Nurya Kadir, teacher from the College of Maxism, Xinjiang Normal University

These days, the US national leaders have concocted and disseminated false allegations of “forced labor” against Xinjiang, China, which constitutes a groundless accusation of the Chinese policies in Xinjiang. It is a trick of the western and the American anti-China forces to contain China by slinging mud at Xinjiang. As a higher education teacher in Xinjiang, I express my strong indignation at such a behavior and firmly oppose it.

1. Working away from their hometowns—people’s own decisions

In recent years, a rising number of extra labor workers from the four autonomous prefectures in southern Xinjiang have cast their eyes to the advanced cities in the north of Xinjiang and the interior land of China, where there is higher salary, better working conditions and living environment. For instance, with a population of 3540, the Aybagh Village in Gulbagh Town, Shache (Yarkant) County, Kashgar Prefecture, had a workforce of 1509 people, among them, 1,288 are willing to go out for work, accounting for 85 percent of the total labor force. A survey in three villages of Baghchi Town, Hotan County, Hotan Prefecture counted a total population of 5307 and a labor force of 1,699, among which 1,493 are willing to work outside voluntarily, accounting for 88 percent of the total labor force.

The government has taken measures to increase employment and exhibited examples of income rises, which motivated people’s desire to try their luck in other cities. Some of them resort to human resource agencies for job wants. Some seek help from their fellow villagers or relatives who are working outside their villages for a job position. Pashagul Keram, for example, from Wuqia County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, has secured a job in Dongguan, Guangzhou Province for years. She not only achieved prosperity by herself, but also encouraged nearly 600 fellow villagers to get employed away from their hometowns. Another example is Ayimgul, from Makit County, Kashgar Prefecture, who applied to try her luck away from her home, has helped all her families shake off poverty. And she said, “I hope one day I could start up my own business in my hometown and become a boss.” Fall all the above examples, none of them needed force to make money and acquire skills.

2. People in Xinjiang has realized decent work in a largest sense

In accordance with International Labour Organization (ILO), decent work refers to the fact that workers are all guaranteed, via boosting employment, promoting social welfare and upholding laborer’s basic rights, to do their jobs with the premise of freedom, equality, security and dignity. For the Chinese government, it has been a long-standing notion and objective to guarantee decent work through respecting civil citizen’s rights for work, and by safeguarding their legal rights and interests. In Xinjiang, the local government has vigorously responded to the initiatives of ILO, and firmly implemented all the relevant laws, regulations and rules, which has laid a solid legal foundation for people’s equal rights of jobbing and ensured the decent work of all the people in Xinjiang.

Based on the data from Xinjiang Bureau of Statistics, the minimum wage of 2019 in Xinjiang ranged, in 4 levels, from RMB1460 to RMB 1820. However, the real income of many people far surpassed the figure through migrant working. A case in point is Abdul Kayoum Abla, from Muji Town, Pishan County, Hotan Prefecture, who asked for an interview of an aquatic product company after he saw the want ads on the bulletin board of villagers and residents committee. With this job, he earned over 5000 RMB per month. A villager called Reyhangul Imir from a poor household in Ojma Township, Akto County, Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture sent back more than RMB 100000 to her family in the four years she spent working in Cixi City, Zhejiang Province. With the money, her family upgraded their lives by building a new house equipped with new furniture in her hometown. A poor villager named Habibulla Mamut from Aksu City applied for a position with an electrical applicance company in Hangzhou at a local job fair, was offered the post, and earned RMB 55,000 that year, raising himself and his family out of poverty within one year.

According surveys, a number of enterprises have provided excellent accommodation for workers. There were 24 companies building or renting apartments for their workers. For instance, one cotton manufacturing enterprise in Tumshuk invested nearly 100 million RMB to construct living apartments equipped with bathrooms for their workers. There is little expenditure on accommodation, water and electricity consumption and the neighborhood is equipped with varied facilities such as supermarkets, restaurants, barber’s shops and China Mobile services. A Fuzhou business has offered TV, air-conditioning and washing machines; a Nanjing company has provided refrigerators for the workers from Xinjiang. All these surveys and reports demonstrate that the migrant workers from Xinjiang enjoy much better life than in their hometowns.

3. People in Xinjiang are fully covered by social security system

The local government has developed a sustainable social security system that covers the entire population, vigorously encouraging the migrant workers to access social security to make sure the largest coverage of the system. Kerim Usman from Kashgar Prefecture said his company pay RMB 1240 for each employee in social welfare and they themselves only share RMB 370 for this part. All the employed in the businesses of the interior land of China have signed contracts with their employers, thus being able to get paid. Meanwhile, Xinjiang firmly enforce The Regulations of Labour Security Supervision. The labor security supervision departments at all levels have strengthened their implementation of laws by increasing their timely acceptance of the cases reporting the violation of labor security laws and regulations. They have investigated and corrected the illegal behavior of not paying for the social welfare and not accessing the system, which has guaranteed the legal rights of Xinjiang people in a real sense.

All of this demonstrates clearly that there is no truth in the accusation of enforced labor, which cannot be justified and is created out of nothing. “Thick mountains could not stop the river from flowing into the sea”. Any rumors and fabrications are impossible to change our resolution in the realization decent work for the people in Xinjiang as much as we can.