Habibaay Wayit, Xinjiang Museum

As an ethnic minority cadre who was born and raised in Xinjiang and has been trained by the Communist Party for many years, I will speak with facts and firmly debunk Pompeo’s Xinjiang-related lies. Pompeo’s allegation that the Chinese government is committing “genocide” in Xinjiang is totally groundless and is another farce to smear China.

From September 2019 to January 2021, I was assigned by the Cultural and Tourism Department of the Autonomous Region and the Museum of the Autonomous Region to work as a volunteer teacher in the kindergarten of Tuowankelangan Village, Yingairike Town, Awati County, Aksu Prefecture. The place where I volunteered to teach is one of the more remote villages in south Xinjiang. Before my departure, I thought that all kinds of conditions at the grassroots level might be poor, and the hardware facilities and conditions of the kindergarten should be far from satisfactory. However, beyond my imagination, when I came to the village, I saw a clean and tidy yard of the kindergarten, which was filled with various flowers and fruit trees, a wide and safe outdoor venue equipped with various outdoor large toys, bright and spacious classrooms, comfortable and warm dorms, fully functional activity rooms, unique dining rooms and standardized kitchen facilities, which let me have a new understanding of rural kindergartens.

After work, I would visit the students’ homes. When I walked into their houses, I saw that each house had a grand door, a big entrance hall, a clean countyard, nice and neat living rooms and bedrooms, and some villagers had installed wall-hung stoves, under-floor heating, modern kitchens and bathrooms equipped with water heaters and toilets, which made me feel like living in a city.

Today, every farmer has a smartphone in his hand and a router in his home for wireless Internet access. Many farmers are eager to learn how to do business or find jobs online to make money. The surplus labor of many families or farmers with basic education have left the village to work outside for making money, changing their old mindset. Villagers attach more and more importance to education; parents are very concerned about their children’s study; each family tries its best to create a good learning environment for their children. They all realize that knowledge is wealth.

At the same time, the national health examination covers every village and every household. Policies benefiting the people, such as medical insurance, social security and labor and employment security, are also constantly protecting the better life of farmers. During my time as a volunteer teacher, I have seen people of all ethnic groups live and work in peace and contentment. Women of all ethnic groups enjoy prenatal and postnatal care under the premise of ensuring basic living standards. There is no “forced birth control” that Pompeo claimed.

What about life in Xinjiang? Those of us who live here have the best say. People of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang lead a happy life.The people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang live and work in peace and contentment. There is no room for any interference from outside forces, let alone irresponsible remarks and slanders by Pompeo. Any attempt to undermine Xinjiang’s prosperity and stability and contain China’s development is doomed to fail.

Xinjiang’s stability, harmony, prosperity and development have not come easily. People of all ethnic groups love and cherish even more. No slander can stop the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang from marching forward in unity.