January 19-25
China
Courts in Suzhou and Shenzhen handed down death penalties to two men who separately carried out murderous attacks on Japanese residents in China. The Suzhou Intermediate People’s Court said 52-year-old Zhou Jiasheng was overwhelmed by debt and despondent last June when he attacked a school bus, injuring a Japanese woman and her child and killing a Chinese bus attendant who tried to stop him. The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court said 45-year-old Zhong Changchun was trying to attract attention on the internet when he stabbed and killed a Japanese boy outside his school. The verdicts were disclosed by the Japanese Foreign Ministry, which said that neither court made any reference to Japan. Chinese officials have called the killings isolated incidents.
The Supreme People's Court (SPC) plans to interpret the foreign-related provisions of the Civil Procedure Law to improve the quality of case handling, a senior court official told China Daily. The interpretation will provide specific rules on parallel litigation and service of judicial documents. According to the official, the court will participate in amending other laws on foreign-related matters, including the Maritime Law and the Arbitration Law.
The European Commission filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over China’s practice of setting worldwide royalty rates for EU standard essential patents (SEPs) without the consent of the patent holder. China's Ministry of Commerce expressed regret at the decision. The commission requested consultations with China, the first step in WTO dispute settlement.
Hong Kong
National security police questioned two staff of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute in an investigation related to the institute’s former deputy chief, Chung Kim-wah. Chung, who left Hong Kong for Britain in 2022, was placed on a police wanted list last year on suspicion of inciting secession and colluding with foreign forces. Police also questioned Chung’s three siblings this week; they previously questioned his wife and son. They searched the home and office of institute CEO Robert Chung (no relation) on Jan. 13 and said they were investigating him on suspicion of assisting his former deputy.
A 36-year-old bus technician was charged with sedition for allegedly making posts on Facebook with the intent of inciting hatred, contempt, or disaffection against the government. Sedition is punishable by up to seven years in prison.
The Legislative Council is considering legislation that would allow foreign companies to change their domicile to Hong Kong while maintaining their original legal identity. The Companies (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2024 was introduced into the legislature on Jan. 8.
Japan
In a surprise move, the central government said that same-sex couples are covered by 24 laws normally reserved for legally recognized marriages. The laws provide protection from domestic violence, lease and rental laws, and access to child abuse prevention services, among other things. Miura Junko, head of Japan’s Children and Families Agency, said the government is considering whether and how some 130 other laws may also apply to same-sex couples. The action was triggered by a Supreme Court ruling in March 2024 in the case of a man who sought spousal survivor benefits after his same-sex partner was killed. Lower courts rejected his request but the Supreme Court ruled that the relationship "amounted to a common-law marriage.” The Japanese government has resisted domestic and international pressure to legalize same-sex marriage.
Koreas
President Yoon Suk Yeol attended the third and fourth hearings in his impeachment trial before the Constitutional Court. The National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon on Dec. 14, 2024, resulting in his replacement by an acting president, but it is up to the court to decide whether to uphold the impeachment or restore Yoon to power.
In parallel criminal proceedings, Yoon remained in detention this week under an arrest warrant issued by Seoul Western District Court on Jan. 19. Suspects can only be held under arrest for 10 days, with a possible extension for another 10 days, and prosecutors are now seeking an extension. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which was leading the investigation into whether Yoon’s Dec. 3 declaration of martial law amounted to criminal abuse of power or insurrection, turned the case over to prosecutors on Jan. 23 after Yoon refused requests to meet with the CIO and answer questions.
The Constitutional Court voted down a National Assembly effort to impeach Korea Communications Commission (KCC) Chairperson Lee Jin-sook, who immediately resumed her office. The opposition-led National Assembly voted to impeach Lee on Aug. 2, just two days after she took office, accusing her of making KCC decisions with only two members while leaving the other three of the commission's five-member standing committee vacant. The court voted 4-4 on Lee’s impeachment; at least six justices must vote in favor for an impeachment to stand. Efforts by the opposition-controlled National Assembly to impeach Yoon appointees were an element of the deeply partisan political environment ahead of Yoon’s martial law declaration.
The Constitutional Court will issue a decision Feb. 3 on whether Acting President Choi Sang-mok's failure to appoint a ninth justice to its own bench is constitutional. The full court has nine judges, but there were three vacancies, which the opposition in the National Assembly wanted to fill in time for the court to decide on Yoon’s impeachment. Choi appointed only two of the legislature’s three nominees. A decision to impeach a president requires at least six votes in favor.
Taiwan
President Lai Ching-te reluctantly signed into law the amended Constitutional Court Procedures Act, which was passed by the opposition-controlled Legislative Yuan over the protests of Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party. A spokesperson said Lai wants the court to rule on the constitutionality of the amendments, which will require a quorum of at least ten justices and a super-majority of nine to declare a law unconstitutional. The court currently has only eight justices, and the opposition-controlled legislature has rejected Lai’s nominees to fill the seven vacancies. The DPP legislative caucus petitioned the court to issue an injunction halting implementation of the law, but it is unclear if the current bench of eight justices can now act on that petition.
Civic groups from across Taiwan’s political spectrum launched signature campaigns to recall legislators from rival camps. Elections in January 2024 gave the Nationalist or Kuomintang Party and its sometime-ally, the Taiwan People’s Party, a small majority in the Legislative Yuan, where they have blocked President Lai’s budget and approved legislation to curb the powers of the executive branch and Constitutional Court. Pro-DPP groups are now trying to unseat Kuomintang legislators. and visa versa.
Taipei District Court opened the trial of ten defendants in a corruption case involving a Taipei development project during the tenure of then-Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) and the use of political donations during Ko’s 2024 presidential campaign. Ko is charged with corruption, embezzlement, and breach of trust for allegedly assisting Core Pacific Group (威京集團) and its subsidiary to gain unlawful financial benefits of more than NT$12.105 billion (US$369.4 million). Two defendants have pleaded guilty.
The Taiwan High Prosecutors Office indicted six people, including a retired lieutenant general, on charges of violating the national security law. Prosecutors alleged that they used funds from China to recruit military personnel for an armed group that would assist invading Chinese forces. The group allegedly met with Chinese military intelligence personnel to receive instructions and funding, and worked to recruit active service members.