The person in charge of Ledi Technology Limited (“Ledi”), the Taiwanese franchisee of Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing, was indicted by the Investment Commission of the MOEA (“IC”) for operating a taxi hailing platform in Taiwan without obtaining prior approval from the IC.  The IC made a complaint to the Taipei District Prosecutors Office, alleging that while Ledi was a Taiwan entity nominally, it was substantially controlled by the parent company of Didi Chuxing and had received funding from the China-based parent company.  After further investigation, the prosecutor charged the person in charge of Ledi for violating Article 40-1 of the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, averring that it shall be punished in accordance with Paragraph 1, Article 93-2 of said statute.  In May 2021, one year after the court proceeding was initiated, the Taipei District Court found the defendant not guilty by reason that the Prosecutor did not present sufficient evidence to prove that Ledi was substantially controlled by the parent company of Didi Chuxing.  The court further held that the defendant was operating the taxi services in Taiwan for its own interest, having nothing to do with the parent company of Didi Chuxing.  Tsar & Tsai represented the defendant during the criminal investigation and the court proceeding. (Jennifer Lin / Yvonne Liu / Alex Yin)