As if the Israeli-Palestinian conflict needed more drama, we have Beijing getting involved, making a move that would make Tehran, Hezbollah, and Hamas blush. It’s a Hitlerian move, something that would excite any antisemite. They’re not peddling Nazi propaganda, but it’s something that’s been heard on college campuses nationwide recently. It relates to China’s map resources. The faculties at Harvard and Yale would especially approve of what China has done with their maps.
It seems that the CCP has chosen to remove Israel entirely. That’s right. The Jewish state has been erased from the nation’s geographic materials. The Wall Street Journal reported Chinese users being perplexed at the disappearance of Israel from China’s maps. Beijing is reportedly very attentive about geography. The nation has been ambiguous on the Israel-Palestine front, which makes this case with the maps a bit more interesting, though not in a good way (via WSJ):
The WSJ is reporting that Chinese internet users are noting that digital maps on sites like Alibaba have maps that don’t name the state of Israel on them.
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) October 31, 2023
This comes as the Chinese government is aligning itself with Palestinians and moving away from the Israeli government.…
Internet users in China are expressing bewilderment that the name Israel doesn’t appear on leading online digital maps from Baidu and Alibaba, an ambiguity that matches Beijing’s vague diplomacy in the region and contrasts with its attentiveness to maps generally
Baidu’s Chinese language online maps demarcate the internationally recognized borders of Israel, as well as the Palestinian territories, plus key cities, but don’t clearly identify the country by name. The same is true with online maps produced by Alibaba’s Amap, where even small nations like Luxembourg are clearly marked. Neither company responded to questions on Monday. It is unclear whether the development is new, though it has been discussed by Chinese internet users since war broke out.
China’s government has over the years cried foul and levied fines over maps published elsewhere online, such as on hotel websites, for failing to strictly adhere to Beijing’s territorial claims, like leaving off a nine-dotted line stretching around the South China Sea that isn’t internationally recognized.
Ilhan Omar would be so happy. Rashida Tlaib might break down in tears again. As we’ve witnessed through demonstrations, there are hordes of jihadi trash among us, voicing openly for a Jewish genocide and the destruction of Israel. China is providing official maps to that effect.