Turhong Rozi, the Head of the United Front Work Department of the CPC Yecheng County Committee

Recently Mike Pompeo and Adrian Zenz made a series of false remarks on Xinjiang, calumniating that in Xinjiang “the freedom of religious belief is restricted and sabotaged”. Their evil purpose was to try to once again smear China’s image by means of so-called religious issues and to instigate tension among ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

I was born in a village and my parents are village management officials. My parents were far-sighted and they insisted that I should learn the standard national language as long as I was able to speak and to learn. Form childhood I and my Han friends played together, studied together and grew up together. In June, 1991 after graduation I began to work in Yilikeqi Town and from that time on I have formed a profound friendship with Wu Wande, also a Han. In our daily life, if I have made such food as yogurt, boiling steamed buns, roast steamed buns or special finger-grasping rice, I would take them to my friend Wu’s family in the first place, while Wu would often send fresh watermelons, sweet melons, apples, peaches, vegetables and eggs to my family as friendship gifts. On holidays and festivals, we visit each others’ family. Our relationship is so harmonious and we are just like one family. There is no such thing as ethnic between us! At that time, my family’s condition was quite nice but Wu’s family was quite poor. I and my family would do our best to help and support him and his family.

From September, 1997 to August, 2000, I went to Xinjiang Party School to study economic management. That is the first time that I traveled out of Kashgar and the first time I took a train to travel to Urumqi. From January 2000 to November 2001, I transferred to work in the city of Shihezi. The studying and working experience in Urumqi and Shihezi expanded my view and enabled me to form a profound friendship between me and my classmates and colleagues. So far I have been working for over 30 years, but I still keep in close touch with them. We often talk in telephone and wechat, sending greetings and blessings.

Looking back at the years of growing up, I would like to say that every step of it is under the care and attention of the Party and with the ethnic unity. I hold utmost gratitude to my parents and teachers of primary school and secondary school. I thank them heartily for teaching and educating me with great patience and I am so grateful to the support from the Party, which enabled me to form the idea of ethnic unity from a very early age at the bottom of my heart. Whenever I am thinking about these wonderful events in my growing up, I was so proud and full of pride.

However, Pompeo and Zenz made up lies about Xinjiang, falsely claiming that religious freedom in Xinjiang is restricted and sabotaged, in order to realize their evil purpose. As a person who was born and raised up here and who has been living and working here, I witness the fact that the policies of religious freedom is respected and protected. What these two people said is absolute nonsense. I want to warn Pompeo and Zenz seriously: please open your eyes and stop day dreaming any more!