An internal power struggle has broken out at Taiwanese financial holding company Waterland Financial Holdings ahead of a crucial board meeting — a negative signal for shareholders and corporate governance.

• The board is set to discuss two major items, a merger proposal and compensation reform, but directors representing private shareholders went public with their criticism the day before.
• The objections centre on the postponement of dividend payments, a shift to holding board meetings once every two months, and the suppression of internal figures.
• Chairman Chang Chao-shun responded that the dividend timetable is constrained by the Company Act and by regulatory procedures, and that the two-month meeting cycle is written into the company's articles of incorporation.
• The Ministry of Finance had previously questioned his concurrent post as an independent director at Win Semiconductors; he has since resigned from that position, saying he did so to raise governance standards.
• The company countered that a number of past directors had held far more concurrent positions than he does, with one private-shareholder director holding as many as sixty.

Outlook: Tomorrow's board meeting will test the balance of power between government-held and private shareholders, with the fate of the merger proposal and compensation reform the key thing to watch.