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TAICHUNG, Taiwan: Top envoys from Taiwan and China began talks Tuesday behind lines of barbed wire shielding them from protesters desperate to stop the island being sucked further into the mainland's orbit.
Chen Yunlin, the head of a quasi-official Chinese agency in charge of Taiwan, kicked off the trade talks in the city of Taichung, in the centre of the island which Beijing claims as its own.
"We hope this meeting will result in complete success," Chen said at the opening of the meeting with his Taiwanese counterpart Chiang Pin-kung.
The meeting is the fourth since Taiwan's China-friendly President Ma Ying-jeou assumed power in May last year and embarked on a programme of closer ties with the island's giant neighbour.
A handful of anti-China protesters were out to prepare for a day of demonstrations against the negotiations on a controversial trade pact they fear would draw Taiwan closer to China.
"Taiwan has never been a part of China," said protester Tsai Ting-kui. "We want the global community to understand the Taiwan people don't support the course chosen by Ma Ying-jeou."
Police are deployed in large numbers around the hotel hosting the talks, with the authorities striving to prevent a repeat of Chen's last visit in late 2008, when violent clashes erupted with protesters.
Taiwan, a society of 23 million, has developed into a vibrant island since it split from China at the end of a civil war in 1949.
But it is now deeply divided over how to handle ties with the booming mainland, looming as an ever larger presence across a narrow strait.
Ma is pushing a sweeping trade pact with China which he argues will help create jobs on the recession-hit island.
However, protesters warn that the pact will contribute to eroding the de facto independence the island has established over the 60 years, and say it will not help to create employment.
Since Chen's arrival in Taichung Monday, he has been a lightning rod for various groups with a grievance against China, including Tibetan activists.
About 500 members of the Falungong spiritual movement, which China has banned as an "evil cult" for the past decade, staged an overnight sit-in near the talks venue.
"We want our voice to be heard by Chen and taken back to the mainland. Chen is the representative of the evil Chinese communist party," said Theresa Chu, a spokeswoman for the Taiwanese Falungong.
"The Taiwanese authorities have not raised China's human rights issues. At this point, we feel very disappointed."
In an unusual gesture Monday, Chen said he respected Taiwan people's right to protest his presence, following a day which saw several tens of thousands take to the streets, but his critics were not impressed.
"They have cracked on human rights lawyers. They don't even bother about their own people, so how can they pretend they will give special favourable treatment to the people of Taiwan? I think that's just a lie," said Tsai.
- AFP/ir
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