More than 200 gather to protest Taiwan official's 'transit' in San Francisco

More than 200 overseas Chinese who support peaceful reunification across the Taiwan Strait gathered in San Francisco on Thursday to protest against Taiwan's deputy head Lai Ching-te's "transit" in the United States.

The crowd gathered around the hotel where Lai stayed, shouting "One China" while waving Chinese flags and holding up signs such as "Taiwan independence is a dead end".

Zou Zhiqiang, deputy secretary-general of the Alliance for China's Peaceful Reunification in the US, said that Lai's remarks about "peace" during his "transit" in New York was meant to deceive the people of Taiwan and dispel US' suspicions about his radical pro-independence ideology.

"However, in the past seven years under the Democratic Progressive Party's rule in Taiwan, cross-Strait relations have been made dangerous and have posed a threat to peace. The whole world believes that Taiwan is the most dangerous place," said Zou, a Taiwan native who participated in the protest.

The best way to avoid war between the two sides of the Strait is to abandon the stance of "Taiwan independence", adhere to the one-China principle and pursue a path of peaceful development, he added.