The Taiwan Chamber of Commerce yesterday brought its leadership power struggle to Macau, where beatings administered by two factions were reported during the chamber's annual meeting.
Yeh Tsung-yi (葉宗義), a business leader from Changhua, claimed he was surrounded by a group of men wearing security-guard uniforms and beaten up after he arrived at the Macau Cultural Center yesterday to attend the annual meeting.
Yeh is believed to belong to a faction led by Chang Ping-chao (張平沼), a former chamber chairman and former legislator who wants to reclaim the leadership from a rival faction led by the chamber's current vice chairman, Liao Chin-shun (廖金順).
The chamber moved this year's meeting from Taiwan to Macau amid disputes between the two factions.
Chang claimed that Liao had mobilized a portion of the membership to back his decision to hold the meeting in Macau without authorization from the chamber's chairman, Chuang Lung-chang (莊隆昌), or from Taiwan's government.
Chang said that the Taiwanese authorities had declared the meeting illegal, but Liao claimed he had not received any official notice from the Taiwanese government.
Liao also insisted that non-governmental organizations should have the freedom to hold their meetings overseas.
The chamber revoked Chang's membership before the meeting, but Chang stayed outside the venue of yesterday's gathering to monitor the proceedings, the local Chinese-language media said.
The report also said Liao's Macau move was designed to undercut the presence of Chang's faction at the election.
After the confused wrangling, the two sides accused each other of foul play.
Soon after the meeting opened, Liao's faction tabled a proposal to hold the leadership elections immediately, instead of today as originally scheduled.
Chang's faction fiercely resisted the move and managed to get one of their men, Wu Jui-yao (吳瑞耀), to preside over the meeting.
Wu then called for a vote on whether to cancel the meeting, citing a notice from the Taiwan government allegedly declaring the meeting illegal.
The number of representatives attending the meeting was reportedly around 400. The number of votes cast on canceling the gathering could not be confirmed as of press time yesterday.
Despite Wu's move, close to 200 supporters of the rival faction stayed at the cultural center and went ahead with the election. Chen Chun-hsiung (
Chen is due to hold a press conference upon his arrival at the CKS airport today.
Chang is also set to return to Taiwan today and will hold a press conference.
Founded in 1946, the chamber is composed of 21 county and city chambers of commerce and 90 trade associations.
The Chinese-language media reported that Chang yesterday tried to contact Macau's Chief Executive Edmund Ho (何厚鏵) and ask for police assistance to maintain order at the meeting.
Though excluded from the meeting, Chang had rallied support from some 60 percent of the representatives present, according to reports.
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