Link: The Crusades
The Birth Of Israel
Part II
How does a short history lesson relate to the seemingly eternal disagreements between East versus West, Europe/United States against the Arab nations? First and foremost, the Arab community has always believed that the United Nations (and Great Britain in particular) betrayed them with the creation of Israel. The argument has some merit, when the demographics of Palestine in 1947 are examined. From a universal perspective, though, many felt that the Jewish people had suffered enough, with Russian pogroms, European anti-Semitism, and the Holocaust; it was time to unilaterally act in favor of the Jewish community, regardless of the consequences to the Arab Palestinians. The truth is, an effort was made to create two separate states. No effort to work within the United Nations declaration was ever really attempted, which is the real tragedy. Both states could have very easily learned to work and grow together, building symbiotic relationships that encourage friendship as opposed to animosity. Be that as it may, in 1947, the Arab and Muslim communities of the world decided that the West (and Christian nations) unfairly supported Israel. Every conflict since the original war in 1948 has only encouraged this opinion, as the United States strongly supported Israel (while the Soviet Union became the patron of the Arab nations).
Herein lies the root of the issue. The United States and the West are seen by Arab and Muslim states as being unfairly supportive of Israel. During the various internal Israeli conflicts (West Bank, Intifada, Gaza) the United States is always first to declare its support for the state of Israel. If the Palestinians and the Arab states would make two decisions in good faith, they would go along way to improving their image and relations with the United States. Firstly, Israel's right to exist must be acknowledged. Second, terrorist groups cannot be anointed as political representation. It is difficult to criticize the United States for supporting Israel when both Hamas and Hezbollah have been involved in the brutal murder of American civilians. Most Americans see Israel as our most loyal ally, but the desire for an end to this conflict is beginning to affect U.S./Israeli relations. When an American traveling internationally is targeted by terrorists, it usually will be connected in some way to the U.S. unilateral support of Israel. Its true that terror groups like Al-Qaeda have expanded the list of complaints against the United States, but somewhere on this list will be Israel. Many expected that the Obama Administration would slacken the U.S. support for Israel, but the Palestinian cause is a difficult one to embrace. One minute after watching in horror on TV an Israeli tank destroying a Palestinian house, the news broadcast switches to a scene of rockets being launched into Israeli neighborhoods. I want to see this mess come to end in my lifetime. I'm not optimistic. The saddest part of this entire circumstance is that Arabs and Jews are cousins, for goodness sake. I had a cousin once who used to beat me senseless, but afterwards she always apologized. We can't even get to that point with these two.
Showing posts with label Great Britain. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Great Britain. Show all posts
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Thursday, October 9, 2014
What Are Chinese Students Taught About The West? (Part II)
Link: The Opium Wars
Part II
In 1836, most of China was cut off from trade with the Western world. What trade that did occur left the Chinese with a healthy trade surplus. Europe, the United States and Russia (heretofore referred to as "The West") wanted access to Chinese markets, and they wanted it bad. At the time, the drug Opium (grown primarily in Turkey and in Her Majesty's Dominion of India) was being smuggled into China at a steadily increasing rate. The import of Opium was threatening the balance of trade, not to mention the growing number of Chinese who were becoming addicts. Ironically, the sale of Opium was illegal in England at the time. The Chinese government decided that what was good for the goose was good for the gander, and not only made Opium illegal, but in 1839, raided a number of warehouses and ships in Canton and burned their cargo of Opium. The Chinese may have felt that they were well within their rights to combat what was obviously a menace to Chinese society, but their actions could not have been more damaging to China's interests. The war that followed was one-sided. The British held every military advantage and occupied areas around Canton. In 1842, the Chinese were obliged to agree to the Treaty of Nanking, which ceded Hong Kong to Great Britain and opened up various ports to trade.
The United States and France approached China after the Treaty of Nanking, and demanded the same concessions. The idea of "most favored nation" took root in China, and to many Chinese, they became lower class citizens in their own country. The British and the French again defeated China in the Second Opium War (1856). In 1858, with the signing of the Treaty of Tientsin, foreigners (read missionaries) were allowed to travel unimpeded throughout China, and the Western nations were allowed to open embassies in Peking. This last concession is more important than it may seem. The Chinese revered their Emperor, and to allow "foreign devils" to live in the same city was a terrible insult. More ports were opened to trade, the Opium poured into China, Christian missionaries seemed to be on every street corner, and the Chinese Civil Administration became prostrate with corruption. In 1898, a movement of peasants calling themselves "Boxers", decided to remove the foreigners from China (initially the Boxers were protesting the insults inflicted on Chinese peasants by mostly American missionaries). The movement swelled to hundreds of thousands, and forced its way past Chinese authorities and occupied Peking. Cixi was powerless to stop the Boxers, and their intent to remove the foreign devils sounded promising, so she sided with the Movement as it laid siege to the foreign legation (the collection of Western embassies). Eventually a rescue army of Austrians, French, Brits, Russians and even Japanese troops crushed the Boxer rebellion. Cixi was allowed to stay on the throne, but another round of humiliating concessions were forced on China.
Imperial China died with Cixi (actually, Cixi was succeeded in 1908 by the child-emperor PuYi. His story is also a fascinating read, as he lived long enough to experience Mao's Cultural Revolution). Fast-forward to 2014, and one finds Chinese history books paint a less-than flattering portrayal of the West in the nineteenth century. I've seen a few translated versions, and not surprisingly, a bit of Sino-license has been applied. But just as the West had a monopoly on history in 1900, its China's turn to interpret history in a self-serving fashion. The few Chinese that I have had the pleasure to know are very aware that current Western accounts of the Opium Wars and the Boxer rebellion are much more accurate. But even in its accuracy, the greed and avarice with which the West conducted its China policy beggars shame. Less than 180 years ago, British and French diplomacy was centered around creating a nation of Opium addicts. I'm sure that many historians and armchair revisionists will disagree with my assessment, but there it is. As someone who on occasion has had delicate dealings with a number of Chinese, let me say that my respectful acceptance of the shameful behavior on behalf of the Western governments in the mid 19th century, was well-received and greatly appreciated.
Part II
In 1836, most of China was cut off from trade with the Western world. What trade that did occur left the Chinese with a healthy trade surplus. Europe, the United States and Russia (heretofore referred to as "The West") wanted access to Chinese markets, and they wanted it bad. At the time, the drug Opium (grown primarily in Turkey and in Her Majesty's Dominion of India) was being smuggled into China at a steadily increasing rate. The import of Opium was threatening the balance of trade, not to mention the growing number of Chinese who were becoming addicts. Ironically, the sale of Opium was illegal in England at the time. The Chinese government decided that what was good for the goose was good for the gander, and not only made Opium illegal, but in 1839, raided a number of warehouses and ships in Canton and burned their cargo of Opium. The Chinese may have felt that they were well within their rights to combat what was obviously a menace to Chinese society, but their actions could not have been more damaging to China's interests. The war that followed was one-sided. The British held every military advantage and occupied areas around Canton. In 1842, the Chinese were obliged to agree to the Treaty of Nanking, which ceded Hong Kong to Great Britain and opened up various ports to trade.
The United States and France approached China after the Treaty of Nanking, and demanded the same concessions. The idea of "most favored nation" took root in China, and to many Chinese, they became lower class citizens in their own country. The British and the French again defeated China in the Second Opium War (1856). In 1858, with the signing of the Treaty of Tientsin, foreigners (read missionaries) were allowed to travel unimpeded throughout China, and the Western nations were allowed to open embassies in Peking. This last concession is more important than it may seem. The Chinese revered their Emperor, and to allow "foreign devils" to live in the same city was a terrible insult. More ports were opened to trade, the Opium poured into China, Christian missionaries seemed to be on every street corner, and the Chinese Civil Administration became prostrate with corruption. In 1898, a movement of peasants calling themselves "Boxers", decided to remove the foreigners from China (initially the Boxers were protesting the insults inflicted on Chinese peasants by mostly American missionaries). The movement swelled to hundreds of thousands, and forced its way past Chinese authorities and occupied Peking. Cixi was powerless to stop the Boxers, and their intent to remove the foreign devils sounded promising, so she sided with the Movement as it laid siege to the foreign legation (the collection of Western embassies). Eventually a rescue army of Austrians, French, Brits, Russians and even Japanese troops crushed the Boxer rebellion. Cixi was allowed to stay on the throne, but another round of humiliating concessions were forced on China.
Imperial China died with Cixi (actually, Cixi was succeeded in 1908 by the child-emperor PuYi. His story is also a fascinating read, as he lived long enough to experience Mao's Cultural Revolution). Fast-forward to 2014, and one finds Chinese history books paint a less-than flattering portrayal of the West in the nineteenth century. I've seen a few translated versions, and not surprisingly, a bit of Sino-license has been applied. But just as the West had a monopoly on history in 1900, its China's turn to interpret history in a self-serving fashion. The few Chinese that I have had the pleasure to know are very aware that current Western accounts of the Opium Wars and the Boxer rebellion are much more accurate. But even in its accuracy, the greed and avarice with which the West conducted its China policy beggars shame. Less than 180 years ago, British and French diplomacy was centered around creating a nation of Opium addicts. I'm sure that many historians and armchair revisionists will disagree with my assessment, but there it is. As someone who on occasion has had delicate dealings with a number of Chinese, let me say that my respectful acceptance of the shameful behavior on behalf of the Western governments in the mid 19th century, was well-received and greatly appreciated.
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
What Are Chinese Students Taught About the West? (Part I)
Link: The Opium Wars
Part I
Within the diplomatic community it is well known that the Chinese (mainland) continue to harbor a certain amount of historic resentment towards the United States, Russia, and Europe. During my career, I raised this issue with every one of my Chinese contacts. I love history, and I have tried to get my hands around the China story. But its a monster, let me tell you. I decided to focus my intial foray into l'histoire chinoise on the last two centuries, give or take a few years. One book I recommend is "Dragon Lady", 1992 by Sterling Seagrave. The Dragon Lady of the title is none other than the Manchu Qing Dynasty's last true ruler, the Dowager Empress Cixi (Tzu Hsi). The manner in which history was allowed to treat the legacy of Cixi is a good example of why we so exasperate the Chinese. To many non-English speakers, it appeared that, until recently, the white, English-speaking male owned history. Cixi ruled for 47 years, from 1861 until her death in 1908. She was originally one of many concubines chosen for the Manchu Emperor Xianfeng, and when he died, was fortunate enough to have born his only son.
For the next half-century Cixi managed to survive all manner of internal disruptions, alongside the slow but methodical dismemberment of China by the Western Powers. I am not an apologist for Cixi; certainly she was involved in some decisions that are both cruel and hard to imagine. But she provided the European and American press no-end of gossip. Since no one was in a position to speak on behalf of the Empress Dowager (actually, a few brave souls tried and failed), a number of self-described "Chinese Historians" and "Sino-Experts" turned Cixi into the most evil, corrupt, lustful creature since, well, Nero. This perception was still accepted in the United States in 1963, when the blockbuster movie "55 Days at Peking" (an attempt to chronicle the 1898 Chinese Boxer Rebellion) introduced Cixi as the stereotypical cunning, deceptive Oriental who spoke perfect English! Thanks to a growing number of historians and Sterling Seagrave, Cixi's reputation has been somewhat recovered. But the average Chinese citizen can't hold a grudge just because of ol' Cixi, right? Actually, compared to the crimes committed by the Western Powers during the Opium Wars (and after), Cixi's vilification pales.
Some historians argue that the issue for the Chinese people is not the actual events that took place, but the attitude of "West is superior to East" than took root. Terms like "Chinese Laundry" became common. Most Americans are unaware of the part Chinese labor played in building the transcontinental railroad, not to mention the west coast communities of San Francisco and Los Angeles. But in my experience, it always comes back to the Opium Wars. I believe that the majority of Chinese are convinced that the era of the Opium Wars and the arrival of Christian Missionaries is when the West decided that the Chinese people were somehow inferior to Europeans.
(To be continued with Part II)
Part I
Within the diplomatic community it is well known that the Chinese (mainland) continue to harbor a certain amount of historic resentment towards the United States, Russia, and Europe. During my career, I raised this issue with every one of my Chinese contacts. I love history, and I have tried to get my hands around the China story. But its a monster, let me tell you. I decided to focus my intial foray into l'histoire chinoise on the last two centuries, give or take a few years. One book I recommend is "Dragon Lady", 1992 by Sterling Seagrave. The Dragon Lady of the title is none other than the Manchu Qing Dynasty's last true ruler, the Dowager Empress Cixi (Tzu Hsi). The manner in which history was allowed to treat the legacy of Cixi is a good example of why we so exasperate the Chinese. To many non-English speakers, it appeared that, until recently, the white, English-speaking male owned history. Cixi ruled for 47 years, from 1861 until her death in 1908. She was originally one of many concubines chosen for the Manchu Emperor Xianfeng, and when he died, was fortunate enough to have born his only son.
For the next half-century Cixi managed to survive all manner of internal disruptions, alongside the slow but methodical dismemberment of China by the Western Powers. I am not an apologist for Cixi; certainly she was involved in some decisions that are both cruel and hard to imagine. But she provided the European and American press no-end of gossip. Since no one was in a position to speak on behalf of the Empress Dowager (actually, a few brave souls tried and failed), a number of self-described "Chinese Historians" and "Sino-Experts" turned Cixi into the most evil, corrupt, lustful creature since, well, Nero. This perception was still accepted in the United States in 1963, when the blockbuster movie "55 Days at Peking" (an attempt to chronicle the 1898 Chinese Boxer Rebellion) introduced Cixi as the stereotypical cunning, deceptive Oriental who spoke perfect English! Thanks to a growing number of historians and Sterling Seagrave, Cixi's reputation has been somewhat recovered. But the average Chinese citizen can't hold a grudge just because of ol' Cixi, right? Actually, compared to the crimes committed by the Western Powers during the Opium Wars (and after), Cixi's vilification pales.
Some historians argue that the issue for the Chinese people is not the actual events that took place, but the attitude of "West is superior to East" than took root. Terms like "Chinese Laundry" became common. Most Americans are unaware of the part Chinese labor played in building the transcontinental railroad, not to mention the west coast communities of San Francisco and Los Angeles. But in my experience, it always comes back to the Opium Wars. I believe that the majority of Chinese are convinced that the era of the Opium Wars and the arrival of Christian Missionaries is when the West decided that the Chinese people were somehow inferior to Europeans.
(To be continued with Part II)
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