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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.
Local television also showed a man climbing on to the roof of Zhang's car and repeatedly stamping on it while shouting "get out."
Zhang, who arrived in Taiwan on Sunday amid tight security, on Monday attended a seminar in Tainan, a stronghold of the pro-independence opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
The 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.
Tensions across the Strait have eased since Ma Ying-jeou took office on May 20 pledging to improve ties with Beijing.
China considers the self-ruled island to be part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. --AFP
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