In this mailing: Soeren Kern: Switzerland: Voters Approve 'Burqa Ban' Judith Bergman: China Ramps up Pressure on Taiwan Switzerland: Voters Approve 'Burqa Ban' by Soeren Kern  •  March 10, 2021 at 5:00 am       The referenda reflect the determination of a majority of Swiss voters to preserve Swiss traditions and values in the face of runaway multiculturalism and the encroachment of political Islam. Switzerland now joins Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands and Sweden, all of which currently have full or partial bans on religious and non-religious face coverings. "In Switzerland our tradition is that you show your face. That is a sign of our basic freedoms." — Walter Wobmann, member of the Swiss People's Party, the biggest political party in Switzerland. "Some Muslims also understood that the niqab is a clear symbol of radical Islam." — Jean-Luc Addor, member of the Swiss People's Party. "Saying yes to the ban on veiling is saying no to a totalitarian ideology that has no place in a democracy." — Saïda Keller-Messahli, founder and president of the Forum for a Progressive Islam. "The full veil, which turns the woman into a faceless being without an identity, is a symbol of misogynistic political Islam. It is the most visible symbol of an overall fascist ideology, which includes gender apartheid, but also anti-Semitism and gay hatred...." — Gisela Widmer, Swiss author and playwright. Swiss voters have narrowly approved a proposal to ban face coverings in public spaces, popularly known as the "burqa initiative," reflecting a determination to preserve Swiss traditions and values in the face of runaway multiculturalism and the encroachment of political Islam. Pictured: Posters in favor of the burqa initiative, in Zurich, on March 3, 2021. (Photo by Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images) Swiss voters have narrowly approved a proposal to ban face coverings in public spaces. The measure comes just over a decade after citizens voted to ban the construction of minarets, the tower-like structures on mosques that are often used to call Muslims to prayer. The referenda reflect the determination of a majority of Swiss voters to preserve Swiss traditions and values in the face of runaway multiculturalism and the encroachment of political Islam. Switzerland now joins Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands and Sweden, all of which currently have full or partial bans on religious and non-religious face coverings. Continue Reading Article China Ramps up Pressure on Taiwan by Judith Bergman  •  March 10, 2021 at 4:00 am       One of the "necessary means" that China employs against Taiwan is forcing the Taiwanese air force to be on constant alert... It is part of a strategy known as "gray-zone warfare" that aims to intimidate and ultimately exhaust Taiwan's resolve to resist the Chinese takeover. Tensions in the region are now considered to be at their highest since the mid-1990s. More recently, China has expanded its operations against Taiwan from the air to the sea. The new law authorizes China's coast guard to use "all necessary means" to stop or prevent threats from foreign vessels, including the use of fire weapons. "I think the time has come to be clear: Replace strategic ambiguity with strategic clarity that the United States will come to the aid of Taiwan if China was to forcefully invade Taiwan or otherwise change the status quo across the [Taiwan] Strait." — Senator Tom Cotton, Defense News, February 18, 2021. One of the "necessary means" that China employs against Taiwan is forcing the Taiwanese air force to be on constant alert... It is part of a strategy known as "gray-zone warfare" that aims to intimidate and ultimately exhaust Taiwan's resolve to resist the Chinese takeover. Pictured: Taiwan Air Force pilots stand next to Mirage fighter jets at Hsinchu Air Base on January 16, 2019. (Photo by Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images) "China must be, will be reunified" with Taiwan, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced in January 2019. The goal of reunification is a basic tenet of China's policy regarding Taiwan. It forms a central part of Xi's nationalist doctrine, according to which, reunification is "a must for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in the new era". "We are willing to create broad space for peaceful reunification, but will leave no room for any form of separatist activities", he added. "We make no promise to renounce the use of force and reserve the option of taking all necessary means." Continue Reading Article