Amendments


Title： Securities and Exchange Act(2018.04.25)
Date：
Article 14-2       A company that has issued stock in accordance with this Act may appoint independent directors in accordance with its articles of incorporation. The Competent Authority, however, shall as necessary in view of the company's scale, shareholder structure, type of operations, and other essential factors, require it to appoint independent directors, not less than two in number and not less than one-fifth of the total number of directors.
    Independent directors shall possess professional knowledge and there shall be restrictions on their shareholdings and the positions they may concurrently hold. They shall maintain independence within the scope of their directorial duties, and may not have any direct or indirect interest in the company. Regulations governing the professional qualifications, restrictions on shareholdings and concurrent positions held, assessment of independence, method of nomination, and other matters for compliance with respect to independent directors shall be prescribed by the Competent Authority.
    The company may not impede, refuse, or evade the actions of the independent directors in the performance of their duties. As the independent directors deem necessary to the performance of their duties, they may request the board of directors to appoint relevant personnel, or may at their own discretion hire professionals to provide assistance. The related expenses will be borne by the company.
    Given any of the following circumstances, a person may not act as an independent director, or if already acting in such capacity, shall be dismissed:
  1. Any circumstance set out in a subparagraph of Article 30 of the Company Act.
  2. The director is a government agency, juristic person, or representative thereof, and was elected in accordance with Article 27 of the Company Act.
  3. The person fails to meet the qualifications for independent director set forth in paragraph 2.
    Transfer of an independent director's shareholdings is not subject to the provisions of the latter part of paragraph 1 or of paragraph 3, Article 197, of the Company Act.
    When an independent director is dismissed for any reason, resulting in a number of directors lower than that required under paragraph 1 or the company's articles of incorporation, a by-election for independent director shall be held at the next following shareholders meeting. When all independent directors have been dismissed, the company shall convene a special shareholders meeting to hold a by-election within 60 days from the date on which the situation arose.
Article 178       A person who commits any of the following offenses shall be punished with an administrative fine of not less than NT$240,000 and not more than NT$2.4 million:
  1. Violation of the provisions of Article 22-2, paragraph 1 or 2, Article 26-1, Article 141, Article 144, Article 145, paragraph 2, Article 147, or Article 152; or Article 141, Article 144, Article 145, paragraph 2, or Article 147 as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 165-1 or 165-2; or Article 22-2, paragraph 1 or 2 as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 165-1.
  2. Violation of the provisions of Article 14, paragraph 3, Article 14-1, paragraph 1 or 3, Article 14-2, paragraph 1, 3, or 6, Article 14-3, Article 14-4, paragraph 1 or 2, Article 14-5, paragraph 1 or 2, Article 21-1, paragraph 5, Article 25, paragraph 1, 2, or 4, Article 26-3, paragraph 1 or 7, Article 31, paragraph 1, Article 36, paragraph 5 or 7, Article 41, Article 43-1, paragraph 1, Article 43-4, paragraph 1, Article 43-6, paragraphs 5 to 7, Article 58, Article 61, Article 69, paragraph 1, Article 79, or Article 159; or Article 14, paragraph 3, Article 31, paragraph 1, Article 36, paragraph 5, Article 43-4, paragraph 1, or Article 61, as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 165-1 or 165-2; or Article 14-1, paragraph 1 or 3, Article 14-2, paragraph 1 or 5, Article 14-3, Article 14-4, paragraph 1 or 2, Article 14-5, paragraph 1 or 2, Article 25, paragraph 1, 2, or 4, Article 26-3, paragraph 1 or 7, Article 36, paragraph 7, Article 41, Article 43-1, paragraph 1, Article 43-6, paragraphs 5 to 7, as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 165-1.
  3. An issuer or public tender offeror or a related party thereof, a securities firm or a principal thereof, a securities dealers association, a stock exchange, or any other enterprise referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 18 fails to submit account books, forms/statements, documents, or other reference or report materials within the time period specified in this Act or in an order issued by the Competent Authority pursuant to this Act, or any of the above parties refuses, impedes, or evades an examination carried out by the Competent Authority.
  4. If any issuer, public tender offeror, securities firm, securities dealers association, stock exchange, or any other enterprise referred to in Article 18, paragraph 1 fails to comply with relevant rules in the preparation, submission, public announcement, maintenance, or storage of the account books, forms/statements, vouchers, financial reports or other relevant business documents as required by this Act, or as required by orders issued by the Competent Authority pursuant to this Act.
  5. Violation of rules prescribed by the Competent Authority in accordance with Article 25-1 regarding the qualifications of proxy solicitors, proxy agents, or those handling proxy solicitation matters, the methods of solicitation or acquisition of proxy forms, corporate compliance matters in connection with the convening of shareholder meetings, or refusal to comply with a requirement by the Competent Authority for provision of information, or Article 25-1 as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 165-1.
  6. Violation of the shareholding percentage requirements of directors and supervisors of publicly issued companies prescribed by the Competent Authority in accordance with paragraph 2 of Article 26, and provisions regarding notifications and auditing in the enforcement rules for auditing the shareholdings thereto.
  7. Violation of the provisions of Article 26-3, paragraph 8 by failing to formulate rules for the conduct of directors meetings, or violating the regulations prescribed by the Competent Authority pursuant to the same article and paragraph governing the content of deliberations, procedures, matters to be recorded in the meeting minutes, and public announcement, or violation of the rules issued by the Competent Authority pursuant to Article 36-1 regarding the scope, working procedures, required public announcements, and required filings for financial or operational actions of material significance, such as acquisition or disposal of assets, derivatives trading, extension of monetary loans to others, endorsements or guarantees for others, and disclosure of financial forecast information, or violation of Article 26-3, paragraph 8 or Article 36-1 as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 165-1.
  8. Violation of the provisions of Article 28-2, paragraphs 2 or 4 to 7 or the matters prescribed by the Competent Authority in accordance with Article 28-2, paragraph 3 regarding procedures, prices, volumes, methods, methods of transfer, and matters that must be filed and publicly announced in relation to repurchase of shares, or violation of Article 28-2, paragraphs 2 to 7 as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 165-1.
  9. Violation of the provisions of Article 43-2, paragraph 1, Article 43-3, paragraph 1, or Article 43-5, paragraph 1, or regulations prescribed by the Competent Authority in accordance with Article 43-1, paragraphs 4 or 5 regarding the scope, conditions, period, related parties, and particulars for filing and public announcement in connection with purchases of securities, or violation of Article 43-1, paragraph 4, Article 43-2, paragraph 1, Article 43-3, paragraph 1, or Article 43-5, paragraph 1, as applied mutatis mutandis under Article 165-1 or 165-2.
    Where a person who has committed any of the offenses referred to in subparagraphs 2 through 7 of the preceding paragraph, the Competent Authority shall, in addition to imposing an administrative fine, order the person to comply within a prescribed time period; where the person fails to comply within the specified period, the Competent Authority may order a new period for compliance and impose additional administrative fines of not less than NT$480,000 and not more than NT$4.8 million for each successive failure to comply until corrective action has been taken.
    A reward shall be offered for the report of a violation of Article 25-1 that leads to successful discovery of a violation; regulations governing such reward shall be prescribed by the Competent Authority.
    When a foreign company is the issuer, any violation of paragraph 1, subparagraphs 3 or 4 by the foreign company shall be punished under paragraphs 1 and 2.