Snow's legacy seen as bridge for understanding in divided world

Edgar Snow's legacy of truthful reporting, open dialogue, and people-to-people understanding remains relevant in today's world, participants said at a symposium held at Peking University on Tuesday, 90 years after the American journalist's journey to northern Shaanxi.

The event, titled Legacy of Edgar Snow: International Symposium on Contemporary Value and Inspiration to the World, brought together members of Snow's family, representatives of the Edgar Snow Memorial Foundation in the United States, Chinese and foreign Snow researchers, and experts and scholars from various fields.

Snow traveled to northern Shaanxi in 1936 and became the first Western journalist to conduct field interviews in the Chinese revolutionary base areas. His book Red Star Over China later offered many readers outside China an early and influential account of the Communist Party of China, the Red Army, and the Chinese revolution.

A statement authored by Snow's daughter and read by his great-grandnephew, Samuel Colin Maclean, noted that Snow "firmly believed that the role of a journalist was to see the facts and report on them freely, independently, and accurately".

"When he saw progress, he reported it. When he saw problems, he reported those too," she said, adding that Snow would want to be remembered as "a friend of the Chinese people" and "a truth-seeking journalist who strove to promote better understanding and peaceful relations among peoples and nations."

Sidne Ward, president of the Edgar Snow Memorial Foundation in the United States, said the symposium was not only an occasion to remember Snow, but also a chance to reflect on the enduring relevance of his legacy in today's interconnected world.

Snow believed in understanding, curiosity, and dialogue, as well as the courage to enter different circumstances and listen to different voices, Ward said. Through his reporting, Snow helped people see one another more clearly, she added.

Ward said there is no more important relationship at this time than that between China and the United States, adding that Snow's legacy is now sustained by a vibrant international network rather than by one institution or one country alone.

Rigorous reporting, scholarship, and sincere human connection remain essential in reducing misunderstanding and promoting mutual understanding, Ward said. Snow's greatest legacy, she added, lies not only in the stories he told, but also in the bridges he helped build between peoples and cultures.

He Guangcai, secretary of the CPC Peking University Committee, said Snow broke through blockades in 1936 to conduct field interviews in the revolutionary base areas at a time when the outside world had limited understanding of the CPC.

Through his words and images, Snow recorded the realities of the Chinese revolution and opened an important window for the world to understand the CPC and the ideals and mission of Chinese Communists, He said.

Looking back on Snow's life, He said his legacy offers important lessons for today, including a commitment to truth, facts, and firsthand observation, as well as a humanistic concern for peace and equality.

At the symposium, a think tank report on the contemporary value and global significance of Snow's legacy was released, and a global research program on Edgar Snow was launched.