Taiwanese Protesters Attack Chinese Envoy

Tensions over Taipei's thawing relationship with the mainland led to an attack on a Chinese official today, with anti-Beijing protesters shoving him to the ground as he toured a temple.

Television footage showed angry protesters surrounding Zhang Mingqing, vice-chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait, chanting "Taiwan does not belong to China", before pushing him over.

He had to be helped to his car as other activists tried to throw punches at him. One stamped on his vehicle, shouting: "Get out".

Yesterday, around 200 protesters picketed his lecture at a university in southern Taiwan.

Zhang's boss, Chen Yunlin, is China's top negotiator with Taipei and is due to visit for fresh talks shortly. Earlier discussions resulted in the first regular direct cross-straits flights for six decades.

The association has written to its Taiwan counterpart to express its "strong indignation and severe condemnation" of the incident, the Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.

The letter added that Taiwan must guarantee Zhang's safety and make sure there are no repeats.

Taiwan's senior negotiator, PK Chiang, also condemned the assault. But Yeh Yi-jin of the opposition Democratic Progressive party (DPP) told reporters: "We don't consider Zhang a guest but an enemy, and no one will treat an enemy nicely."

The DPP will use a mass rally in Taipei this Saturday to protest against President Ma Ying-jeou's policies.

While his promise of warmer relations with Beijing helped return the pro-China Nationalist party (KMT) to power this spring, his approval ratings have fallen sharply.

Taiwan has enjoyed de facto independence since Chiang Kai-shek's defeated Nationalists fled there at the end of the civil war in 1949. China still regards the island as its territory and has warned it will use force torepel moves towards formal independence.

Ma told high-ranking military officers today that there will be no war with China during his first term.

"We should be able to reduce the threat and turn the enemy into a friend," he said.

"I am going to say boldly that there will be no war ... in the next four years."