PRESS RELEASE
Helga Zepp-LaRouche Appears on CCTV Broadcast Commemorating End of World War II in Asia and the Defeat of Fascism
Sept. 3, 2014 (EIRNS)—Helga Zepp-LaRouche appeared Wednesday on the prime-time CCTV news analysis show "Dialogue—Ideas Matter" as part of a panel discussing why China had decided to establish Sept. 3 as a national day of commemoration of the defeat of fascism in Asia. Helga appeared live in the studio along with Tao Wenzhao, a Research Fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). Yoichi Shimatsu, the former editor of Japan Times Weekly, participated via satellite.
In response to a question about the Japanese government’s bellicose policies towards China, Helga made the larger point that President Obama has launched an Asia pivot, centered on a new military doctrine called Air Sea Battle, which is a source of instability in the region. She cited Obama’s announcement in April 2014 that the U.S. was shifting from a policy of neutrality on territorial disputes between Japan and China towards a policy of backing Japan’s territorial claims.
Asked about how the China-Japan relationship could be improved, Helga addressed the question from the standpoint of Germany, which committed horrible crimes during the Second World War, but fully confessed to those crimes and has now emerged as a trusted nation. She cited the continuing cover-up by Japan of the Nanking Massacre and called for the creation of a commission to conduct an honest and independent historic study as a starting point for establishing trust. She cited Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s role in the drafting of the postwar Japanese peace constitution and noted Prime Minister Abe’s reinterpretation of that document with the backing of Obama. She pointedly stated that, in an age of thermonuclear weapons, conflicts cannot be solved by wars. She emphasized that this is not just a problem in the Pacific, but is a global problem, noting that NATO is encircling Russia and that we are, thus, on the verge of a potential catastrophe.
In the final exchange of the 22-minute broadcast, Helga was asked about Abenomics and the implications of the just-concluded Abe summit in Tokyo with Indian Prime Minister Modi. Helga observed that there is another primary dynamic in the region that is driving the economic situation in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. She cited Xi Jinping’s New Silk Road, the recently signed Russia-China strategic partnership, the BRICS summit in Brazil, and the follow-up meetings between the BRICS leaders and the heads of state of the rest of the South American countries, the AIIB, and the NDB. She described all of these developments as very promising and contrasted them to Abenomics, which have drawn Japan deeper into the system of London and Wall Street finance that is headed for a major crash. She cited the failure of the U.S., following the Sept. 2008 crisis, to solve the problem of the too-big-to-fail banks, noting that they are 40 percent bigger today than they were before the 2008 blowout. She said that the London and Wall Street system is headed for a blowout and Japan is too closely linked to avoid the damage. She contrasted this to the system of project financing that is emerging as an alternative being adopted by many nations.
Both of the other guests shared some of Helga’s criticisms of the Abe and Obama policies, particularly the right-wing militarist turn in Japan since Abe came into power; but were more inclined to hope that a de-escalation of tensions would come about.
"Dialogue—Ideas Matter" reaches a large audience inside China and has a subscribership of 80 million worldwide.
