Labor
1.Draft amendment to the ” Act of Gender Equality in Employment “
On May 28, the Ministry of Labor proposed a draft amendment to the Gender Equality in Employment Act to create a more favorable environment for childbirth, and promote gender equality in the division of labor within the family. We summarize the key points below:
(1) The age limit for applying for parental leave without payment is amended to include children under 6 years old.
(2) The maternity leave period has been amended to 12 weeks, and employees are allowed to cancel their leave in advance.
(3) The amendments stipulate that employees with children under the age of 6 may take parental leave, and specify the reasons for taking leave, the calculation period, the maximum number of days, and the relevant regulations for claiming allowances.
(4) The amendments stipulate that if employers provide childcare facilities(measures), the employers may deduct up to 200% of the expenditure from the income of the year in which the expenditure is made
Reported by: David Tsai / Hank Chang
Financial
2.Draft Amendments to Money Laundering Control Act for public consultation
On 1 June 2026, the Ministry of Justice announced the draft amendments to “Money Laundering Control Act” for public consultation. We summarize below:
(1) To add the offense under Paragraph 4, Article 6 of the Money Laundering Control Act as a specified crime, so as to prevent enterprises or persons providing virtual asset services or third-party payment services without completing the anti-money laundering and service capacity registration from becoming loopholes for money laundering crimes.
(2) To add the definition of beneficial owner, specifying that the term “beneficial owner” under the Act includes the natural person who ultimately owns or controls a customer, the natural person on whose behalf a transaction is conducted, and the natural person who exercises ultimate effective control over a legal person or legal arrangement.
(3) To amend the scope of applicable trust and company service providers by revising the type of transaction they prepare for, or carry out for, customers from “acting, or arranging for another person to act, as a beneficial shareholder” to “acting, or arranging for another person to act, as a nominee shareholder,” so as to align with Recommendation 22 of the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) and the international standards set forth in its glossary.
(4) To add a cross-agency information request and inquiry mechanism, specifying that relevant public agencies may, for the purposes of anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing, request or inquire from the central competent authority, within the necessary scope, the list of financial institutions and designated non-financial businesses or persons that have been subject to administrative fines. The central competent authority for designated non-financial businesses or persons may also, for the purposes of anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing, request or inquire necessary information from relevant public agencies.
(5) To add an inquiry mechanism among financial institutions and enterprises or persons providing virtual asset services, specifying that, for the purposes of anti-money laundering and countering terrorism financing, they may make inquiries to other financial institutions or enterprises or persons providing virtual asset services, and the party receiving such inquiry shall provide relevant information. The scope, items, procedures, and other compliance matters for such inquiries shall be prescribed by the competent authority in charge of financial industries, so as to enhance real-time verification and risk control capabilities.
Reported by: Stacy Lo / Maggie Tsai
Personal Data Protection Act
3.Draft of “The Mandatory and Prohibitive Items of Standardized Contract for Gift Certificates of Goods (Services) “
To improve the market order of goods (services) gift certificates and strengthen the protection of consumers’ personal data, the captioned mandatory items are proposed to add that when an issuer collects, processes, or uses consumers’ personal data, it shall comply with the Personal Data Protection Act.
Reported by: Kang-Shen Liu / Hank Chang
Securities
4.Amendments to Certain Provisions of the Corporate Governance Best Practice Principles for TWSE/TPEx Listed Companies
On 29 May 2026, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) announced amendments to certain provisions of the “Corporate Governance Best Practice Principles for TWSE/TPEx Listed Companies”. We summarize below:
(1) To strengthen the system for corporate governance personnel and corporate governance officers, the requirement to appoint corporate governance personnel has been changed from a recommendation to a mandatory requirement. In addition, a newly appointed corporate governance officer shall complete at least 18 hours of continuing education within the first year of appointment, and at least 12 hours each year thereafter.
(2) To amend the rules on voting at shareholders’ meetings by changing the requirements for voting on each proposal on an item-by-item basis and uploading the voting results to the Market Observation Post System on the same day after the shareholders’ meeting from recommendations to mandatory requirements.
(3) To add principles governing communication between controlling shareholders and the company. In principle, such communication shall be conducted through the director representative designated by and elected on behalf of such shareholder. If the controlling shareholder has any suggestions on board proposals or business decisions of the company, such suggestions shall be raised by such director representative at the board meeting or functional committee meeting. The controlling shareholder shall not directly convene meetings or improperly intervene in the company’s decision-making process, and shall comply with the requirements on confidentiality of material information and prohibition of insider trading.
(4) To strengthen the requirements on board diversity and independent directors by stipulating that there shall be at least one director of each gender, and that directors of either gender should account for at least one-third of the total board seats. If such one-third threshold is not met, the company shall explain the reasons and improvement measures in its annual report. In addition, the number of independent directors shall not be less than one-third of the total board seats, and the consecutive terms of all independent directors shall not exceed three terms.
(5) To amend the requirements on functional committees by adding that the board of directors should establish mechanisms to encourage the convener of the audit committee to communicate with shareholders and other stakeholders on key issues such as governance, strategy, and sustainable development. The amendments also provide that a nomination committee should have no fewer than three members, more than half of whom should be independent directors, should include at least one member of a different gender, and should have an independent director serve as its convener and meeting chair.
(6) To amend the rules on board operations, including that sufficient meeting materials shall be provided when convening a board meeting. The amendments also provide that where a director’s spouse, blood relative within the second degree of kinship, or a company having a controlling or subordinate relationship with the director has an interest in a matter, the director shall be deemed to have a personal interest in such matter. The amendments further revise provisions on the attendance of independent directors, attendance by relevant departments or subsidiary personnel, board meeting minutes, and retention of video conference materials.
