February 1 - February 7
China
In their first phone call of 2026, Chinese Communist Party leader and President Xi Jinping warned US President Donald Trump to handle arms sales to Taiwan prudently. A Chinese Foreign Ministry readout said Xi told Trump that Taiwan is the most important issue in Chinese-US relations, and that Taiwan belongs to China. In December, the US approved the sale of US$11.1 billion in US arms to Taiwan, the largest amount ever. However, Taiwan’s opposition parties in the legislature have refused to authorize purchasing all the items, including an air defense system for the island. In his social media posts about the call, Trump said Xi agreed to consider increasing Chinese soybean purchases from the United States to 20 million tons this year.
The Xiamen Intermediate People's Court sentenced former Justice Minister Tang Yijun (唐一军) to life in prison for accepting more than CNY137 million (US$19.71 million) in bribes between 2006 and 2022. The court found Tang abused his position to benefit entities and individuals in company listings, land buybacks, bank loans, and case handling.
Chengdu police detained investigative journalists Liu Hu (刘虎) and Wu Yingjiao (巫英蛟) on suspicion of spreading false accusations and conducting illegal business operations after they published an article accuing Pujiang County's party secretary and other officials of corruption. Liu has previously exposed graft among high-ranking party and government figures.
The Supreme People’s Court overturned the death sentence for accused Canadian drug smuggler Robert Schellenberg. Schellenberg had been found guilty of being involved in an international drug-trafficking ring and initially sentenced to fifteen years in prison in 2018. But he was retried and sentenced to death in 2019 shortly after Canadian authorities detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on a US arrest warrant. His reprieve now comes three weeks after Canadian Prime Minister visited Beijing and negotiated mutual tariff reductions.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced rules banning hidden door handles on automobiles and requiring mechanical releases for all passenger doors. The rules, effective January 1, 2027, come in response to crashes in which electronic handles failed to open, trapping occupants and leading to their deaths. Already approved car models have two additional years to comply.
The National Healthcare Security Administration ordered a nationwide review of psychiatric institutes by March 15 following reports that hospitals in Hubei province detained people without mental illness and fraudulently billed the national medical insurance scheme for fabricated diagnoses and treatments. Patients were confined for months or years and subjected to physical abuse, with one caretaker estimating 100 patients could generate 6 million yuan in fraudulent claims annually.
Four US-based subsidiaries of Chinese automaker BYD Co. sued the US government in the US Court of International Trade, challenging a series of tariff executive orders implemented under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). According to Chinese news media reports, BYD is asking the court to rule that the defendants lack statutory authority to impose tariffs under the IEEPA framework, and declare all the challenged tariff orders invalid.
European Union regulators opened an investigation into whether Chinese wind turbine manufacturer Goldwind Science & Technology received grants, preferential loans, or tax breaks from the Chinese state that give it an unfair edge over its European rivals. China's Ministry of Commerce urged the EU to halt the investigation, calling it discriminatory and protectionist. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said the EU’s measures undermine Chinese businesses' investment confidence.
Hong Kong
Chief Executive John Lee announced that free-market Hong Kong for the first time will draft a five-year economic plan and align it with mainland China’s 15th Five-Year Plan. In its own draft plan, China pledges to support Hong Kong in becoming a high-end talent hub and consolidating its status as an international financial, shipping and trade center. Lee said he will personally lead an interdepartmental task force to drive the plan and develop detailed policy frameworks for key areas of development. Lee also said the city will prioritize ties with the Middle East and Eastern Europe.
CK Hutchison Holdings said its subsidiary, Panama Ports Co., has started arbitration proceedings against Panama, the week after after that country’s Supreme Court ruled a concession for Panama Ports to operate Panama Canal ports was unconstitutional. The arbitration is being conducted under the rules of the International Chamber of Commerce and could take several years.
The Hong Kong Federation of Students announced it is disbanding after sixty-eight years of operation because the students unions that made up the federation have closed one after another under pressure from their universities. The only remaining active member was the Lingnan University Student Union, and its leaders were charged by police last summer with misusing organization funds. The student unions were part of Hong Kong’s once vibrant civil society sector, which has shrunk dramatically since 2020.
The Hong Kong government announced plans to issue 500 to 1,000 dog-friendly restaurant permits by mid-2026, ending a decades-old ban that allowed only guide dogs in food premises.
Greenpeace warned that twenty-two government-promoted ecotourism sites lack statutory protection, allowing visitors to damage coral and ecosystems without legal consequences. The Environment and Ecology Bureau said it is studying whether to include the sites in protected areas.
