Taipei - Taiwan's pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party is to stage an anti-China protest on Saturday, to be followed by a series of demonstrations when Chinese top envoy Chen Yunlin visits the island next month, the party leader said Friday.

"We will start a series of events, including a large-scale march in Taipei on Saturday, to make our voices known to Chen Yunlin during his Taiwan visit that we do not want military threats, tainted food, and suppression of our sovereignty from China," said DPP chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen.

Chen, head of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, which represents China in talks with Taiwan, was set to visit Taiwan for a second round of high-level talks that will begin on November 3 in Taipei.

He is expected to lead a delegation in the five-day talks on expansion of charter services, operation of direct shipping and postal exchanges as well as food safety issues after the historic June round in Beijing, during which the two sides signed deals for weekend charter flights and tourism cooperation.

Chen would be the highest-ranking official from China to visit Taiwan since the two sides split at the end of a civil war in 1949. Despite the split, Beijing still considers Taiwan an integral part of the mainland that must be brought back to its fold, if necessary by force. It has deployed more than 1,300 missiles targeting the island.

Tsai said Chen's visit is a milestone in China's cross-strait policy because it signifies a step closer to unification, which is what Beijing has long pursued. "This is something we don't want to see," she said.

Since taking office in May, President Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Nationalist Party, has sought to mend fences with China.

Tsai said when China's tainted milk crisis spilled over to Taiwan, resulting in thousands of local food items being removed from shelves due to their use of melamine-contaminated ingredients from China, the Ma government has yet to demand apology and compensation from China.

"Tomorrow (Saturday) is the time for the public to tell the government to make a major correction of its wrong policies," she said.

Former president Chen Shui-bian, who quit the DPP after he was tied to a money laundering scandal, will also attend the event, to the displeasure of the DPP.

Police said they have received intelligence of a possible plot against the life of the ex-president. (dpa)