The Palestinian armed force, Hamas, attacked Israel, causing an international uproar.
Following this, there was a significant divergence in online opinions in our country. Some support Palestine, but some see Hamas as terrorists and thus support Israel.
Whether one supports Israel or Palestine, we can’t influence others’ thoughts. However, there are parts of history that we dare not and must not forget.
In China’s foreign relations, there are 6 levels with 24 sequences. Up to today, the diplomatic relationship between Israel and China is termed a “Comprehensive Innovative Partnership”, which ranks 5th in level and 22nd in sequence. China-Israel relations have always been lukewarm.
Examples of Israel undermining China can be seen from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ attitudes.
In fact, Israel has always been unfriendly to China. Since the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Israel has repeatedly undermined China.
From the founding of New China to the 21st century, there are countless such examples.
From ancient times, there are cases like Israel’s “Fugu Plan”, the “fake enriched uranium case”, and even involvement in the Opium War and opium smuggling to China.
The so-called Fugu Plan was a scheme by Jews during WWII to establish a nation on Chinese soil.
When Japan began to invade China, to gain financial support, the Japanese and Jews collaborated.
Jews proposed giving financial support to the Japanese in exchange for land in northeastern China, with Harbin as the capital, to establish a nation.
If this plan had succeeded, the northeastern region might now be a “Palestine”.
Of course, not all Jews supported this plan. Only a group of Jewish businessmen approached the Japanese.
At that time, neither the Japanese nor the majority of the Jewish community took the Fugu Plan seriously, and very few Jews migrated to Shanghai or the Northeast.
The subsequent “fake enriched uranium case” almost led China into a huge trap.
After the founding of New China, the country started atomic bomb research, which requires enriched uranium. In 1954, some Jewish businessmen came to China claiming they could provide weapons-grade enriched uranium.
They even presented uranium, but at a high price. At that time, China lacked the tools and technology to test the enriched uranium’s quality.
Fortunately, Premier Zhou had foresight and sent nuclear fuel expert Yang Chengzong to test the uranium.
It turned out the material was far from weapons-grade. If China had purchased it, it would have wasted foreign reserves and hampered atomic bomb development.
These two events alone highlight the tensions between China and Israel.
Israeli killing of Chinese peacekeepers
But wait, Israel’s wrongs towards China don’t stop there. In the 21st century, Israelis killed Chinese.
In 2006, Israel launched an attack on Lebanon. Not only did they destroy much of Lebanon’s infrastructure, but they also killed many women and children.
To conceal their actions, Israel tried to prevent UN observers from entering the region.
While they stopped unarmed UN observers, they dared not expel armed UN peacekeepers. But then, on July 26, 2006, the Israeli army bombed a UN peacekeeper camp, killing four, including Chinese Lieutenant Colonel Du Zhaoyu.
After the bombing, the Israelis prevented rescue teams from entering and later from recovering bodies. An Indian peacekeeper rescued Lt. Col. Du Zhaoyu’s body amidst artillery fire.
Israel first lied, blaming Hezbollah for the bombing. When that lie was exposed, they claimed it was a map error. Instead of investigating the incident, Israel even commended the units involved in the bombing.
It’s evident that Israel intentionally targeted the UN peacekeepers, presumably to cover up their actions in Lebanon.
Distinguishing right from wrong
Besides these examples, Israel’s wrongdoings towards China also include long-term military sales to Taiwan, tearing up the China-Israel early warning aircraft cooperation agreement, senior officials visiting Taiwan, supporting India during the China-India standoff, and joining Western media in smearing China over the “Xinjiang Cotton Incident”.
Even after the Palestinian attack, Israel continues to undermine China.
After the attack, Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its embassy in China asked China to support Israel and condemn Palestine. However, a video from the Israeli embassy in China insultingly referred to Shanghai as the “French Concession”, using a colonial term to insult China.
The author is not asking readers to take sides, but to remain rational and objectively discern right from wrong.
After all, Hamas has harmed civilians. Regardless of which side, targeting unarmed civilians only distances oneself from “justice”.
In the face of the Israel-Palestine conflict, instead of picking sides online, it’s better to focus on development. Only when we and our country are strong can we prevent history from repeating itself.