The New Power Party (NPP) and civic group representatives yesterday called for rules requiring companies to disclose their beneficial owners and allowing minority shareholders to bring direct actions against board members ahead of a legislative review of draft amendments to the Company Act (公司法) planned for today.
While the Ministry of Economic Affairs has described the bill as an effort to meet international standards against money laundering ahead of a visit by the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) in November, it could be more than that, NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) told a news conference in Taipei.
“This is an opportunity for Taiwan to build a new legal framework that is in line with global standards — one that is transparent, fair and beneficial to corporate governance, with better mechanisms to protect the rights of shareholders,” Huang said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Ensuring greater transparency about beneficial ownership is an important step toward achieving market transparency, which would allow the government to uncover illegal business operations, said National Chengchi University College of Law professor Faung Kai-lin (方嘉麟), who has been advocating reform of the act for nearly two years in cooperation with civic groups.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has refused to tighten rules on beneficial ownership, saying that it does not want to create “unnecessary trouble” for companies, but for 99 percent of companies, registering their beneficial owner would take only five seconds, he said.
“The remaining 1 percent that deliberately try to conceal their beneficial owner would complain about the additional hassle, but without greater transparency about beneficial ownership, Taiwan will probably not pass the APG evaluation,” he added
The draft amendments should also allow minority shareholders to bring direct actions against board members who have violated regulations or encroached upon their rights, National Taipei University law professor Chen Yen-liang (陳彥良) said.
That would not only improve protection of minority shareholders’ rights, but also allow them to act as watchdogs alongside independent directors, he said.
The legislature should use the opportunity of reviewing the act to push for more comprehensive reform, as such opportunities are rare, NPP caucus convener Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said, adding that lawmakers should not take half measures.
While the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) respects the NPP’s proposals, legislators must distinguish between ideals and reality, KMT caucus secretary-general Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) said.
During the review, the KMT would seek a reasonable balance between government supervision and business practice, she said, urging other parties to also handle the bill with caution.
The DPP supports the draft amendments proposed by the Executive Yuan, but would make minor adjustments based on the results of cross-caucus negotiations, DPP caucus secretary-general Hsu Chih-chieh (許智傑) said.
Additional reporting by CNA
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and