President Chen received the Chairman of the Swiss Senate, Bruno Frick, this afternoon and expressed his warm welcome for the visitor's return to Taiwan.
At the beginning of what was described as a cheerful meeting, President Chen highlighted a few similarities shared between himself and his distinguished guest. The president recalled how he and the Chairman were both former members of parliament whom had studied and practiced law for many years. And where, Mr. Frick is currently the deputy chairman of the Christian Democratic Party, the president noted his past chairmanship of the Democratic Progressive Party to further illustrate his point. President Chen is hopeful, that aside from these comparisons, Chairman Frick, as the leader of his country's parliament, will strive to improve Taiwan-Switzerland relations.
The president expressed his most sincere gratitude to Chairman Frick for his assistance in the courteous and respectful treatment Taiwanese diplomatic officials stationed in Switzerland receive. However, having been diplomatically pressured into altering the Taiwanese representative office in Switzerland's usage of the name "Taiwan," President Chen would like to see the Chairman, who is the convener of the Swiss parliament's foreign affairs committee, take an active role in addressing this issue.
Adhering to the basic principle that medical care recognizes no boundaries, the president also took the opportunity to remind Mr. Frick, who is at the head of Switzerland's parliamentarian committee on social security and health, that the 23 million people in Taiwan cannot be ignored and cannot be excluded from the World Health Organization. Determined to gain observer country status at the World Health Organization and hoping to win the support of Switzerland, President Chen said that although he was disappointed with Switzerland's "no" vote last year, he hopes that this time around Switzerland can avoid using its veto even if it is reluctant to support Taiwan's bid.
Referring to Switzerland as the model country others strive to epitomize and learn from, the president told Chairman Frick of Costa Rican President Pacheco's desire to transform his country into the Switzerland of Central America. In addition, President Chen also spoke of his ambition for Taiwan to become the Switzerland of Eastern Asia.
Finally, the president expressed his hope that Switzerland, a leader among peace-loving and democratic European nations, may follow the United States' lead in granting Taiwanese high-level officials the right to transit through their country. Although the Swiss abide by the "one china policy" and have no official diplomatic relations with Taiwan, President Chen is optimistic that, with Chairman Frick's help, this can become a reality.
Chairman Frick congratulated President Chen on his second term as president and reflected on how quickly time had passed since his last visit to Taiwan when the president was in his first year in office. The Chairman wished President Chen's second term in office to be as successful as his first. He also voiced his regret regarding his country using its veto power on Taiwan's bid for observer status in the World Health Organization and promised to improve relations between the two countries.