The mainland-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) is still making preparation for its upcoming Taiwan visit despite the recent mob attack on a Chinese scholar, according to ARATS chief Chen Yunlin on Wednesday.

He made the remark as he greeted Zhang Mingqing, dean of Xiamen University's Journalism School, at a Beijing airport on Wednesday afternoon together with Sun Yafu, vice director of the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office.

Zhang, who was visiting the island at the invitation of the Taiwan National University of the Arts, was assaulted by a mob on Tuesday, and canceled the rest of his trip to fly back to the mainland.

Zhang Mingqing is pushed to the ground during a visit to a Confucius temple in Taiwan. [Video clip]

Chen said both the Taiwan authorities and the island's public strongly condemned the violent attack on Zhang.

"It shows that such an assault, which aimed to undermine mainland-Taiwan relations, is not popular among the Taiwan people."

He expressed his gratitude to the Taiwan public and to Chiang Pin-kung, chairman of Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), for their help and concern toward Zhang.

Chen said the peaceful development of mainland-Taiwan relations was in accordance with the interest and the common aspiration of people across the Taiwan Straits, and both sides should cherish the currently warming cross-Straits ties.