A commemorative conference for the 120th anniversary of US journalist Edgar Snow was held last Friday at the University of Beijing, highlighting the reporter’s role in promoting understanding between China and the United States.
Born in 1905 at Missouri, Snow gained international prominence after visiting, in 1936, the base of the Communist Party of China (CCP) in Shaanxi. There he interviewed leaders such as Mao Zedong and recorded unpublished reports about the long march and the lives of communist soldiers. The material gave rise to the book Red Star over Chinapublished in 1937, which offered the western world one of the first detailed views of the Chinese Revolution.
During the event, the president of the Xinhua news agency, Fu Hua, described Snow as “a sincere friend of the Chinese people and an emissary of China-Eua relations.” Samuel Colin MacLean, a relative of the journalist and representative of the Harvard University Fairbank Center, argued that Snow’s legacy is looking for honest and uncomplicated communication between distinct cultures.
Experts also stressed the importance of the book in building a united front against Japanese aggression during World War II and its influence to attract international support to the Chinese cause.
The conference was organized by the University of Beijing and the Xinhua Institute and was attended by family and scholars of Edgar Snow’s work, who highlighted their spirit of courage, curiosity and commitment to the truth.
Source: https://www.chinahoje.net/china-homenageia-edgar-snow-jornalista-que-revelou-o-partido-comunista-ao-mundo/
