Protests at Taiwan-China meeting

She said the protesters fear any deal between Taiwan and the mainland will make the island overly dependent on China and threaten its sovereignty.

Security

“If he [Ma] cannot even defend his own title, what can he defend for us?” Tsai Ing-wen, DPP leader

During their brief meeting the two men exchanged gifts, smiled and briefly chatted about the gifts.

Ma said he had told the Chinese envoy the two sides needed to resolve disputes about security and Taiwan’s international status.

Ma is the first Taiwan president to have contact with a top Chinese official on the island.

As expected however, Chen did not address the Taiwan leader by his formal title, “president”.

Tsai Ing-wen, chairwoman of Taiwan’s opposition Democratic Progressive Party, had said before the meeting that the issue involved more than manners and political semantics.

“People feel anxious especially when we have to wonder whether the president, Taiwan’s democratically elected president, will be addressed as president,” she said.

“If he [Ma] cannot even defend his own title, what can he defend for us?”

Protests

Chen was trapped in the hotel for several hours in the overnight protest [AFP]

On Wednesday evening close to a thousand anti-China protesters had laid siege to the Grand Formosa Regent Taipei hotel, trapping the Chinese envoy and his delegation inside for several hours.

The protesters tossed eggs, burned Chinese flags, blocked traffic and chanted “communist bandit get out” while he attended a dinner banquet hosted by the ruling Nationalist party.

The protesters, who came from various political groups, were demonstrating against efforts by Ma to seek closer ties with the mainland.

Hundreds of riot police clashed with protesters and prevented them from getting into the hotel for several hours, before dispersing the crowd early on Thursday morning.

Local media reported several injuries to police and protesters.

It was unclear when Chen eventually left, but a staff member at another hotel where he was staying said he had returned around 2:30am.

Chen has drawn daily protests since he arrived on Monday for a five-day trip which included signing a trade deal many feel will ease tensions across the Taiwan Strait.

Earlier this week Chen and his Taiwan counterpart, Chiang Pin-kung, signed a landmark agreement that expands aviation and shipping links between the two sides.

He also signed a deal to exchange rare animals with Taiwan, with Beijing offering two pandas in exchange for a rare Formosa serow and a Formosa sika deer offered by Hau Long-bin, the mayor of Taipei.