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Japan’s parliament on September 16, 2020, elected Yoshihide Suga to become the next prime minister. He is replacing long-serving ruling Liberal Democratic Party leader Shinzo Abe, who resigned earlier in the day due to health issues.
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Twenty-four high profile Hong Kong activists, including Joshua Wong and Apple Daily boss Jimmy Lai, appeared in court on September 15 over the unauthorised Tiananmen crackdown vigil this summer.
Yoshihide Suga was voted in as the new leader of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on September 14, 2020, paving the way for the 71-year-old to become prime minister in a parliamentary vote on September 16, 2020.
Tattoo artist Kim Do-yoon, also known by his professional name “Doy”, has tattooed at least 10,000 people over his 14-year career. Doy even counts Hollywood superstar Brad Pitt among his customers. But his job is not legal under current law in South Korean. While the legislation does not prohibit the application of …
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Human rights lawyer Lu Siwei filmed himself being led to an empty lobby of the Yantian People’s Procuratorate, after officials refused to handle his complaint about being denied access to one of the 12 detained Hongkongers.
Kaavan, the only Asian elephant in Pakistan, is about to leave the country that has been his home for more than three decades, and eight years since he lost his mate. Images of Kaavan chained up in Marghazar Zoo in the capital Islamabad several years ago sparked angry responses from around the world. An online petit…
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A Hong Kong court on September 3, 2020, acquitted media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying of criminal intimidation. Prosecutors had alleged Lai, founder of the Apple Daily newspaper, intimidated a reporter from rival publication Oriental Daily. The reporter claimed the incident happened in Hong Kong’s Victoria Park on June…
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — In August 2018, Chermire Gladden sat on the dark wooden benches in Maryland District Court, waiting her turn as a judge churned through more than 90 cases filed against public housing residents.
Authorities in Thailand arrested at least eight pro-democracy activists, including a rap musician, a human rights lawyer and other government critics on August 19-20, 2020. The activists involved in anti-government protests face several charges including sedition and defying measures that banned public gatherings to…
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Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on August 17, 2020, that Canada was playing “the role of an accomplice” to the US in detaining Chinese Tech giant Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou. China has urged Canada to release Meng immediately and said it supports Huawei in the use of legal means to safeguard their ri…
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A Malaysian court on July 28, 2020, sentenced former prime minister Najib Razak to 12 years in jail and fined him 210 million ringgit (US$49.3 million) in the first of five criminal trials linking him to the multibillion-dollar 1MDB corruption scandal, dealing a major setback to his efforts to make a comeback to fro…
A Hong Kong court has cleared gym owner Tong Wai-hung and his wife Elaine To on rioting charges in connection with a July 28, 2019, demonstration in Sai Wan on the western side of Hong Kong Island. But during their appearance before Wan Chai District Court on July 24, 2020, the couple were convicted for possessing a…
Philippine journalist Maria Ressa pleaded not guilty to a tax evasion charge on July 22, 2020. The 56-year-old is the founder of online news site Rappler, known for its scrutiny of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Her latest court appearance is related to allegations that incorrect information was filed for a R…
In a study published in the medical journal The Lancet on July 20, 2020, Oxford University in England reported promising results from tests on an experimental Covid-19 vaccine. Among hundreds of people who got the shot in a human trial of the vaccine, almost all developed a dual immune response which lasted for at l…
China says the US would antagonise 1.4 billion Chinese people if it went ahead with a plan to ban entry for all members of the ruling Communist Party. Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on July 17, 2020, that such a move by Washington would be "against the trend of the 21st century" and "very rid…
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on July 14, 2020, that Washington is disrupting regional peace and stability in the South China Sea after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rejected Beijing's territorial claims in the disputed waters. Pompeo issued an online statement the previous day saying there…
Singapore's long-ruling People Action Party retained power in the country's general election, but its support fell sharply, while the opposition made gains. The election was held under the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic.
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Singaporeans started casting votes in a general election on July 10, 2020, with polls scheduled to be open from 8am to 8pm for the island state’s 2.65 million registered voters. The ruling People’s Action Party is widely expected to be able to comfortably extend its 61-year rule after the ballots are counted.
