China says that persons deemed to be advocating Taiwan separatism could receive the death penalty; a Hong Kong court sentences 17 people to prison for their roles in a standoff between police and protesters at Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2019; Japan’s top court recognizes a transgender women’s parental rights with respect to a child conceived using her frozen sperm but born after her transition; the South Korean Supreme Court declines to halt the government’s plan to increase the number of medical students; Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan reaffirms a set of amendments that controversially expand its investigatory powers. Read more.

A Chinese court sentences feminist activist Huang Xueqin and labor activist Wang Jianbing to prison for inciting subversion against the state; a Canadian judge resigns from a part-time position on the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal; a Japanese court begins hearing a lawsuit by five women who say they have been unconstitutionally blocked from choosing sterilization surgery; South Korea’s main opposition leader is indicted on bribery charges; Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party says it will appeal to the public for support as it seeks to undo a legislative power grab. Read more.

China's Supreme People’s Court releases typical cases involving criminal punishment for cheating on exams ahead of the annual national college entrance exam; two senior British judges resign from Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal; Japan’s legislature approves a new child support fund aimed at boosting births by sharing the costs of child rearing; South Korea suspends a 2018 inter-Korean agreement on lowering front-line military tensions as North Korea sends garbage-filled balloons across the border; Taiwan's Constitutional Court says the current height requirements for police and firefighters are unconstitutional because they exclude women more often than they exclude men. Read more.

China’s Ministry of Public Security says it is taking measures to open up all of China’s hotels to foreign guests, ending a system in which hotels needed special approval to house foreigners; the Hong Kong government moves to establish control over the board that licenses social workers, calling it a national security issue; a Japanese court rejects a South Asian woman’s lawsuit against the city of Tokyo for alleged racial discrimination by the police; South Korea’s Constitutional Court holds a final hearing of claims that the government harmed citizens by failing to take more action on climate change; Taiwan’s legislature ignores demonstrators and moves closer to passing bills that would allow it to investigate executive-branch officials and demand they answer questions or face criminal penalties. Read more.

China’s Supreme People’s Court issues rules for selecting cases to include in the new People’s Court Case Database; Hong Kong's Court of Appeal grants the government’s request for an injunction to ban the song “Glory to Hong Kong”; the Japan Fisheries Agency seeks public comment on its plan to allow commercial hunting of fin whales; a South Korean court allows five transgender men to change their legal sex without surgery; Taiwan’s Executive Yuan approves four pieces of anti-fraud legislation.

China’s legislature approves a Tariff Law that reiterates China’s right to retaliate if other countries impose tariffs on Chinese goods; seven defendants go on trial in Hong Kong on charges of plotting a terrorist attack during the 2019 protests; four persons who say they were harmed by fraudulent investment ads sue Facebook Japan; South Korea’s Constitutional Court strikes down an inheritance rule that has guaranteed siblings of the diseased a minimum share of the estate; Taiwan’s Constitutional Court hears oral arguments about the constitutionality of the death penalty.

China initiates a complaint at the World Trade Organization over a US program that provides tax credits to electrical vehicle buyers; Australia, Britain, and Taiwan warn their citizens to exercise caution when traveling to Hong Kong lest they inadvertently violate Hong Kong’s new national security law; Japan’s Cabinet relaxes guidelines for selling defense equipment overseas; South Korean medical professors say they will reduce the hours they spend in practice to support striking junior doctors; Taiwan declares TikTok a dangerous product and considers expanding restrictions on its use.

China's legislature concludes its annual plenary session with no surprises and no press conference by Premier Li Qiang; Hong Kong legislators support giving new powers to the chief executive under the draft Safeguarding National Security bill; a Japanese high court rules that denying marriage to same-sex couples violates the constitution; South Korean prosecutors indict 11 former senior officials in the last administration of manipulating government housing and employment data for political purposes; Taiwan’s Supreme Court reverses itself and acquits an indigenous person of killing a protected species in a high-profile case.

China’s legislature revises the State Secrets Protection Law and adds a vague new category of secrets; the Hong Kong Journalists Association urges the government to clarify the definitions of new domestic security crimes that it proposes to create; Japan’s prime minister vows to curb unethical political fundraising; South Korea’s Constitutional Court upholds a tenant-friendly law and rejects restrictions on fetal gender tests; Taiwan moves a step closer to making it easier for some foreign professionals to gain Taiwan citizenship.