You might only know Switzerland for its tasty cheese, its excellent watches or its convenient pocket knives. When business people think of Switzerland, they might think of its world-famous banking system. But Switzerland is much more. Take a minute to find out what makes this small European country more than just a place that makes delicious chocolate.
你可能知道瑞士出產美味的起司、精良的手錶和方便的瑞士刀，但一提到瑞士，商人想到的可能是舉世聞名的銀行系統， 不過瑞士有的不只這些。花點時間了解這個歐洲小國，它可不只是一座「巧克力工廠」喔！
Culturally and politically, Switzerland is not like many other places in Europe. Rather than having one main language and culture, Switzerland is a place where the cultures and languages of the countries around it come together. Because of this, Switzerland is a very heterogeneous country. It has a large population of foreigners, which means that there are always new ideas arriving from around the world. Switzerland has a reputation all over the world for being a place where excellent research is done. Many people who have won Nobel Prizes are Swiss or live in Switzerland.
PHOTO: EPA
The government of Switzerland is not like any other government in the world. It is actually a group of 26 regional governments, called cantons, that work together. The first union of these cantons formed as far back as the late 1200s or early 1300s. This makes Switzerland one of the oldest democracies in the world.
But what makes Switzerland truly unique is its voting system. Unlike every other country, it is a direct democracy. This means that its citizens have the right to vote on every single law passed by the politicians, and they also have the right to propose a new law. When there is a really controversial issue, the whole country gets to vote instead of just lawmakers.
瑞士在文化和政治方面和多數歐洲國家不同，沒有單一文化或語言，鄰國的語言與文化在此融合，造就了瑞士多元異質的特性。瑞士拜境內大量外籍人士所賜，總是有來自世界各國的好點子，更有享譽全球的研究水準，許多諾貝爾獎得主不是瑞士人就是住在瑞士。
瑞士政府也和世上多數政府不同，是由二十六個叫「 cantons」（同「州」的概念）的地方政府共治，這些州最早於十三世紀末和十四世紀初開始聯合執政，使瑞士成為少數最古老且至今尚存的民主政體。
瑞士真正特別的是它的投票制度，和其他國家不同的是，瑞士採行直接民主，每位公民都有權投票否決國會通過的法案，也有權提議新法案。出現很有爭議的法案時，全國都必須針對此議案投票，而非只有議員。
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