Chinese official irked by Swiss politicians’ planned Taiwan visit

The Chinese consul general in Zurich has said a trip by Swiss parliamentarians to Taiwan next year would be “disruptive” and unhelpful for Swiss-China relations. “Parliamentarians are official representatives of a country, not simple citizens,” Zhao Qinghua told the Schaffhauser Nachtrichten newspaper on Saturday. He added that such a visit would impact the foundations of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and China – notably Beijing’s view of Taiwan as one of its provinces, without any right to state-to-state diplomatic relations. “Disregarding the One-China principle amounts to a violation of China’s sovereignty, a meddling in its domestic affairs, and an infringement of its fundamental interests,” Zhao said. The consul general was commenting on a planned visit to Taipei by the Swiss-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group, mooted for next year. It would not be the first such visit by Swiss politicians; but following raised geopolitical tensions around the island, and the...