January 18 - January 24
China
The Ministry of Defense announced that Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia and CMC member General Liu Zhenli were placed under investigation for “suspected serious discipline and law violations.” The move brings to twenty-four the number of general purged since Xi Jinping became party general secretary in 2012, including some whom Xi appointed. Zhang, 75, is the son of a Communist Party revolutionary era general and some analysts speculated that Xi had doubts about Zhang’s personal loyalty.
TikTok and its parent company ByteDance announced they created a US joint venture with non-Chinese investors to moderate content and store the data of American TikTok users, averting the long-postponed US threat of shutdown. New investors include software giant Oracle, private equity firm Silver Lake, and Emirati investment firm MGX. ByteDance will remain the single-largest shareholder with 19.9 percent of the US entity and a board seat, and will continue to manage its e-commerce, advertising and marketing.
The China Securities Regulatory Commission raised margin financing requirements to 100 percent from 80 percent to curb speculation after trading volumes and margin balances reached record highs. At its January 15 conference, the regulator said it would crack down on market manipulation and prevent sharp market swings. The requirement applies only to newly opened contracts.
The Supreme People's Court said courts at all levels handled nearly fifty percent more first-instance civil and commercial cases involving foreign elements in 2025 than in 2024. It instructed lower courts to handle such cases with fairness and efficiency, align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and “work to make China a preferred venue for international IP, commercial and maritime dispute resolution.”
Authorities in Putian in Fujian Province executed a woman convicted of killing her twelve-year-old stepdaughter. Xu Jinhua tied the child in a bathroom and tortured her for seventeen days in December 2023. The Fujian People’s High Court sentenced the girl's father to thirteen years and six months in prison for failing to protect her.
Authorities around the country are taking measures to head off social media promotions that lead to mass gatherings after a young woman’s request on Douyin for help slaughtering two pigs in advance of the lunar new year resulted in more than 5,000 strangers pouring into a village in rural Sichuan Province. Multiple regions canceled similar events due to safety concerns and lack of official permits. The Ministry of Emergency Management republished safety regulations from one small city as an example, requiring prior risk assessments, traffic controls, and emergency planning.
Telecoms giant Huawei said that the European Commission’s proposal to phase out gear supplied by companies based in “high risk” countries from high-speed telecom networks violates EU legal principles and WTO rules. The commission tabled a proposal to require EU member countries to replace components from suppliers deemed too risky. The commission has previously identified China’s Huawei and ZTE as high-risk suppliers. The proposed rule also covers equipment in other sectors like security scanners used at border checkpoints, water supply systems, and health and medical devices.
Hong Kong
The High Court began the long-awaited trial of three democracy activists who led Hong Kong’s annual Tiananmen vigils. Chow Hang-tung and Lee Cheuk-yan pleaded not guilty to inciting subversion, while Albert Ho pleaded guilty. The three led the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, which organized its last vigil in 2019 and later disbanded. Chow, a barrister who is defending herself, told the court that the group’s call for ending one-party rule in China was a call for democratization, but the prosecution argued that it amounted to a call to end Communist Party leadership, and thus violated the constitution.
In its annual report, the Hong Kong Judiciary said about seventy criminal cases from the 2019 protests remain pending more than six years later, with most scheduled for trial in 2026. The report said the Judiciary is prioritizing these cases and about thirty national security matters.
The government responded angrily to a European Parliament resolution calling for sanctions against Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee and other officials over the conviction of former Apple Daily owner Jimmy Lai on foreign collusion and sedition charges. Chief Justice Andrew Cheung rejected calls to release Lai, saying such demands violate the rule of law.
The Department of Health identified two Hong Kong laboratories suspected of illegally importing blood samples from mainland China for fetal gender testing. Mainland China bans such testing for non-medical purposes to prevent sex-selective abortions. At least one company continues advertising services that transport samples to Hong Kong for testing.
The coroner's court ruled that thirty-nine deaths in a 2012 ferry collision were unlawful killings caused by gross negligence by both vessel coxswains. But the coroner rejected families’ demands to hold the shipbuilders and government inspectors accountable, concluding that a missing watertight bulkhead door would not have prevented the sinking. Both coxswains were already criminally convicted and completed their prison terms.
Hong Kong implemented a mandatory reporting law requiring social welfare, education, and healthcare professionals to report suspected serious child abuse. Professionals who fail to report face up to three months in prison and a fine of HK$50,000 (about US$6,413).
Japan
The Nara District Court sentenced Tetsuya Yamagami to life in prison for murdering former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with a homemade gun in 2022. Yamagami, 45, killed Abe in anger over his political links to the Unification Church. Yamagami said his mother bankrupted the family by making donations to the church. The assassination led to revelations about other Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers’ connections with the church, prompting four ministers to resign.
The Osaka District Court ruled against three death-row inmates who claimed in an administrative lawsuit that execution by hanging - the only means used in Japan - violates International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The three had also sought damages for mental anguish.
