The Swiss "Sunday Morning News" (Le Matin Dimanche) confirmed today that a delegation of five federal congressmen is expected to visit Taiwan from February 5 to 10 and meet with legislators and representatives of government ministries.

(Extracted from the Sunday Morning News website)

[Central News Agency] Swiss media confirmed today that a delegation of five federal parliamentarians will visit Taiwan on February 5 to meet with representatives of ministries and the Legislative Council.

Congressman Wardell told the media that no matter how Beijing protests, this trip is to support democracy, and it is also the role of parliamentarians in democratic countries.

The Swiss "Sunday morning newspaper" (Le Matin Dimanche) confirmed today that a delegation of five federal congressmen is expected to visit Taiwan from February 5 to 10 and meet with legislators and representatives of government ministries.

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Most of the 5 members of Congress are members of the Swiss Friendship Group with Taiwan, and 3 of them are national advisers in the French-speaking area, including Green Party member Leonore Porchet, Green Party member Nicolas Walder and People's Party member Nideji (Yves Nidegger).

In this subtitled "Risk Visit" report, Swiss Media stated that the news of the visit to Taiwan in 2022 had already caused controversy when it was first announced. At that time, the Chinese Consul General in Zurich Zhao Qinghua was dissatisfied that the visit would "cause confusion".

The article wrote that whenever a foreign delegation visits Taiwan, Beijing always takes the trouble to express its anger. For example, after the then US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Nancy Pelosi) visited Taiwan last summer, Beijing conducted a series of unprecedented military exercises, which caused concern from all walks of life.

Faced with the question of whether the congressmen risked "adding fuel to the flames", Wadel, the co-chairman of the Swiss Friendship Taiwan Group, told the "Sunday Morning Post", "No, Switzerland is not the United States. Our purpose is not to wrestle with Beijing, but to wrestle with Beijing. It is also the role of democratic congressmen to show our support for democracy."

He also emphasized that this visit to Taiwan had been planned long ago, and foreign delegations would visit Taiwan from time to time.

Since Switzerland is a neutral country, Swiss lawmakers once aroused criticism of the country's positioning when they visited Ukraine; however, Wardell does not believe that this visit will infringe on neutrality.

No matter how China will react, Wardell has expected it, but he also emphasized, "Don't confuse the visit of parliamentarians to Taiwan with the government action of the Federal Council. This visit to Taiwan does not mean a change in the federal diplomatic strategy. And China should accept Switzerland as a democracy. The roles of the state, the parliament and the government are separate. For me, I do not see this visit as an attack on Beijing, but as a stamp of friendship and support for Taipei ".