where her husband was governor at the time. Lee also was running in the party primary for the 2022 presidential election.
South Korea's Supreme Court upheld the conviction of the former head of an advocacy group representing victims of Japan's wartime sexual abuse for embezzlement and sentenced her to 18 months in prison, suspended for three years. Yoon Mee-hyang was indicted in 2020 on charges of fraud and embezzlement during her time as chief of the Korean Council for Justice and Remembrance for the Issues of Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, better known as Jungdaehyup.
Taiwan
Finance Minister Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) promised a legislative hearing to review the application of income tax regulations to cryptocurrency trading within three months. Cryptocurrency gains are categorized as digital assets, and tax officials who spoke at the hearing said profits from trading on cryptocurrency exchanges are subject to income tax. However, they said tax agencies has yet to effectively collect tax on crypto trades.
Civil society organizations staged a protest in front of the legislature against efforts by the opposition Nationalist Party (KMT) to require a two-thirds majority for decisions by the Constitutional Court, rather than a simple majority. The KMT also wants to require 10 of the court’s 15 justices be present to hear cases. Such changes would paralyze the court because the terms of seven justices recently ended and the legislature has yet to approve their nominated successors. More than 300 lawyers marched in protest against the proposed changes on Nov. 16.
The Legislative Yuan voted to establish a committee to investigate National Development Fund (NDF) investments. The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), which proposed the move and was supported by the KMT, alleged that more than half of investments made by the agency resulted in heavy losses. The TPP and KMT currently control the legislature and say they want to hold the executive, led by the Democratic Progressive Party, up to scrutiny.