Xu Guixiang: Good morning, fellow media reporters! Welcome to press conference on Xinjiang related issues by Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. I’m Xu Guixiang, the spokesman of the People’s Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. First of all, please allow me to introduce attendees for this press conference.They are Elijan Anayat, spokesman of the People’s Government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Eight officials and people from the general public in Xinjiang will join us via video link.They are Rezwangul Mutalif, director of Daliyabuyi Township, Yutian County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang and deputy to the National People’s Congress, Urnisha Kader, deputy director of Forestry and Fruit Industry Technology Promotion Center, Turpan Municipality and member of the national committee of CPPCC, Erzat Zhada,deputy director of Health Commission of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Patgul Kasmu, graduate of the vocational education and training center from Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture,Bahtiyar Amut, villager of Jiayi Village of Musical Instruments, Xinhe County, Aksu Prefecture, Kuerban Niyaz, headmaster of Primary School of the standard written and spoken Chinese language, Imam Township, Wushi County, Aksu Prefecture, He Jiaolong, deputy director of Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Ili Kazakh Prefecture, Tuerxunayi Maimait, employee of Xinjiang Lebeier Co.,Ltd.

Xu Guixiang: At present, the 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council is being convened in Geneva. Several countries defame and smear China under the pretext of the so-called human rights issues in Xinjiang regardless of truth and facts. Today’s press conference of Xinjiang-related issues mainly focuses on the topic of human rights in Xinjiang.

Xinjiang attaches great importance to respecting and protecting human rights, following a people-centered approach in governance.Xinjiang adheres to the pursuit of people first and life first.It has endeavored to do a good job in all aspects, including employment, education, social security, medical care and elderly care while promoting economic development, democratic politics, fairness and justice, and social governance etc. in an integrated manner, thus improving the level of human rights protection on all fronts.

In our view, respecting and protecting human rights means practical actions instead of paying lip service. It means real money instead of blank check. Over the 70 odd years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the career of human rights in Xinjiang has seen booming development in contrast to the poor situation in the past and historic achievements have been made. People of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang enjoy stability, security,development and progress, unprecedented real happy life, which are the utmost human rights.

However, at the session of the UN Human Rights Council, the United States repeats its cliches of the so-called “violation to human rights” “genocide” in Xinjiang regardless of facts that have proved Xinjiang respects and protects human rights fully. They are too obstinate to be awakened and are determined to go their way. We now warn the anti-China forces in the United States and several western countries that all goes smoothly in Xinjiang and it’s stable, secure and harmonious.Please stop inciting trouble or desiring to stir up trouble.I have a Uygur saying for them, “He who throws a stone upward should be cautious not to be hit by it on the head.”

At this press conference, we are to share with you the human rights stories in Xinjiang, introduce to you practical actions and remarkable achievements of respecting and protecting human rights in Xinjiang and communicate with you about things you are concerned about.

First of all, let’s listen to the first category of human rights stories, stories of poverty alleviation.

Xu Guixiang: The rights to sustain and develop are the fundamental human rights.Due to natural and historical reasons, Xinjiang was once one of the key fronts and areas of poverty alleviation in China. As southern Xinjiang in particular had relatively worse natural conditions and ecological environments, the task of poverty alleviation was more demanding.In recent years, Xinjiang has focused on “two assurances and three guarantees” (That is, assurances of adequate food and clothing, and guarantees of access to compulsory education, basic medical services and safe housing for impoverished rural residents). It has held on to “six precision” in terms of targeted subjects, methods, projects, funds, personnel and effectiveness in poverty alleviation.A series of supportive methods are adopted in industries, employment, ecological compensation,relocation and underwriting protection.By the end of 2020, Xinjiang had succeeded in conquering the stronghold of deep poverty and won the battle for targeted poverty alleviation by taking a series of supportive measures in developing industries, employment, ecological compensation, relocation and underwriting protection. Under the current standard, 3.0649 million people and 32 counties have been lifted out of poverty, 3,666 villages have been moved away from the poverty list.Absolute poverty has been historically solved. To consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation and integrate them with rural revitalization to prevent large scale return to poverty from happening, Xinjiang has adopted a series of dynamic supervision and supportive mechanisms, formulated and improved measures to develop industries,stabilize employment and provide comprehensive underwriting support to ensure that people who are lifted out of poverty live a better life.

Now, let’s have a look at life at Daliyabuyi Township, Yutian County,Xinjiang via video link.We invite Rezwangul Mutalif, director of Daliyabuyi Township to introduce to us stories of local people who live a happy life after relocation.

