Nantou, central Taiwan Dec. 24 (CNA) A last-minute no-show of a scheduled boat tour around one of Taiwan's most famous lakes and a visit to a Buddhist temple highlighted Chinese envoy Chen Yunlin's last full day of his five-day visit in Taiwan.
Chen Yunlin, President of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) which is in charge of dealing with matters related to Taiwan, did not show up on a scheduled boat tour around the Sun Moon Lake. Instead, Chen met with People First Party Chairman James Soong for about one and a half hours.
Located in the central county of Nantou, the Sun Moon Lake is one of Chinese tourists' favorite spots in Taiwan with its breath-taking scenery and rich indigenous tribal culture.
Chen's no show left around 100 domestic, Chinese and foreign journalists, who were already on boats to cover the event, in awe and confused. They did not have any choice but to follow the boat tour along with Chen's Taiwanese counterpart Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), Chiang's wife and Chen's wife.
Chen and his three deputies met with Soong when a large contingent of journalists were stuck on the boat tour. The meeting was not on the itinerary arranged by the SEF. A SEF spokesman said they were not aware of the meeting until moments before the boat tour.
ARATS and the PFP did not disclose what was discussed in the meeting.
The lake tour was highly anticipated as rumors said some legislators from the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and pro-independence supporters have rented boats and were ready to launch a protest on the waters. Falun Gong practitioners also said they would protest.
Hundreds of local police were deployed around the lake to maintain order. A number of divers from Nantou County Fire Department told the CNA that they had carried out underwater patrol in the morning due to security concerns.
At least eight police-rented boats escorted the two-hour boat tour, despite Chen's absence.
Bombarded by protests during the last three days in Taichung City, Thursday was the first day Chen was free of loud noises.
Hundreds of Falun Gong members held banners near the hotel where Chen is staying that could be seen from the boats.
The rumored "DPP boat fleet" never showed up.
On Thursday morning, Chen visited Chung Tai Chan Monastery, one of the largest Buddhism temples in central Taiwan, and an area stricken by Typhoon Morakot in August.
Chen, after inking three deals Tuesday in the fourth round of cross-Strait negotiations with Taiwan, is scheduled to fly back to Beijing Friday morning. A tax deal didn't go through due to lack of consensus from both sides.