Decades of communist subversion by China underlie the terror currently witnessed in the Middle East.
Try searching for “Israel” on China’s biggest search engine Baidu—the nation’s name is no longer on the map.
The discovery, which caught many in China by surprise on Oct. 30, is the latest twist in a calculated silence by the regime in Beijing, in contrast to other major world powers that have rushed to Israel’s side.
Positioning itself as a mediator and advocate for peace, the regime has criticized Israel for going too far in its counterattack against Hamas.
As hostility proliferates against Israel on China’s heavily censored internet and in state media, the terrorist group responsible for the deadly assault hasn’t elicited a single mention in official statements coming out of Beijing.
Pressed twice during a recent news briefing why Chinese authorities had refused to “say the word ‘Hamas,’” a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson maintained that the regime stands for justice and opposes “all violent attacks.”
It’s “basically a different way of siding with Hamas,” Miles Yu, a China policy adviser at the U.S. State Department during the Trump administration, told The Epoch Times.
To Mr. Yu and other China watchers, Beijing’s reticence is little more than a facade. Far from being the peace advocate that it asserts to be, he said, the regime is “giddy about all the crises elsewhere in the world” that divert attention away from its own ambitions.
‘Ultimate Enabler’
Since Hamas carried out its horrific attack on Israel on Oct. 7, much scrutiny has been directed at Iran over its alleged role in making it possible, with reports suggesting that Tehran furnished the Hamas terrorists with training and logistical support.
Iran hasn’t been shy in demonstrating its support for Hamas. The regime cheered the rampage as a “historic victory,” organized rallies in support of Palestinians, and vowed to “continue cooperation” in advancing the group’s goals. It provides about $100 million annually to Palestinian groups such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, according to a State Department report from 2020. In 2022, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh publicly said the group had received about $70 million from Iran that year, which it used to make rockets.
By Eva Fu