April 6-12
China
The Finance Ministry raised Chinese tariffs on US goods to 125% after US President Trump pushed American tariffs on imports from China to a total of 145%. The Commerce Ministry filed a second claim against the US at the World Trade Organization. President Xi Jinping said that “there are no winners in a tariff war,” while Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning posted on X: “We are Chinese. We are not afraid of provocations. We don’t back down.” This report summarizes developments as of week’s end.
A Ministry of Commerce spokesman said that any deal to sell TikTok’s US operations must comply with Chinese law, and any export of Chinese technology requires government approval. The Trump administration had believed it was near a deal to sell the app’s US operations to a company controlled by American investors. But following US President Trump’s announcement of new tariffs against China on April 2, various news media reported that TikTok owner ByteDance told the White House that China would no longer approve the deal without negotiations over the tariffs.
The Cyberspace Administration of China published an FAQ with responses to publicly submitted questions, Questions and Answers about Data Export Safety Policies (数据出境安全管理政策问答). The FAQ addresses data export negative lists in various pilot free trade zones, factors affecting the data export “necessity” assessment, the scope of critical data, and data export applications related to foreign investments.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate publicized six typical cases involving the use of prosecutorial hearings, in which local procuratorates convene ad hoc quasi-public hearings outside of normal court processes to assist in resolving disputes that have arisen in civil, administrative, or criminal cases.
Hong Kong
Prison authorities have produced two short films about young protesters who were imprisoned after taking part in the 2019 pro-democracy protests, and plan to use them to promote “law-abiding awareness” among youth. According to a press release, the Correctional Services Department showed one of the films - apparently based on the Tong Ying-kit case - to students and teachers from 29 secondary schools. The other one is available on the department’s YouTube channel. The judiciary said this week that, as of February, about 96 percent of cases related to the 2019 protests and 86 percent of national security cases had been concluded.
Australian Justice Robert French resigned a year early as an overseas non-permanent judge on Hong Kong’s top court, the Court of Final Appeal (CFA). French, a former chief justice of Australia’s High Court, was reported as saying that he respected the “integrity and independence” of the CFA’s remaining foreign judges but that their role has become “increasingly anachronistic and arguably cosmetic.” French took up the position in 2017 and his term was extended for three years in 2023. He is the sixth foreign judge to depart CFA since last year, leaving five overseas non-permanent judges, two from Britain and three from Australia.
A former co-founder and chairperson of Hong Kong’s Democratic Party, Yeung Sum, told The Associated Press that the party began acting to dissolve itself after being told to do so by Chinese officials. The party announced on Feb. 20, 2025 that it was setting up a task force to look into the steps to dissolve. At the time, Chairperson Lo Kin-hei said only that the decision was based on the political situation and social climate. Other party members confirmed to the AP that they were warned of negative consequences if the party continues to exist.
A High Court judge denied an effort to keep alive a legal challenge to the government’s ambitious plans to develop a tech hub, the San Tin Technopole. An environmentalist, Eddie Tse, originally filed a legal challenge to the project’s environmental impact statement, which he said was flawed, but he withdrew after he and his family received widespread harassment and threats. As the deadline for filing such challenges had passed, former district councillor Debby Chan attempted to take over Tse’s challenge, but High Court Judge Russell Coleman said she lacked an overlapping interest with Tse.
Japan
The House of Representatives’ Commission on the Constitution held a debate on whether and how to address online disinformation and misinformation. Suggestions included using digital technology that identifies the source of information and increasing fact-checking services. The key issue was the appropriate role of government. Many lawmakers oppose regulating online posts.
The Unification Church appealed its court-ordered dissolution to the Tokyo High Court. On March 25, the Tokyo District Court ordered the church be stripped of its status as a religious corporation because of its coercive practices in soliciting donations from members. It was the first time a court has taken this step against a religious organization for civil law (rather than criminal law) violations.
Koreas
Acting President Han Duck-soo appointed Ma Eun-hyuk as the ninth justice of the Constitutional Court, and nominated Lee Wan-kyu, minister of government legislation, and Ham Sang-hun, a justice of the Seoul High Court, to replace two justices whose terms are about to end. The court now has a full complement of nine justices. Ma was selected by the opposition-controlled National Assembly late in 2024 but his appointment was delayed amid political wrangling over how the makeup of the Constitutional Court might affect the impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The South Korean government formally designated June 3 as the date for the next presidential election. The constitution requires elections within 60 days after a vacancy arises in the presidency. Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachement was upheld by the Constitutional Court on April 4.
Taiwan
The opposition-controlled legislature rejected the Executive Yuan’s request to reconsider an amendment to the Police Personnel Management Act (警察人員人事條例) that the executive says will undermine the pension fund’s finances. The amendment raises the level of pensions, but it is not clear where the additional funds will come from. It is the sixth time in the current legislative session that the legislature has ignored a formal request from the Executive Yuan to reconsider legislation, reflecting the deep partisan divisions between President Lai Ching-te’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) on the one hand, and the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party on the other.
The DPP lost another battle in the legislature when the body approved the proceedings of a controversial March 25 plenary session, which advanced two KMT referendum proposals, bypassing committee review. The proposals are for referendums on opposing the imposition of martial law and opposing the abolition of the death penalty. The DPP opposes the referendums because it says that the government does not support imposing martial law or plan to abolish the death penalty.