| |
TAIPEI: Taiwan's pro-independence opposition Democratic Progressive Party said Saturday it will stage a three-day sit-in in Taipei to protest a visit by a top Chinese negotiator.
China's top negotiator on Taiwan, Chen Yunlin, is expected to arrive on Monday for talks on a range of subjects including establishing closer air and shipping links.
"We will stage the sit-in from November 3 with a mass rally on November 5 to show Taiwanese people's will and make our voices heard," DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen told reporters.
The DPP said it is expecting 10,000 people to join the protest, each wearing a yellow ribbon bearing the phrase "Taiwan is My Country".
Tsai pledged that the sit-in, outside the parliament in downtown Taipei, would be peaceful.
Tens of thousands of DPP supporters took to the streets in Taipei late October to denounce President Ma Ying-jeou's Beijing-friendly stance, in the biggest protest since he took office in May.
Relations with Beijing have improved dramatically since Ma came to power, and he has promised to boost business and tourism links with China following eight years of strained relations under the DPP government.
China and Taiwan split in 1949 after a civil war, but Beijing still regards the island as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
- AFP/yt
|
