Taipei - A senior Chinese official was assaulted Tuesday by a group of pro-independence activists during a visit in the southern Taiwan city of Tainan, threatening to undermine high-level China-Taiwan talks planned for this month in Taipei.

Zhang Mingqing, vice chairman of the Association of Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS), was mobbed by a group of activists led by city councilor Wang Ting-yu of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party during a sightseeing trip in Tainan.

ARATS is a state-funded mainland agency charged with dealing with the island in the absence of formal diplomatic ties.

Television footage showed Zhang being chased and pushed by the activists. He was seen being punched in the head and pushed to the ground with his glasses falling off.

When the grim-looking Zhang, escorted by only one tour guide, managed to return to his car, some activists mobbed the vehicle. One leaped on the roof and trampled it while another used her crutch to smash the car window and try to prevent him from leaving.

The incident, which shocked leaders from both Taipei and Beijing, occurred an hour after Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou said he did not anticipate war with China in the next four years.

Taiwan Premier Liu Chao-shiuan condemned the violence. Officials of the Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) under China's State Council, its cabinet, expressed surprise, saying they thought Taiwan would have given Zhang full protection during his five-day visit, cable news network TVBS reported.

Zhang, a former TAO spokesman, arrived in Taiwan Sunday to attend an academic seminar in his capacity as dean of the Mass Communication Institute of Xiamen University.

His previous remarks as TAO spokesman in warning Taiwan against splitting from China had riled pro-independence activists.

Taiwan and China split at the end of a civil war in 1949, but Beijing still considers Taiwan an integral part of the mainland.

The incident raised concerns that the second round of high-level talks between Taiwan and China set for the end of the month might be canceled.

ARATS Chairman Chen Yunlin, China's top negotiator with the island, is tipped to lead a delegation in the talks after the historic first round in June in Beijing, during which the two sides signed deals for weekend charter flights and tourism cooperation.

Wang Yu-chi, spokesman for Taiwan's Presidential Office, said Chen has yet to finalize the schedule for his Taiwan visit and he would not comment on the possibility of the cancellation of the visit.

Lai Shin-yuan - chairwoman of the Mainland Affairs Council, the Taiwan counterpart to the TAO - said she believed the talks would proceed because both sides "already institutionalized bilateral negotiations." (dpa)