The Prudential Life Insurance Co., a Japanese subsidiary of US-based Prudential Financial Inc., said about 100 current and former employees defrauded approximately 500 clients out of a total of 3.1 billion yen (about US$20 million) between 1991 and 2025. In some cases, sales representatives solicited investments in nonexistent financial products. CEO Kan Mabara is resigning effective February 1.
A Tokyo government survey found 15 percent of men using the city's trains reported being groped, triple the rate in previous government surveys. A University of Tsukuba professor attributed the increase to growing awareness of sexual misbehavior in Japan and greater willingness to report such incidents. By comparison, just over 54 percent of women reported being groped on the trains.
Koreas
The Seoul Central District Court sentenced former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to twenty-three years in prison for aiding former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law declaration in 2024. The court found that Han convened a Cabinet meeting to legitimize the declaration, forged official documents afterward, and committed perjury during Yoon's impeachment trial. The ruling was the first judicial determination that the martial law declaration constituted insurrection under the Criminal Act.
The Ministry of Employment and Labor proposed legislation requiring businesses to prove that independent contractors are not employees, shifting the burden of proof from workers. Independent contractors classified as "de facto laborers" would receive insurance, overtime pay, and mandatory leave. Business groups and labor unions both opposed the plan, with businesses citing legal costs and unions arguing it fails to provide full Labor Standards Act protections.
The Gwangju High Court upheld a ruling requiring Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to pay 100 million won ($68,000) to each of fourteen South Korean plaintiffs who were forced into labor during Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule. Compensation for deceased victims will be distributed to their heirs.
The Supreme Court ruled the government may recover medical costs when inmates intentionally injure themselves, even if treatment occurs during a later incarceration. A man stabbed himself while imprisoned, was released, then underwent surgery during a second detention; the government paid 35.35 million won ($24,000) and sued for reimbursement.
The Korean Child Support Agency began seizing assets from 4,973 parents who failed to repay government-advanced child support, seeking to recover 7.73 billion won (US$5.25 million). Under a system that took effect in July 2025, the government advances 200,000 won per child monthly to eligible custodial parents when court-ordered support is unpaid, then recovers funds through compulsory collection.
Taiwan
The Legislative Yuan blocked the eighth attempt to review President Lai Ching-te's NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.6 billion) special defense budget, one day after American Institute in Taiwan Director Raymond Greene said “freedom is not free” when discussing US support for Taiwan. The opposition Nationalist Party (Kuomintang) and Taiwan People's Party are demanding that Lai personally brief the legislature about the budget despite the government releasing a detailed weapons list. The budget would fund US$11.1 billion in weapons purchases from the US including 82 HIMARS rocket launchers.
In Washington, the US House Appropriations Committee approved $1.15 billion for Taiwan security cooperation in its version of the 2026 Consolidated Appropriations Act, including $1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative and $150 million for defense articles replacement. Both chambers must pass the bill by Jan. 30 to avoid another government shutdown.
The Taiwan High Court Kaohsiung Branch sentenced a naturalized citizen from mainland China to eight years in prison for establishing social organizations in Taiwan under the direction of the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front Department, in violation of the National Security Act. The court, holding a retrial, found Zhou Manzhi (周滿芝) established immigrant associations following the directions of CCP-controlled mainland associations. The court held the retrial after the Supreme Court overturned Zhou’s initial acquittal.
The Taiwan High Court sentenced a former airline employee to six months in prison for attempting to bribe a Mainland Affairs Council official to obtain classified information for Chinese intelligence. The man, surnamed Chi’ao (喬), offered NT$100,000 to the MAC official during 2012 to 2014, but the official refused. The court ordered confiscation of CNY 30,000 in illicit gains.
The Executive Yuan approved draft amendments to the Counter-Terrorism Financing Act that would broaden the definition of terrorist activities to include attacks on critical infrastructure, major facilities and core systems, and to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The amendments, which must be approved by the legislature, lower the threshold for terrorism financing offenses from “clear knowledge” to “general intent” and impose penalties of up to three years in prison for WMD-related sanctions evasion.
The Taipei District Court sentenced former Kuomintang lawmaker Jaw Shau-kong (趙少康) to fifty-five days in prison, suspended for two years, and fined him NT$50,000 (about US$1,595) for displaying his marked ballot to media at a polling station during the July 2025 recall vote. The Public Officials Election and Recall Act prohibits public display of marked ballots and election workers had warned Jaw not to show his ballot.
The National Immigration Agency revoked the long-term residency permit of Chinese spouse influencer Guan Guan (關關), citing her posts on the mainland social media platform Douyin calling for the elimination of Taiwan's sovereignty. Guan Guan left Taiwan in mid-January and is barred from reapplying for residency for five years. The agency took similar action last year against other mainland spouses accused of advocating military unification on social media.
The Yilan District Court sentenced four people to 14 to 26 months in prison for selling Taiwanese passports to a Chinese human trafficking ring. Taiwan passports allow visa-free travel to 177 countries and territories, making them highly valuable on the black market.
Vice Economics Minister Lai Chien-hsin announced that Taiwan will require rooftop solar panels on new buildings larger than 1,000 square meters starting from August 1. The government plans to add 200 megawatts of household rooftop solar capacity this year.