The Chinese mainland's chief of Taiwan affairs Zhang Zhijun said that the mainland will continue to develop cross-Straits ties when meeting with Taipei mayor Hao Lung-bin on Sunday, following his historic four-day visit to Taiwan.

Zhang expressed his appreciation for the active role that Hao and the city of Taipei have played in recent years in promoting cooperation and exchange.

Zhang said that throughout his four-day visit to the island, he sensed mainstream public support for peaceful development across the Straits and that local people expressed hopes that cross-Strait ties would be further enhanced.

The trip by Zhang marked the first time a ministerial-level Taiwan affairs chief from the Chinese mainland visited the island in 65 years.

However, he was forced to cancel several appearances on the final day of his visit on Saturday, after demonstrations turned rough on Thursday. Protesters included members of the Taiwan Solidarity Union, according to the Taipei Times.

The top negotiator for cross-Straits affairs also on Friday met with Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu and exchanged views on deepening cooperation between Kaohsiung and mainland cities.

Separately, Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou said in an interview with Forbes that the mainland needs to "do more homework" about Taiwan.

"Even though the mainland has invested a great deal of time and money into researching Taiwan ... they still need a more in-depth understanding of these issues, and to figure out how to handle them so that mainland is not seen as a threat to Taiwan. This is not an impossible task, but they need to do more homework," he said.

Ma made the remark after a statement by the spokesperson of mainland's Taiwan Affairs Office earlier, which stated that all Chinese mainland nationals have the right to decide issues concerning national sovereignty, including Taiwan affairs.

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