SwissCham, Swissnex and the Consulate General of Switzerland are delighted to invite you to look back, the time of an evening, at the early days of Swiss citizens in Shanghai and at their activities. Ms. Bao Zhong, librarian at Shanghai Library, will present the findings of her study about Swiss living in “Vieux Shanghai”, mainly based on the examination of press releases of that time. Thereafter, Mr. Daniel Nerlich will introduce you to the work of Walter Bosshard and offer you a glimpse of historical pictures and film sequences, partly unpublished until today. Swiss pioneer of modern photojournalism, Bosshard e.g. has been the first European, in 1938, to interview and film Mao Zedong in Yan’an. During a martial phase, with radical changes in Shanghai and in the whole country, he coined the notion of China in the West through his media coverage.

Liam Bates’ childhood was typically Swiss. But somewhere along the line his life took an unusual turn – because for Chinese television viewers he’s become Li Mu, presenter of adventure programmes. He has taken his audience to visit the remotest corners of China, to see the flower-men of Indonesia, and to ride the steam train over Switzerland’s Furka pass. Liam’s style is hands-on – something that takes on a new meaning when we’re talking about grilling a snake on a camp fire just after cutting its head off, or eating wild ants, or setting off to chase monkeys with a bolt of poisoned arrows. Liam does it all in a Swiss army t-shirt or a loincloth fashioned out of tree bark…and he does it all in an impeccable Mandarin, in front of an ever-present camera. Roger Federer is probably the best-known Swiss in China. But 25-year-old Liam definitely has a Chinese following. While in a bistro, dressed in military uniform and a gun slung over his shoulder, he was recognised by two Chinese students who made a major life decision thanks to him.

This year the SSSTC (Sino-Swiss Science and Technology Cooperation) has held series of Stepping Stone Symposia in China. The latest symposium  on natural products and drug discovery was jointly held by SIMM (Shanghai Insititute of Materia Medica) and ETH Zurich in Shanghai on 24th -26th October. The Swiss General Consul Mr. Heinrich Schellenberg and his wife Mrs Grisel Schellenberg welcomed the Swiss delegation and the Chinese guests with a dinner reception at their residence in Shanghai on the previous evening. Mr. Schellenberg stressed the long history of good relationship between Switzerland and China. He expressed his pleasure to see so many Swiss and Chinese experts on such a high level coming together, sharing their ideas and building up friendship with each other. Mr. Pascal Marmier, the Director of swissnex China, also gave a welcome speech at the dinner. Mr. Marmier gave a brief introduction on swissnex’s mission and its current projects. He encouraged both the Swiss and Chinese scientists as well as industrial players to utilize the great opportunities and support from swissnex to establish closer relationship and more collaborations with each other.

Swiss citizens do not need a visa for entering Switzerland. In the past, the Visa Section of the Embassy of Switzerland issued visas for numerous Swiss citizens, who also have the citizenship of another country, in order to avoid the local foreign law. Such a practice does not reconcile with the legal understanding of the Confederation and the Federal Office for Migration (FOM) has issued. The Swiss representations abroad are ready to forward any written, duly motivated, application to the Federal Office for Migration for decision. The applicant can submit an objection to the Federal Office for Migration in case of a negative decision.

After the PUHSC-SSSTC Joint Stepping Stone Symposium on Cancer and Neuroscience in Beijing, the Swiss experts of Cancer and Neuroscience continued their trip to Shanghai to attend the following symposium together with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (SJTUSM) and Shanghai Institute of Neuroscience (IoN), Chinese Academy of Sciences. Dr. Maio Su Chen, the program manager of SSSTC (Sino Swiss Science and Technology Program), gave an opening speech. Dr. Chen stressed the importance to enhance the academic exchange and scientific collaboration between the Chinese and Swiss researchers and the support from the Swiss and Chinese government to bring the collaboration to the next level. Prof. Wilhelm Krek from ETH Zurich opened the lecture session by presenting his current research on cancer research. The lecture session was fully attended by over 300 students and researchers from SJTUSM and IoN. After the lecture session, plenary sessions about cancer research and brain disorders were held in parallel to address current research in the specific areas.

