Delegation of NPC deputies from Tibet completes Swiss visit

A delegation of the deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC) from Southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region has finished a 4-day visit to Switzerland.

The delegation, headed by Padma Choling, who is also a senior member of China’s NPC Standing Committee, aimed to introduce the latest information about Tibet’s social and economic development, environmental protection, as well as cultural heritage, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday.

In Bern, the delegation Thursday held meetings with President of the Swiss National Council Jurg Stahl, former president of the Swiss National Council Christa Markwalder, as well as Deputy State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs Krystyna Marty Lang, said Xinhua.

While in the Swiss city of Zurich, the delegation held a forum with Tibetan inhabitants of Zurich and Liechtenstein and introduced the current social development and improvement in people’s living condition in Tibet, especially the process of targeted poverty relief work, according to Xinhua.

Padma Choling said he wished the Tibetan inhabitants could make more effort toward national unity and ethnic solidarity, and visit Tibet to take a look, Xinhua reported.

Before the visit to Switzerland, the delegation on Tuesday wrapped up a four-day trip to Britain where they visited the parliament and a university, talking with politicians, students and media.

British politicians said they expect Britain and China can strengthen communication between their parliaments at different levels. They also said many reports on Tibet by the Western media are unbalanced and the visit of the delegation is expected to help the British people know a true Tibet, Xinhua reported.

Switzerland would not recognize “Tibetan nationality” or “Statelessness” of the “exiled Tibetans” when they are applying for residence or passport, local media Swissinfo reported on March 10. The “exiled Tibetans” could only fill “China” in “birth country” and their identities would only be marked as “Chinese citizens” in Switzerland.