Taiwan's Chen begins New York visit

By staff and wire reports

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Hundreds of people have braved bad weather to express their support for Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian, the man China considers leader of a renegade province.

He flew into New York for a two-night stopover on a visit that has raised China's anger.

Shortly after his arrival, Chen surprised his security detail and New York police officers by walking along one of New York city's main streets to greet supporters.

Instead, he was greeted a block away by protesters who denounced Chen's visit, which they say was a sign that the leader wanted an independent Taiwan.

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While Chen is expected to meet with members of the U.S. Congress, with New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Taiwan community leaders, he will not be meeting with members of the press.

"Even [though] this is the first ever visit granted to President Chen to New York, he is still not allowed to have a press conference or public activity so we are still trying to correct that situation," said Patrick Huang, a former director, of the Taiwan Center.

Progress in relations

Still, the visit is considered ground-breaking for a Taiwanese leader.

"Our president can be seen in public for the first time," Chen's party mate and Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Parris Chang told CNN before departing Monday.

"In the past, (U.S. President Bill) Clinton treated our president like a hostage, under house arrest," Chang said.

"But the Bush administration is treating him with respect and goodwill. We consider this to be an important development in Taiwan's relations with the U.S."

During his first year in office last year, Chen was allowed a transit stop in Los Angeles, but he was mostly confined to his hotel. The Clinton administration also discouraged members of Congress from visiting him.

Double whammy

Chen's lower profile visit to New York is a marked contrast to a trip made by another man China considers a rebel- Tibet's spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama.

The Dalai Lama is currently in the United States on a nine-day tour.

He is expected to meet with Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.S. President George W. Bush.

His meeting with Bush will occur on the 50th anniversary of China's military occupation of Tibet.

But both trips are expected to further damage relations between China and the U.S., which were already hurt when a U.S. spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet were involved in a midair collision over the South China Sea.

China protested when the United States allowed Chen to travel to Latin America with extended stopovers in New York, and Houston, Texas.

The central government in Beijing has also made it clear on several occasions that they consider the Dalai Lama a separatist, and any discussion on China's annexation of Tibet in 1951 as an "internal affair."

CNN's Shannon Troetel and White House Correspondent Major GarrettAssociated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.