Civilization and its enemies: a letter to a Chinese friend

I had the privilege of writing the entry for Professor Wen Yang’s book The Logical of Chinese Civilization next year. China Daily published an abridged version of & nbsp. How has Foreign society survived for 5,000 years while all other societies in Western Asia and Europe vanished? & nbsp,

Professor Wen contends that while the West also reflects the traits of its hunter-gatherer grandparents, China developed a sedentary lifestyle thousands of years ago. & nbsp,

I noticed that China” assimilated individuals representing six main and 300 small language groups.” China united its diverse peoples through a common method of characters and downstream infrastructure, while native spoken languages, religion, and culture flourished. This is in contrast to Europe, which required its people to convert to Christianity in order to enter Western civilization. & nbsp,

But absorption occasionally failed. The Han dynasty was in danger from the wandering Xiongnu in the third century BCE. In order to deal with north nomad, the Han Dynasty tried a variety of strategies, including paying tribute to the warriors and marrying Chinese ladies to Xiongnu monarchs and encouraging the adoption of Taiwanese culture. These strategies included offensive and defensive wars. & nbsp,

The Han Dynasty was unfortunately forced to battle the Xiongnu. General Wei Qing’s troops did not overcome a sizable Xiongnu power until 124 BCE. The risk of the barbarians persisted. The Mongol and Manchu warriors conquered all of China more than a thousand years after.

Chinese culture was so resilient that it eventually assimilated the savage invaders, though not without great suffering and loss. All of the major systems used in the Industrial Revolution in Europe were created by the Tang and Song empires. Why did China never experience the Industrial Revolution, researchers wonder. The solution may be that barbarian invaders disrupted China to the point where its advances were unable to develop.

The threat of barbarians still exists despite China’s spectacular military prowess and unmatched economic growth. I’ve heard Chinese scholars claim that the United States purposefully incubated jihadists to destroy China during numerous trips to China over the past ten years. Although I don’t think the US intentionally did this, China undoubtedly suffered as a result of British mistakes in the so-called Global War on Terror. & nbsp,

In a file photo, East Turkestan Islamic Movement( ETIM) Ethnic Uighur soldiers are seen flying their flag. Photo: Facebook

In order to have the Sunni uprising against the American-sponsored Shi’ite majority government in Iraq, the Bush administration gave General David Petraeus a blank check in 2008. Past Sunni military officers received salaries from Petraeus totaling US$ 16 million per month.

The foundation of ISIS was afterwards formed by a large number of Sunni soldiers who were funded and armed by the US. According to an a & nbsp report released by the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2012, America’s support for Sunni jihadists in Syria encouraged the rise of ISIS.

Uighurs fighting in Syria take aim at China, according to a report by The & nbsp on the Associated Press in 2017. According to the AP statement:

Since 2013, dozens of Uighurs, a Muslim majority from northern China who speak Turkic, have traveled to Syria to station with the Turkistan Islamic Party and fight alongside al-Qaida, taking important part in numerous wars. As the six-year issue comes to an end, Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces are currently engaged in combat with Uighur combatants.

However, China’s worst worries might start with the end of the war in Syria.

Ali, who would only give his first name out of concern for retaliation against his family back home, said,” We didn’t worry how the battle went or who Assad was.” We only intended to return to China after learning how to use the arms.

The same anti-civilizational warfare that taught jihadists to kill Chinese includes Hamas.

During trips to China, I had the opportunity to hear the opinions of eminent Chinese scholars and military managers as a panel member of an Israeli foundation that was involved with Israel-China relationships. A persistent worry has been the possibility of warfare spreading to Southeast Asia. The Chinese scientists emphasized that China has close ties to numerous Arab nations and a Muslim community that supports the cause of the Palestinians. & nbsp,

I don’t intend to give China advice on how to do diplomacy because China has its own grounds for remaining impartial on Israeli-Palestinian problems. Nevertheless, some aspects of the issue might not be fully understood.

Israel’s treatment of Hamas over the past few years has been modeled after the Han dynasty in its original attempts to appease the Xiongnu. Israel urged Qatar to give Hamas$ 40 million per month in incentives. According to reports, the mind of Mossad visited Qatar in 2020 to advocate for such grants. Israel opened the Gaza borders to 20,000 Arabs working in Israel over the course of the previous year in an effort to improve financial problems. & nbsp,

The Netanyahu government believed it had all strategic bases covered and that it could bribe Hamas to remain on the sidelines as it negotiated diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, as I stated in an & nbsp, October 11 essay & ndrp for the American website Law & amp, Liberty. It lulled itself into a careless cloud that obscured the ancient world’s recalcitrant elements that opposed the Abraham Accords’ modernizing impulse.

That is where the” knowledge loss” began, allowing tens of thousands of Hamas jihadists to invade Israel and kill more than 1,300 people, including hundreds of children and teens. Israel’s tragedy reports are not a tool of American propaganda. The majority of them are known to us thanks to video posted online by Hamas, which aims to frighten both Israelis and the rest of the world.

