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.

China releases cases to illustrate the liability rules for dog owners and caregivers; Hong Kong’s justice secretary says journalists who interview activists may be charged with abetting them; a Japanese court approves a transgender man’s official change of gender without undergoing surgery; a South Korean court acquits Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong of financial crimes; Taiwan travel agents threaten protests after the government says it will reinstate a ban on tours to China.

China executes three persons in two separate high-profile murder cases; Hong Kong publishes a public consultation document setting out plans to create new national security crimes; foreign-born residents of Japan seek a court ruling that police racial profiling violates Japanese law; a South Korean court orders the state to compensate victims of human rights abuses at a former detention center during the era of military rule; Taiwan’s newly elected Legislative Yuan convenes and chooses a Kuomintang legislator as the new speaker, beginning a new era of divided government.

China’s Supreme People’s Procuratorate intervenes to protect a whistleblower; a prosecution witness in the Hong Kong trial of former publisher Jimmy Lai testifies that Lai instructed him to encourage people to join the 2019 protests; Japan’s Supreme Court agrees to hear oral arguments in a lawsuit over the eligibility of same-sex partners for public benefits; North Korean leader Kim Jong Un calls for a constitutional amendment to declare that South Korea is his country’s "primary foe."; a Taiwanese woman challenges height requirements for firefighters and police officers..

China’s Supreme People’s Court releases guidance about application of foreign law when adjudicating foreign-related civil cases; a Hong Kong court hears final arguments in the trial of 16 pro-democracy activists charged with violating the 2020 National Security Law by holding an unofficial primary election; a court jails the head of Japanese non-profit organization for brokering organ transplants overseas for Japanese in need of transplants; South Korea’s conservative president vetoes more legislation approved by the opposition-controlled National Assembly; Taiwan accuses ten persons of spying for China, including several active-duty military personnel.

Chinese lawyer and writer Guo Feixiong is reported to be seriously ill in prison after hunger striking; Hong Kong police arrest six more suspects in connection with alleged fraud at the Dubai-based cryptocurrency trading platform JPEX; Japanese talent agency Johnny & Associates changes its name to Smile-Up and says it will compensate victims of sexual abuse by its late founder; South Korea’s Constitutional Court again upholds the country’s male-only military conscription system; Taiwan investigates four local companies suspected of helping China's Huawei Technologies to build semiconductor facilities.

China is expected to decide soon whether to arrest a Japanese businessman detained since March on suspicion of espionage; a Hong Kong district court gives prison terms to six more persons convicted of participating in a particularly violent clash with police in November 2019; Japan’s Children and Family Agency publishes a report about its efforts to initiate mandatory background checks for adults who work closely with children; South Korea’s National Assembly votes to lift opposition leader Lee Jae-mung’s immunity to arrest as prosecutors investigate corruption allegations; Taiwan’s Executive Yuan advances a new minimum wage scheme.

Legal experts express concern over proposed revisions to China’s Public Security Administrative Punishments Law; a Hong Kong court says the government has a constitutional duty to provide a framework for legal recognition of same-sex relationships; Japan’s Supreme Court orders Okinawa prefecture to approve a central government plan to relocate a US military base on the island; South Korean medical associations challenge a new law requiring surveillance cameras in operating rooms; a Taiwan court again quashes the efforts of Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Ko Wen-je to bring criminal defamation charges against US author Ethan Gutmann.