Customs officials have seized more than one million counterfeit anti-anxiety tablets at the Zurich airport, stopping the shipment while it was in transit between China and Egypt. The Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products, Swissmedic, said the tablets were counterfeits of the Xanax compound made by Pfizer. They were found in four crates that weighed over 400 kg. Swissmedic said in a statement that laboratory tests showed the intercepted tablets contained no active ingredients, adding that they could not be recognised as counterfeit at first glance. The fake drugs will be destroyed. Swissmedic has informed the international health authorities, particularly those in China and Egypt, of the seizure.

Before 1949 East and West met intensely in Shanghai, creating an extraordinary cultural hybrid. In this context the first prototypes of Chinese modernity were forged. In the field of architecture, particularly during the period between the two world wars, a vast and distinctive Art Deco landscape materialized. Modernism became a fertile platform for experimenting with a common aesthetic language suitable for both cultures. Following an historic perspective, this new book published by Francesco COSENTINO, an Italo-Swiss freelance writer and photographer, outlines different architectural trends flourishing in Shanghai during the first half of the XX century and introduces some of the major personalities who contributed to such development. It also discusses what may be the relevance and the status of such architectural heritage in today’s newly redesigned metropolis. The text is illustrated by 193 pictures.

China is facing a demographic dilemma: the emphasis placed on male family lineage and the one-child policy has led to unequal gender numbers. Award-winning Swiss photographer Simon Tanner took a look at marriage and its status in China today. Between 2015 and 2045, China is expected to amass one million more men than women per year. Already among citizens aged 20 to 49, the overall surplus of men stands at 20 million, leading to stiff competition in China’s marriage market. Marriage is very significant, not only for social status but also for economic security. Men with lower incomes are at the biggest disadvantage when looking for a wife, since a man’s earning potential often influences a woman’s choice of husband. The inequality on the marriage front doesn’t just create problems on an individual level; it also has societal implications. While finding a spouse has become a battle in the cities, the number of unmarried men is quickly growing, especially in rural provinces. “Guan Gun” is the Chinese term for an unmarried man; translated word-for-word, it means “naked pole”.

Hans Boller, vice-president of the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce, and his wife Amy Wu want to share their Chinese experience with others. Following a night-time arrival into the blackness of Beijing in 1976, Hans Boller has dedicated himself to telling the world about China. Born in 1947, Boller grew up in Switzerland and studied economics and social sciences to PhD level at the University of Zurich. On graduating in 1976, he was curious to learn about China, and took up a job teaching Chinese engineers at a university in Beijing. Following his teaching job, Boller became the first accredited Swiss journalist in Beijing, reporting on China’s reform and opening-up drive for Western media, which badly needed experienced China hands. Following his stint as a journalist, Boller became vice-president of the Swiss-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and later opened a traditional Chinese medicine business in Switzerland, initiated by Amy Wu. The biggest challenge to both sides, Boller says, is to build “strategic confidence. Bilateral relations are of the greatest importance and need more care, and we are devoted to promoting such exchanges.”

Pablo Mauron’s career revolves around observing and reacting to the tastes of China’s wealthy, a market he sees both expanding and becoming more sophisticated. For Pablo Mauron, China is a land full of opportunities. As the general manager of Digital Luxury Group’s China office, the 33-year-old has witnessed a rapid rise in the consumption of luxury goods and has in-depth knowledge of the market. In his opinion, China’s luxury market has just started to take off, but is already seen as an indispensable part of business strategy by most international luxury brands. And Mauron, from Switzerland, hopes to ride this wave of expansion to develop DLG’s business in China. The company is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland and has offices in New York, Shanghai and Dubai. Its clients include TAG Heuer, Piaget, Marc Jacobs Fragrances, Vacheron Constantin and Sotheby’s. Mauron says that in working with international brands and their local Chinese teams, one of DLG’s main objectives is to localize marketing campaigns.