November 16 - November 22
China
China escalated its war of wars with Japan over Japan’s interest in a Chinese attack on Taiwan. Fu Cong, ambassador to the UN, sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres accusing Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi of committing “a grave violation of international law” and diplomatic norms when she said a Chinese attack on Taiwan could pose a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan. China warned its citizens against traveling to Japan, and reports indicated that China may be unofficially boycotting Japanese seafood exports. Japanese officials said Takaichi’s remarks did not represent any change in Japan’s position.
The Jinan Intermediate People's Court sentenced Li Quan, former chairman of New China Life Insurance Co., to death with a two-year suspension for embezzling and accepting bribes totaling more than 200 million yuan (US$28 million). The court found that Li misappropriated corporate funds and accepted payments for helping others obtain business contracts while serving as president and chairman of the insurer’s subsidiary, the New China Asset Management Co., and its Hong Kong unit.
A research group under the Supreme People's Court’s advisory committee proposed sealing the criminal records of persons convicted of minor offenses to prevent them from experiencing long-term discrimination when applying to schools, employers, landlords, and the like. The group, comprised of retired senior judicial officials, recommended first piloting the proposal. In June, the legislature approved sealing the records of persons who receive administrative penalties for non-criminal legal violations.
Prosecutors in Xinxiang, Henan Province, approved the arrest of former Shaolin Temple Abbot Shi Yongxin on charges of embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, and accepting bribes. Shi lost his post in July when he was accused of misappropriating temple assets and having improper relations with women. The Buddhist Association of China also revoked his credentials.
The Civil Aviation Administration circulated draft rules responding to Taiwanese singer Zheng Zhihua's October complaint about difficulties he faced when trying to board a plane in a wheelchair at Shenzhen airport. The proposed rules require airports to equip boarding vehicles with portable ramps, airlines to provide onboard wheelchairs and multichannel assistance systems, and aviation staff to complete annual accessibility training.
The Communist Party Organization Department and National Health Commission announced that the civil service will no longer bar persons who suffer from certain chronic blood, kidney, and thyroid conditions, a move hailed by campaigners and legal groups as a landmark in the fight against unfair employment practices.
The Ministry of State Security said it dismantled a network that was illegally trading decommissioned military equipment on secondhand online platforms. The ministry said more than forty shops were selling military items and equipment service records in violation of the Law on Guarding State Secrets.
The Supreme People’s Court (SPC) released five Typical Cases on Combating Malicious Intellectual Property Litigation (最高人民法院发布治理知识产权恶意诉讼典型案例).
The Cyberspace Administration of China and Ministry of Public Security released draft regulations on personal information protection for large online platforms, requiring new measures to prevent and address risks associated with illegal data transfer overseas. Public comments on the draft can be submitted until Dec. 22, 2025.
Chinese merchants selling on the Shein and Temu e-commerce platforms face the prospect of dual taxation as the European Union agreed to abolish customs duty exemptions for goods under €150 (about US$173) starting in 2028, while China's tax authority recently began requiring that all online marketplaces report Chinese sellers’ transaction data. Chinese merchants must now pay corporate income tax and value-added tax at home while facing new customs duties in the EU, with compliance costs estimated to increase by 10 to 15 percent.
Brazil's Superior Military Court formally closed a case against nine Chinese citizens who were arrested, tortured, and convicted in 1964 for allegedly plotting a communist uprising in that country. The arrests took place three days after a military coup that unseated Brazil’s leftist president, Joao Goulart. The Chinese men were expelled in 1965 but the case against them remained open until now. The Brazilian court ruled the case should have legally expired in 1981 and cleared the only surviving defendant, 95-year-old former Xinhua journalist Ju Qingdong.
Hong Kong
Authorities are responding harshly to any calls for voters to boycott the Dec. 7 Legislative Council elections. Police arrested a 68-year-old man on suspicion of sedition for social media posts that allegedly urged people not to vote, and a court denied him bail. Meanwhile, the Independent Commission Against Corruption arrested three other persons on similar charges and issued warrants for the arrests of two persons not in the city. Only twenty of the Legislative Council’s ninety seats will be directly elected by the public and no members of the old pro-democracy camp have been approved to run.
A court rejected former Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai's request to submit 101 Ta Kung Pao articles as evidence in his libel lawsuit against the Beijing-backed newspaper. Lai’s lawyer said the articles, published between June 2013 and February 2021, demonstrated the newspaper's “long-standing malicious intent” toward Lai. The court ruled that Lai's legal team failed to explain how the articles substantiated his libel claims.
Japan
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi instructed Justice Minister Hiroshi Hiraguchi to examine the 1956 Prostitution Prevention Law and consider penalizing men who buy sex. The current law penalizes women who solicit but does not punish men who pay for sex. Women's rights groups and lawmakers say this legal asymmetry enables exploitation and has allowed Japan to become a sex tourism destination.
