ABSTRACT
The law governing the activities of companies in Taiwan, like the Taiwanese legal system and regulatory structure, reflects a complex heritage. The Company Law was substantially revised in 1946 to assist in the accumulation of capital for the expansion of industry, to take over Japanese-owned industry and to attract foreign investment following the relinquishment of extraterritoriality by China’s wartime allies. Further revisions of the law in Taiwan in 1966, 1968, 1970 and 1980 introduced features of Anglo-US company law. The contemporary Taiwan codes and courts, which emerged during the 1920s and 1930s in China, are criticized as a ‘weak’ form of law or as opposed to ‘the rule of law’. Taiwan’s legal system has been heavily influenced by European civil law. The loss of Taiwan to Japan at the end of the Sino-Japanese War made change, including law reform, a critical issue in China after 1895.
