Taiwan's top officials in charge of China affairs said the itinerary of Mr Chen Yunlin's unprecedented visit to the island would be finalised next week.

'This will be the first time the two sides hold such high-level talks here. It truly will be a historic moment. If we can strike out an agreement, it would mark another crucial step foward in the cross-strait ties,' said Mr Chiang Pin-kung, Mr Chen's Taiwanese counterpart.

Mr Chen's quasi-official Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (Arats) has been authorised by Beijing to handle civil exchanges with the island in the absence of official contacts.

His visit will be closely monitored after his deputy Zhang Mingqing was jostled and pushed to the ground while visiting a temple in southern Tainan on Tuesday. Mr Zhang cut short his trip and left Taipei on Wednesday.

The episode triggered an angry response from the Chinese government, which demanded Taiwan severely punish the pro-independence activists. Tainan's city police chief was demoted and and several suspects have been questioned by prosecutors.

Ms Lai Shin-yuan, the island's top China policymaker, termed the episode an 'isolated incident'.

'There is no reason not to hold the second round of talks after the two sides resumed the hard-won negotiations in June following a 10-year hiatus,' she said. Pro-independence activists are planning to stage a huge demonstration tomorrow.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE