History often repeats itself. Not only we can learn from historical events, we can certainly borrow the way our ancestors handling crisis. In the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict, politic leaders from both sides may consider adopting the model of Jinmen artillery bombardment to continue their exchange of fires. In this case, not only precious human life could be saved, the war status between the two sides could also be retained.
About 70 years ago, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Kuomintang (KMT) were fighting for the ruling right of China. The 10-year civil war ended in the CPC proclaiming the birth of the People Republic of China (PRC) in the mainland in 1949. On the other hand, the KMT retreated to Taiwan, and there, the Republic of China (ROC) was continued. During the early stages of separation, both the PRC and the ROC claimed to be the sole legitimate government of China. Military confrontations broke out routinely across the Taiwan Strait in order to unify China. With the outbreak of the Korea War and US military commitment in the Far East, Taiwan was survived from the military assault by the mainland. Since then, separation between the mainland and Taiwan became the status quo. Continuous efforts by the CPC and the KMT have been devoted to unify the mainland and Taiwan. These efforts included sporadic military and covert actions at the early stage, and have evolved to more pragmatic and peaceful means nowadays, such as economic, cultural and political exchanges.
During the early stages of separation, cross-Strait relations were characterized by non-contact and animosity. Military confrontations were found along the coast line of the mainland as well as the outer islands of Taiwan. As the military confrontations continued, both sides realized that the chance of winning the other was diminishing. The military confrontations had gradually evolved to a more symbolic one, commonly known as the Jinmen artillery bombardment. In Jinmen artillery bombardment, both sides continued to bombard each other, on alternate days of the week, with shells containing propaganda leaflets. This informal arrangement continued from the 1950s until the normalization of Sino-US relations in 1979.
In the example of Jinmen artillery bombardment, political rivals had accepted the fact that they were incapable of overthrowing the other. Instead of letting the causalities to mount and the economy to deteriorate, they took a more pragmatic approach – to replace the real warheads with propaganda materials. By doing that, the symbolic meaning of war was preserved and the real war was replaced by a propaganda war. Both sides could then focus on the economic development which is more beneficial to the people. Of course the international and domestic political scenes had also contributed to this. Nevertheless, the example demonstrated how human life could be saved and become better off by the innovative minds and approaches of political leaders.
The model of Jinmen artillery bombardment could be adopted by Israelis and the Palestinians (the Hamas in specific) in pursuing perpetual peace in the Middle East. Militarily, the Israelis have been equipped with the world’s most advanced machineries. Needless to say, they also have the backing of the world’s most powerful nation, the United States. With a divided Arab nation at its back, the Palestinians would never be able to resolve the problem by military means. Although there have been false hopes in pursuing resolution by radical means such as weapons of mass destruction and terrorist attacks. The price for the former approach is far too high as Israel and Palestine are adjacent to each other. Needless to say, there are other Arab states in the region and would certainly avoid such attacks from happening. In case of resorting to terrorist means, it only tarnishes the reputation of the Palestinian and loses the sympathy of the international society, and more pragmatically the financial aids. Besides, the casualties would always be the innocent Israelis and Palestinians. Politically, the Palestinians have been drawing the attention and sympathy of the international society over the past decade. They have regained autonomy in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, despite Israeli's continuous settlement activities in the West Bank and it is not the Palestine as they proclaim. Moreover, the US and Israel have become more tolerable to the existence of a Palestinian state. All these positive developments are the fruits of continuous negotiation to resolve differences and to foster trust. Furthermore, these developments are the results from the lives of many innocent people, not just Israelis and Palestinians. It would be a selfish act to drain all these by the irresponsible acts of a few. Economically, there are no winners in this conflict, may be the arms dealer if there was really one. Ironically, it has always been the Palestinian people who suffer more in all the upheavals. Many Palestinians are still living in extreme poverty, especially those in the Gaza Strip. At the Israelis’ side, people are living under anxiety. This hinders the normal development of both societies. In an era when everyone focuses on economic development it would be a shame to find oneself terribly falling behind whilst everybody else has a substantial economic growth. Finally, the political leaders have no rights to deprive their people from a normal life.
