OfClaudio Del Frate
The Wang family ran a guesthouse in Unterbach, overlooking a military base. But when it was decided to place the military jets coming from the USA there, some suspicion arose: were the owners agents in the pay of Beijing?
Don’t worry mountain hoteliers or spies in Beijing’s pay? The Chinese family that since 2018 has been managing a small guesthouse overlooking the Bernese Alps but also the main Swiss military airport, what job did they actually do? The Bern authorities preferred not to take any risks and in the end they persuaded the owners to get rid of the small hotel in Unterbach which was the target of a police raid months ago because suspected of hiding clandestine “intelligence” activity.
It sounds like a fun international mystery script, but it’s all true. The Americans are involved, a supply of F35 fighters to Switzerland is involved and the Wang family is involvedChinese people who ran the hotel right on the edge of the Swiss military base in Unterbach.
Said from the beginning. The Wangs, originally from Beijing they purchased the Rossli hotel in October 2018: Alpine style, wooden balconies and flower boxes overlooking green meadows, woods and Alpine peaks. But also on the runways from which the Air Force jets take off with the Red Cross flag. About fifty meters away as the crow flies. At first no one objects; on the other hand that of Unterbach is a sui generis base: no fence, no sentries, even a couple of roads that cut the track allowing cars and people to come and go and even to some placid cow.
The music changes in 2023 when Switzerland reaches an agreement with the USA for the supply of some F35s, the most advanced “jewel” of military technology, capable of flying without being seen by enemies. And where are the F35s destined? In Unterbach, with the hypothesis of finishing parked in front of the windows of the Rossli pension. In Washington they must have their antennas straight and the presence of Chinese hoteliers raises some doubts for them. Sure you want to put the activity of military jets under the noses of those who could transmit information to Beijing?
Moral: nothing happens. Either the F35s or the Chinese hoteliers. And on July 26, 2023 something more happens. The police raid the Rossli e hotel takes away a couple of members of the Wang family. The operation takes place in the utmost secrecy but the suspicion is clear: it will only happen does the hospitality of tourists hide an intelligence activity? The accusation is not proven. All that the investigation manages to attribute to the alleged secret agents is the failure to comply with a series of hygiene regulations and the use of foreign labour. In short, it goes from a life sentence to a crime violation remedied with a fine of 1800 Swiss francs (identical figure in euros).
Whether they were spies or simple hoteliers, the Wangs are still “burned” and so they decide to put the hotel up for sale and return to their country of origin. The Swiss newspaper Tages Anzeiger informed a few days ago that a real estate platform was putting Rossli for sale for 1,700,000 francs. Which the Wangs had purchased for less than half. If they aren’t “fake beards” they certainly have business acumen.
May 16, 2024 (modified May 16, 2024 | 4:57 pm)
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