Mon Dieu, quelle bonheur! France just became the 52nd country to ban all corporal punishment of children, at home or at school. Only 4 countries left till all of Europe is a smacking-free zone. Well, in Italy it is already banned by their Supreme court, just not formalized into law yet. That leaves just Switzerland, the Czech Republic and….UK.
The new normal: treating children as persons. This will have very positive flow-on effects on all society.
what is the state of affairs in Asia, for example Taiwan, China, and Japan?
I believe corporal punishment is illegal in Nepal now (though this might be schools only). A recent President of Taiwan expressed a strong interest in prohibition of corporal punishment, but no legislation so far.
you can keep up to do with what is happening around the world here: http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/