The Tokyo District Court ordered Cloudflare to pay ¥500 million (US$3.2 million) to four Japanese publishers for providing content delivery network services that accelerated manga piracy sites without hosting the pirated content itself. The court found that Cloudflare enabled efficient distribution of thousands of unauthorized titles and continued providing services after receiving infringement notices from publishers. Cloudflare said it would appeal, arguing that technical intermediaries cannot control content uploaded by website operators and that the ruling sets a dangerous precedent.
The Yokohama District Court ordered the Japanese government to pay approximately ¥3.9 billion (US$24.8 million) to around 8,000 residents near Atsugi air base to compensate for health hazards and psychological distress caused by noise. The court ruled that the noise exceeded tolerable levels and violated residents' legal interests in health and living environment. The base is shared by the Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the US military and straddles the densely populated cities of Yamato and Ayase in Kanagawa Prefecture.
A Kyodo News investigation found that the Prince Holding Group, the Cambodia-based company sanctioned by the US in October for allegedly carrying out telecom scams using forced labor, established at least three affiliated companies in Japan since 2022. The firms include consulting company Prince Japan and real estate company Canopy Sands Development Japan. They promoted investment in Cambodian properties and are believed to have laundered criminal proceeds.
The Tokyo District Court sentenced a 71-year-old woman to three years in prison, suspended for five years, for killing her 102-year-old mother who suffered from dementia. Yoko Komine told the court that she was exhausted from years of care-giving. She said she felt abandoned after she called emergency services for help when her mother fell out of bed, only to be told that they would come this time but not again.
Koreas
The Seoul Central District Court dismissed former National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong's petition against his arrest, keeping him in custody over his alleged role in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's December 3 martial law declaration. Prosecutors accuse Cho of violating the NIS Act by failing to report the martial law plan to the National Assembly despite knowing about it in advance. Cho also faces perjury charges for testifying that he had not seen the martial law decree or related documents, though surveillance footage showed him handling them at the presidential office.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung appointed lawyer Ann Goweon-seob as special prosecutor to lead a 90-day investigation into alleged evidence tampering and abuse of power by prosecutors in two cases. One case involves the reported loss of Bank of Korea currency straps from $113,000 in cash found at the residence of shaman Jeon Seong-bae, who was close to former first lady Kim Keon Hee; the straps could help trace the money's origin.
South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok announced the government will establish task forces at forty-nine central government agencies to investigate public officials' involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law attempt. Kim said the measure is necessary to restore constitutional order and stabilize state affairs. Critics have raised concerns the task forces will be used to purge dissenting civil servants.
An arbitration panel under the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes fully annulled a 2022 ruling that had ordered South Korea to pay US private equity firm Lone Star US$216.5 million in damages in connection with the sale of Korea Exchange Bank. Lone Star bought the bank in 2003 and sold it in 2012. It then filed a US$4.67 billion ICSID claim against the Korean government, alleging that it could have sold the bank for a much higher price in 2007 to HSBC if not for government delay in granting approval.
Taiwan
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed regret after the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans- Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) concluded its latest meeting without addressing Taiwan’s application for membership. Taiwan submitted its CPTPP application under the name “Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu” on Sept. 22, 2021. CPTPP also has not yet ruled on China’s application for membership.
Prosecutors opened a national security investigation into former TSMC executive Lo Wei-jen (羅唯仁) on suspicion of transferring core technologies. Lo, who was senior vice president for research and development, retired from TSMC in July. News reports say he is suspected of improperly bringing confidential TSMC materials with him to Intel, which is both a TSMC customer and a competitor. Intel said there is nothing to the reports.
Labor Minister Hung Sun-han said that as of January 1, employers will be fined if they penalize workers for taking modest amounts of sick leave. He said the ministry is amending the Worker Leave Regulations to protect the right to take up to ten sick days annually. The move follows the October death of an EVA Air flight attendant after she worked despite feeling ill.
The Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office indicted former Taoyuan City Councilor Wu Tsung-hsien (吳宗憲) on charges of filing more than NT$14.55 million ($464,931) in expense claims for non-existent employees over a 20-year period. Wu allegedly used acquaintances' identities and bank accounts to collect the payments from 2002 to 2022, when he lost his seat. Prosecutors indicted a total of eight persons in the case.
The Shilin District Court convicted ten former Yulon Luxgen Dinos players and five other persons of fixing games during the 2023 Super Basketball League season. The court handed the most severe sentence - seven years in prison - to Ko Min-hao, who won the league's Most Valuable Player award that season, after finding he organized the scheme and recruited teammates to manipulate game outcomes.
The US Senate passed the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, directing the State Department to review and lift self-imposed restrictions on US-Taiwan relations established after Washington formal ended diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1979. The act requires biennial assessments to identify opportunities for deepening bilateral engagement. The act was approved by the House of Representatives in May and now awaits a presidential signature.