The Chinese embassy in Israel reportedly threatened to downgrade its diplomatic relationship with the country — over an interview in which Taiwan’s top diplomat warned that China would use its sway to exercise undue influence against Israeli interests.
During an interview with the Jerusalem Post this week, Taiwanese minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu warned Israelis that deeper ties with China would make their country more susceptible to Beijing’s notorious bullying campaigns.
“Sometimes they use trade as a weapon, and we have seen them practicing their weaponized trade relations with many other countries,” he said. “They did it to Lithuania, they did it to the Czech Republic and they also did it to Australia. Sometimes they try to do that to Taiwan as well. So, when we do business with an authoritarian country, we need to be very careful.”
Chinese diplomats swiftly proved Wu’s warnings to be prescient, as they attempted to intimidate the Israel’s free press.
Soon after the interview went live on the outlet’s website on Sunday, the article’s author, Yaakov Katz, wrote on Twitter that the Chinese embassy in Israel called him and demanded that he take down the story or that China would “sever ties” with his outlet and “downgrade relations” with Israel.
Didn’t take long. Got call from Chinese embassy. Apparently I’m supposed to take down the story or they will sever ties with the @Jerusalem_Post and downgrade relations with the State of Israel. Needless to say, story ain’t going anywhere. https://t.co/BypRMTbc6W
— Yaakov Katz (@yaakovkatz) May 30, 2022
“Needless to say, story ain’t going anywhere,” Katz wrote.
Israel has welcomed Chinese investment in recent years, raising concerns in Washington that the trend could endanger the country. The Biden administration has reportedly raised the issue in closed door meetings with their Israeli counterparts. Earlier this year, two Chinese firms lost out on a bid to participate in an expansion of Tel Aviv’s train system amid the U.S. diplomatic effort.
Taiwan, meanwhile, has lost ground across the world, as China has successfully convinced a number of countries to abandon their ties with the democracy.
Wu’s comments to the Jersualem Post were part of a bid to convince Israel to seek a closer relationship with Taiwan. The two countries don’t have an official diplomatic relationship, and, as Katz’s piece noted, Wu is barred from visiting Israel in his official capacity. The article also cited reports that Israeli diplomats were barred earlier this month from interacting with their Taiwanese counterparts around the world.
Wu urged Israel’s leaders to pursue closer cooperation with Taiwan, which he said is striving to emulate Jerusalem’s approach to security.
He also urged them not to fear China’s anger: “A very prominent American diplomat told me that you must be doing something right when China gets upset. So don’t worry about China getting upset at you. When they get upset at you, that means you are doing something right.”
As Wu told the Jersualem Post, Beijing has also tried to retaliate against Australia and Lithuania, for failing to fall in line with its demands. One threat to a newspaper might not sound all that significant, but it’s one tool among others that include economic-warfare measures.
Already, Wu’s advice, offered to the backdrop of Chinese threats against yet another proud democracy where journalists can report freely, is showing its worth.