Rezwangul Mutalif：I’m Rezwangul Mutalif, director of Daliyabuyi Township, Yutian County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang. I am very happy to introduce to you situations of our Daliyabuyi Township.

Located in the hinterland of the Taklamakan Desert, the old Daliyabuyi Village saw seven months of wind and sand because the land was barren and production was very low. Generations of people lived here in shabby houses built from branches of rose willow, reed and clay and made a living mainly by herding and planting under unfavorable conditions and without much income. To change the conditions,since 2018,with the support of the government, 360 families of more than 1,400 residents moved into the new Daliyabuyi Village where are new houses facilitated with water, power and access to the Internet.At the new village, asphalt roads are built in front of the houses and the infrastructure such as school, health center and cultural square are complete. To help relocated people to increase income, the government has taken the lead in establishing farming cooperatives, planting cistanche herba and engaging in desert tour. Now villagers’ life is getting better and better!

Look, how wonderful our living conditions are! We all live in such beautiful new houses newly built by the government. Villagers drink tap water and the boiled water does not have a layer of alkali like before. Household appliances are installed in each household,including sofa ,refrigerator,TV, washing machine and access to the Internet is available. Their life is getting better and better and their conditions are very favorable.

This is Aihat Daman, a villager. In the past his family had scores of sheep and the family income came mainly from livestock raising and planting. After he moved to the new village, he expanded the scale of livestock raising as the local government has sent him a subsidy of RMB 22,500, allocated 201 acres of pasture,and granted him an annual pasture subsidy of RMB8,000. Now his family herd 120 sheep. We see numerous opportunities to start our business in the new village. Aihat Daman runs a supermarket in the village and he goes to the county for supplies every week, making more than RMB 60,000 annually. Now many people in the village live a prosperous and promising life.

It can be said that villagers here have witnessed the changes of the old and new Daliyabuyi Village and experienced the dramatic changes of the rural areas in southern Xinjiang. Our life is getting better and better.

Second Category of Human Rights Stories:Stories of Exercising Rights of Democracy

Xu Guixiang: All people in Xinjiang, regardless of the size of population, history, level of development, and differences in customs and habits, enjoy equal status and jointly participate in state affairs, manage local affairs, and exercise democratic rights at the community level.Xinjiang always adheres to the people-centered development ideology, practices people’s democracy concept all along, combined with the actual local situation in Xinjiang, actively strengthens the construction of socialist democratic politics, and guarantees fully the right of people of all ethnic groups to be their own masters.For example, Xinjiang delegation has altogether 61 deputies at the 13^th National People’s Congress. Among them, 38 deputies are of ethnic backgrounds, accounting for 62.3%. There are deputies of ethnic backgrounds from Xinjiang in the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress.Among members of the 13^th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, 34 members live in Xinjiang, of whom 18 are of ethnic backgrounds, accounting for 52.9%. Not long ago, the two sessions have just closed. Deputies and members from all walks of life in Xinjiang have just completed their glorious mission and come home. They have a lot of thoughts to share with us.

Now let’s invite Urnisha Kader, deputy to the National People’s Congress and deputy director of Forestry and Fruit Industry Technology Promotion Center, Turpan City and Erzet Zhada, member of the 13th National Committee of CPPCC and deputy director of Health Commission of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to introduce to us their stories of exercising democratic rights.

Urnisha Kader: Hello, everyone. I’m Urnisha Kader, deputy director of Forestry and Fruit Industry Technology Promotion Center, Turpan City. I am very honored to be a deputy to the 13^th National People’s Congress. I’ve just come back from Beijing after attending the two national sessions. I am still very excited at the sessions.

I am a common Uygur woman.In 2018 I was elected deputy of the 13th National People’s Congress. I have been very grateful and do my job actively. Turpan, my hometown is the largest grape production zone in Xinjiang and the largest planting zone of seedless grape in China, known as the “sacred grape city in China”and world grape museum. My career is related with grape. After years of efforts made by my colleagues and me, the species of Turpan grapes have been improved. The production mode has changed from the traditional to the mechanized and standard one.

What’s more delightful is that 40% of farmers’income across the city comes from the series of grape production, including grape, raisin and grape wine, etc.. The sweet career I have been engaged in has become the pillar industry for farmers’ income increase. Seeing the clusters of green pearl like grapes and brotherly farmers’ joyful look when harvesting, I have been overwhelmed with happiness because my years of efforts and devotion are worthwhile.

