August 16 – August 22
Highlights: A Chinese court sentences the founder and former chairman of real estate developer Evergrande to life in prison for fraud on a massive scale; a Hong Kong court convicts two NGO leaders of incitement to subversion for peacefully calling for an end to one-party rule in China; Japan’s Foreign Ministry says the the US decision to impose sanctions against International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane, a Japanese citizen, is “very unfortunate”; South Korean Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho resigns and says he wants to return to the National Assembly and roll back prosecutor system reforms; prosecutors in Taiwan indict four companies and fifteen individuals in connection with the recent widespread sale of contaminated soybean-based cooking oil.
China
A Shenzhen court sentenced the founder and former chairman of Evergrande Group - one of China’s biggest real estate developers - to life in prison for fraud on a massive scale. Xu Jiayin, known in Hong Kong as Hui Ka Yan, had pleaded guilty in April. The court also ordered him to forfeit all personal assets and fined the Hong Kong-listed Evergrande Group, which was incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its mainland subsidiary, Evergrande Real Estate Group, a combined US$2.35 billion. Dozens of others tied to the group, including Xu’s sons, were sentenced to prison terms of up to eighteen years. Evergrande collapsed in 2021 under more than US$300 billion in debt, ushering in a sector-wide crisis that has dragged down the entire Chinese economy.
A court in Guangzhou said it had accepted a bankruptcy liquidation case against the mainland subsidiary. A Hong Kong court in 2024 already ordered the liquidation of the Hong Kong-listed parent company, but as most of the assets are located in mainland China, that court has limited ability to claw back assets for creditors.
A court in Zhejiang Province issued what may be the country’s first judgment applying China’s new Environmental and Ecological Code. The Qujiang District People's Court in Quzhou issued its decision in a tort case on August 15, 2026, the day on which the code took effect. A woman whose apartment is directly above a seafood store complained that noise and vibrations from the store’s fish tanks and related equipment disrupted her sleep. The court ordered the store to reduce the noise and vibrations and compensate the plaintiff for the harm.
The Foreign Ministry said that American scholar Min Zin, who was detained in Yunnan on June 3, is suspected of “activities that endanger China’s national security.” Zin is a Berkeley-trained scholar who was born in Myanmar and had recently been living in Thailand. He founded the Institute for Strategy and Policy Myanmar to research that country’s political, resource and conflict dynamics. The US State Department said on August 20 that after an extensive review of the case, it determined he is being wrongfully detained. China’s Foreign Ministry rejected that characterization.
One of China’s best-known comedians is under investigation and several of his shows have been canceled after he reportedly changed the lyrics of a popular revolutionary song during a performance for comedic effect. Guo Degang, a well-known performer of xiangsheng, a form of comedic dialogue, was reported to authorities in Wuhan after he changed a phrase in the 1950s song “Playing My Beloved Pipa” while performing in that city last month.
The State Administration for Market Regulation released six so-called “typical cases” to demonstrate its approach toward policing harmful competition among market participants. Four of the cases involved acquisitions or mergers of high-tech companies, with the fifth and sixth involving auto parts manufacture and coal production; all were approved.
Shanghai authorities released the city’s latest Five-year Plan for Women’s and Children’s Development (上海市妇女儿童“十五五”规划) with calls for employers to create “family-friendly” workplaces. The plan encourages - but does not require - employers to introduce more flexible work hours, more generous leave policies, and remote-work options to make life easier for working parents; it also urges employers to consider expanding paid paternity and parental leave entitlements. Such policies are intended to help boost China’s sagging birth rate.
China has completed the first phase of construction on Antelope Reef in the Paracels archipelago in the South China Sea, its latest build-out of an artificial island that some analysts expect will become a military base. Satellite images reviewed by Reuters show the reclaimed feature in outline for the first time after at least six months of dredging. China has occupied the Paracels since 1974 but the archipelago is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan. According to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, China has twenty outposts in the Paracel Islands and seven in the Spratlys.
Hong Kong
A court convicted a now-disbanded NGO and two of its leaders of incitement to subversion for peacefully calling for an end to one-party rule in China. The Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China was best known for organizing annual vigils in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park to commemorate the 1989 pro-democracy protests in Beijing and other cities and honor those killed in the army’s violent suppression. Former alliance leaders Chow Hang-tung, 41, a barrister, and trade unionist Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, have been detained already for five years awaiting trial. A third former leader, lawyer Albert Ho, 74, pleaded guilty. The judges acknowledged that the activists did not suggest any specific method or timetable to achieve the goal of ending one-party rule, nor did they use or advocate violence.
