October 5 - October 11
China
The Ministry of Commerce announced new controls on the export of rare earths and related technologies and barred Chinese citizens from participating in unauthorized mining overseas. See 《商务部公告2025第62号 公布对稀土相关技术实施出口管制的决定》。 Starting Dec. 1, 2025, foreign entities must obtain a license to export any products containing over 0.1 percent of Chinese-sourced rare earths, or manufactured using China’s extraction, refining, magnet-making or recycling technology. Analysts said China’s rules mirror US controls over semiconductor value chains. In response, US President Trump announced 100 percent additional tariffs on imports from China, on top of 30 percent tariffs that he previously imposed. He also posted on social media that he might cancel his planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea at the end of October.
In another move timed to strengthen China’s negotiating position in trade talks with the United States, the Ministry of Transport said that US-owned owned or operated vessels and ships built in the US or flying the American flag will be charged 400 yuan ($56) per net ton fee per voyage when they dock in China. The ministry said the fees are countermeasures to planned US port fees on Chinese vessels. Both countries’ fees are set to take effect on Oct. 14.
Thirty-nine heads of Chinese listed companies were taken into custody by Supervision Commissions in the first nine months of the year, already more than the total for all of 2024, according to the Economist magazine, which counted stock market disclosures. The anti-corruption commissions can legally hold suspects or witnesses incommunicado for up to eight months, but in practice often disappear persons for much longer. Total detentions, including those of both officials and business people, soared by nearly 50 percent in 2024, to around 38,000.
The Cyberspace Administration of China imposed multi-platform content bans on several popular social media influencers and vloggers as it carries out another “clear and bright campaign” (清朗行动) to remove content that incites antagonism and violence or amplifies pessimistic and negative sentiments. Targeted content includes discussion of familial trauma, parents’ frustration with their “unfilial children,” men’s antagonism toward “materialistic women,” women’s hostility against “cheating scumbag men,” workplace criticism of “unambitious young people,” mockery of “bizarre bosses,” and dropping out of the rat race in favor of a low-consumption lifestyle.
Hong Kong
A criminal trial began for the father of exiled activist Anna Kwok. Kwok Yin-sang is accused of attempting to handle the financial assets of a designated absconder by managing a life insurance policy owned by his daughter. Authorities have issued a HK$1 million reward for information leading to the arrest of Anna Kwok, now based in the US, who is accused of subversion and collusion with foreign forces to endanger national security.
The Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration said they have required fifty films to be edited and barred thirteen from being screened on national security grounds between November 2021 and July 2025. No films were barred from screening in the prior five years. The Chinese-language newspaper filed an access to information request for the titles of the affected films, but was refused. The Film Censorship Ordinance was amended in October 2021 to require government pre-approval of all films before they can be publicly screened.
Police confirmed they arrested an 89-year-old man for a sedition offense under the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. Local media reports identified the man as an activist surnamed Ng, who has mounted one-man protests in recent years by standing streetside and displaying signs commemorating past pro-democracy movements in Hong Kong and mainland China.
Japan
Former death row inmate Iwao Hakamata filed a ¥600 million lawsuit against the central and prefecture governments. He accused police of withholding and fabricating evidence, prosecutors of ignoring the police misconduct, and courts of failing to investigate properly. His claim seeks compensation for mental suffering during more than 47 years of detention, lost earnings, and elder care costs. In March, a court granted Hakamata ¥217 million in damages, a record high amount for wrongful conviction.
The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office's special investigation squad arrested Kazutaka Yonekura, the founder and former president of artificial intelligence developer Alt, and three others on suspicion of overstating the company's sales in violation of the financial instruments and exchange law. Alt listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Growth board in October 2024.
The National Police Agency held its first expert panel meeting on measures against illegal drone flights in response to concerns over potential terrorist use. The panel plans to compile a report by the end of the year about expanding the list of no-fly zones and penalties, with a view to revising the 2016 drone control law.
The Mie Prefecture government plans to draft an ordinance protecting public-facing employees, including public servants and teachers, from abuse. It envisions creating a non-judicial panel to hear complaints of customer conduct that violates social norms and harms employees’ working environments, such as shouting. The panel could order an end to the abusive behavior and order fines. The government intends to submit the draft ordinance to the prefecture assembly next June.
Koreas
South Korean investigators indicted the 82-year-old leader of the Unification Church, Hak Ja Han, over allegations that she instructed church officials to bribe the wife of jailed former President Yoon Suk Yeol and a conservative lawmaker close to him. Han, widow of the church’s founder Sun Myung Moon, has denied the allegations. She and her former chief secretary are charged with bribery, violating political funding laws, embezzling church funds, and instructing the destruction of evidence.
The number of reported stalking crimes has increased since the 2021 enactment of an anti-stalking law that provided for up to three years of prison time, according to data from the Office for Government Policy Coordination. The government reported that nearly 13,000 persons were apprehended for such crimes in 2024, up 30 percent from 10,000 in 2022.
Former President Yoon Suk Yeol was absent from the second hearing of his second trial on martial law-related charges. Yoon had attended the trial's first hearing on Sept. 26 as it was required by law, appearing in public for the first time since he was arrested in July. Yoon has been skipping hearings in his first trial as well.
Taiwan
The Judicial Yuan proposed rules to govern the broadcast of court proceedings amid a partisan debate over court transparency. Lawmakers from the Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), which control the legislature, amended the Court Organization Act (法院組織法) in June to require that some criminal trials be recorded and publicly broadcast. The Judicial Yuan rules would enact the changes but include measures to shield litigants and court officers from undue pressure and threats to their privacy, such as prohibiting shots that show the faces of lay judges.
The Criminal Investigation Bureau said it was investigating internet influencer Holger Chen (陳之漢) after he seemed to call for the decapitation of President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) during a livestream. Referring to the use of military “decapitation strikes,” Chen — apparently addressing China — called for them to “chop off the head of Lai Ching-te,” adding: “I'm waiting, brothers, I think about it day and night.” The bureau said it had asked the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office to summon Chen, whom it did not name, for questioning.
The Taiwan Wills Association proposed amending the Civil Code to remove the requirement that siblings are guaranteed a fixed share of the estate of a person who dies without any children. The association said the rule does not suit modern society and limits testamentary freedom. The Ministry of Justice said it has commissioned research, will seek public input, and plans to release findings by year’s end before initiating any legislative amendments.