Fili’s world

Either Israel likes to tease China or it really likes Taiwan. No other country in the world is sending government officials to Taiwan in fear of upsetting China, but Israel seems to enjoy being the exception.

The first time Israeli MKs visited Taiwan I thought maybe it’s Israeli ignorance regarding Chinese sensitivity towards the Taiwan issue, but after the strong reaction by China the last time, there’s no way Israel’s not aware of what this visit means for China and Taiwan. I should really add this to my list of "how to enrage the Chinese people". This brings up the interesting question of - why? what’s Israel trying to achieve?

Here’s a summary of the YNetNews article with "China protests Israeli MK visit to Taiwan" (underline not in original text) :

Despite pressure from Chinese embassy in Israel, 5 MKs visit Taiwan. MK Eitan: China itself has relations with Taiwan

Less than a year after the last diplomatic gaffe between Israel and China, relations are once again being tested as five Knesset members pay an official visit to Taiwan.

The five – MKs Michael Eitan (Likud), Yoel Hasson (Kadima), Matan Vilnai (Labor), Moshe Kahlon (Likud) and Marina Solodkin (Kadima) – left for Taiwan on Thursday and has already held meetings with top Taiwanese officials, including the deputy minister of finance and deputy minister of defense, who provided a comprehensive overview of the tense and complex relationship between Taiwan and China. [...]

But the visit may again prove explosive. Last September five MKs visited Taiwan and created a diplomatic feud between Israel and China.

Chinese embassy spokesman Lu Jing spoke with Ynet about the current delegation and confirmed that the embassy was informed of the delegation. Jing also said that an embassy official met with MK Eitan in an attempt to dissuade the delegation from leaving – but the appeal failed.

In September the Chinese ambassador said in response to the Israeli delegation that if the situation ever repeats itself – "it will be viewed gravely.”

Just like other countries

MK Eitan says he doesn’t fear the Chinese response: "We are behaving like many other countries in the world, including the United States and European nations who have the same level of ties with the Taiwanese.

"China itself maintains economic ties with Taiwan. There is nothing that China does itself that Israel should not be able to do. Israel doesn’t have diplomatic relations, but it is certainly – and MKs in particular – interested in ties with all of China and all of Taiwan. They will sort their own problems themselves, we aren’t interfering or taking a side," he said in a phone conversation from Taiwan.

The Chinese however are not satisfied with Eitan’s explanations. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy told Ynet on Friday: "This is a delegation of Knesset members, state officials, who are leaving for Taiwan. I believe this sends out an incorrect message to Taiwanese officials who don’t see themselves as part of China. These kind of steps should be avoided. I don’t believe this is the sort of thing that will help the existing relationship. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was recently a guest in China. Many in China are interested in Israel and Israeli businessmen are interested in breaking into the Chinese market."

It has been suggested in the past that the Israeli superpower (:P) is trying to convey a message to China regarding the arms sales to hostile countries supporting terrorism. But even so, this is strange.

Once again, here’s a sample of a few interesting comments made on the article :

Gary Selikow

G-D Bless Israel and Taiwan

China still supports Iran and Hamas and Hezbullah, and is hostile to Israel in the UN.  Taiwan has always been friendly to Israel, when China refused to even have diplomatic relations with Israel.
Taiwan and China (fiLi - I think he meant Israel) are both littlebeacons of democracy surrounded by giant totalitarian aggressors dedicated to their destruction and both are unjustly treated by the world.

I find the comparison between Israel and China-Taiwan interesting. In a recent dinner meeting with Taiwanese media people in Israel we discussed the similarities between Israel-Arab nations compared to Taiwan-China, and the similarities between Palestine-Israel compared to Taiwan-China, which both make some sense. Most Israelis I asked about this preferred the Israel-Arab nations comparison to Taiwan-China,  saying - like Gary - that democracy is the right factor to compare with. Here’s another typical reaction -

Ar

China’s hypersensitive problem

China wouldn’t care if 1,000 Israeli businessmen invested $1bn into Taiwan, the problem is that MKs went, which touched a sensitive nerve — China gets hissy over political overtones concerning Taiwan.
Eitan said the truth, and in fact the truth is really strange since Taiwan and China cooperate on every level except political.
I like Taiwan, more so than the PRC: higher standard of living, the rule of law, democracy, all the goodies. I always cringe when I think how many nations who spout love of democracy, capitalism and whatnot continually sell Taiwan down the river when it comes to China. Good on the MKs.

In a conference held in Israel 4 years ago, the Taiwan-Israel relations were discussed, and a speech by a Taiwanese MOFA official was given talking about “Taiwan-Israel Relations: A Strategic Outlook” that I think is worth quoting from in this context :

I heartily agree that there is much room for future cooperation for our countries and I submit that Taiwan could even become a key partner for Israel in the years to come. As you are all aware, the East Asian region has become one of the main centers for gravity of the global economy. Indeed, it is currently the source of the largest part of global growth, therefore the political and the strategic significance of our region has been rising rapidly in recent years and this trend is likely to continue. Therefore it is apparent that Israel should try to develop closer ties to the region to balance the really close ties with the US as well as with Europe. For a medium size country it is necessary for Israel to think strategically about its approach to the region and choose its partners carefully. Taiwan and Israel established representative offices in Tel Aviv and Taipei some 10 years ago. We have had some success in promoting the relations and the cooperation for our mutual benefit. [...]

First, economical and technological starting with the economical sphere, Taiwan and Israel have both developed repeatedly and both of us can claim to have made economic miracles. [...]
Second, political - in the political realm, the consolidation of Taiwan’s democratization, especially since the first ever transfer of power in 2000 means that we can take our place alongside Israel as a full fledged vibrant democracy. [...]
Third, social - the Taiwanese people in general hold a very positive view of Israel, they tend to admire your courage in creating a new homeland building a democracy and standing tall in the face of so many threats. [...]
Fourth - diplomatic. In the diplomatic realm our two countries also share many striking similarities. First – we share the same basic principles of diplomacy, our foreign policy is based firmly on the three intervene themes: of peace and security, economic prosperity and democracy and human rights. I believe these are your goals as well. Second, we are islands of democracy in our respective regions and we have faced many obstacles in participating in regional, forums and organizations. Third, although thankfully Israel was never expelled from the United Nations and its organizations and is able to exercise its proper full rights as a member not less we share political difficulties in relying on the UN for support.  [...]
Fifth -security. In the security realm of course both our countries face ongoing serious threats to our existence from much larger neighbors.[...]
Finally, a word about terrorism. Taiwan in the past had not paid much attention to this issue for the simple reason that we have never had terrorism on our soil. The tragic events of September 11th 2001 have changed that attitude. 7 of our citizens lost their lives in NY, along with the thousands of innocent victims from around the world. In addition two more of our citizens perished in the bombing on the island of Bali in October 2002.

I wonder how this would play out. Israel is taking a risk, as China-Israel trade flourishes and "Chinese industrial park to open site for Israeli businesses"-like news are announced weekly :

China’s Suzhou Industrial Park announced a $50 million commitment by the park (SIP) and its partners designed to boost bilateral partnerships between Israel and China. SIP also said it was opening an "Israel Park" section at the site designed especially for Israeli companies to start operations there. [...]

"Israel is a small country rich in technological advancements; China is a large country with a huge market," said Wang Jinhua, deputy party secretary of CPC Suzhou Municipal Committee. "Partnership makes sense; it’s a win-win cooperation." [...]

"We believe supporting the introduction of Israeli technology into the Chinese market will produce a positive and lucrative outcome for all involved," Wang Jinhua added.