Police detained a woman who was waiting in line before the sentencing hearing for a seat in the public gallery. Police told local media outlets that they suspected her of acting with seditious intention, disorder in public places, and obstructing police.
A court ordered the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily to pay HK$1.5 million (about US$191,400) in damages to a couple who sued for defamation over articles published in 2019. The plaintiffs - listed company China Innovation Investment Limited, its chairperson Xiang Xin, and his wife Kung Ching - said Apple Daily defamed them by calling them spies for the Chinese Communist Party and the People’s Liberation Army in eight online articles and two print articles. High Court Judge Poon Siu-tung said Apple Daily did not prove the allegations in the articles were true, did not attempt to verify the claims, and did not give the plaintiffs an opportunity to explain or print their denials.
Japan
Authorities in Osaka executed a man who was convicted of setting a fire that killed five people in 2009. The death sentence against Sunao Takami, now 58, was finalized in 2016 after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal for leniency. The defense team had argued that Takami suffered from a mental disorder. Japan has one hundred inmates are on death row, with each having so far waited an average of more than seventeen years for execution after their convictions.
The Foreign Ministry said that the US decision to impose sanctions against International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane, who is a Japanese citizen, and trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal is “very unfortunate.” The ministry expressed support for the court, which the United States accuses of being politicized. Akane said in a separate statement that she was not surprised by the sanctions, adding: “The important thing is not to let this be the beginning of the demise of international rule of law.” The US sanctions bar Akane and Seye from entering the United States or carrying out transactions in the US financial system.
The Justice Ministry released new guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence in legal businesses. Under the guidelines, AI may be used to support literature research, document preparation, whistleblowing investigations, business restructuring, and shareholders' meetings, provided that the AI model is not designed for use in lawsuits or other disputes and that measures are put in place to prevent inappropriate use.
Koreas
Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho resigned his position and said he plans to return to the National Assembly, where he will introduce legislation to address perceived problems in the ongoing reforms of the prosecutorial system. Jeong said he was resigning due to poor health, but as justice minister he opposed completely stripping prosecutors of the power to conduct investigations. The ruling Democratic Party recently pushed legislation through the National Assembly that does just that. If prosecutors are dissatisfied with a police investigation, they may ask police to conduct a supplementary investigation but such investigations will typically have a one-month time limit.
The Interior Ministry said it is accepting nominations from the public for the head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency that will launch on October 2, 2026 to investigate corruption, economic crimes, defense acquisition, drug offenses, crimes against state security, cybercrimes, and offenses involving the distortion of the law. The agency is being created as part of the prosecutorial reforms.
The National Assembly revised the National Assembly Act to shorten the deliberation period for fast-track bills from up to 330 days to a maximum of ninety days, including sixty days for review by a standing committee and thirty days review by the legislation and judiciary committee. The ruling Democratic Party proposed the measure, while the opposition People Power Party raised concerns that it would allow contentious legislation to be adopted without sufficient deliberation and attempted to block the vote with a filibuster.
An Investigative Commission on Pro-Japanese Collaborators’ Property will restart operations in December 2026 to examine and seize assets accumulated through cooperation with Japanese imperial forces during the 1910–1945 colonial period. The commission originally operated from 2006-2010 and confiscated land and other assets valued at 237.3 billion won (US175 million). Its revival was mandated by a law passed in December 2025, and is part of a cultural shift in which young adults are increasingly scrutinizing their family histories.
The National Assembly amended the Personal Information Protection Act to allow personal information collected legally to be used for AI development without fresh consent in certain cases. The exemption applies when there is a recognized public or social need and anonymized or pseudonymized data would be insufficient. Use of the exemption will result in enhanced oversight from the Personal Information Protection Commission, the country’s privacy regulator. Companies using sensitive or high-risk data must conduct risk assessments and implement measures to mitigate potential harm.
The National Assembly revised the Act on Regulation and Punishment of Criminal Proceeds Concealment to allow authorities to seize the alleged proceeds of crime without a criminal trial. The system will apply to major crimes including voice phishing, illegal online gambling, drug offenses, child and youth sexual exploitation material, and digital sex crimes, even when suspects flee abroad or pass away before they can be prosecuted. For insurrection and treason, standalone confiscation will be possible even after the statute of limitations has expired. The government argued that the revision is especially needed in transnational cases or other situations where it is difficult to detain a suspect or even establish their identity.
