Five members of the Swiss Parliament visit Taiwan. On Monday they will meet President Tsai Ing-wen. The Chinese embassy in Bern criticizes this. Contacts with Taiwan are a red rag for China: It sees the island as part of the People’s Republic and wants to ban other countries from official relations. SP politician Fabian Molina explains why the trip should take place right now. The co-president of the Swiss-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group is one of the local parliamentarians.
SRF News: Why are you visiting despite the difficult situation?
Fabian Molina: The terrible war in Ukraine has shown the world how fragile peace and the rules-based multilateral world order are. It is of enormous importance that we stand up for multilateralism and democracy worldwide and seek dialogue among the peoples. That’s exactly what we’re trying to do in Taiwan over the next few days. And also to give support to Taiwan in the peaceful settlement of this conflict with China.
Legend:
Fabian Molina and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen.
Keystone/TAIWAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE
Do you also accept provoking China with this?
Switzerland is free in its foreign policy. It also continues to accept the People’s Republic of China’s one-China doctrine. However, that does not mean that Swiss parliamentarians are not allowed to engage in dialogue with other democracies. And not being allowed to get an idea of where the existing good cooperation with Taiwan can still be improved – in the areas of research, education, science and business.
Switzerland is free in its foreign policy.
Switzerland maintains no official contacts with Taiwan. Nevertheless, you will also visit the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen. Why are you planning these meetings now?
Taiwan is currently in a very difficult situation. Tensions in the Taiwan Strait are increasing. The Chinese Communist Party has already announced that it will also seek military reunification, as China calls it, with Taiwan in the foreseeable future. Such a military escalation would cause enormous economic damage to the world. But it would also be a devastating sign of a thriving democracy in Asia.
It is essential that democracies support one another.
For this reason, it is crucial that democracies support one another. Switzerland shouldn’t stand aside. In Article 54, it is a constitutional mandate of Swiss foreign policy.
The visit of the speaker of the US House of Representatives led to a crisis between China and the US. So are you accepting the negative consequences for Switzerland with your visit?
It is wrong for China to try to determine Swiss foreign policy. Taiwan is already Switzerland’s fifth most important trading partner. There is a large Swiss community in Taiwan. There is also a lively economic exchange. And it is right if you try to accompany this existing exchange politically and find very pragmatic solutions as to how cooperation can be improved.
Not all of the Parliamentary Friendship Group is in Taipei. Doesn’t everyone think the trip is a good idea?
This trip had been planned for a long time. Due to the corona measures in Taiwan until recently, it was not possible to enter the country for a long time. It is completely normal that not all members of parliament in the group were able to set this up or not all wanted to.
Legend:
“Not a good time for such a visit,” says GLP National Councilor Jürg Grossen.
Keystone/Peter Schneider (archive image)
The parliamentary group disagreed on whether it is the right time to visit Taiwan. On the other hand, the GLP National Councilor Jürg Grossen.
SRF News: Is the visit to Taiwan currently indicated?
Jürg Grossen: I think there is too much tension in the world right now, especially between China and Taiwan. So I don’t think this is a good time to make such a visit.
Do you think this visit will provoke China?
I do not hope so. I hope this visit will be successful, that it can also express solidarity with Taiwan. But I don’t think I would have taken that risk at the moment.
In this tense situation, wouldn’t it be important to send a signal that Swiss politicians are supporting the country?
I don’t think that you can send a really noticeable and perceptible signal. I think it makes sense to nurture the relationships. But you don’t necessarily have to travel halfway across the world to do that. And I think it’s good to show solidarity with Taiwan. But it is not necessary to make such a visit.
The conversation was conducted by Sandro Della Torre.