Abduniyaz Abla, Publicity Department of the Communist Party Committee of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region

Recently, a farce titled “My Lies” directed and starred by Pompeo was the most ridiculous and worst “movie” I have ever seen. This notorious liar spread a large number of untrue stories about Xinjiang, deliberately smeared it, and attempted to sow dissensions among ethnic groups in it. Pompeo, a poor “actor”, is unscrupulous, despicable and shameless, who has no professional quality and moral bottom line at all.

On Xinjiang-related issues, no one is in a better position to judge than people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Pompeo falsely accused the Communist Party of China of committing “crimes against humanity” against the Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities.This slander is utterly absurd. In fact, thanks to the care of the Communist Party of China, we are able to eat delicious food, wear beautiful clothes, enjoy the good education, get the better medical care, and live in warm and spacious houses. People of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang now live a happy life.

As a Uyghur youth born in the 1980s, every aspect of my growth is inseparable from the care of the Communist Party and the government. Growing up in a small county of south Xinjiang, I went to primary and middle schools mainly taught in minority languages. Since 2000, the Communist Party and the government have started high school classes in inland developed cities for Xinjiang minority students, providing the best learning environment, enabling us to learn knowledge in a more systematic and comprehensive way, broadening our vision and letting us know how to move forward towards our goals. Without the care and concern of the Party, as a rural child it is hard for me to imagine working in a big city in the future. So I want to tell Pompeo, “Shut up! Stop telling lies with your eyes open!”

Pompeo falsely accused Xinjiang of suppressing religious freedom and depriving ethnic minority citizens of their right to practice religion.This slander is most despicable.The Communist Party and the government fully respect and protect the freedom of religious belief and the customs of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. Growing up in south Xinjiang, I have seen many people who are Muslims, including some relatives and friends, and many people who don’t believe in any religion. It is a completely independent choice of people to believe in, or not believe in, any religion. No organization or individual may compel people to believe in, or not believe in, any religion; nor may they interfere in people’s normal religious activities. No one suffers discrimination for believing in any religion. In order to ensure that believers carry out normal religious activities, the Party and the government have invested a lot to improve the infrastructure of places for religious activities. In Xinjiang, ethnic groups enjoy harmonious relations and respect each other’s customs and eating habits. During festivals, you can see “relatives” composed of all ethnic groups paying greetings to each other everywhere. So I want to say to Pompeo, “Shut up! Don't be so shameless!”

Pompeo falsely accused Xinjiang of committing “genocide” against the Uyghurs. This slander is most hateful. As a Uyghur, what I see is that the Communist Party and the government protect, inherit and carry forward the excellent traditional cultures of all ethnic groups in accordance with the law. They positively collected, protected, published and rescued many ancient books including the Uyghur’s Wisdom of Fortune and Joy and A Comprehensive Turki Dictionary, which are on the verge of extinction. The Uyghur Muqam art was registered on the “UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity”. The Muqam Art Troupe and other art troupes have been established to explore, inherit, research, collect and perform classical Uyghur folk songs. At present, books on Uyghur culture can be found in bookstores in the autonomous region. Visitors to Xinjiang can experience Uyghur culture everywhere and enjoy the beautiful dances and songs of the Uyghur people.The Party and the government also protect the right of all ethnic groups to use and develop their own spoken and written languages in accordance with the law. The spoken and written languages of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang are widely used in such areas as judicature, administration, education, press and publishing, radio and television, internet, and public affairs. Billboards with Uyghur language can be seen in all the streets and alleys. In particular, Xinjiang’s radio and television station has multilingual radio and television programs, including Uyghur language programs, and the Xinjiang Daily is published in several languages, including the Uyghur language, which is a major feature of Xinjiang. So I want to say to Pompeo, “Shut up! Don’t fabricate lies out of thin air and distort reality!”

In the face of facts, lies are always lies. It is the compelling obligation of all Chinese people to refute the lies, tell the truth, and let the people of the whole country and even the world know the real Xinjiang. I believe that the lies spread by Pompeo will be surely discarded by people with discerning eyes.