Wish China and Switzerland Have a Bright Future

Editor’s Note:February 14 was the first day of the Chinese lunar Year of Tiger.The Chinese Spring Festival Folk Concert， as one of the activities in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-Switzerland diplomatic relations， was held in the famous Zurich Concert Hall. Among those present were Dong Jinyi， Chinese Ambassador to Switzerland， Liang Jianquan， Chinese Counsel General in Zurich， Erika Forster， President of the Council of States of Switzerland， Dr. Anton Thalmann， Deputy Secretary of State of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs， Martin Dahinden， Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation under the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs， Regine Aeppli， Governor of Zurich Canton and Ruth Genner， Vice Mayor of Zurich. At the invitation of the Switzerland-China Association (SCA)， Jing Dunquan， CPAFFC Vice President， traveled to Zurich to attend the celebration activities. The following is the speech given by Thomas Wagner， former Mayor of Zurich and President of the SCA， prior to the concert.

Here， on behalf of the Switzerland-China Economic Association and the Switzerland-China Association， I am happy to express my warm welcome to all of you. According to the traditional Chinese lunar calendar， today， February 14， 2010 happens to be the Chinese Spring Festival， the most important festival for the Chinese people. From today， the Chinese lunar Year of Tiger begins. Please allow me to express my warmest best wishes to all the Chinese friends here for a happy New Year and every success in the Year of Tiger.

Today’s gala concert marks the formal beginning of the activities in celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Switzerland and China. On January 17， 1950 the Swiss Federal Council officially recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC). On September 14， 1950， the two countries established diplomatic relations.

China has never forgotten this act of Switzerland. It is on this basis that our two countries have always kept friendly relations and continuously carried out bilateral exchanges in the economic， scientific， cultural and tourism fields.

When the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949， I was only a six-year-old child. Therefore， I can’t remember this historical event that has great impact on the international community. However， I still remember clearly that since Switzerland recognized the PRC in the following year， this event became a topic for discussion in my home. Since then， two names—Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai， who once visited Geneva and the then head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Max Petitpierre—have been engraved on my memory.

At that time I did not have the least idea that I would have a chance to visit China—a vast， exciting， mysterious great country—many times over a 30-year period and be able to personally witness the course of its development.

Over the past six decades， many impressive things have happened in China:

1. Since its foundation 60 years ago， and particularly since reform and opening up initiated by Deng Xiao- ping in 1978， the PRC has been developing rapidly and on an amazingly extensive scale. The Chinese people， in particular the younger generation， are very confident about the future. All around the world， no other country has been able to achieve such a rapid development.

Despite the short time involved in its development， China has also unavoidably experienced painful internal contradictions， which have left their traces.

But， today China has become a world power and is playing a stabilizing role in the world particularly Asia. China is a member of the United Nations and a permanent member of the UN Security Council， and also a trustworthy partner in many international organizations. A few years ago， China joined the World Trade Organization. Therefore， China also shoulders important tasks in safeguarding world peace.

2. In retrospection of the 60-year course that China has traversed， we will find that it is the 1.3 billion Chinese people who have first enjoyed the fruits of China’s economic growth. Their life is being improved continuously.

We also see that there exist huge gaps between the coastal and interior regions and between the eastern and western parts of China， and there are many difficult problems to be dealt with in environmental protection. However， the Central Government several years ago already realized these problems threatening the country. It has allocated enormous funds for economic adjustment and investment and carried out necessary infrastructure construction so as to eliminate the gaps long-term.

3. In 2005， the Chinese State Council issued a White Paper on the development of the cause of human rights， stating frankly that there is incompatibility between the current political system and economic growth and that more efforts should be made to enhance the whole Chinese society’s democratic and legal awareness and respect and protection of human rights.

Indeed， China’s economic achievements will not spontaneously lead to the fulfillment of the above goals. We should also realize that it will take a long time to realize the rule of law and political development that have a far-reaching significance. In this process， a country’s history and tradition must be respected and given full consideration to.

We greatly admire the achievements the PRC has scored since its founding in 1949. In the process of building a “harmonious society” (advocated by President Hu Jintao)， China is still facing numerous difficult challenges. Only by conducting dialogue， having the aspiration of cooperation and enhancing mutual understanding can people around the world come together and work with concerted efforts to create the future. Switzerland and China have formed close ties in the political， economic， cultural and scientific fields. The establishment of friendship-city ties between Zurich and Kunming in 1982， the launching of direct flight between Zurich and Shanghai by Swiss International Air Lines and the successful holding of Beijing Olympic Games in 2008， and the upcoming 2010 Shanghai Expo this year are the epitome of this mutual understanding and dialogue.

Here， I would like to wish that our two countries will continue to improve bilateral friendly relations in all fields in the principle of mutual respect， tolerance and understanding. I sincerely wish that our two countries have a better and happier future and our two peoples continue to coexist peacefully， help each other and march forward hand in hand.

(Translated from the Chinese text)