The speech of Zhang Weiwei to EIR’s “Epstein and the Bottomless Depravity of the ‘Elites’ —Urgent Need for a Cultural Renaissance!”
The speech of Zhang Weiwei to EIR’s “Epstein and the Bottomless Depravity of the ‘Elites’ —Urgent Need for a Cultural Renaissance!”
By Zhang Weiwei
The Executive Intelligence Review (EIR) organized an online forum on March 2, 2026, titled “Epstein and the Bottomless Depravity of the Elites – Urgent Need for a Cultural Renaissance!” Zhang Weiwei held a speech here. Below is the transcription.
Hello Madame Helga LaRouche, hello everyone. Today, really, the world is in crisis, in chaos. There is a lot of deeply intertwined turmoil and many crises: the war against Iran, launched by the United States and Israel; the Gaza conflict; the Greenland crisis; the Epstein files; extensive social divisions across many societies, and more. And though these events may seem unrelated, to my mind they are, in fact, deeply interconnected. They have challenged the bottom line of human conscience, the foundations of peace and justice, international law, basic human rights and our shared humanity. In my view, these crises are the inevitable outcome of several interrelated causes, such as the alienation of power from the people, both domestically and internationally, the practice of the law of the jungle and logic of might makes right, and widespread moral depravity among many Western elites. I think they also expose some profound structural contradictions within the Western political system. To overcome this predicament if possible, and indeed we have to urgently call for a cultural renaissance, one that Madame Helga LaRouche has advocated for many years.
Consider the Greenland crisis. It’s driven by hegemonic logic and narrow geopolitical self-interest. Consider the tragedy in Gaza. It lays bare blatant double standards with regard to human rights, etc., and it proves that the so-called rules-based order, international order, is merely a tool for the powerful and that the credibility of this order has collapsed. As for the Epstein files, they reveal the moral bankruptcy of many contemporary Western elites, where the law has become a protective shield for the privileged. The illegal war on Iran and the assassination of its Supreme Leader, represent a blatant disregard for international law and the basic principle of national sovereignty. Many social divisions plaguing the United States and other countries also reflect systemic failure. Partisan confrontation has evolved into widespread identity conflicts, unprecedented inequality, and racial division and other social crises, or they have fueled growing internal violence.
In part, the political elites deliberately divert public attention from domestic turmoil and tensions by stirring up external conflicts and even wars. All these events lead to one conclusion: the Western democratic model as practiced in the United States, and in many other countries, is trapped in a deep structural crisis, a crisis of institutional degeneration and governance failure, marked by poor leadership, governance incompetence and moral corruption. It’s high time we draw upon and share the wisdom from our diverse civilizations to reshape the foundational values of our society. More than 2,500 years ago, the Chinese philosopher Confucius compared the rulers and the elites to a boat, and the people, to water. He observed that water can carry the boat and can also overturn the boat. In other words, when rulers and the elites become seriously divorced from the people, they will eventually be abandoned by the people or even overthrown by the people.
The Chinese culture has long emphasized moral character and personal integrity of political leaders as the most essential criteria for such leaders. The Confucian teaching is: cultivate yourself, regulate your family, govern the state and bring peace to the world. So, self-cultivation and a harmonious family have long been regarded as fundamental requirements for legitimate leadership in China’s long history and for legitimate leaders in China’s long history. Broadly speaking, moral cultivation together with the ability to uphold justice and distinguish right from wrong, is a precondition for a good leader and good leadership. I believe other civilizations hold similar values of morality and integrity for their leaders. So I think we must pull the finest of wisdom from all the different civilizations to lay the foundation for a global cultural renaissance for the advancement of our shared humanity.
We draw upon the strength of different civilizations, promote cultural exchanges and mutual learning, and use the power of culture to end the prolonged alienation of power by its people, to end the supremacy or the power of capital, to eradicate moral depravity and cultural decline, and to reject the law of the jungle and the belief that might is right. We must firmly uphold the international legal system centered on the UN Charter. So, let a global cultural renaissance light the way forward for the one humanity, for our humanity. Thank you all.