Watching China Emerge into Light
by swisscham in General Interest
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.”