#30 Asia AI Policy Monitor
Malaysia Considers AI Leg, China AI Short Video Violation Crackdown, Taiwan Gen AI Consultation, China Autonomous Driving Rules
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Legislation
Malaysia considers AI legislation.
MALAYSIA may table its first dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) legislation by the second half of 2026 (2H26), as the government moves closer to deciding how best to regulate the fast-evolving technology.
Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo said the regulatory framework is still being finalised, with several meetings held to develop the report. Once completed, the findings and recommendations will be presented to the Cabinet for further deliberation
Trust & Safety
China’s Ministry of Science and Technology published guidelines for autonomous driving.
Publishing the guidelines on Wednesday, the Ministry of Science and Technology said automated driving systems “must demonstrate a high degree of respect for human life and actively seek effective strategies to minimise harm”.
Algorithms, models and other content related to the technology must be clearly documented and readily accessible for inspection, it said.
The guidelines aim to “guide the regulated development and application of automated driving technologies, prevent ethical risks during R&D and product application, and promote the healthy growth of the sector”.
South Korea’s MSIT released an AI enabled monitor for child exploitation online.
[AI Translation and Summary]
a. AI-based Detection & Removal System
Enhanced real-time detection of illegal digital sexual content via AI tools.
Partnered with the Korean Institute of Science and Technology Information (KISTI) to develop the tech.
As of mid-2024, over 420,000 harmful URLs were blocked or deleted.
b. "Youth Digital Safe Net" Platform
Launched an integrated support system for victims.
Offers digital evidence preservation, legal aid, and psychological counseling.
c. Partnership Expansion
Cooperation with domestic tech companies (e.g., Naver, Kakao).
International collaboration for takedown of foreign-hosted illegal content.
Government pushing for platform accountability through stronger regulations.
China’s CAC publishes 6 model case actions against deepfakes on short video platforms.
The cybersecurity and informatization departments continue to carry out the special action of "Clear and Clear: Rectifying Malicious Marketing Chaos in the Short Video Field", focusing on prominent issues that the people have strongly reflected, guiding and urging short video service platforms and platforms that provide short video functions to conduct in-depth and comprehensive investigations and rectifications, handling illegal and irregular accounts in accordance with the law and contract, and continuously purifying the short video content ecology. The second batch of typical cases are now reported as follows:
1. Accounts such as "Everything goes smoothly 1 the future can be expected" fabricated scripts and staged false photos, taking advantage of the public's goodwill to conduct illegal marketing. Bilibili account "Everything goes smoothly 1 the future can be expected" and Kuaishou account "Rural Sisters" etc., mass-fabricated and published homogeneous false content such as "the whole family is seriously ill" and "abandoned by the family" to create tragic personalities; Xiaohongshu accounts such as "Y Fresh" and "Big Sister Lychee Garden" fabricated tragic scripts to attract traffic for marketing in the name of "helping farmers" and "poverty alleviation"; Douyin account "Luwei*Boss" staged false content to create a "good people get good rewards" persona, taking advantage of the public's goodwill to harvest traffic and seek profits. The relevant accounts have been closed or banned in accordance with the law and contract.
Governance
China announces Global AI Governance action plan.
[AI Summary]
Promote innovation: Foster open R&D, reduce technical barriers, and coordinate international AI policy and standards.
Empower all industries: Apply AI in health, education, agriculture, and urban development to drive inclusive growth.
Build global digital infrastructure: Expand clean energy, networks, and computing power—especially in the Global South.
Develop open ecosystems: Support open-source platforms, interoperability, and shared resources to lower innovation costs.
Provide high-quality data: Enable lawful, diverse, and privacy-respecting data flows to fuel ethical AI development.
Advance sustainable AI: Promote energy-efficient standards and apply AI to address climate and environmental challenges.
Harmonize standards and norms: Coordinate AI safety, ethics, and technical rules through global standard-setting bodies.
Lead with public sector AI: Governments should model responsible AI use in public services and uphold privacy and IP norms.
Strengthen AI security governance: Build global risk assessment, threat-sharing, and traceability systems to prevent abuse.
Implement global digital compact: Support UN-led digital governance to uphold sovereignty and bridge the digital divide.
Build global AI capacity: Help developing countries through training, infrastructure support, and shared data initiatives.
Establish inclusive governance platforms: Align countries and stakeholder dialogues to ensure ethical, cross-sector AI policy.
Multilateral
Russia is training North Korean researchers and students in AI.
Kim Kwang Hyok, head of the AI Institute at Kim Il Sung University, confirmed the strategy in an interview with a pro-Pyongyang outlet in Japan. He admitted that international restrictions remain a major hurdle but noted that researchers continue developing AI applications within North Korea regardless.
