Anti-Chinese Taiwan party orders vuvuzelas, made in China

A member of Taiwan's anti-Chinese opposition has prepared for a weekend protest against a trade pact with the mainland by ordering 200 South African vuvuzela trumpets - made in China.

Laurence Kao of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) told AFP he was aware that the noisy, monotonous-sounding instruments were made in China.

"We'll beat them with their own medicine," he said.

Taiwan's DPP, which favours independence from the mainland, has vowed to rally 100,000 people on Saturday to protest against the pact, just days before the island's China-friendly government plans to sign it.

"Vuvuzela sounds a bit like 'upset' in Taiwanese, and that's another reason why we've picked the instrument - to show our anger at the government for signing the pact," Kao told AFP.

The vuvuzelas have triggered calls for a ban at the World Cup because they are so loud the players cannot communicate properly.