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Privatization Fight Continues at Chunghwa Telecom
Three members of the board of directors of Chunghwa Telecom have alerted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that a proposed sale of the company's stock in the United States is illegal under Taiwanese law.
Chunghwa Telecom is the government-owned telecommunications company. The Taiwan Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the company's controlling shareholder, is attempting to privatize the company despite binding restrictions passed by Taiwan's legislature and approved by the President of Taiwan.
CWA and the AFL-CIO are supporting the Taiwanese workers who face the loss of their jobs and retirement security if the privatization goes forward.
The three directors said, in a letter to the SEC, that "it is our responsibility and right to inform you (of) the illegality and existing legal challenge" to the U.S. offering of Chunghwa Telecom shares.
Despite a constitutional challenge brought by the Taiwanese legislature and a lawsuit filed against the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Chunghwa Telecom is trying to proceed with the U.S. sale of some of its shares, backed by investment banks Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS.
"The SEC should not be deciding questions that are the jurisdiction of Taiwan. The United States must respect democracy in Taiwan," said CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen. "Taiwan must determine the legality and constitutionality of this issue before any further action is taken by financial interests in the United States."
In a separate letter today to the SEC, the AFL-CIO asked that the agency halt the proposed sale of Chunghwa Telecom shares, stressing that the sale "may be invalid due to restrictions placed on the ability of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to resell the shares."
The AFL-CIO letter also stressed that if the SEC allowed the offering to go forward, it was, in effect, deciding "an issue that is for the Taiwanese judiciary alone to decide."
Chunghwa Telecom is the government-owned telecommunications company. The Taiwan Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the company's controlling shareholder, is attempting to privatize the company despite binding restrictions passed by Taiwan's legislature and approved by the President of Taiwan.
CWA and the AFL-CIO are supporting the Taiwanese workers who face the loss of their jobs and retirement security if the privatization goes forward.
The three directors said, in a letter to the SEC, that "it is our responsibility and right to inform you (of) the illegality and existing legal challenge" to the U.S. offering of Chunghwa Telecom shares.
Despite a constitutional challenge brought by the Taiwanese legislature and a lawsuit filed against the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Chunghwa Telecom is trying to proceed with the U.S. sale of some of its shares, backed by investment banks Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS.
"The SEC should not be deciding questions that are the jurisdiction of Taiwan. The United States must respect democracy in Taiwan," said CWA Executive Vice President Larry Cohen. "Taiwan must determine the legality and constitutionality of this issue before any further action is taken by financial interests in the United States."
In a separate letter today to the SEC, the AFL-CIO asked that the agency halt the proposed sale of Chunghwa Telecom shares, stressing that the sale "may be invalid due to restrictions placed on the ability of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to resell the shares."
The AFL-CIO letter also stressed that if the SEC allowed the offering to go forward, it was, in effect, deciding "an issue that is for the Taiwanese judiciary alone to decide."