After President Chen Shui-bian (
"Professional shareholders" are those shareholders who attend shareholders' meetings at different companies as a part of their jobs.
Some of these "professional shareholders" are known to try to do something to interrupt shareholders' meetings out of their own interest, such as drawing media attention or trying to blackmail the company.
Chen, when meeting a group of representatives from the American Chamber of Commerce on Friday, said these professional shareholders are the tumors of Taiwan's financial system and are unforgivable.
In the meantime, he also asked related law enforcement offices to organize special task forces to investigate these people and indict them when necessary.
Lu said these kinds of shareholders began to threaten local enterprises or companies approximately four years ago.
In addition, there used to be a gang called "Chi-tsun-meng" (至尊盟), which was organized by these professional shareholders. These people took all kinds of illegal steps to embezzle funds from different companies and pocket the money.
"About three years ago," Lu said, "investigators began their actions against local mafia and their actions did decrease the total number of these professional shareholders. However, it seems to me that these people came back a year ago to disturb our financial order again. As a result, I also think it's time for us to do something."
According to Lu, he will invite officials from the Bureau of Investigation under the Ministry of Justice, the National Police Administration's Criminal Investigation Bureau, the Ministry of Finance, the Taiwan High Court Prosecutors' Office and the Taipei District Prosecutors' Office to join a meeting at 9:30am tomorrow on the matter.
"Our first priority is to investigate these professional shareholders and see if they are gang members," Lu said.
"Getting rid of the gangs from the shareholders' meetings will be our first step. Then, if our investigators find any evidence of crimes by these professional shareholders, other than being arrested, they might be put on the national hoodlum list as well if they fit the requirements."
The Ministry of Finance said it was definitely a shareholder's right to attend a shareholders' meeting and ask questions regarding a company's operation and management.
But some shareholders' "unreasonable" behavior at meetings have seriously interrupted the meeting process and financial order, which should be stopped, the ministry said.
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