By: Stephen C. Wu and Sophia M. Chih
(The article reflects only the authors' opinion and does not represent the opinion of Lee and Li.)
The Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (TFTC) decided on 11 February 2009 to fine Uni-President Enterprises Corp. (Uni-President) NT$500,000 for its failing to report the merger with Wei Lih Food Industrial Co., Ltd. (Wei Lih) to the TFTC. Both Uni-President and Wei Lih are well-known instant noodles manufacturers in Taiwan.

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By: Stephen C. Wu and Sophia M. Chih
(The article reflects only the authors' opinion and does not represent the opinion of Lee and Li.)
The Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (TFTC) decided on 31 December 2008 to fine 53 drugstores and pharmacies and 16 medicine suppliers totally NT$195 million for their concerted actions in jointly deciding and maintaining prices of radio-advertised medicine.

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By: Stephen C. Wu Sophia M. Chih
(The article reflects only the authors' opinion and does not represent the opinion of Lee and Li.)
The Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (TFTC) decided on 17 December 2008 to grant clearance for the proposed acquisition of 100% of the shares in Gala Television Corporation by Trinity NL B.V. through Trinity's subsidiary in Taiwan.

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By: Stephen C. Wu and Jill Y.T. Chen
(The article reflects only the authors' opinion and does not represent the opinion of Lee and Li.)
On 17 December 2008, the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (TFTC) found that four cable TV system operators (i.e., Ching Lian Cable TV Co., Ltd., Clear Vision CATV Ltd., Gang Du Cable TV Co., Ltd., and Harborview Cable TV Co., Ltd.) in Kaohsiung, the biggest city in southern Taiwan, jointly operated under a unified MSO (Multiple System Operators) structure without filing the combination notification with the TFTC or obtaining the TFTC's clearance and hence imposed fines on them NT$10,000,000, NT$1,800,000, NT$7,400,000 and NT$1,400,000 respectively. The fine imposed on Ching Lian Cable TV Co., Ltd. (NT$10,000,000) and the total amount of the fines in this case (NT$20,600,000) both set new records as the highest penalties for failure to file the pre-merger notification with the TFTC.

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By: Ryunosuke Ushijima
(This article is in Japanese)
This article introduces the approach through the landmark cooperative relationship between the U.S. DOJ and U.K. OFT in the marine hose international cartel case. Compared to those countries, the criminal enforcement action in the same case is limited in Japan due to the official policy of the Japan FTC.

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