According to Professor Wen’s theory, Hamas is a holdover from the pre-civilizational, wandering earth that won’t accept assimilation. A two-state option is not what Hamas wants. According to its contract, Israel must be destroyed and an Islamic state should be established in its place. This is not a typical cultural issue that can be resolved by dividing the issue in half. & nbsp,

According to Hamas’ Charter,” The Islamic Resistance Movement is a recognized Palestinian movement, whose loyalty is to Allah, and which practices Islam.” Israel will be and may continue to exist until Islam destroys it, just as it destroyed another before it ,” it adds, attempting to raise the banner of Allah over every square inch of Palestine.

As alarms sounded behind and Hamas rocket attacks were launched from the Gaza Strip, smoke billowed over private Jewish areas. NDTV Screengrab picture

According to remark in guancha.cn, per capita income in the West Bank, where Israel continues to be the supreme power, is twice that of Gaza, which Hamas annexed in 2007 after Israel withdrew from the region on its own. Its arbitrary massacre of defenseless civilians, including children, is eerily similar to ISIS ‘ tactics.

No state has the right to survive if it allows a neighbor to off thousands of its citizens. Israel has no other option but to exterminate Hamas. In order to win sympathy from the rest of the world, Hamas tries to increase the number of casualties among its own civilizational people, as I explained in the remark for guancha.cn that was cited. Hamas asserts that it is battling Zionist” occupation.” nbsp

In actuality, Israel gave the Palestine Authority control of Gaza after formally ending its occupation in 2005. In 2007, Hamas deposed the Palestine Authority administration. More than 20,000 rockets have been fired at Israeli civilian goals since then by islamist terrorists. These were a lot of rudimentary products. & nbsp,

Some returned to the densely populated Gaza Strip, as I noted in my opinion from 2022, and killed a lot more Arabs than Israelis. One of many instances of criminal rockets killing Gazans more than Israelis was the loss of a hospital in Gaza on October 17.

Because Hamas uses Gazan civilians as human shields, Israeli actions in self defense will eventually result in human deaths. This will stoke Arab sentiment throughout much of the earth. The optimistic public stance of China is not unexpected. However, China should carefully consider where its interests in the Gaza fight lie.

China is worried about the free flow of oil from the Persian Gulf, which supplied 54 % of China’s oil imports in 2022, in the short term. With imports to Saudi Arabia almost tripling between 2018 and 2023, China’s business success in the Persian Gulf has matched its political accomplishments. Iran is the primary supplier of arms to Hamas and aids in the ongoing issue. China may undoubtedly advise Iran to prevent increase.

However, China’s involvement in the fight goes beyond just power security. China’s export to the Global South, which have doubled since 2019 and now outnumber those to developed industry, have a significant impact on its financial future. & nbsp,

China is bringing digital and physical infrastructure to billions of people who are currently at the periphery of the global economy, integrating them quickly into global markets, as I stated in my 2020 book: & nbsp, You Will Be Assimilated: China’s Plan to Sino-Form the World and in many subsequent articles. & nbsp,

China exports investment and technology to support the attempts of young people in the Global South as its local labour force shrinks. China wants to double its infrastructure-driven development model around the world, which is both an economical and a hegemonic essential.

China is a global modernizing army. China’s reputation in the Global South, where the general public has a favorable view of China, has improved thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative. However, this will not take place without criticism. Anti-modern tendencies from pre-civilizational parts in society still exist and represent the biggest barrier to China’s aspirations. & nbsp,

Numerous Chinese citizens have been killed in terrorist attacks by Hamas-like jihadists in Pakistan, and according to press reports and nbsp, security concerns are impeding Chinese investment in the$ 65 billion nation. & nbsp,

Anti-civilizational aspects around the world will take center and look for new target if Hamas survives the current conflict with Israel. Israel is currently at the center of society. The underlying interest of China is for the warriors to be driven out of Gaza.

The path of least resistance suggests a global split along professional – and anti-American lines. Israel became an American friend following the 1967 War as a result of Cold War planning. & nbsp,

But, it is not a creature of the United States. Israel made a concerted effort to stay out of the Ukraine War and keep cordial ties with both Russia and China. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared he may travel to China in June. & nbsp,

China's President Xi Jinping and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: AFP
Later in 2018, Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, and President Xi Jinping of China met. Asia Times Data / AFP image

America is forced to support an alliance that has been brutally attacked in the current crisis, and its critics are aligning themselves against it. That will only result in more conflict and subsequent issue escalation. & nbsp,

For the time being, Iran is unlikely to get involved, but it will make an effort to gird Israel in the future. Israel is prepared to use its numerous atomic weapons if its survival is in jeopardy. Although I don’t think a world war is imminent, the escalation of tensions between Israel and the rest of the world could result in an impending disaster.

China may hope that Israel is successful in eradicating the barbarians who pose a short-term threat to Israel’s existence and, over the long term, to civilization itself if it wants stability in the area and the development of civilization. & nbsp,

David P. Goldman, a deputy editor for Asia Times, serves on the SIGNAL ( Sino-Israel Government Network and Academic Leadership ) Advisory Board.

This article’s opinions are his own and do not always reflect those of any organizations to which he is affiliated.