About 70 years ago, the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Kuomintang (KMT) were fighting for the ruling right of China. The 10-year civil war ended in the CPC proclaiming the birth of the People Republic of China (PRC) in the mainland in 1949. On the other hand, the KMT retreated to Taiwan, and there, the Republic of China (ROC) was continued. During the early stages of separation, both the PRC and the ROC claimed to be the sole legitimate government of China. Military confrontations broke out routinely across the Taiwan Strait in order to unify China. With the outbreak of the Korea War and US military commitment in the Far East, Taiwan was survived from the military assault by the mainland. Since then, separation between the mainland and Taiwan became the status quo. Continuous efforts by the CPC and the KMT have been devoted to unify the mainland and Taiwan. These efforts included sporadic military and covert actions at the early stage, and have evolved to more pragmatic and peaceful means nowadays, such as economic, cultural and political exchanges.
During the early stages of separation, cross-Strait relations were characterized by non-contact and animosity. Military confrontations were found along the coast line of the mainland as well as the outer islands of Taiwan. As the military confrontations continued, both sides realized that the chance of winning the other was diminishing. The military confrontations had gradually evolved to a more symbolic one, commonly known as the Jinmen artillery bombardment. In Jinmen artillery bombardment, both sides continued to bombard each other, on alternate days of the week, with shells containing propaganda leaflets. This informal arrangement continued from the 1950s until the normalization of Sino-US relations in 1979.
In the example of Jinmen artillery bombardment, political rivals had accepted the fact that they were incapable of overthrowing the other. Instead of letting the causalities to mount and the economy to deteriorate, they took a more pragmatic approach – to replace the real warheads with propaganda materials. By doing that, the symbolic meaning of war was preserved and the real war was replaced by a propaganda war. Both sides could then focus on the economic development which is more beneficial to the people. Of course the international and domestic political scenes had also contributed to this. Nevertheless, the example demonstrated how human life could be saved and become better off by the innovative minds and approaches of political leaders.
The model of Jinmen artillery bombardment could be adopted by Israelis and the Palestinians (the Hamas in specific) in pursuing perpetual peace in the Middle East. Militarily, the Israelis have been equipped with the world’s most advanced machineries. Needless to say, they also have the backing of the world’s most powerful nation, the United States. With a divided Arab nation at its back, the Palestinians would never be able to resolve the problem by military means. Although there have been false hopes in pursuing resolution by radical means such as weapons of mass destruction and terrorist attacks. The price for the former approach is far too high as Israel and Palestine are adjacent to each other. Needless to say, there are other Arab states in the region and would certainly avoid such attacks from happening. In case of resorting to terrorist means, it only tarnishes the reputation of the Palestinian and loses the sympathy of the international society, and more pragmatically the financial aids. Besides, the casualties would always be the innocent Israelis and Palestinians. Politically, the Palestinians have been drawing the attention and sympathy of the international society over the past decade. They have regained autonomy in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, despite Israeli's continuous settlement activities in the West Bank and it is not the Palestine as they proclaim. Moreover, the US and Israel have become more tolerable to the existence of a Palestinian state. All these positive developments are the fruits of continuous negotiation to resolve differences and to foster trust. Furthermore, these developments are the results from the lives of many innocent people, not just Israelis and Palestinians. It would be a selfish act to drain all these by the irresponsible acts of a few. Economically, there are no winners in this conflict, may be the arms dealer if there was really one. Ironically, it has always been the Palestinian people who suffer more in all the upheavals. Many Palestinians are still living in extreme poverty, especially those in the Gaza Strip. At the Israelis’ side, people are living under anxiety. This hinders the normal development of both societies. In an era when everyone focuses on economic development it would be a shame to find oneself terribly falling behind whilst everybody else has a substantial economic growth. Finally, the political leaders have no rights to deprive their people from a normal life.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is more complex than one could anticipate: the historical factors, the geopolitics, the diverse interests among the major powers, the power struggles within the Arab nations, etc. The conflict requires goodwill from all the stakeholders to resolve, particularly courage and innovative approaches from the political leaders. If Hamas and the Palestinian militants would like to continue bombarding the Israelis for the sake of propaganda or to draw the attention from the world, why don’t they consider our experience, the Jinmen artillery bombardment approach. This not only saves a lot of the innocent, it would provide a peaceful and stable environment for both nations to endeavor for their economies and to provide a better life to their people. After all it is human life we treasure most.
