Switzerland’s National Council, the lower house of its parliament, on Tuesday passed a motion to improve ties with Taiwan.
Previously approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee in June, the motion was passed by the council with 129 votes in favor, 43 against and five abstentions.
Taiwan “is a partner state with which we share democracy, respect for human rights and the liberal economic order,” Swiss Radio and Television (SRF) quoted National Councilor Nicolas Walder as saying.
Photo: Bloomberg
The Chinese Communist Party’s disregard for human rights is increasing, as shown by its permanent state surveillance, suppression of freedom of expression and freedom of the press, SRF quoted National Councilor Roland Fischer as saying.
Next, the council is to submit a report on how Switzerland can deepen its ties with Taiwan in business, politics, science and culture.
Representative to Switzerland David Huang (黃偉峰) said he was grateful for the councilors’ support for deeper cooperation with Taiwan.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the motion.
Taiwan and Switzerland share the goal of pursuing sustainable development, and the two countries could join efforts to lay more profound foundations for the goal, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said in a statement yesterday.
The last time the Swiss parliament passed a motion friendly to Taiwan was in 2007, when it required the Swiss government to back Taiwan’s inclusion in the global health system, Ou said.
Switzerland is a like-minded and reliable partner in Europe, she said, adding that the two countries in December last year signed an agreement on the transfer of convicted and sentenced criminals.
The government plans to expand bilateral cooperation on public healthcare, airline services, financial tax, culture and education to consolidate a mutually beneficial relationship, Ou said.
The nation has three missions in Switzerland: the Taipei Cultural and Economic Delegation in Bern, its branch bureau in Geneva and the nation’s Permanent Mission of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu to the WTO in Geneva, the ministry’s Web site says.
The European country is represented by the Trade Office of Swiss Industries in Taipei.
Additional reporting by CNA
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
‘MISGUIDED EDICT’: Two US representatives warned that Somalia’s passport move could result in severe retaliatory consequences and urged it to reverse its decision Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has ordered that a special project be launched to counter China’s “legal warfare” distorting UN Resolution 2758, a foreign affairs official said yesterday. Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday cited UN Resolution 2758 and Mogadishu’s compliance with the “one China” principle as it banned people from entering or transiting in the African nation using Taiwanese passports or other Taiwanese travel documents. The International Air Transport Association’s system shows that Taiwanese passport holders cannot enter Somalia or transit there. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) protested the move and warned Taiwanese against traveling to Somalia or Somaliland
Four former Hong Kong opposition lawmakers jailed in the territory’s largest national security case were released yesterday after more than four years in prison, the first among dozens convicted last year to regain their freedom. Former legislators Claudia Mo (毛孟靜), Jeremy Tam (譚文豪), Kwok Ka-ki (郭家麒) and Gary Fan (范國威) were part of a group of 47 public figures — including some of Hong Kong’s best-known democracy advocates — who were charged with subversion in 2021 for holding an informal primary election. The case fell under a National Security Law imposed on the territory by Beijng, and drew international condemnation and warnings
RSS