April 27-May 3
China
The National People’s Congress Standing Committee passed the Private Economy Promotion Law, effective May 20, 2025, seen as a sign of support for the private sector at a time of severe economic challenges. Although the private sector contributes more than half of tax revenue, over 60 percent of economic output and 70 percent of tech innovation, state-owned enterprises generally receive much more favorable access to bank loans, licenses, and business opportunities.
The European Union Parliament said China has lifted sanctions it imposed on five EU lawmakers in 2021 in retaliation against the bloc’s defense of Uyghur Muslims in the far western Xinjiang region of China. China is wooing the EU as both grapple with tariffs imposed by the US.
The National People’s Congress Standing Committee unveiled the draft of a proposed comprehensive environmental code, the Ecological and Environmental Code, which aims to integrate China’s extensive environmental legislation into a single framework. Experts say the codification will fill legal gaps, simplify enforcement, and support the country’s goals of carbon neutrality and environmental sustainability. The draft code is one of five legislative proposals released for public comment. The others include the second drafts of the Atomic Energy Law, the Arbitration Law, and a revision of the Prison Law, as well as a draft law on national development plans.
The Supreme People’s Court released four typical cases that address the rights of workers in new forms of employment (新就业形态), such as platform-based drivers and couriers. The cases clarify legal standards for recognizing employment relationships, handling occupational injury claims, and assigning liability in work-related accidents.
The Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate jointly issued an interpretation, effective April 26, providing detailed guidance on handling criminal cases involving intellectual property infringement. In addition to clarifying trademark crimes, patent counterfeiting, copyright crimes, and misappropriation of trade secrets in cases that have become increasingly complex and technology-driven, the interpretation lowers the threshold for criminal liability and increases the maximum penalties.
The Cyberspace Administration of China, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, and four other government agencies jointly issued the Regulation on the Management of Terminal Devices Directly Linked to Satellite Services 《终端设备直连卫星服务管理规定》. Such devices include civil handheld terminals, portable terminals, fixed terminals, and terminals mounted on vehicles such as aircraft, ships, and vehicles that can connect to satellite communication systems for voice, text, or data transmission.
Hong Kong
Four prominent pro-democracy activists - Claudia Mo, Kwok Ka-ki, Jeremy Tam, and Gary Fan -were released after serving more than four years in prison after being convicted of subversion under the National Security Law. They were among 47 pro-democracy activists arrested in early 2021 and prosecuted for organizing an unofficial primary-election. Thirty-one pleaded guilty; sixteen were tried; and two were acquitted, resulting in forty-five going to prison.
Police arrested the father and brother of US-based democracy activist Anna Kwok for allegedly trying to help her obtain funds from an insurance policy in violation of the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. Kwok, who is on a police wanted list, is executive director of the Hong Kong Democracy Council in Washington D.C. She is accused of colluding with foreign governments in hostile activities against Hong Kong and China. Authorities have detained and questioned the family members of Kwok and other wanted activists in the past but this is the first time that formal charges have been laid.
Transgender activist Henry Edward Tse applied for judicial review of the Immigration Department's updated identity card gender policy, arguing that the requirements are unconstitutional and violate privacy and equality rights. Under the policy announced in April 2024, transgender people who have not undergone full sex reassignment surgery can apply to change their gender marker, but must undergo lifelong hormone treatment and respond to random government requests to verify their hormone levels, among other reporting requirements. The department enacted that policy after the Court of Final Appeal ruled for Tse in 2023 in a lawsuit challenging a requirement of full sex reassignment surgery.
Japan
The main opposition party, the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), submitted a bill to the House of Representatives that would allow couples to choose either a joint or separate family names when they marry. Other opposition parties said they plan to introduce similar bills, although differences remain in their proposals, particularly regarding how children's surnames would be determined. Japan has long been criticized for requiring most women to change their names upon marriage.
Policymakers are grappling with how to deal with AI-generated deepfake images depicting child abuse, which are often created using real children's photos but not addressed by existing laws that prohibit material involving identifiable real minors. On April 1, Tottori Prefecture began implementing a new local ordinance that explicitly bans creation or distribution of AI-generated child sexual abuse material. Experts and advocacy groups are urging national legislation.
Police in Okinawa are investigating two US Marines accused of sexual assault in separate incidents in January and March. A history of US troop sexual misconduct on Okinawa going back decades has contributed to long-standing discontent among the local community with the American military presence.
Koreas
South Korea’s Supreme Court ordered a retrial of presidential front-runner Lee Jae-myung on charges of violating the election law, raising the possibility that Lee might be convicted and rendered ineligible for elected office. In an apparent effort to complete the retrial before the June 3 election, the Seoul High Court scheduled the first hearing for May 15. Delegates from Lee’s Democratic Party proposed legislation that would suspend ongoing criminal trials for individuals elected president. Lee was convicted last year of making false statements during an interview in the last presidential campaign, but the Seoul High Court reversed the conviction on appeal. The Supreme Court said the High Court had misinterpreted parts of the law. The election is being held to fill the vacancy created when President Yoon Suk-yeol was impeached.
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol was indicted on a new charge of abuse of power. Yoon is already being tried on a charge of insurrection for declaring martial law on Dec. 3, 2024, the action for which he was impeached. The new charge came a day after investigators raided Yoon's private residence as part of an investigation into bribery allegations involving his wife, Kim Keon Hee, and a shaman accused of receiving lavish gifts on behalf of the former first lady.
Taiwan
The government has revoked the citizenship or permanent residency of about twenty persons as it enforces a widely ignored ban on holding dual Taiwanese and mainland official IDs. Under Taiwanese law, citizens are barred from taking mainland Chinese household registration (hukou) or passports, while mainland citizens who apply for Taiwan permanent residency or citizenship are supposed to formally give up their mainland hukou. President Lai Ching-te’s government began taking enforcement action this year out of renewed concern about infiltration by the mainland, but the campaign has become controversial.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said that an essay competition jointly organized by a local writing society and a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party may have contravened the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關條例). The competition, aimed at Taiwanese teachers and students, offers prizes and the opportunity to visit China’s Fujian Province. The MAC expressed suspicion of non-reciprocal exchange programs in which mainland officials may promote unification to Taiwanese participants.
Somalia and Taiwan imposed entry bans on each other’s passport holders in a diplomatic dispute that began with Somalia protesting Taiwan’s recognition of the breakaway territory of Somaliland. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but is not recognized by any government other than that of Taiwan. Taiwan opened an office in Somaliland in 2020 and it has backed Somaliland’s push for recognition, trained its military, provided scholarships to students, supplied medical equipment, and funded roads.
Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), returned to Taiwan from Canada after six years as a fugitive from prosecution for alleged fraud. Su and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), are accused of defrauding clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). The couple operated a plastic surgery clinic until 2018, when they declared bankruptcy and moved abroad, allegedly taking the disputed funds with them.