"100 Days to Tell 100 Stories of the Communist Party of China's Foreign Exchanges" No. 65
When Arafat is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is his iconic red-white-black or white-and-black turban. Arafat's turban is very unique, and it is said that this left ear-only scarf gives the turban an irregular map shape of Palestine. The leader, who is revered as the "Father of the Nation" of Palestine, explained solemnly: "This is my style, Arafat style. "Arafat devoted his life to the just cause of restoring the legitimate national rights of Palestine, but unfortunately his long-cherished wish for statehood has not been realized.
Palestine has had a troubled fate since ancient times. The land was settled by Jews, Persians, and Romans, and there were constant religious conflicts between Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. After World War II, Arabs and Israelis fought four major wars to establish their own states on the land, and many Palestinian Arabs were expelled from their homes and became refugees. In 1964, the Arafat-led Palestine Liberation Organization was formed and began formal armed resistance against the Israeli army. He was a palestinian hope and symbol of statehood, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, and a good friend of Chinese, who visited China many times and was received by national leaders such as Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, and Jiang Zemin.
Arafat was a big fan of Chairman Mao Zedong and studied many of his writings. Arafat's cronies recalled that there was a huge disparity in Arab-Israeli military strength at that time, but Arafat led the Palestinians in guerrilla warfare against Israel, which achieved good results. During those difficult and dangerous years, Arafat drew a lot of military wisdom, experience and confidence from Chairman Mao's writings on guerrilla warfare. Arafat especially liked the chairman's "Foolish Man Moves the Mountain" and read it many times. He said himself: "This spirit of Chinese is very precious, and it is not something that can be exchanged for money. The spirit of China is not to be afraid of imperialism. I am not afraid of imperialism, I am what Mao Zedong called 'foolishness', and I want to move away the mountain of imperialism! ”
President Jiang Zemin met with Arafat in 1994
At the end of 1991, after Arafat's visit to Southeast Asia and other countries, the special plane landed in Shanghai due to weather reasons and was warmly received by the Chinese side. Before leaving, Arafat happily signed a message at Hongqiao International Airport: "Long live the friendship between the people of Pakistan and China!" I would like to express my heartfelt thanks! Greetings to the people, China firmly adheres to the position of supporting Palestine, and we will stand shoulder to shoulder until victory! In 2000, Chinese Leader President Jiang Zemin met with visiting Palestinian President Arafat to discuss the issue of Palestine's declaration of statehood. At that time, Jiang Zemin said: "We have always believed that the Palestinian people enjoy the inalienable right to national self-determination, including the right to statehood. China respects the choice of the Pakistani people and recognized and established diplomatic relations with Pakistan as early as 1988. No matter what changes take place in the situation in the Middle East, the decisions you make will be supported by the Chinese Government and people as long as they conform to the interests of the Palestinian nation and are conducive to the just cause of the Palestinian people. ”
PLO leader Arafat visits the Chinese People's Liberation Army
Perhaps it is precisely because of this deep friendship that Arafat always visits China at an important moment when the Palestinian cause turns. Arafat has always stressed that China was the first non-Arab country to recognize Palestinian status. In addition, Arafat maintained the habit of having to have an annual exchange of views with Chinese leaders. Arafat's last visit to China in 2001. At that time, under the Oslo Accords, Palestine was already ready to build a state, and Arafat visited more than 20 countries in one month to gain broad international support. After coming to China, Arafat was warmly received by President Jiang Zemin, and the two had an in-depth exchange of views on some major issues.
Arafat died of illness in 2004. President Hu Jintao sent a message to Palestine to mourn the passing of Arafat, saying that Arafat was the preeminent leader of Palestine and that Chinese people had lost a great friend. Although Arafat came from a foreign country, his spirit of pursuing national independence resonated with the people of Chinese, and his love affair with China will be forever remembered in our hearts.