Taiwan’s leader said he will meet with a top Chinese envoy next week in his role as the island’s president, as he attempts to allay fears that such high-level contacts will compromise Taiwan’s sovereignty. Ma Ying-jeou’s comments, made in a television interview Wednesday, were part of the government’s media campaign ahead of a visit by Chen Yunlin, chairman of the mainland’s semiofficial Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait. Chen’s visit, which begins Monday, was clouded when a deputy was attacked by protesters in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan during an informal visit last week. The deputy was lightly injured and left Taiwan two days early. Chen’s visit _ the first by a top Chinese envoy _ is supposed to provide tangible evidence of reduced tensions between Taipei and Beijing and give a big boost to Ma’s program of greater engagement with the mainland. ‘I will receive them in the capacity of the president of the Republic of China,’ Ma said the ETTV Cable News station interview, referring to the island by its official name. Ma said he hoped Chen would refer to him as president. Ma said the two sides would observe a […]