Protests hit Taiwan over Ma-Xi summit

Protesters took to the streets of capital Taipei on Saturday to vent their disagreement over a landmark summit being held in Singapore by Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Initial protests earlier in the week had called for the cancellation of the meeting, but as it went ahead, the focus changed to other issues, including a call to stop ongoing negotiations for a trade-in-goods agreement, Taiwan News reported.

About 500 people gathered outside the economic affairs ministry, shouting slogans against the summit.

The protesters said Taiwan was a sovereign and independent nation, and could never be treated as part of China. Doing so amounted to changing the status quo, protesters said, pointing out that the president did not hold the right to do so, especially since he was unpopular and had only six months left to govern.

Later in the day, the protest moved to Ketagalan Boulevard, the wide avenue in front of the Presidential Office Building.

Earlier, there had been separate protests near Taipei Songshan Airport, where Ma left earlier in the day to Singapore. Over the past few days, protesters also appeared near the president's residence, the Legislative Yuan and the Presidential Office Building.