The National Police Agency said personal information of “key domestic figures,” including presidential officials, appeared to have been compromised after a private certification agency's servers were hacked. It said the presidential office's own servers were not breached.
The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the Chinese leader of an overseas hacking ring to twenty years in prison for fraud and other offenses. The group stole personal information, fraudulently activated mobile phones in victims’ names, and used the resulting access to steal approximately 38 billion won (US$27 million) from financial and virtual-asset accounts. Its targets included corporate executives and celebrities, and it attempted to transfer 8.4 billion won in shares belonging to BTS member Jungkook, although the transaction was stopped before he suffered a loss. South Korean authorities arrested the defendant in Thailand through cooperation with Interpol and extradited him to Korea.
Prosecutors raided the home of the widow of former President Roh Tae-woo over renewed allegations that her family maintains a “slush fund” of illegally obtained money. Allegations that such a fund exists were aired during the divorce trial of the late president’s daughter, Roh Soh-yeong, and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won as they fought over the division of their property. After his presidency, Roh Tae-woo was convicted in 1996 of accepting bribes and ordered to forfeit 262.8 billion won.
A special counsel team indicted former Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung without detention on charges of involvement in former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration in 2024. Shim has said he is innocent. Yoon himself, his former defense minister, and numerous military officials have already been indicted, and some have been convicted, of various criminal charges in connection with the declaration and attempts to enforce it.
Taiwan
The Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office indicted four companies and fifteen persons on charges that include violating the food safety law, forgery, and fraud in connection with the recent sale of contaminated soybean-based cooking oil. The oil was produced by Central Union Oil Corp (CUOC, 中聯油脂) and contained excessive levels of the carcinogen benzopyrene (BaP), a carcinogen. Prosecutors allege senior officials at CUOC knew that certain shipments of soybeans imported from Brazil had high levels of heat damage, increasing the risk of BaP forming. When tests found elevated BaP levels, officials at CUOC and the three other companies allegedly failed to take timely action.
The Executive Yuan appointed National Communications Commission Secretary-General Wen Chun-yu (溫俊瑜) to handle basic operations at the commission after the terms of the last three commissioners expired July 31. All seven commissioner positions are now vacant, as the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan has rejected the president’s nominees to fill them. The NCC has been unable to renew broadcast licenses, one of its core functions, since four commissioner positions were vacated in 2024. The NCC is one of several regulatory agencies that have been paralyzed by the power struggle between the Nationalist (Kuomintang or KMT) Party, which together with a smaller party controls the legislature, and the Democratic Progressive Party, which holds the presidency.
Premier Cho Jung-tai refused to countersign two more pieces of legislation approved by the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan, causing that body to fast-track a symbolic motion of condemnation. Cho said he would not countersign the Special Act on Taiwan Future Accounts, which would create government-funded accounts for persons under age 18, and an amendment to the Cable Radio and Television Act. The Constitution of the Republic of China says that laws passed by the legislature must be countersigned by the premier before the president can formally promulgate them. No previous premier has interpreted this role as empowering him to veto legislation.
A recent Control Yuan investigation found inconsistent and inaccurate reporting by schools of their cross-strait student exchanges. Deputy Minister of Education Chang Liao Wan-chien (張廖萬堅) said schools are required to report cross-strait exchanges on a designated registration platform, and failure to do so properly could result in funding cuts. The Control Yuan investigation reported a surge in exchanges following a COVID dip. Chang Liao said exchanges also increasingly include “united front” elements, meaning messaging in support of unification with mainland China.
The Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative reported that China has conducted unprecedented operations in the waters east of Taiwan, including questioning nearly 200 commercial vessels, since Japan and the Philippines agreed in May to negotiate their overlapping claims to exclusive economic zone. The report said the activities appear designed to normalize China’s presence and establish its jurisdiction in the area. It said virtually no Chinese law-enforcement deployment was observed there in the five months before the delimitation talks were announced. A portion of the waters claimed for the Japanese and Philippines EEZs are also claimed by Taiwan and China.
Authorities detained the head of a Taiwanese technology company on suspicion of violating the National Security Act by using Chinese-made components in drones being supplied to the military under a procurement contract. The Ciaotou District Prosecutors Office said the company assembled the drones in Taiwan using Chinese-packaged drone chips and Chinese-made flight control boards, then submitted false certificates of origin to appear compliant with tender requirements banning the use of components from China, Hong Kong, or Macau.