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An attempt by Taiwan's major opposition party to impeach Jiang Yi-huah, chief of the island's administrative authority, failed on Tuesday as it was not supported by enough members of the legislative body.
In an open vote on Tuesday, 67 of the 112 members of Taiwan's legislative body opposed the no-confidence motion initiated by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) against Jiang, while 45 members supported it.
The ruling Kuomintang, which Jiang belongs to, holds 65 seats while the DPP has only 40 seats in the legislative body.
Under Taiwan political law, Jiang can now not be faced with another motion in the next 12 months.
The no-confidence motion was tabled last week by representatives from the DPP and another group that controls three seats in the legislative body, following the Kuomintang's attempt to dismiss Wang Jin-pyng, head of the body, from his post last month.
In a breach of trust case last year involving Ker Chien-ming, a senior lawmaker of the DPP, Wang was accused of lobbying prosecutors not to appeal so that Ker could be acquitted.
The DPP's stated reasons for wanting to impeach Jiang were accusations that he has not concentrated on his duties, and has "conspired to create political battles" jointly with Kuomintang and Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeon, meddled in legislative affairs and been involved in illegal wiretapping.
Jiang said on Monday that all of these accusations were unfounded and "completely contrary to the truth."
He said he respected the DPP's right to file the motion but unequivocally dismisses the arguments in its reasoning.
He also expressed his worry that the current "political standoff" in Taiwan may hold back the island's economic development and improvement of people's livelihoods.
