The Taipei District Court's preposterous verdict acquitting former President Chen Shui-bian of bribe-taking in connection with two major bank mergers during his second term in office reminds us that Taiwan should restart the long-stalled financial reforms without delay. Taiwan has had a reprehensible history of financial reforms since the early 1990s: The first round of financial reforms, which cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of Taiwan dollars, managed only to amend cracks in the financial services sector, while the second round of reforms created a hotbed of collusion between officials and business conglomerates. The reform issue has been mothballed since 2006, with the Chen administration busy from 2006 to 2008 trying to distract the country from looking into government malpractices, and the current administration of President Ma Ying- jeou having no time to deal with the matter from 2008 to 2010 in the face of the global financial meltdown and soaring domestic unemployment. In fact, financial reforms are becoming a global trend now that countries have survived the 2008-2009 financial crunch. In the face of sweeping financial reforms launched around the world, Taiwan must not be left behind simply because of the failure of the second round financial reforms. There are no set patterns for financial reforms applicable across differing economies. With financial exchanges becoming increasingly closer across the Taiwan Strait and restrictions on domestic financial operations becoming increasingly deregulated, the Ma administration should begin with a comprehensive check-up of Taiwan's financial services sector, followed by new regulations that will lead Taiwan into a new, healthier era. 