Swiss politicians end Taiwan trip with call for more cooperation

The members of the Swiss-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group with officials in Taipei this week. Keystone / Makoto Lin/taiwan Presidential O

After a five-day visit to the Asian island, a Swiss parliamentary group has advocated closer links particularly on trade and education.

On Friday, the politicians from the Swiss-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group lauded Taiwan’s “huge potential” and called for it to be better integrated in major international bodies like the World Health Organization.

Switzerland should meanwhile “deepen cooperation with Taiwan on trade, innovation, culture, technology, research, and education”, the group wrote.

+ Switzerland and Taiwan: economically close, politically distant

During their visit this week, the five Swiss politicians met government and parliamentary representatives as well as Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen.

The visit attracted attention last year after being mooted, especially as it came at a time of geopolitical tension around Taiwan, and a high-profile visit by (at the time) US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The visit was opposed by China, which sees Taiwan as one of its provinces, and without the right to state-to-state relations.

“Disregarding the One-China principle amounts to a violation of China’s sovereignty, a meddling in its domestic affairs, and an infringement of its fundamental interests,” the Chinese consul general in Zurich told the Schaffhauser Nachrichten newspaper last October.

Not political

On Friday, the group also expressed support for democracy in Taiwan. But it distanced itself from the politically charged nature of the trip, given that Switzerland – like many other countries – does not recognise Taiwan as a sovereign independent state.

“We are awaiting a report by the [Swiss] government on Taiwan, which is to appear in the coming weeks,” said the group’s co-president Fabian Molina to the Keystone-SDA news agency.

The Green Party’s Nicolas Walder meanwhile proposed a more formal cooperation between the Taiwanese and Swiss parliaments, as a step towards a possible future economic partnership between the two states.

Taiwan minister wants louder Swiss backing

In an interview with Italian-language Swiss broadcaster RSI on Thursday, Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu called for a more robust Swiss backing of the island in its quarrels with China. Although Switzerland is neutral, and should remain so, it could also stand up for universal rights by “opposing China’s aggressive attitude towards Taiwan”, Wu said. The minister also called for an intensification of exchanges and dialogue between Bern and Taipei.