Being a deputy of the National People’s Congress, I have submitted motions suggesting to enhance the ecological protection of oases in Turpan, constructing the Silk Road dry fruits logistics and distribution center respectively in recent years, which have been received and replied timely and promoted the implementation of related work. This is how I, a female deputy of ethnic background exercises my political right and participates in politics and plays my role in democratic supervision in accordance to the law.

Erzet Zhada：Hello, everyone.I am Erzet Zhada, member of the 13th National Committee of CPPCC and deputy director of Health Commission of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. I’ve just come back from Beijing after attending the two sessions.

People’s political consultative conference of China is a great creation in the history of human political system. It is an institutional arrangement with Chinese characteristics to protect its citizens’ political rights and is a significant venue and particular consultative institution of socialist consultative democracy.Within the institutional framework of consultative democracy, political consultative conference at all levels in Xinjiang actively innovate the forms of consultation, enrich the content of consultation, construct platforms of consultation and engage people of all ethnic groups and all walks of life to participate in government and political affairs. A broad, multilevel and normalized democratic consultative pattern has taken shape. Members of all levels have done in-depth investigation and submit proposals enthusiastically to reflect social conditions and public opinions, voluntarily conduct democratic supervision, fully exercise the right to participate in government and political affairs.

At the National Political Consultative Conference this year,I prepared several proposals in earnest. Promoting actively the construction of close county-level health community is a measure that enables the health sector to better serve people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. It is one of my proposals at the session this year. I hope that governments at all levels expand investment, train more qualified doctors at the township and village levels, to improve their academic quality so that they are able to serve people in the rural areas better. Training a health team that is strong at the township level and stable at the village level may reduce health expenditure and contribute to rural revitalization.

Third Category of Human Rights Stories: Stories of Anti-Terrorism and De-radicalization

Xu Guixiang: Terrorism is the common enemy of the human society and the common target of the international community. Over the past period of time, terrorist attacks occurred frequently in Xinjiang and brought great harm to the lives and properties of people of all ethnic groups. Confronting the real threat posed by terrorism and extremism, Xinjiang has adhered to the rule of law, used the rule of law and taken decisive measures to combat terrorism and extremism in accordance with the law, effectively curbing the momentum of the frequent occurrence of terrorist activities and maximizing the protection of the lives and property of people of all ethnic groups. Xinjiang’s fight against terrorism and extremism has been conducted in the rule of law and in line with the international requirements of human rights. People’s legal rights are protected and there’s no so-called violation to human rights at all.

Now let’s invite Patgul Kasmu, graduate of the vocational education and training center of Moyu County, Hotan Prefecture to share her personal experiences with us via video link.

Patgul Kasmu:I’m Patgul Kasmu, a graduate of the vocational education and training center of Moyu County, running a dessert shop now.

I have enjoyed eating cake and dessert since childhood. After growing up, I learned to make desserts when I did odd jobs. In 2010 I ran a dessert shop in Moyu County and it went well. During that period of time, I got to know some customers who told me repeatedly that “Moslem women should not work outside home” and “Women should participate in jihad,”etc..Gradually my thoughts changed greatly. I was not in the mood of doing business.Instead I was overwhelmed with the thought of “jihad, sacrifice and going to heaven”. As a result, there were few customers at the shop and finally I had to close it. I had a bad temper and quarreled frequently with my family. My husband was unwilling to see me and my child ran away from me. My mother was very worried about me and persuaded me to go to the vocational education and training center to be trained.

The management at the vocational education and training center is humane. Our dormitory is very comfortable as there are TV, electric fan and bathing room etc.. The vocational education and training center respected our customs and habits and we were provided with halal food. There is a health center too. When we were sick with headache or ran a temperature or felt uncomfortable, doctors were available any time. At the center we could ask for leave when we wanted to. We rested on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays.

At the vocational education and training center, I learned the standard written and spoken Chinese language, knowledge in law, vocational skills and de-radicalization. After learning, I knew religious extremist thoughts intended to mobilize us to take terrorist actions, which ruined both ourselves and others. The vocational education and training center had courses in computer, dance, cooking and dessert making, etc.. I chose to learn to make desserts. As I learned, my skills were improved greatly. I learned many new ways of making desserts with new styles.

