Time will 'prove value of event'

By Xing Zhigang (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-11-05 07:27

TAIPEI -- Beijing's top envoy on Taiwan affairs has appealed to the island's opposition parties to support peaceful developments across the Straits.

Chen Yunlin, president of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), is the most senior mainland envoy to visit the island since 1949. He held talks with Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), yesterday.

But pro-independence parties, such as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), have organized demonstrations against the visit since Monday, the day Chen reached Taiwan.

Chen said on Monday night that he had heard the protesters' voices. "But one day these people will recognize the efforts of the ARATS and the SEF for the convenience and benefit of compatriots across the Straits," he said at a welcome banquet.

He stressed that "we will firmly take the second and third steps along the road to achieve a win-win situation for both sides since the first step has already been taken".

Chen's visit has become a flashpoint for anti-mainland protesters who fear closer ties could weaken their pro-independence politics.

Protesters tried to jostle Chen at the airport on Monday before he was escorted to a black limousine. They were stopped from getting near the landmark Grand Hotel, too, where he would stay during the five-day visit.

DPP leaders have planned to demonstrate against Chen's visit on all the five days.

But local authorities have mobilized 7,000 policemen to ensure the safety of Chen and his 60-member delegation.

Agencies contributed to the story