Legislative President You Xikun met with the co-chairs of the Taiwan Friendship Group of the Swiss Federal Parliament Fabian Molina and Nicolas Walder, and took a group photo with all the guests before the meeting.

(Photo by reporter Tian Yuhua)

[Reporter Su Yongyao/Taipei Report] Legislative President You Xikun received the visiting cross-party members of the lower house of the Swiss Federal Parliament at noon today, in addition to emphasizing the deepening of the relationship between the two countries.

You also mentioned that Member Attici, one of the members of the visiting group, still had relatives and friends in his hometown in Turkey that were deeply affected by the earthquake, and hoped that they were all safe.

The delegation was jointly led by Fabian Molina and Nicolas Walder, the lower house of the Swiss Federal Parliament and the co-chairs of the Taiwan Friendship Group. Members also included Yves Nidegger, Artich (Mustafa Atici), Leonore Porchet and other three cross-party MPs; except Niederge who was invited to visit Taiwan in the past, the rest of the members are visiting Taiwan for the first time.

Attici, on the other hand, was of Turkish origin.

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You Xikun said that Switzerland is Taiwan's staunch democratic ally and Taiwan's important economic and trade partner in Europe for many years.

First of all, he would like to thank the Taiwan Friendship Group of the Swiss Parliament for its firm support for Taiwan. He was very moved, including being sternly warned by the Chinese embassy before the visit, but still determined to visit Taiwan.

Chairman Molina is committed to promoting the institutionalization of exchanges between Taiwan and the Swiss Congress, and also led the promotion of the "Strengthening the Cooperation between the Lower House of the Swiss Parliament and the Taiwan Legislative Yuan". The cooperation between the congresses of the two countries will reach a new milestone.

There is also the "Improving Relations with Taiwan" bill led by Chairman Wade, which has deepened relations with Taiwan in various fields.

You Xikun said that in the "2022 Global Democracy Index Report" released by the British "Economist Intelligence Unit" (EIU) on February 2 this year, Switzerland ranked 7th in the world, Taiwan also ranked 10th in the world, and 1st in Asia.

Although Taiwan's democratic achievement is not as good as that of Switzerland, it has also been recognized internationally. We cherish it very much, so we will definitely defend it with all our strength.

You Xikun also said that today, the CCP is ignoring the facts, and its military aircraft and warships are invading day by day, and its attempts to undermine the stability of the Indo-Pacific and annex Taiwan are clearly revealed.

Therefore, he called on Taiwan to be a beacon of democracy in Asia and the Chinese-speaking world, and a bastion that catalyzes China's early democratization at a time when the global democratic landscape is gradually shrinking. We look forward to more international cooperation and attention.