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STORY: :: Eyewitness video shows protests outside Chongqing's Supreme Court :: Chongqing, China:: December 2, 2024:: Protesters were upset about a law allowing creditors to target former shareholders in companies :: Now Beijing says the law should not apply to those who sold out before it took effect in July A sweeping overhaul of China's company law took effect in July, allowing companies to hold original shareholders accountable for unpaid sums despite having already transferred their shares.But in a move that surprised legal experts, the Supreme People's Court went further by declaring old shareholders liable for unpaid sums after bankruptcy, even if they had already transferred their shares to new investors.That retroactive enforcement angered investors who worried about potential liabilities after they had cashed out.The protests, which experts said had threatened to turn into a broader social stability concern for Beijing, focused on who should be on the hook when private companies of the kind that once powered China's boom cannot pay their debts or go bust.
