'Taiwan On Everyone's Lips Is The Last Thing China Wants'

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) The American senator Marsha Blackburn (left) met Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (right) on August 26 in Taipei, Taiwan. Blackburn was the third high-level elected official from the US to visit Taiwan this August. Keystone

As tensions remain high in the Taiwan Strait, Swiss-based observers weigh in on the significance of the international show of support for the island – and the limited options Switzerland has if China were to launch an attack.

A stickler for detail, Geraldine first arrived at swissinfo.ch in 2014 to study rumours on social media as part of a collaborative research project known as Pheme. She now coordinates the Fact Checks by swissinfo.ch dossier covering (mis)statements about Switzerland, and continues to follow the trail of online misinformation.

The unrelenting military exercises around Taiwan that began after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi travelled to Taipei in early August were meant to serve – in the words of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) – as“a serious warning” to those who might support independence for what China considers a renegade province.

Foreign elected officials, however, are refusing to stay away: in the last couple of weeks, more delegations from the United States and Japan have travelled to the island to shake hands with President Tsai Ing-wen, with Lithuania, Canada and others set to follow. Some parliamentarians in Bern have been similarly defiant and stepped up calls for stronger bilateral ties with Taiwan. Meanwhile, a Swiss-Taiwan parliamentary friendship group says it's still determined to visit the island early next year, despite drawing the ire of the Chinese embassy in Switzerland.

None of this should be cause for alarm, according to sinologist Simona Grano, who sees these visits as symbolic moves in support of Taiwan as a democracy. 

“In the end it doesn't change anything, except to make China angry,” says the University of Zurich lecturer.“Taiwan is on everyone's lips and that's the last thing China wants.”

Only six years ago, Taiwan was flying under the radar. China tolerated countries maintaining informal economic and cultural relations with Taipei so long as they stuck to an official one-China policy. But since Tsai's pro-independence party came to power in 2016 and Beijing began taking a more aggressive stance against the self-ruled island, some countries have openly sought closer links with Taipei. China's military show of force in recent weeks has only emboldened these allies.

Just this month, the US announced it would open negotiations on a bilateral deal that seeks to remove discriminatory barriers to trade with Taiwan. The announcement prompted the Chinese government to remind countries they should refrain from dealing with Taipei in any way that had“sovereign connotations”.

Given its strong purchasing power and central role in global supply chains through its semi-conductor industry, Taiwan is an attractive market and Switzerland's fifth-largest trading partner in Asia. According to University of Zurich sociologist Patrick Ziltener, Swiss businesses in the machinery, watch and chemical sectors could save CHF42 million ($43.5 million) in customs duties annually with a free trade agreement (FTA). Even the Taiwanese representative in Bern, David Huang, has signalled Taipei is keen to sign a deal.

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