Human rights won’t get in the way of business

Swiss companies are like firms from all over the world: they are hoping to make it big in China. Many are hoping especially to strike gold at the Beijing Olympic Games by using the world’s largest sporting event to sell their products and services in one of the fastest growing international markets. They even have a temporary base in Beijing, the House of Switzerland. In doing so, they are displaying a very pragmatic outlook, preferring to ignore problems such as human rights abuses in Tibet in favour of their bottom line.