The UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights conducts its periodic review of China’s implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Hong Kong adds national security clauses to land sale and short-term lease documents; Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida apologizes for an aide’s anti-LGBTQ remarks; South Korea’s defense minister rejects a court ruling holding South Korean marines responsible for massacring unarmed civilians during the Vietnam War; Taiwan enacts a Climate Change Response Act aimed at achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Sichuan Province allows unmarried parents to register births; a Hong Kong court prepares to try the organizers of an unofficial 2020 primary election on charges of conspiracy to commit subversion; Japan proposes raising the age of sexual consent to 16 from 13; South Korea’s Ministry of Justice refuses to redefine “rape” to eliminate the need for the victim to prove violence or intimidation; Hong Kongers who want to become residents of Taiwan complain that the process is unreasonably long and difficult.

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.

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.

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.

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.