Among the projects cited is ‘Ryongma’, a multilingual translation app supporting English, Russian, and Chinese, which has been available on mobile devices since 2021.
Kim also mentioned efforts to develop an AI-driven platform for a hospital under construction in Pyongyang. However, technical limitations remain considerable, with just three known semiconductor plants operating in the country.
The US AI Action Plan from the Trump Administration targets countering China.
Counter Chinese Influence in International Governance Bodies A large number of international bodies, including the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, G7, G20, International Telecommunication Union, Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, and others have proposed AI governance frameworks and AI development strategies. The United States supports likeminded nations working together to encourage the development of AI in line with our shared values. But too many of these efforts have advocated for burdensome regulations, vague “codes of conduct” that promote cultural agendas that do not align with American values, or have been influenced by Chinese companies attempting to shape standards for facial recognition and surveillance.
In the News & Analysis
Nvidia announced that H20 chips will no longer be subject to export controls to China.
This month, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang promoted AI in both Washington, D.C. and Beijing — emphasizing the benefits that AI will bring to business and society worldwide.
In the U.S. capital, Huang met with President Trump and U.S. policymakers, reaffirming NVIDIA’s support for the Administration’s effort to create jobs, strengthen domestic AI infrastructure and onshore manufacturing, and ensure that America leads in AI worldwide.
In Beijing, Huang met with government and industry officials to discuss how AI will raise productivity and expand opportunity. The discussions underscored how researchers worldwide can advance safe and secure AI for the benefit of all.
China recently held the World AI Conference in Shanghai.
Shanghai will host its eighth annual flagship artificial intelligence (AI) conference this weekend as China ramps up competition against the US for supremacy in the fast-developing technology.
The three-day World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), with the theme of “Global Solidarity in the AI Era”, will kick off on Saturday with an opening keynote from Premier Li Qiang, who also headlined last year’s event. A high-level meeting on global AI governance will be held in tandem with the conference.
A private consultancy releases a State of AI Safety in China report.
President Xi Jinping called AI risks “unprecedented,” while another top official warned that AI without safety is “like driving on a highway without brakes”;
AI safety is now treated as a national security and public safety issue: several high-level meetings addressed the topic, and China’s National Emergency Response Plan now lists AI risks alongside epidemics, cyberattacks, and financial anomalies;
China issued as many national AI standards in the first half of 2025 as in the previous 3 years combined;
China positions itself as AI capacity-building leader in Global South through UN resolution backed by 140+ countries;
New bilateral AI dialogues launched with key partners including the UK, while the US-China AI dialogue has stalled since May 2024;
Chinese frontier AI safety research output more than doubled vs previous year;
Expert discourse in China is placing greater emphasis on AI safety and governance, publishing increasingly in-depth analyses of AI risks in biosecurity and cybersecurity, and on open-source AI;
Leading Chinese AI companies signed voluntary “Safety Commitments” covering red teaming, transparency, and safety research;
A first-of-its-kind systematic analysis of safety content in technical model cards of leading Chinese foundation model developers shows that many use standard safety practices, but few provide detailed transparency on safety evaluations.
Advocacy
India’s Securities and Exchange Commission conducted a public comment on AI and securities this month.
SEBI has prescribed reporting requirements for Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) applications and systems offered and used by Stock Exchanges, Clearing Corporations, Depositories, Intermediaries and Mutual Funds. The intent of the circ ulars was to create an inventory of the AI / ML landscape in the Indian financial markets to gain an in depth understanding of the adoption of such technologies in the markets and to ensure preparedness for any AI / ML policies that may arise in the future.
Taiwan’s Fair Trade Commission has comments open for Gen AI and Competition rules until Sept 7.
The Paper specifies the market structure and market characteristics of generative AI, and describes the development of the hardware supply chain, model creation, and the deployment of AI applications in Taiwan. Additionally, the Paper outlines the four primary categories regulated by competition law, including unilaterally abusing market dominance, concerted action, market concentration, false advertising, and other unfair competition practices. Furthermore, the Paper examines the potential competition issues that may arise from generative AI, with specific questions listed in each section, in order to help the public focus on specific issues and provide responses and opinions.
The Asia AI Policy Monitor is the monthly newsletter for Digital Governance Asia, a non-profit organization with staff in Taipei and Seattle. If you are interested in contributing news, analysis, or participating in advocacy to promote Asia’s rights-promoting innovation in AI, please reach out to our secretariat staff at APAC GATES or Seth Hays at seth@apacgates.com.