Hundreds of Taiwanese protest Chinese envoy's visit

Taipei: Hundreds of Taiwanese protesters surrounded a hotel on Wednesday where a Chinese envoy was attending a dinner banquet and tried to block his car from leaving the building.

About 800 demonstrators swarmed into the streets around the Grand Formosa Regent Taipei hotel, tossing eggs and pounding on vehicles that were leaving the venue.

Some opposition lawmakers sat down in the hotel's driveways and briefly stopped traffic before being dragged away by police.

It was not immediately known if the Chinese official, Chen Yunlin, was still inside the hotel.

Chen is the highest-ranking Communist Chinese official to ever visit Taiwan. He has attracted daily protests since he began his five-day trip on Monday.

The Chinese official came to sign a trade agreement with Taiwan that many believe will greatly ease tensions between the rivals. But many of the protesters distrust Beijing and oppose closer ties with the island's biggest security threat.

Relations have been tense between China and Taiwan ever since the Communists won a bloody civil war in 1949 and took over the mainland. Beijing insists that Taiwan must eventually unify with the motherland or endure a devastating attack.

Many of the protesters Wednesday night supported permanent independence, and they chanted, "Taiwan and China are both countries!" Some wore long yellow ribbons that said, "Taiwan is my country."

Amid the sound of wailing sirens, hundreds of police, some with clubs and riot shields, eventually pushed the crowd away from the parking exits so that cars could leave the hotel.

Chen and his Taiwanese counterpart, Chiang Pin-kung, signed the landmark agreement Tuesday that expands aviation and shipping links between the two sides.