Beijing mayor Guo Jinlong arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a six-day visit, becoming the first mainland local government leader to visit the island following its presidential election last month.
Guo is the first Beijing mayor to visit the island's capital, Taipei, and his visit is being seen as highly significant given the political sensitivity of cross-strait relations.
'This is my first trip to Taiwan, and I hope to experience and understand the economic development as well as the walks of life here,' Guo said upon his arrival at Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport.
Some 80 protesters, including Tibetans and Falun Gong activists living in Taiwan, unfurled banners calling Guo a 'political persecutor and human rights abuser'. They scuffled with about 200 police who stopped them approaching Guo, who has been Communist Party boss in Tibet and Anhui .
Earlier, members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement, banned as an 'evil cult' on the mainland, filed a lawsuit in Taipei against Guo, alleging that he was involved in political persecution and asking Taiwan to bar him from visiting.
Guo is leading a 500-strong delegation made up of more than 30 municipal-level government and party officials from Beijing as well as business leaders and celebrities.
He has described his visit as a cultural trip, unlike the purchasing or business trips by other mainland officials, and Guo and his group are scheduled to attend Taipei's 2012 Beijing Cultural Week today. It features theatrical shows and exhibitions by top artists from Beijing.
