50 Years -- His Legacy Lives On

The year 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of American progressive journalist Edgar Snow, an old friend of the Chinese people. On November 16, Symposiumon on the 50th Anniversary of Edgar Snow’s Death was held in Beijing, jointly sponsored by China Society for People’s Friendship Studies, Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, China Center for Edgar Snow Studies and Edgar Snow Memorial Foundation. More than 100 people from all walks of life in China and the United States attended the event.

The symposium was presided over by Ambassador Liu Xinsheng, Executive President of PFS. He Liliang, Honorary President of PFS, Dwayne Williams, President of the Edgar Snow Memorial Foundation, Zhang Qian, Executive Vice President of Beijing People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Sun Hua, Director of the China Center for Edgar Snow Studies at Peking University, Eric Foster, representative of Snow's relatives, and other speakers addressed at the symposium successively.

He Liliang

Liu Xinsheng

Dwayne Williams

Sun Hua

Eric Foster

The speakers reviewed the life stories and historical contributions of Snow with deep feelings, thoroughly interpreted the spirit of Snow from different perspectives, and explained the significance of strengthening China-US friendship in the new era. They called on people from all walks of life in China and the US to become a new generation of “bridge builders” and promote the passing of the friendship torch between the two peoples. They call for more journalists like Snow to report on China with an objective and just attitude and without political bias, so as to share a real China with the world. They call for the strength of the people to become the source of the development of bilateral relations and contribute the “wisdom of the people” to the healthy and stable development of China-US relations.

The symposium was hosted by a number of professional organizations that study the history of China-US exchanges, including PFS, the China Center for Edgar Snow Studies at Peking University, and the US Edgar Snow Memorial Foundation. Professional research institutions, experts and scholars in China and the US all agree that although the circumstances of today are different from those of Snow’s time, the historical requirements for mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation between the two countries remain unchanged.

The main venue of the symposium was set up in Beijing People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and sub-venues were set up at Peking University, Yan’an Red Star Park, Kansas City, USA and other places.