Media reports said Peng was planning to leave her post two years early because of factional infighting and isolation inside the NCC.

She had promised to leave after two years instead of serving the full four-year term, the NCC said in a statement Monday.

The body said the law prescribed that NCC members have practical experience in domains like telecommunications, media, broadcasting, law or finance. It was normal for experts from different walks of life to hold different opinions on a case, which certainly did not mean the NCC was divided into rivaling factions, the statement said.

The organization also denied that some members had forced Peng to submit all her suggestions for appointments to the board, saying the process was stipulated by the NCC regulations.

The Chinese-language China Times daily reported Monday that Peng was tired because she could not lead the NCC in the direction she wanted. She had told NCC colleagues she would leave in July to return to teaching at the National Cheng Chi University, where she had asked for two years off, the paper said.

The report claimed that Peng felt powerless because she was unable some of the more radical proposals from NCC members, while she still had to defend those decisions to the outside world.

She was also one of the few members not to have filed for an extension of her time off from university, the China Times said.

The government would have to nominate four new members to be approved by the Legislative Yuan during its current session, the paper said.

The Legislative Yuan reportedly wants to expand the NCC from seven to 11 members and have the premier appoint the chair and vice chair.

Over the past year, the NCC has been repeatedly embroiled in controversy, including a proposal to relax restrictions on the involvement of political parties and the military in running media organizations.