The Chinese perspective on Israel and the Gaza conflict

I’ve already touched on the topic in "Gaza, Israel and Taiwan" and would like to add a few references I came across recently to add to that discussion.

Danwei, which recently had the interesting pointer to the Chinese discussion on Israeli female soldiers I wrote about ("Israel’s female soldiers : Hot Israeli girls discussed in China and Taiwan"), continues with an interesting reference to an online discussion on Chinese forums and BBSes regarding a speech by a Chinese professor – one Zhou Xiaozheng – about "Israel is definitely a good country". The reactions to that speech were mixed, with quite a few strong negative reactions.

First, here’s a bit from the speech (translation credit to Danwei):

Students, today I would like to adjust the original class schedule to talk about my views on the conflict happening between Israel and Palestine. My first viewpoint is this: do not make judgments under conditions where information is not very accurate yet. Second, my own experience and knowledge tells me that Israel is a good country: this is what my lesson will be about today. [...]

In a situation of hostility how many countries’ tanks would stop? [...] I personally believe that these soldiers, as well as others in their ethnic group, are the real and undeniable heroes. [...]

Students, no matter what you say, I solidly believe that a country which treats citizens who have died from its own country and from other countries like so is a good country. [...]

Ordinary people only know that Jews are good at business, but not necessarily that Jews also place emphasis on education. They see education as a lifetime mission, and wisdom has a higher place than money. One investigation showed that on average the Israelis read and kept the most books. Jews also place emphasis on children’s education, and learning tools and materials. The lesson models that they have developed has been used by many other countries. The more that a country believes in its future, the more it places emphasis on its children’s education. A country which has been in warfare since its establishment, which has been besieged from all sides, but still placing such importance on education – this is a country which deserves our deep respect.

There are some problems with some of the inferences made, and the connection between Israelis and Jews, but the summary of it all is that Israel cares about human lives and tries to balance the right for self-protection with respect for human lives/rights. While I appreciate the gesture, a summary of good or not couldn’t be that simple. It is a very complicated situation that I strongly believe most people, especially those outside the region, know very little about.

An interesting post in the Israeli forum about China is something a few of my friends in China have been discussing with me:

חברה שלי (סינית יש לומר) שלא מעורה בסכסוך הישראלי פלסטיני שואלת אותי בקטנה "למה אתם כל הזמן רבים עם המוסלמים ולמה אתם מפגיזים שוב ושוב בעזה". אז בהתחלה ניסיתי להסביר לה בקצרה את שורש הסכסוך ואת מה שהתחולל פה במשך 8 שנים אבל עושה רושם שזה לא מחלחל עד הסוף.
השאלה שלי – באיזה שלב אני אמור לעבור להתקפה ולשאול אותה מדוע המשטר הסיני רודף אחרי אנשי הפאלון-גונג, טובח בטיבטים ומאיים לחסל את טאיוואן ? …

A quick translation :

My girlfriend (a Chinese, I should point out) who doesn’t know much about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict asked me "why do you always fight with Muslims and why do you keep bombing Gaza?". So, at the beginning I tried briefly explaining the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and what’s been happening there in the past 8 years, but it doesn’t seem to have any effect.

My question – at what point should I reciprocate by asking her about why the Chinese government is … <left out, you know the political issues>.

Although I believe the justification of Israel’s actions doesn’t need to bother itself with the debate on what other countries are doing, I did comment once on the topic that :

The international reaction to the one-time 911 led by the US and followed by allies everywhere has received far less global debate and internal criticism, has lasted far longer than 3 weeks and has continuously practiced far more extreme measures against much friendlier regimes that served lesser threat to their people or neighbors.

Which is only to say that in my personal view it sometimes seems like, for reasons beyond my comprehension, people somehow demand more from Israel than do they from themselves or their country. I believe Israelis do so too :

I find it refreshing that Israelis (and Jews) constantly pursue a lively emotional debate regarding this war, the Lebanon war and generally Israeli actions and politics, driving politicians into action.

(This is maybe partly why Israel doesn’t seem to be able to sustain a coalition or a prime-minster for more than 2-3 years)

Most Israelis feel isolated and misunderstood by the international community, but that doesn’t stop the constant internal debate of what’s right or wrong, as it always is in a democracy, and rarely – if ever – are there simple answers to such questions of morals and ethics.

(If you decide to comment, please do so in a calm respectable manner)