(7) To amend the matters required to be submitted to the board of directors for discussion by adding that, where the board has not established managing directors, the election or dismissal of the chairperson shall be submitted to the board of directors for discussion.
(8) To strengthen the requirements on performance evaluation of functional committees and continuing education for directors by changing the requirements for performance evaluation of functional committees, submission of the evaluation results to the board of directors, and use of such results as reference for directors’ remuneration and nomination for reappointment from recommendations to mandatory requirements. The amendments also provide that board members shall complete at least three hours of continuing education in the year in which they assume office for each term.
Reported by: Alex Li / Maggie Tsai
Food and Drug Administration
5.Guidance on Applications of Generative AI in Healthcare Institutions
On 29 May 2026, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) issued the “Guidance on the Application of Generative AI in Healthcare Institutions” (“the Guidance”). This Guidance aims to assist healthcare institutions in establishing clear evaluation metrics and risk management mechanisms throughout the lifecycle of Generative AI deployment, and to serve as a reference for internal audits and internal controls. We summarize below:
(1) The Guidance is an administrative directive designed to provide principled and practical references rather than mandatory regulations. Healthcare institutions retain the flexibility to adopt appropriate deployment and management measures based on their specific operational contexts and relevant legal provisions.
(2) The risk sources in the adoption of generative AI by healthcare institutions are divided into six categories below:
(a) Foundation model risks: The model may contain systematic biases embedded from its design and training, which can lead to inaccurate or unfair judgments for specific diseases or patient populations.
(b) Data source risks: Using unrepresentative or low-quality training data can compromise output reliability. Furthermore, it raises concerns regarding the handling of sensitive personal information, data authorization, and copyright.
(c) Output risks: AI systems may produce “hallucinations” by fabricating medical literature or providing incorrect clinical advice, directly posing a threat to patient safety.
(d) Cybersecurity risks: AI systems and models are vulnerable to attacks such as prompt injections, data breaches, and model poisoning.
(e) Over-reliance risks: Healthcare professionals may unconditionally accept AI-generated suggestions without proper independent review, compromising the overall quality of clinical decisions.
(f) Service continuity risks: Dependence on external AI model providers exposes institutions to potential service disruptions, pricing adjustments, or API modifications that could destabilize medical workflows.
(3) When deploying Generative AI applications, healthcare institutions should uphold the following core implementation principles at the institutional level, serving as foundational guidelines for their management mechanisms and personnel training:
(a) Designated Oversight: Establishing a dedicated unit or committee to manage AI risks.
(b) Mandatory Assessments: Conducting comprehensive information security and data protection impact assessments before deployment.
(c) System Integration & Continuity: Ensuring AI tools are integrated with existing clinical workflows, with robust contingency plans—such as reverting to manual processes—should the AI system fail.
(d) Responsible Culture: Implementing clear usage policies, access controls, and ongoing personnel training to prevent misuse.
Reported by: Jolene Wang / Crick Liang
6.Draft Amendments of Pharmaceutical Affairs Act
On 2 June 2026, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) announced the draft amendments of “Pharmaceutical Affairs Act .”
(1) Intention of the draft amendments:
The draft amendments introduce new provisions to strengthen the regulation of illegal advertising and the unlawful online sale of pharmaceutical products, including the sale of pharmaceuticals other than Class B OTC drugs and unapproved counterfeit or prohibited drugs through online platforms. The draft amendments are intended to reinforce the management responsibilities and cooperation obligations of Internet platform operators, thereby effectively preventing the online distribution and circulation of non-compliant pharmaceutical products.
(2) Definition of Class B OTC Drugs and Online Sales Channels
(a) Definition of Class B OTC Drugs: Based on their safety profiles, pharmaceutical products are classified into prescription drugs, pharmacy-only drugs, and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs. OTC drugs may be purchased and used by consumers without the instruction or supervision of healthcare professionals. OTC drugs are further categorized into: (i) Class A OTC drugs, which may only be sold by stores holding a pharmaceutical dealer permit; and (ii) Class B OTC drugs, which may also be sold by general retail businesses.
(b) Online Sales Channels: Pursuant to the Directions for Online Retail Sales of Class B OTC Drugs, only qualified pharmaceutical dealers, pharmacies, department stores, grocery stores, and food and beverage service operators are permitted to sell Class B OTC drugs through online channels.
(3) Key Points of the Draft Amendments
(a)To Promote the Establishment of Self-Regulatory Mechanisms: Internet platform operators shall exercise the duty of care of a prudent administrator, and establish risk control mechanisms for monitoring and managing unlawful online information.
(b)To Enhance Regulatory Effectiveness: The competent authority may proactively conduct online inspections, and Internet platform operators shall not evade, obstruct, or refuse such inspections.
(c) To nable Timely Enforcement Measures: Where an Internet platform operator becomes aware of any unlawful activity, it shall restrict access to or remove the relevant content and preserve the associated webpage data. Given the real-time and evasive nature of online violations, the competent authority may order Internet access service providers to restrict access to unlawful information where service of notice cannot be effected, immediate action is necessary, or circumstances such as changes in domain names occur.
(d) To Ensure Effective Implementation: Penalties shall be imposed on Internet platform operators that evade, obstruct, or refuse regulatory actions, as well as on Internet access service providers that fail to restrict access to unlawful information within the prescribed time limit.
Reported by: Jolen Wang / Michelle
| Editors: Mike Lu (Partner) Stacy Lo (Partner) Jeffrey Liu (Partner) Kang-Shen Liu (Partner) David Tsai (Partner) Angela Lin (Partner) Paul Hsu (Partner) Alex Li (Partner) | Counselors: Echo Yeh Sue Su Jolene Wang (Lexcel Partners IP Firm) |
