November 20-December 3
China
In China’s latest reversal of a wrongful conviction, the Henan High People’s Court exonerated Xie Zhehai (谢哲海) after he served 22 years in prison for murder. Xie’s case was reopened in 2020 after he repeatedly petitioned for a retrial. Xie’s lawyer said he would apply for state compensation for the wrongful detention.
The Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Public Security jointly held a meeting to promote the work of providing lawyers to defendants in all criminal cases. They called for exploring new methods such as allowing lawyers to schedule meetings online and meet virtually. Since China began this reform in 2017, 90% of counties and districts have launched pilot programs, and defendants in more than 80% of criminal cases have received assistance from “duty lawyers” or representation of defense lawyers at trial.
China’s Law on Countering Telecommunications and Online Fraud (反电信网络诈骗法) took effect on December 1. The law requires telecom operators, financial institutions, and internet service providers to set up internal systems for controlling the risk of fraud. Last year, police resolved over 441,000 such cases and returned 12 billion yuan ($1.7 billion) to victims.
The Supreme People’s Procuratorate and the All-China Women's Federation jointly released ten typical cases involving women’s rights, including nine public interest administrative cases and one criminal case. Officials told a press conference that four cases address equal rights to employment, social security and vacation, and three cases focus on personal information, dignity and privacy.
Shanghai released Regulations on Preschool and Childcare Services (上海市学前教育与托育服务条例), which take effect on January 1, 2023. The regulations govern childcare providers’ registration, oversight, and terms of employment; they bar various types of persons, including those with a criminal record, from working in the field.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee asked China’s National People’s Congress Standing Committee to decide whether foreign lawyers may represent defendants accused of violating the National Security Law. The request was triggered by the high-profile case of former Apple Daily publisher Jimmy Lai, who has sought to be defended by a UK barrister, Timothy Owen. Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal approved Lai’s request, prompting the Hong Kong government to appeal over its head to Beijing. Meanwhile, Lai’s trial, which was scheduled to begin December 1, was postponed until December 13, awaiting the decision.
An appellate court upheld the five-year sentence given to Hong Kong Polytechnic University student Lui Sai-yu for his activities during the 2019 protests. The decision turned on the meaning of the National Security Law’s art. 21, which says: “If the circumstances of the offense committed by a person are of a serious nature, the person shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than ten years.” The prosecution proposed to use the mainland Chinese criminal code to interpret the NSL. The court said this was permissible in principle but not necessary in this case.
A Hong Kong landlord was fined for violating a new law designed to protect tenants of subdivided flats from overcharging. It is the first conviction since the law took effect in January. Landlords are required to give tenants copies of utility bills and show how the amounts are apportioned; they also must provide tenants with receipts within seven days after receiving rent payments.
Japan
In the latest of a series of constitutional challenges to nation’s ban on same-sex marriage, the Tokyo District Court ruled that the ban is constitutional because the constitution only assumes opposite-sex marriages. However, advocates were encouraged that the court also said the lack of recognition of same-sex couples as a family is a “serious threat to and violation for gay people” and is in a state of unconstitutionality regarding the second paragraph of art. 24 of the Constitution. In 2021, the Sapporo District Court ruled that the ban violates the Constitution’s promise of legal equality. However, in June 2022, the Osaka District Court said the ban is constitutional.
Three death-row inmates in Osaka who have been detained for more than ten years sued the state to end the practice of execution by hanging, claiming the method is considered inhumane under international conventions. The plaintiffs’ attorney said the lawsuit is aimed at “highlighting the reality of capital punishment” in Japan and creating a public conversation on whether it should continue.
The Supreme Court said that records of six civil trials handled at the Oita District Court that were designated for permanent preservation had been discarded. The court’s rules require permanent preservation of records from cases that drew social attention or would serve as key materials for research. No explanation was given, but the court admitted that the system to handle such records was “inadequate.”
Authorities raided the offices of Japan’s three largest advertising companies, Dentsu Inc., ADK Marketing Solutions, and Hakuhodo Inc., and several event companies as part of their investigation into alleged bid rigging for contracts to plan test events for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. Dentsu and the games’ organizing committee are suspected of colluding to coordinate contract bids.
The government in Kanagawa Prefecture awarded workplace compensation to a transgender woman after recognizing her depression was the result of harassment from her supervisor, who refused to refer to her with female pronouns. Japan’s laws prohibit harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity, but also make it extremely difficult for transgender persons to legally change their gender. As a result, the trans woman in this case was still legally recognized as male. Her boss said this meant he could address her as a man.
Japanese nuclear regulators are considering revising safety rules to allow aging reactors to operate beyond the current limit of 60 years - that is, 40 years with a possible one-time extension of up to 20 years. The current rule was adopted after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. The draft plan has yet to be approved.
Koreas
Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon said he is considering taking away the voting rights of non-citizens in local elections or linking it to reciprocity. The election law allows F-5 permanent resident visa holders to vote for local government positions, such as governors and mayors, if three years have passed since they acquired their visas. More than 126,000 foreigners, mostly Chinese, were eligible to vote in the latest local elections.
The Supreme Court ruled that transgender people cannot be denied the right to change their legal sex status solely because they have underage children. This overturned previous rulings that denied a legal sex change for those who have a spouse or an underage child.
The Constitutional Court ruled that it is unconstitutional for the army to force enlisted soldiers to participate in religious events at the Army Training Center. Following the ruling, the army said it will guarantee the basic rights of individual soldiers by allowing them to participate in religious events voluntarily.
The Ministry of Labor said it will seek to revise a law that holds business management criminally liable for deadly workplace accidents by shifting focus from punishment to self-regulation. Businesses, which had criticized the law as vague, will instead be asked to devise their own preventive measures. The ministry said workplace deaths have not fallen since the law took effect in January. Korea ranks 34th among the 38 OECD nations in workplace deaths.
The National Assembly passed legislation to prevent minors from taking on the burden of their deceased parents’ debts. Children will be given three choices – “absolute acceptance,” to inherit both debt and property; “qualified acceptance,” to pay off the parent's debt only within the scope of the inherited property; or “renunciation,” to give up both the inherited property and debt. The amendment allows underage heirs to choose qualified acceptance within three months of finding out that they have inherited more debt than property after they become adults.
Taiwan
Voters rejected a constitutional amendment to lower the voting age from 20 to 18. The referendum was held in conjunction with local government elections. The age of majority in the Civil Code will become 18 in 2023. Advocates of lowering the voting age argued that if obligations to pay taxes and serve in the military are triggered at age 18, voting rights should be as well.
Vietnam’s Foreign Ministry issued a protest after Taiwan conducted live-fire drills in the waters around Itu Aba (Ba Binh), the largest natural island in the Spratly (Truong Sa) archipelago in the South China Sea. Taiwan has stationed a marine police unit on the island, which is also claimed by Vietnam and China.
The Constitutional Court ruled that the government may seize $480 million from bank accounts belonging to the estate of late arms dealer Andrew Wang (汪傳浦) by retroactively applying property seizure rules that were amended in the Criminal Code in 2016. Chief Justice Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) said that confiscating criminal proceeds is a restorative measure that gives assets back to their rightful owners, rather than a punishment for the guilty.
The Legislative Yuan amended the Mental Health Act to require court approval for mandatory hospitalization of at-risk individuals. Only judges will be permitted to grant mandatory hospitalization orders following hearings that involve psychiatrists and representatives of patients’ rights groups. The amendments also extend mental health services to all residents of Taiwan and establish community mental health facilities.