After graduation, I ran another dessert shop with the help of the skills I learned at the center. Now our shops provide more kinds of cakes that taste better. To draw more customers, I expanded the scope of my business by selling snacks such as hamburger,fried chicken and beverage. My business got better and we were very busy every day.Later my husband and I wanted to expand the size of our shops and open another shop. But we were short of money.I told my idea to the clerk of the community center. With the support of the community center, I applied interest free loan of RMB 150,000 and expanded the scale of our management. Now there are 10 employees and 6 apprentices at my two shops.Within the next three years, I plan to open a branch in Hotan. When I become more resourceful, I plan to open my branch shops across the region and make my cake business grow bigger and stronger,to provide more job opportunities and help more people to increase their income and become better off.

Some people abroad claim that the vocational education and training center is concentration camp where students are imprisoned and prosecuted. I want to share my experiences with you to prove that what they claim is a gross lie. The fact is, it is the vocational education and training center that pulled me out of the mire of religious extremist thoughts, gave me a new life and changed my destiny. Without the vocational education and training center, I would not have lived such a happy life as it is now.

Fourth Category of Human Rights Stories: Stories of Cultural Inheritance and Preservation

Xu Guixiang: Xinjiang is rich in cultural heritages. Born and grown in the embrace of the Chinese culture, the excellent traditional ethnic cultures are an inseparable part of it. We pay close attention to the exploration, inheritance and preservation of excellent traditional ethnic cultures and promote the development of all ethnic cultures so that they boom with new charm. The regional laws and regulations including the Regulations of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on the Implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Cultural Relics and Law on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region have been formulated and introduced to provide legal protection for the preservation of cultural heritages. In accordance with the principle of “protection-oriented, salvage first, rational use, preservation and development”, effective protection of intangible cultural heritage is conducted.The Uygur Muqam of Xinjiang and the Kirgiz epic Manas were inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The Uygur Meshrep was included on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. All ethnic groups in Xinjiang have items on the national and autonomous regional representative lists of intangible cultural heritage. Meanwhile, the excellent cultural traditions of all ethnic groups are have been inherited and developed. Folk cultural events, such as the Han Lantern Festival, the Uygur Meshrep, the Kazak Aytes, the Kirgiz Kobuz Ballad Singing Fair, the Mongolian Nadam Fair, and the Hui Hua’er Folk Song Festival are widely celebrated. The traditional sports of all ethnic groups have seen rapid development.Sports meetings of all kinds are held across the region. Competitions and events involving wrestling, horse racing, archery, the Buzkashi（horseback competition for possession of a goat） and the Darwaz (Uygur tightrope walking) rich in ethnic features are held on traditional holidays.People of all ethnic groups participate in them,compete with and learn from each other and enjoy together.

Now let’s invite Bahtiyar Amut, villager of Jiayi Village of Musical Instruments, Xinhe County, Aksu Prefecture to take us to see what happens in the village.

Bahtiyar Amut:I’m Bahtiyar Amut,villager of Jiayi Village of Musical Instruments, Xinhe County, Aksu Prefecture.With a history of more than 300 years in making musical instruments, our village is known as “the first village of hand-made folk musical instruments”. Every family in the village is engaged in making music instruments with ancestral craftsmanship by working at the cooperative of musical instruments, running workshop of musical instruments at home or managing the shop selling musical instruments. Over the years, great changes have taken place in our village. The muddy roads have been replaced by the asphalt roads and low and simple adobe houses have been replaced by spacious and bright brick houses. Our village has been known to be a well-off village and people here have become prosperous.

Now, let’s have a look at the industrial park of the musical instruments of the village. At present, there are seven cooperatives making musical instruments in the village and one third of the villagers in the 300 odd households in the village engage in making musical instruments and more than 20 kinds of musical instruments with ethnic features are made. In 2021 the sales volume of musical instruments of the village amounted to more than RMB 10 million.

I know it’s Kuerban Shamish live-streaming. Hello, Kuerban Shamish.We are connected via video link. Could you please introduce your situations to me?

Kuerban Shamish: Hello, everyone. I’m Kuerban Shamish, a craftsman of musical instrument of Jiayi Village of Musical Instruments.

My grandfather and my father are both craftsmen of musical instruments. My father is the student of Eyit Emin, the inheritor of the national intangible cultural heritage. Our cooperative can make more than 20 kinds of musical instruments rich in ethnic features, including rewap, ejek, dutar, satar,and tambourine,etc.. They are of exquisite craftsmanship and pure tone. In 2008 I was recommended to study at Xinjiang Arts University to learn knowledge of making musical instruments with ethnic features systematically and got to know the characteristics of various kinds of musical instruments and their making techniques. With the help of the village committee, I set up Homeland Musical Instruments Shop with 15 young people in the village,teaching them how to make musical instruments and doing the sales too. We can make more than 400 musical instruments in a month and earn more than RMB 1 million annually. Everyone has a salary of more than RMB5,500.

