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
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
RSS