The issue of bank client confidentiality is also closely linked to the issue of Liechtenstein 
foundations. Much ignorance and many half-truths exist in this regard. The FAZ (20.2.2008, 
2) was one of the very few media that wrote a balanced article on Liechtenstein foundations 
under the headline "You have to pay taxes where your sofa is". The article refers to the risks 
and advantages of Liechtenstein tax law and the fact that Liechtenstein foundations should not 
"automatically be equated with tax evasion". 
The FAZ printed an interview conducted with Prime Minister Hasler on 22.2.2008 in a 
prominent location (pp. 1 and 4) under the headlines "Privacy remains a fundamental right" 
and "I stand by our foundations". 
Issue: "Functioning rule of law in Liechtenstein" 
Immediately after the press conference by Hereditary Prince Alois and Justice Minister 
Tschütscher on 19 February, two essential aspects dominated the agency reports and 
subsequently the print media reports: 
> Liechtenstein insists upon its independence as a sovereign State and as an active, 
reliable and predictable member of the international community. The country defends 
itself against campaigns as currently waged by Germany. 
> Liechtenstein has effective control mechanisms for protecting against tax evasion and 
will continue to refine them. Additional measures have long been planned and will 
also be discussed the following day in Berlin during the visit by Prime Minister 
Hasler. 
The issue or question of "How does a small State with 35,000 inhabitants, 1.e. the size of a 
small German town, work?" is often raised in numerous interviews and is the subject of 
background reporting on the Principality of Liechtenstein written by journalists who are 
physically present in the Principality for the first time and thus gain an authentic picture of the 
location, the country, and its population. Most are astonished by what they find and revise 
their previously cultivated opinions and prejudices. 
Various media describe the domestic political situation in Liechtenstein and paint an 
atmospheric picture: "Quiet people of the Alps" (Die Zeit, 21.2.2008, 21), "Gallows humor in 
the Principality" (Die Welt, 21.2.2008, 3). Other media reports try to draw a general picture of 
the otherwise little-known Principality: "More banking clients than citizens" (SZ, 20.2.2008, 
6), "Liechtenstein: More than twice as rich as Germany" (Berliner Morgenpost, 20.2.2008, 3), 
"Cautious" (FAZ, 20.2.2008, 10) or "Built on money" (SZ, 26.2.2008, 20), a brief portrait of 
Liechtenstein. 
In "My Liechtenstein" (FAS, 24.2.2008, 38), Martin Frommelt, editor-in-chief of Radio 
Liechtenstein, says in a "reply" that Liechtenstein lives off a "diversified national economy", 
not tax evasion. 
"Liechtenstein fights for its economic existence," WAS, 24.2.2008, 27: "If money stops 
flowing to Liechtenstein, many citizens will lose their basis for existence", WAS reports in an 
analysis of the Liechtenstein financial center. 
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