As 2022 draws to a close, it is clear that Asia remains vital to the security and prosperity of the US. By extension, legal developments in Asia deserve the attention of scholars and the public in the US and around the world. The U.S.-Asia Law Institute at NYU Law School brings you lively conversations, analysis, and research that you won’t find anywhere else.
This Week in Asian Law
A Chinese court exonerates a man after 29 years in prison for rape and murder; the Hong Kong government proposes setting up an office to monitor crowdfunding; the Japanese government considers rewarding businesses that enforce human rights standards in their supply chains; South Korea’s Constitutional Court says a ban on rallies near the presidential residence is unconstitutional; Taiwan investigates whether TikTok is illegally engaged in commercial operations.
USALI Research Scholar Chi Yin writes Op-Ed on China's illegal COVID-19 measures
USALI Research Scholar Chi Yin wrote an op-ed on China’s illegal COVID-19 measures that was published by the South China Morning Post on December 18, 2022: “Law on my side: How Chinese are protesting against illegal local Covid-19 measures.”
This Week in Asian Law
A Chinese court rejects litigation finance; Hong Kong further postpones Jimmy Lai’s trial on national security charges; Japan lifts its ban on women remarrying within 100 days of divorce; a Korean court cancels a disciplinary warning against a Christian broadcaster that aired anti-gay programs; Taiwan’s government issues its first report on implementing the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.
This Week in Asian Law
China relaxes its Covid prevention rules; Hong Kong implements a policy to speed up repatriation of asylum claimants; Japan’s legislature bans “malicious solicitations” of large donations; the South Korean legislature decides how people should calculate their age; Taiwan’s National Human Rights Commission urges businesses to protect migrant worker rights.
USALI Affiliate News: Axios quotes Aaron Halegua on abuse of overseas Chinese workers
USALI affiliated scholar Aaron Halegua was quoted in a recent Axios article about the conditions of Chinese laborers working on Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects.
This Week in Asian Law
A Chinese court exonerates a man who served 22 years in prison for a murder he did not commit; the Hong Kong government asks China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee to decide whether foreign lawyers may represent defendants accused of violating the National Security Law; the Tokyo District Court rules that Japan’s ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional; South Korea’s Supreme Court rules that transgender people cannot be denied the right to change their legal sex status solely because they have underage children; Taiwan’s voters reject a constitutional amendment that would have lowered the voting age from 20 to 18.
This Week in Asian Law
A Chinese court imposes a lifetime teaching ban on a man convicted of molesting a student; Hong Kong police investigate how a protest song came to be played at the Asia Rugby Sevens final between Hong Kong and South Korea; a panel of Japan’s Justice Ministry suggests the possibility of allowing divorced couples to have joint custody of their children; a Seoul court freezes about US$104 million in assets belonging to Terraform Labs co-founder Daniel Shin; Taiwan’s Constitutional Court is scheduled to hear a challenge to the divorce law.
This Week in Asian Law
China’s Supreme People’s Court issues rules governing the operations of collegial panels; Hong Kong’s High Court rejects the government’s effort to block a UK barrister from representing Jimmy Lai in his upcoming national security trial; Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announces plans to legislate high-pressure fundraising by churches; South Korean labor experts say Twitter’s layoffs in that country are open to legal challenge; Taiwan’s premier says the government will step up its response to cryptocurrency crimes.
This Week in Asian Law
China’s legislature approves revisions to the Law on the Protection of Women’s Rights and Interests; China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs prepares to set up a new International Organization for Mediation in Hong Kong; more courts in Japan rule that disparities in the numbers of voters per legislative seat are unconstitutional; South Korea’s ruling party says it will revise the security and disaster management law following a fatal stampede; a Taiwan legislator calls for new safety guidelines for spontaneous mass gatherings.
This Week in Asian Law
The Chinese Communist Party’s new all-male Politburo draws criticism; Hong Kong’s Security Bureau discloses information about prosecutions and sentences linked to the 2019 mass protests; Japan’s Ministry of Justice moves to revise the sex crimes law but fails to make lack of consent key to the definition; South Korea proposes to lower the age at which youth are tried as adults; Taiwan’s Constitutional Court says the rules under which certain indigenous groups have been denied official recognition are unconstitutional.
Institute News: USALI Executive Director Katherine Wilhelm publishes op-ed in Washington Post
USALI Affiliate News: Aaron Halegua quoted by Sixth Tone on sexual harassment in China
Institute affiliated scholar Aaron Halegua was quoted in a recent Sixth Tone article about sexual harassment in China.
This Week in Asian Law
Senior Chinese officials say that pre-trial detention has dropped sharply; a Hong Kong court allows a veteran British lawyer to represent Jimmy Lai at his upcoming national security trial; Japan’s prime minister orders an investigation into the Unification Church; the Korean Bar Association fines nine lawyers for using an app to promote themselves; Interpol rejects observer status for Taiwan.
This Week in Asian Law
China’s legislature plans to review seven bills including revisions to the law on protecting women’s rights; Hong Kong puts its supplemental national security legislation on hold pending the upcoming Chinese Communist Party congress in Beijing; Tokyo begins to register same-sex couples; experts call on South Korea to revise a law that allows close relatives to commit property crimes with impunity; police in New Taipei City are accused of using excessive force in making an arrest.
Institute News: Japanese politician speaks to law students about women’s empowerment
This Week in Asian Law
The UN Human Rights Council declines to debate the human rights situation in China’s Xinjiang region; a Hong Kong man pleads guilty under the new anti-doxxing law; Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency moves to restrict high-pressure solicitation of donations by religious organizations; South Korea gives refugee status to a couple threatened with honor killing in Pakistan; Taiwan advances judicial cooperation agreements with the Caribbean island nation Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
This Week in Asian Law
China abstains from a UN Security Council resolution condemning Russia’s annexation of parts of Ukraine; Hong Kong’s Cardinal Zen goes on criminal trial on charges of not properly registering a humanitarian relief fund; a court in Japan denies long-term residency to the American spouse in a same-sex marriage; South Korean prosecutors seek to arrest the former deputy secretary general of the main opposition party on corruption charges; Taiwan gives police more flexibility to discharge their firearms in the line of duty.
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The U.S.-Asia Law Institute has an opening for a student research assistant to work under the joint supervision of USALI and the Asian American Scholars Forum. The RA will work to advance and protect the rights of Asian Americans and immigrants through policy and legal analysis and research at the intersections of national security, civil rights, and racial justice.
This Week in Asian Law
A Chinese court hands down suspended death sentences to a former justice minister and vice public security minister; police arrest the head of the Hong Kong Journalists Association for refusing to show police his ID; the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea discuss the dispute over compensation for Koreans forced to work for Japanese companies during World War II; South Korean authorities come under pressure to better protect women from stalkers after a murder; Taiwan’s judicial authorities prepare name lists of persons eligible to serve as citizen judges beginning in January.