The bitterly fought campaign reflects sharp infighting in Taiwanese ruling circles fuelled by the intensifying US-led drive to war against China, in which Taiwan is the central flashpoint.

An unprecedented vote to remove lawmakers from office could have handed President Lai Ching-te more power by ousting opponents. It didn’t.

TAICHUNG -- Taiwan's Kuomintang (KMT) is turning to fresh political possibilities and an upcoming internal leadership race, after the opposition party successfully fended off a campaign to unseat two dozen of its lawmakers.