In recent years, in response to pressures coming from international competition and Taiwan’s accession into the World Trade Organization and in order to elevate Taiwan’s ability to compete in the international arena, the government of Taiwan has revised or established such laws related to commerce, finance, taxation and technology as company law, insurance law, law of maritime commerce, financial holdings company law, banking law, trust law, securities company law, fair transaction law, securities transaction law, basic law of science and technology, patent law, copyright law, trade mark law, law of business know-how, income tax law, business tax law, heritage giving and tax law. Moreover, the government of Taiwan has also studied to establish or revise business merger and acquisition law, regulations on financial and asset securities, securities and investment company law, law on protection of biotechnology and other important laws. As a result, industrial and business organizations have increased their demands for professionals in economic and financial law to respond to the large changes in economic and financial law. At the same time, they have put higher and stricter standards on the professional abilities in economic and financial law of these professionals. Besides, the government of Taiwan has gradually loosened the policy governing Taiwanese businesses to invest in mainland China, so the amounts of cross-strait trade have grown and industrial and business organizations have heightened their need for professionals who are familiar with laws governing investments in mainland China and their business laws. In view of this, the department (graduate institute) offers traditional basic law courses and emphasizes the following four important areas to meet the needs of the country, society, and industrial and business organizations.
I. Business and International Economic Law
Beyond such laws of commerce as traditional company law, law of bills, law of maritime commerce, and insurance law, the department (graduate institute) also emphasizes such specialized courses as securities transaction law, futures transaction law, economic law, fair transaction law, consumer protection law, finance law, and asset management law so as to cultivate the students’ professional economic and financial knowledge about capital market, currency market and competition strategies.
II. Intellectual Property Rights Law
In addition to elevating the competitiveness of Taiwan’s existing traditional industries, such high-tech industries as electronics and biotechnology have become the focus of Taiwan’s industrial development and an important economic lifeblood of Taiwan. Therefore, such technology laws as patent law, trade mark law, copyrights law, biotechnology law, Internet law, and business know-how law should be taken seriously.
III. Taxation Law
As business operation is regulated by tax and financial laws, concerned people must fully understand such financial and tax laws income tax law, business law, tax collection law and financial law. Therefore, such basic courses that are related to theoretical foundation of taxation laws, tax collection law and financial law must also be taken by the students (both undergraduate and graduate).