Bahtiyar Amut: OK, thank you for your introduction. Every family in our village can make musical instruments. Now let’s go and have a look at musical instrument processing workshop of the Industrial Park !

At present there are more than 70 employees here and our products have been sold to more than 10 countries and regions in Europe and Asia. The craftsmen’s annual income ranges from RMB50,000 to 100,000. Look, these are the musical instruments we make. Now this is dutar, a traditional Uygur musical instrument. It’s also called two-stringed musical instrument that is composed of a resonant box, head, bar, shaft and strings and there are large,medium and small sizes. When playing it, one need to use all the fingers of the right hand to either pluck, pick or sweep. It sounds low yet very tender and sweet. By making, promoting and selling musical instruments, villagers here make a living in tourism and making musical instruments and we all live a better life.

Fifth Category of Human Rights Stories: Stories of Right to Education Being Guaranteed

Xu Guixiang: Education is the key to a hundred-year plan.Xinjiang has kept increasing its investment in education and implementing education projects persistently for the benefits of people. It has promoted with full force the integrated development of the urban and rural areas and endeavored to enable each child to enjoy fair and quality education.It sees full coverage of free nine-year compulsory education and fifteen-year free education in the four prefectures in southern Xinjiang. 4,408 rural kindergartens are newly built, renovated or expanded, so rural kindergartens that should be built have all been completed. Children aged from 4 to 6 years old across the region go to kindergarten for free and enjoy free breakfast and lunch. The construction of county and township level boarding schools are strengthened so that children of remote farming and grazing areas are able to go to school. Children from rural areas studying at boarding schools are endowed with living subsistence to relieve the financial burden of their families effectively. The diversified and characteristic development of general high schools is vigorously promoted and school conditions are constantly improved so that all school-age youth are educated at school. A sound policy system to aid student financially from preschool to graduate education is established to ensure that no student is uneducated or drops out.

Now let’s invite Kuerban Niyaz, headmaster of Primary School of the standard spoken and written Chinese language, Imam Township, Wushi County, Xinjiang, to give an account of his story via video link.

Kuerban Niyaz: I’m Kuerban Niyaz. I have been the headmaster of Primary School of the standard spoken and written Chinese language, Imam Township for nearly 20 years. I feel that I have done one thing over the years.That is to provide wings to children’s dreams by popularizing the use of the standard spoken and written Chinese language.

In the place where I live, in the past, many children lived their lives in the world of less than an acre of farm land and several sheep. Some had even never left the township or county. How can our children walk out of the villages and realize their dreams in big cities such as Beijing and Shanghai has been what I care most. When I put forward the idea of setting up a school teaching the standard written and spoken Chinese language, many people didn’t understand why I did it. In their view, it was unnecessary and would not be realized. Where could I get money to run the school? Would parents support it? Where could I find teachers? I had no idea how to answer these questions.

The government gave me a lot of support after my thoughts were told. In this way my school of standard written and spoken Chinese language was open smoothly. What’s unexpected was that many parents sent their children to school. Although the annual plan of primary school enrollment of our school is 120 students, over 2,000 children applied. As parents said, “Learning the standard written and spoken Chinese language broadens children’s vision and enable them to find better jobs.”

Over the years, many a “golden phoenix” flies out of this small nest. Some of them were admitted to well-known universities such as Tsinghua University, some went abroad to further their studies. They are on different jobs with deep affection to their hometown and motherland. Seeing them change their destiny by learning, I feel very happy and joyful.

Xu Guixiang: Headmaster Kuerban Niyaz, I have a question for you. How many students have you trained since you started the school to now?

Since we started to run the school of standard written and spoken Chinese language in 2002 to now, there have been 828 graduates of 12 sessions, among whom 623 students have been admitted to excellent universities with remarkable scores. Musha Tuergong of the first session had a score of 701,was No.One in sciences of Aksu Prefecture that year and was admitted to Tsinghua University. He has been the first student admitted to Tsinghua University in Wushi County. In my view this is the joy of education.