The first person charged under Hong Kong’s new national security law has been remanded in custody after a court rejected his bail application on July 6, 2020.
Pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong said the national security law recently imposed on Hong Kong by the Chinese central government will have a broad impact on the city's people. Wong spoke on July 6, 2020, after appearing in court to enter a plea of not guilty to charges related to his alleged role in organising a pr…
Singapore will hold its 13th general election since independence on July 10, 2020. Political watchers expect the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) to retain its overwhelming majority in parliament. The results will be seen as a demonstration of the voters’ faith in the imminent transition to the next generation of …
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Nha Vy is one of hundreds of LGBT performers in Vietnam earning a living through ‘lotto’ shows. This form of entertainment dates back to the French colonial era and is now popular in the south of the country. Like many LGBT people in Vietnam, she has faced discrimination for much of her life despite gradual changes …
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The World Health Organisation has welcomed preliminary results of a drugs trial conducted by scientists in the UK, which shows a widely available, low-cost steroid can treat severely ill Covid-19 patients. Katherine Millbank, a British Covid-19 survivor, is among the 2,100 participants who took part in the clinical …
A widely available steroid, dexamethasone, helped cut the death rate for one-third of patients who needed ventilators, researchers at the University of Oxford found. The UK will immediately start giving the drug to coronavirus patients, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.
Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, China has stepped up legal protections for pangolins, one of the world’s most endangered animals which are in high demand in part because their scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine. Some environmentalists in China are now working to build the country’s pangolin population, orga…
Australian Karm Gilespie was sentenced to death by a Chinese court for drug-smuggling charges on June 10, 2020. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on June 15, 2020, that the case has “nothing to do” with bilateral relations between Beijing and Canberra, despite concerns raised by Australia.
Journalist Maria Ressa was found guilty of cyber libel by a Philippine court on June 15, 2020. The 56-year-old is the founder of online news site Rappler, known for its tough scrutiny of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. Her case dates back to a 2012 article that linked a businessman to human trafficking and ill…
South Korea has vowed to take action against two anti-North Korea organisations run by North Korean defectors. The anti-Pyongyang activists have been smuggling leaflets and memory sticks with content that North Korea considers subversive.
Meng Wanzhou, a top executive and daughter of the founder of Chinese tech giant Huawei, was dealt a legal setback on May 27, 2020, when a Canadian judge ruled that US fraud charges against her satisfied a Canadian extradition requirement of “double criminality”. Meng left the court, returning to house arrest in Vanc…
Hong Kong’s Law Society has condemned an attack on a lawyer in Causeway Bay over a disagreement with protesters. A video circulating online appeared to show him being attacked. Police said he was stopped by people who were building a roadblock and got into an argument.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said Beijing would establish a sound legal system and enforcement mechanism for safeguarding national security in Hong Kong as the National People’s Congress got under way in Beijing on May 22, 2020.
Taiwan marked its first anniversary of legalising same sex marriage. The self-ruled island’s top court ruled in favour of same sex marrriage on May 24, 2019. However, Taiwanese cannot marry same sex partners if they come from a place where gay marriage is still not recognised.
A group of prominent Hong Kong opposition activists appeared in court on May 18, 2020, to face charges relating to anti-government protests in 2019. All 15 were charged with organising and taking part in an unlawful assembly, while five face a more serious charge of “incitement to knowingly take part in an unauthori…
A new illustration by dissident Chinese cartoonist, Badiucao, was unveiled in Copenhagen on May 15. The artwork shows support for the 15 Hong Kong activists about to stand trial on charges of "organising and taking part in unlawful assembly". They were arrested in one of the biggest crackdowns on the city’s pro-demo…
The Independent Police Complaints Council released a report looking into the handling of the anti-government protests that erupted in summer 2019. While some Hongkongers demanded an independent commission of inquiry into the police force, council chairman Anthony Neoh said the council had 'no legal foundation' to co…
Wang Quanzhang, a Chinese human rights lawyer arrested in the “709” crackdown in 2015, has reunited with his wife and son after almost five years in jail for “subverting state power”. He is one of the last lawyers arrested in the roundup to be released from prison.
