SHANGHAI Dazhong Taxi will press ahead with a controversial plan to convert legal-person shares into B shares, despite strong opposition from Beijing. Company director Wang Zhenguo said in Shanghai that ''as long as the proposal becomes a reality, we are willing to accept any punishment''. He said the strong criticism from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) came as a surprise to both him and Shanghai's securities sector. Dazhong Taxi, Shanghai's second biggest taxi operator, has been accused by the commission of having ''touched on the issue of national or state property flowing into the hands of foreign investors''. It said the company had the right to bring the topic up for study, but to do it the firm needed the regulator's approval first. ''The proposal has been put forward and its resolution passed during a directors' meeting, which we emphasised needs to go before authorities concerned and shareholders,'' Mr Wang said. ''If the plan has to obtain Beijing's prior approval, what happens if it is turned down by shareholders during their meeting? What's the use of directors' meetings and shareholders' meetings?'' he asked. ''Anyway, our purpose is to get it done, to help develop China's securities market; never mind the punishment,'' he said. Plagued by the thorny issue of legal-person shares, Shanghai's securities sector has unanimously endorsed Dazhong Taxi's ''pioneering move''. Shares for legal-person are owned by enterprises or government bodies, and are restricted to trade on exchanges. ''Enterprises are suffering from legal-person shares, as they're not liquid and can't be used to raise cash. The Government says it will solve it, but nothing has come up yet,'' Mr Wang said. Dazhong Taxi said it had consulted market practitioners and lawyers on the plan's feasibility and found that it was legally possible.