Chapter Content

Title:

Corporate Governance Best Practice Principles for TWSE/TPEx Listed Companies 

Amended Date: 2022.12.23 
Categories: Corporate Governance
   Chapter VII Supplementary Provisions
      Section 1 Structure of the Board of Directors
Article 20    The board of directors of a TWSE/TPEx listed company shall direct company strategies, supervise the management, and be responsible to the company and shareholders. The various procedures and arrangements of its corporate governance system shall ensure that, in exercising its authority, the board of directors complies with laws, regulations, its articles of incorporation, and the resolutions of its shareholders meetings.
    The structure of a TWSE/TPEx listed company's board of directors shall be determined by choosing an appropriate number of board members, not less than five, in consideration of its business scale, the shareholdings of its major shareholders, and practical operational needs.
    The composition of the board of directors shall be determined by taking diversity into consideration. It is advisable that directors concurrently serving as company officers not exceed one-third of the total number of the board members, and that an appropriate policy on diversity based on the company's business operations, operating dynamics, and development needs be formulated and include, without being limited to, the following two general standards:
  1. Basic requirements and values: Gender, age, nationality, and culture; it is advisable that the number of female directors account for at least one-third of all the directors.
  2. Professional knowledge and skills: A professional background (e.g., law, accounting, industry, finance, marketing, technology), professional skills, and industry experience.
    All members of the board shall have the knowledge, skills, and experience necessary to perform their duties. To achieve the ideal goal of corporate governance, the board of directors shall possess the following abilities:
  1. Ability to make operational judgments.
  2. Ability to perform accounting and financial analysis.
  3. Ability to conduct management administration.
  4. Ability to conduct crisis management.
  5. Knowledge of the industry.
  6. An international market perspective.
  7. Ability to lead.
  8. Ability to make policy decisions.
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Article 21    A TWSE/TPEx listed company shall, according to the principles for the protection of shareholder rights and interests and equitable treatment of shareholders, establish a fair, just, and open procedure for the election of directors, encourage shareholder participation, and adopt the cumulative voting mechanism pursuant to the Company Act in order to fully reflect shareholders' views.
    Unless the competent authority otherwise grants an approval, a spousal relationship or a familial relationship within the second degree of kinship may not exist among more than half of the directors of a TWSE/TPEx listed company.
    When the number of directors falls below five due to the discharge of a director for any reason, the company shall hold a by-election for director at the following shareholders meeting. When the number of directors falls short by one-third of the total number prescribed by the articles of incorporation, the company shall convene a special shareholders meeting within 60 days of the occurrence of that fact for a by-election for director(s).
    The aggregate shareholding percentage of all of the directors of a TWSE/TPEx listed company shall comply with the laws and regulations. Restrictions on the share transfer of each director and the creation, release, or changes of any pledges over the shares held by each director shall be subject to the relevant laws and regulations, and the relevant information shall be fully disclosed.
Article 22    A TWSE/TPEx listed company shall specify in its articles of incorporation in accordance with the laws and regulations of the competent authorities that it adopts the candidate nomination system for elections of directors, carefully review the qualifications of a nominated candidate and the existence of any other matters set forth in Article 30 of the Company Act, and act in accordance with Article 192-1 of the Company Act.
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Article 23    (The board of directors of a TWSE/TPEx company shall draw clear distinctions of the authorities and responsibilities of the functional committees, chairperson of the board and general manager)
    Clear distinctions shall be drawn between the responsibilities and duties of the chairperson of the board of a TWSE/TPEx listed company and those of its general manager.
    It is inappropriate for the chairperson to also act as the general manager or an equivalent post.
    A TWSE/TPEx listed company with a functional committee shall clearly define the responsibilities and duties of the committee.