China Seminar | 10 April 2014

Israel in My Mind – Perspectives from a Chinese Foreign Correspondent

MA Xiaoyan

Israel is a small, narrow country on the southeastern coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. Over thousands of years, the Land has been a center of conflicts with many powers as to its strategic and religious significance. In modern days, the dynamic peace process between Israelis and Palestinians constantly draw the attention of international society. It also has an unavoidable impact on the geopolitical situation of the Middle East, where the wider Israel-Arab dispute remains unsolved. Of the whole Land of Canaan, Jerusalem is regarded as the holiest and the most charismatic city to three religions–Judaism, Christianity and Islam. For tourists, it is absolutely an exotic place in terms of culture, history, customs, as well as people’s daily lives. China’s Xinhua News Agency correspondent shares her three-year experience in Israel, together with presenting the first-hand news photos and videos, so that you will have a glimpse of the Jewish state.

Ma Xiaoyan (Shir) graduated from Peking University in 2003 with BA in Hebrew and Economics. She worked as a permanent correspondent for Xinhua’s Jerusalem Bureau from 2006-2009, mainly covering news of Israeli domestic politics, foreign affairs, Israel-Palestine conflicts, high-tech, culture, etc. She had reported about the second Israel-Labanon conflicts in 2006, the Israeli military attack against the Gaza Strip in 2007 and 2008, Israeli legislative election in 2009, etc.