December 15 - December 21

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denies that the government operates secret police stations abroad; Hong Kong’s chief executive supports using ballot boxes that will scan voters’ ballots in next year’s legislative election; Japan’s lower house agrees to abolish controversial policy activity funds that lawmakers can spend without disclosure; South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol defies summons from investigators seeking to question him about his attempt to impose martial law; Taiwan’s opposition parties pass controversial legislation to constrain the Constitutional Court, raise the threshold for recalls, and channel tax revenues to local governments.

November 10, 2024-November 16, 2024

Chinese police detain a man who they say drove his car into a group of people exercising at a sports center, killing 35; a Hong Kong reporter files a wrongful dismissal claim against the Wall Street Journal for firing her weeks after her election as the leader of the city’s largest press group; a South Korean court convicts opposition leader Lee Jae-myung of making false statements during his presidential campaign and gives him a suspended prison sentence; Japan’s prime minister keeps his job and vows to crack down on misuse of political funds; lawyers in Taiwan protest against proposed legislation that could paralyze the Constitutional Court.

China announces policies intended to boost births; a Hong Kong court upholds a new rule blocking defendants in national security cases from calling overseas witness to testify virtually; a second Japanese high court rules that the country’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional; a South Korean court orders the state to compensate the family of a murder victim because police failed to identify and punish his killer; a Taiwan court extends the detentions of Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je and other suspects in a high stakes bribery investigation.