Japan
The man convicted of assassinating former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appealed his life sentence. Tetsuya Yamagami’s defense attorney argued that the Nara District Court wrongly dismissed Yamagami’s upbringing as a mitigating factor. His mother bankrupted the family by donating over 100 million yen to the Unification Church, cause of Yamagami’s grudge against Abe. The defense sought a maximum twenty-year sentence.
An influential government panel approved a criminal justice reform plan that preserves prosecutors’ right to appeal a court order for a retrial in suspected wrongful conviction cases. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations and other organizations criticized the decision by the criminal law subcommittee of the Legislative Council, which advises the justice minister. The plan also would allow courts to order prosecutors to disclose evidence in some circumstances, while providing prison sentences or fines if the evidence is used for purposes not originally intended, such as being given to the media.
Since Feb. 1, the Immigration Services Agency has cut in half - to one month - the advance notice that it gives lawyers before deporting their foreign clients who are subject to deportation. The agency said it made the change because seven foreigners disappeared after their lawyers were told the deportation schedules. The Japan Federation of Bar Associations said this violates the foreigners’ rights because one month is insufficient to challenge deportation orders. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration has stepped up deportations and pledged to work toward zero illegal immigrants.
The health ministry began allowing over-the-counter sales of emergency contraceptive pills in response to calls for easier access to prevent unintended pregnancy. The pills previously required a prescription.
Koreas
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung delivered near-daily messages on social media against real estate speculation as his administration prepares to end a capital gains tax exemption for the owners of multiple homes. Many such owners have been seeking to sell properties before May 9, after which taxes could reach seventy-five percent.
Open Net Korea, a Seoul-based rights advocacy group, filed a petition with the Constitutional Court to challenge a 1977 law that bans foreign nationals from any political activity not allowed by statute. The petition argues that the law is overbroad and “incompatible with a modern democracy.” Foreign nationals accounted for roughly 5.5 percent of South Korea’s population in 2025.
A legislator from the opposition People Power Party proposed to raise the threshold for foreign nationals with permanent residency to vote in local elections in South Korea. Representative Kim Eun-hye’s bills would require five years of permanent residency (up from the current three), two years of actual residence, and a reciprocity principle allowing South Koreans to vote in their own country’s elections.
Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Sung-tae applied to overturn his conviction on abuse of power charges in connection with his handling of several high-profile cases. Just days after the Seoul High Court sentenced Yang to a suspended six-month prison term, Yang appealed to the Supreme Court. Prosecutors said that Yang, 78, who headed the top court from 2011-2117, used trials as bargaining chips in dealings with the administration of then-President Park Geun-hye.
Taiwan
Five justices of the Constitutional Court issued their third substantive decision since declaring themselves not bound by a 2025 revision to the court’s procedure law that set their quorum unattainably high. This time, the five struck down certain penalties for employers who fail to pay National Health Insurance premiums, deeming the formula too harsh. Three other justices sat out the decision, telling a news conference that they believe the court is bound by the new quorum requirement of ten justices. Nonetheless, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said it would follow the decision and amend the law.
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) for the second time refused to countersign a piece of legislation passed by the Legislative Yuan, something that the Constitution does not clearly authorize. The legislation this time involves relocating fifty military veteran families. Cho said the law was not of general application and infringed upon the executive branch’s budgetary authority. In December, Cho refused to counter-sign amendments to a revenue-sharing law. No previous premier has attempted to exercise a pocket veto.
Mainland-born Li Zhenxiu (李貞秀) was sworn in as a legislator-at-large for the Taiwan People’s Party despite failing to provide proof - as required by law - that she formally applied to renounce her PRC citizenship. Li has lived in Taiwan since 1993 after marrying a Taiwanese national. She said she visited police offices in the county where she was born but they refused to accept her application to renounce her citizenship. Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said the ministry will restrict Li's access to classified materials.
More than 2,000 retired police officers and firefighters sued the Cabinet for refusing to fund a pension increase passed by the Legislative Yuan and signed by President Lai Ching-te. The Cabinet argues the legislature exceeded its authority by mandating spending and has petitioned the Constitutional Court to review the matter.
Lithuanian Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said Lithuania made a strategic mistake in 2021 by allowing Taiwan to open a representative office in Vilnius using the name “Taiwan” rather than “Taipei” without coordinating in advance with the European Union or United States. China, which objects to any actions that might suggest recognition of Taiwan as an independent state, downgraded relations with Lithuania and imposed informal trade sanctions in response. Ruginienė is seeking to restore relations with China to the level maintained by other EU member states.