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TAIPEI: A top Chinese official was attacked by Taiwanese pro-independence activists during a visit to the island on Tuesday.
Television footage showed scores of protestors surrounding Zhang Mingqing, vice president of China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), and later pushing him to the ground while he was visiting a temple in southern Tainan city.
He was supported by a local guide and escorted back to the car as some protestors tried to throw punches at him and prevent him from leaving, according to the footage.
Local television also showed a man climbing on to the roof of Zhang's car and repeatedly stamping on it while shouting "get out" after he got in the car.
Zhang, who arrived in Taiwan on Sunday amid tight security, on Monday attended a seminar at a university in Tainan, a stronghold of the pro-independence opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
In Taipei, premier Liu Chao-shiuan and the ruling Kuomintang party condemned the incident.
"The incident seriously damaged the image of Taiwanese people and this is not the way to treat a guest... we demand DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen apologise to Zhang," the Kuomintang said in a statement.
The Democratic Progressive Party caucus, meanwhile, said it deemed Zhang an "enemy" of Taiwan.
"China uses toxic milk to poison Taiwanese people and deploy missiles to threaten us. We don't consider Zhang a guest but an enemy, and no one will treat an enemy nicely," opposition lawmaker Yeh Yi-jin told reporters.
Zhang's trip comes as Taiwan arranges a new round of cross-Strait negotiations after talks in June led to the launch of the first regular direct flights between China and Taiwan in nearly six decades.
The DPP is scheduled to hold a mass rally Saturday in protest against the arrival of the Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin.
Tuesday's incident also heightened concerns over Chen's planned visit, as premier Liu pledged in a parliamentary session to ensure his safety.
No itinerary has been finalised for the talks but newspapers here have said they will be held in Taipei between late October and early November and will focus on cargo flights and shipping links.
Tensions across the Strait have eased since Ma Ying-jeou took office on May 20 pledging to improve ties with Beijing.
China and Taiwan split in 1949 after a civil war, but Beijing still considers the self-ruled island to be part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
- AFP/yb
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