The Allied victory over fascism in World War II left a shared memory and an enduring spirit. At a symposium ahead of Victory Day on September 3, Chinese officials emphasized the common struggle on the main eastern battlefield that secured a hard-won peace.
"Eighty years ago, people from all over the world closely united under the banner of anti-fascism, transcending national borders, racial and ideological differences, sharing a common hatred and fighting bravely," He told Wang Gang, Deputy Minister of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee. "They achieved a great victory in the anti-fascist war, established a new international order after the war, and demonstrated the iron law that justice will always triumph over evil and light will eventually dispel darkness."
It was this shared spirit, created between the Chinese people and the foreign friends who came to help and document the war-torn country, that made victory possible.
Among them was Eric Foster, nephew of renowned Western journalists Helen Foster Snow and Edgar Snow, who, like many others, felt a deep calling to come to China.
"Ever since I was little, I always wanted to come to China because my mother told me stories about my famous aunt and uncle and how they were good friends with Mao Zedong," He said Eric Foster for CGTN. "So I finally came back in 2010. And because I just felt I had to come, because I felt it was my destiny."
In his 1937 book Red Star Over China, Edgar Snow offered a vivid and compelling picture of the then "mysterious" Chinese Communist Party, showing how it led the revolution and brought dignity and equality to the people.
Edgar Snow's groundbreaking work left a lasting impact on global perceptions of China at the time.
Michael Crookthe son of British Communist David Crook, said the book "Red Star Over China" was the reason his father came to China. "When he read the book, he was so moved that he decided: I want to go to China."
The Crook family has built a deep and lasting bond with China. David Crook met his Canadian wife Isabel Crook in China. In the late 1940s, the couple traveled to liberated areas led by the Communist Party of China, where they conducted research on land reforms in rural villages and produced two influential sociological works. "Now, if some people or some countries, governments, try to deny that the fight against fascism is a good thing for all the people of the world, people from other countries should know that the fight against fascism is beneficial for all," Michael Crook said.
Saturday's seminar also launched new initiatives, including academic, archival and media programs, aimed at passing on the spirit that Edgar Snow embodies.
"We hope that not only can we relive the tremendous contributions of these international friends to China during the war of resistance against Japanese aggression, but more importantly, we can empower more young people to become people who know and love China and tell the stories of China and the world in a new era," He said Sun Hua, director of the Edgar Snow Center for Studies at Peking University, told CGTN.
Eric Foster shared his thoughts on the shared history reminder. "It's very important to hold these types of events to remember the history and see what happened back then and try to educate more people about this important history so that it doesn't happen again in the future," He said.
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