Ahmatjan Abudkelim, Xinjiang Radio and Television Station

Mike Pompeo has made a series of fabricated remarks on Xinjiang, China over a period of time. He has intentionally smeared human rights in Xinjiang, discredited the Chinese government’s efforts in eradicating extremism and combating terrorism,and attacking its governance in Xinjiang.He has violated the international laws and disobeyed the basic principles of international relations and interfered with China’s domestic affairs. He has incited the relations among ethnic groups and written off the achievements in Xinjiang, turning a deaf ear to people’s true feelings. What he has done reveals once again his ugliness and vicious intention of hegemony. Being a local resident in Xinjiang, I feel very indignant with and strongly oppose what he has done.

I am Ahmatjan Abudkelim, a Uyghur, news reporter and anchor working at Xinjiang Radio and Television Station.I was born in 1973 into an intellectual family in Kashgar, my father being a veteran, my mother an accountant. My profession in journalism has enabled me to witness that people of all ethnic backgrounds,including the Uyghur are living a better life and Kashgar, and all the other parts of Xinjiang have seen dramatic change.Growing up in a place where a number of ethnic groups, including Han, Uyghur, Hui,etc living in harmony, playing together, going to schools together, I have made friends with people of different ethnic backgrounds and enjoyed close friendship with neighbors and friends.In 1992 I became a freshman in Xinjiang Institute of Finance and Economics (now Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics). During the six years at college, subsidized by the national fund and enjoying tuition exemption, we Uyghur students were supported to complete our education.We were taken good care of living on campus by teachers and students of different ethnic backgrounds lived in harmony as members in a big family. At the beginning of my freshman year, I met some difficulties and many Han students offered help to me. Guo Qiang, one among them, helped me with my study on a daily basis.With their help and encouragements, I was able to make great progress in learning and graduated with honor. There are numerous cases like mine which have brought warmth in my life and made me feel so grateful for living in a huge harmonious family like ours.

After graduation in 1998, I was assigned to work at Xinjiang Radio and Television Station and became an anchor because of my voice. To make me fit into the profession, many seniors instructed me with care, teaching me how to pronounce, how to express with emotion, some of whom are Han broadcasters.They shared with me their experiences, accompanied me when I practised. Thanks to their instructions, my professional skills were promoted and I became a qualified broadcaster and anchor. Over the years, I have reaped a number of national and regional honors in broadcasting, which is indispensable with their help and instructions.Along with my personal growth, our programs have seen development as the contents have become richer, excellent, and better serving the audience’s need.We owe what we’ve achieved in career as Uyghur journalists and broadcasting profession to our government for its great attention to the development of regional news and broadcasting and sustained annual fund for broadcasting equipment and training of professionals.

My personal growth story is a miniature of the progress and development of the Uyghur group in Xinjiang. Now all the Uyghur enjoy good education,employment, health care, pension and security and all the rights are safeguarded.Xinjiang is at the best time of boom in history.I attribute all that we enjoy now to the Communist Party for its strong leadership, to all the people in the country,for their strong support, and the joint efforts made by people in Xinjiang for their solidarity and aspiration to make progress.The lunatic slander and smear of Pompeo and his gang do not and will not prevent Xinjiang from developing.Any such intention to do harm to the harmony and stability of Xinjiang and curb China from developing does not and will not succeed.