The protesters, mostly supporters of independence for the self-ruled island, crowded the plaza in front of the presidential office in central Taipei honking horns and waving placards against the visit of Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin.

Ma met with Chen, the most senior official from Beijing to visit Taiwan since the island split from China at the end of a civil war in 1949, for about five minutes on Thursday morning.

It was the first meeting between a leader of democratic Taiwan and a senior official from China -- which still claims sovereignty over the island, regarding it as a breakaway province to be retaken, by force if necessary.

Chen arrived on Monday for a five-day visit, and the following day signed agreements with his local counterpart that move the former bitter rivals closer economically and could brings billions of dollars to Taiwan over the long term.

Both sides have been at pains to avoid any political issues, but many in Taiwan fear Ma's policy of pursuing closer ties with China compromises the island's autonomy.

"Taiwan, China. One country on each side (of the strait)," the demonstrators shouted as they waved colourful flags and placards reading: "Chen Yunlin, get out."

Some protesters scuffled with police as they tried to get past barbed wire barricades, and television said at least two men were arrested for allegedly attacking police.

Others threw eggs at the barricades and water bottles at police in riot gear carrying batons and wearing white helmets.

Organisers put the number of demonstrators at 100,000. Taipei police were unable to give a crowd estimate, but said some 3,000 officers were deployed to contain the masses.

The protesters were angry that Ma's meeting with Chen had been moved forward by several hours, following scuffles outside a Taipei hotel late Wednesday that trapped Chen inside until the wee hours of Thursday.

On Thursday, in a staged event broadcast live on television, Ma greeted Chen at a government guest house amid tight security.

They exchanged gifts, and Chen made a brief comment about the painting of a horse he presented to Ma; "ma" means horse in Chinese.

They avoided addressing each other formally, ensuring Chen did not have to choose between calling Ma "mister" or "president" -- a politically-loaded issue for both sides which do not formally recognise each other.

Ma, referring to the 60 years of hostilities between Beijing and Taipei, made a short speech in which he said the economic agreements "symbolise a major step forward for cross-strait ties."

"We cannot deny that differences and challenges still exist, such as Taiwan's security and Taiwan's position in the international community.

"In the future, both sides should see the reality and should not deny each other's existence in order to promote the welfare of the people and cross-strait peace and to resolve our differences," he said.

Officials from Chen's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait said that a press conference he was due to hold at 6:00 pm (1000 GMT) had been cancelled due to a "scheduling conflict".

Local television speculated the cancellation had been sparked by security concerns as protesters moved towards the Grand Hotel where he is staying.

The protests reflect disquiet among a large section of Taiwan's 23 million people about the long-term impact of moving closer to China.

A man who gave his surname as Lo, 52, echoed the fears of many ordinary Taiwanese that the deals will bring profit to big business but see more jobs lost across the Taiwan Strait to China's cheaper labour pool.

"They sell out Taiwan by signing the agreements. The agreements are not bringing any benefit to the people, only to business groups," he said.

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