Netizens have welcomed Beijing's top envoy on Taiwan Chen Yunlin's historic visit to the island.

The mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) president reached Taiwan on Monday on a five-day visit, and he held talks with Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) chairman Chiang Pin-kung yesterday.

The two organizations have already signed deals on air and sea transport, postal services and food safety.

"That's a small step for old Chen, one giant leap for history," netizen Baijiajiangtang wrote on Qiangguo Forum (bbs.people.com.cn). The view expressed on the People's Daily web forum, one of China's top forums, was shared by most of the netizens.

Postings supporting Chen's visit flooded the forum. Netizens said the mutual understanding - to be strengthened, enriched and enhanced during the visit - was crucial to improving cross-Straits ties.

At Tianya.cn, the mainland's most popular online community, too, netizens welcomed Chen's historic trip. One posting read: "Reunification is the common wish of the people of Taiwan and the mainland, as well as all overseas Chinese. Mutual understanding will help mainland people to know more about Taiwan, and vice versa Chen's visit is only the first step. I believe we will get even closer as cross-Straits ties deepen."

China has 253 million netizens, making them the largest web community in the world, and most of them see Chen's visit as a breakthrough.

"People across the Taiwan Straits face two tigers, one at home and the other abroad. The overseas one is the global financial crisis, and the one at home is the pro-independence forces led by the corrupt Chen Shui-bian family," netizen Tsyqs wrote in his blog.

"Chen's visit reflects the determination of the mainland people to overcome obstacles together with our brothers and sisters in Taiwan. That Mr Ma Ying-jeou's administrative team in Taiwan invited a mainland delegation is also a sign of his firm conviction in creating a bright future with the people of the mainland," he wrote.

The visit has drawn the attention of academics and common folk alike across Taiwan's webspace, too. On Central Daily News Online (www.cdnews.com.tw), Ko Wei-shin termed Chen's visit and meetings "a reflection of both sides' vibrancy and confidence". Ko is with the island's "national policy foundation".

Blogger Eric Chou echoed mainland netizens' views, saying Chen's visit is indeed "a giant leap forward for all Chinese".

"For this step of Chen's, Taiwan has waited for a long time the mainland, too, has done the same," Chou said.

(China Daily November 5, 2008)