Chen Yunlin, the head of a semi-official Chinese agency handling Taiwan ties in the absence of formal relations, took off from Taichung airport in the centre of the island, airport officials said.

He had arrived in Taiwan Monday on a much-anticipated trip which anti-Beijing activists feared could strengthen the mainland's influence on the island.

Protests escalated on Wednesday when activists set off fireworks from a van targeting Chen's Taichung hotel and pushed a police officer to the ground when he tried to board the vehicle, police said.

Chen, who was heckled throughout his trip, Friday downplayed the negative sentiments he had stirred up.

"I want to thank the 23 million Taiwanese people for their understanding, support and caring... I hope ties will march further on the road to peace," he said at a farewell ceremony.

The Chinese envoy signed three documents with Taiwan on Tuesday -- on food quarantine, industrial standards and fishing crews -- bringing to 12 the number of deals inked since Ma Ying-jeou became the island's president in May 2008.

Ma has been pushing for closer ties with Taiwan's giant neighbour, and relations are now better than at any time since the two split at the end of the 1949 civil war.

earlier related report
China envoy's visit underlines Taiwan weakness: analysts
Taichung, Taiwan (AFP) Dec 25, 2009 - China's top envoy to Taiwan may call the island an equal partner, but after his five-day visit it is clearer than ever its fate is being dictated by its giant neighbour, analysts said Friday.

This is putting the island's Beijing-friendly government in an extremely difficult position, because only a minority of the island's 23 million people is comfortable with the idea of unification in the foreseeable term.

"China's rise is faster than expected, and the changes in international situation are speeding up," said Liu Bih-rong, an expert on Taiwan-China ties at Taipei's Soochow University.

"Taiwan simply can't keep asking more without making any compromises."

President Ma Ying-jeou took office in May last year promising improved relations with China and a better local economy, and Beijing envoy Chen Yunlin's visit, which ends Friday, is the latest sign of rapprochement.

"These talks will help increase mutual trust between the two sides and boost the people's support," said Maa Shaw-chang, deputy head of a quasi-official Taiwan agency that handles China relations in the absence of formal ties.

"Therefore, it has helped pave the way for the next round of negotiations in the mainland," he told AFP.

The negotiations are crucial not just to Beijing and Taipei, but to the region as a whole, since the situation around the Taiwan Straits is one of the last remnants of the Cold War in Asia.

China and Taiwan split at the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing still considers the island part of its territory, and wants it back, even if it means a destructive war.

Chen, on only his second-ever visit to Taiwan, hailed on Monday a series of agreements the two sides have reached in talks "on an equal footing" during Ma's 19 months in charge.

Three more deals were signed this week -- on food quarantine, industrial standards and fishing crews -- but they will be dwarfed by a sweeping trade pact Ma hopes to sign with China in 2010, arguing it will boost employment.

However, it is likely that China will want its share of benefits from the proposed deal, known as the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, or ECFA.

"Taiwan is anxious to sign ECFA, and Taiwan wants to profit from ECFA, but so does China," said Soochow University's Liu.

China holds all the cards, given its enormous superiority, with an economy 11 times larger than Taiwan's, and 58 times as many people.

Basic comparisons of the respective strengths of China and Taiwan -- and a simple look at the map -- reveal just how weak and exposed the island is.

What is more, China is not content with just economic cooperation, as it repeats as often as it can its ambition of eventually taking over the island politically, militarily and culturally.

"China's eventual goal is to unify with Taiwan, and China wants to facilitate unification through promoting the economic integration with Taiwan," said Tung Chen-yuan, a political scientist at National Chengchi University.

"But polls show that more Taiwanese lean towards independence than unification despite the economic reliance on China."

This has heightened public suspicions about ECFA and could pose a challenge for Ma in securing backing for the deal.

It does not help that the public feels left in the dark about the trade pact in the absence of clear details from the government, according to Shaw Chong-hai, a political science professor at Taipei's Chinese Culture University.

"The government has not done enough. That's why the opposition has been able to stage strong protests against the talks," he said.

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