Matters took an ugly turn two weeks before Chen's arrival when ARATS vice-chairman Zhang Mingqing attended an academic conference in Tainan. Protesters there, led by an opposition camp city councilman, jostled Zhang and knocked him to the ground, prompting Chen Yunlin to leave central and southern Taiwan off his itinerary. The Ma administration reacted by adopting significantly heightened security measures for Chen's visit.
而在陳雲林訪台前，因爆發海協會副會長張銘清以私人身份受邀參加在台南舉行的學術研討會，卻被綠營市議員率眾推打倒地的風波，不僅導致陳雲林此行刻意避開中南部，且維安程度更大幅提高。