Xu Guixiang: Thank you very much, headmaster Kuerban Niyaz. I followed your introduction to your experiences of running the school, training so many excellent students, even student going to Tsinghua University, which breaks the local record. I’d say this is an amazing career. As you’ve mentioned, by running the school,more and more children are able to enjoy quality education and have dreams to fly high. Now let’s wish theses children fly higher and higher and farther and farther to make contribution to the state and the society. Please allow me to express my respect and thanks once again. See you.

Sixth Category of Human Rights Stories: Stories of Protection of Women’s Rights and Benefits

Xu Guixiang: Xinjiang firmly abides by the fundamental state policy that men and women are equal.It pays great attention to the protection of women’s rights and interests, formulates and introduces women’s rights and interests related laws and regulations including the Regulations of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on the Implementation of the Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Rights and Interests of Women and the Regulations of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on the Implementation of the Anti-domestic Violence Law of the People’s Republic of China respectively. It implements women’s development compendium and put main indicators of women’s development into the regional economic and social development planning, and endeavors to promote the realization of women’s legal rights and interests in politics, economy, culture and related fields. It protects women’s legal rights and interests such as equal exercise of democratic rights, participation in social development and enjoyment of the fruits of reform etc. in accordance with the law. Now, as rights and interests in equal participation in decision-making and management, physical health, education, participation in development and social security of women of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang are fully protected, they enjoy improved familial and social status, their outlook has changed greatly and their role as “half of the sky” has been fully presented.

Now let’s invite He Jiaolong, deputy director of Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture to introduce her situation of leading people to increase income and get better off by live-stream sales.

He Jiaolong: I’m He Jiaolong, deputy director of Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Ili Kazakh Prefecture. Today I’d like to share with you my story of promoting agricultural and sideline products in my hometown via the Internet and helping people to increase their income and get rich.

Before I was assigned to be deputy director of Bureau of Culture and Tourism, Ili Kazakh Prefecture, I was deputy director of Zhaosu County in charge of agricultural and rural work. At that time, to enable farmers and herdsmen to increase income, we cultivated large potato growers and introduced deep processing enterprises for agricultural products.In the beginning years, the benefit of industrial scale was obvious because the market share of agricultural and sideline products were improved and farmers and enterprises were aware of the benefits. Later, however, with the expansion of planting scale, the local market became saturated and the sales of agricultural and sideline products didn’t flourish. To promote product sales, we constructed an E-commerce platform to help people with sale via the Internet. When the first order of RMB 3,000 closed, we were so happy that we all danced with joy.

In May 2020, owing to the COVID-19 epidemic, tourism and sales of agricultural and sideline products were seriously affected. To tackle the problem, the local government of Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture organized the activity of live-stream sale that engaged officials of the prefecture and counties, top live-streamers and products to guide officials to station in the Internet to promote tourist resources and exhibit and sell agricultural and sideline products. Since then, I moved from behind the scenes to the front of the stage and became an anchor helping farmers, working part-time as a live streamer.

When I first entered the short video broadcasting platform, I started broadcasting at 7 am every morning and broadcast until 9:30 am, then went to work. To draw netizens’ attention, in November 2020, my colleagues and I designed the short video “Racing on the horseback in the land of snow.” After it was released, it was broadcast for more than 600 million times and followers were over 1 million. It made more and more people get to know Xinjiang and our agricultural and sideline products.

Now, our live video activities have covered the special advantageous industries across Xinjiang, including bee, forestry and fruits, lavender, agriculture and animal husbandry. By now, we have live streamed more than 200 sessions to help farmers and achieved sales of RMB 140 million, directly bringing 2,830 people to employment and indirectly leading more than 10,000 farmers and herdsmen to increase income and get better off. Seeing people’s money keeps increasing and they smile more brightly, I think all the efforts are worthwhile. It’s the biggest wish of all the public servants to help farmers and herdsmen increase income and let people live a happy life. Here, we hope attendees of this press conference like the special agricultural and sideline products in Xinjiang. I am convinced that you will like them.

Xu Guixiang:Thank you , director He. I watched the video just now. Seeing you race on the horseback in the land of snow with mighty spirit and heroic bearing, I think you present fully the wonderful image of women in Xinjiang in the new era. You live stream to help local people to increase income and get better off, which shows you’ve made very effective efforts. My respects to you. Good luck with your work. See you.

Seventh Category of Human Rights Stories: Stories of Right to Work Being Fully Protected

Xu Guixiang: Xinjiang insists on facilitating employment as the most fundamental project for ensuring and improving people’s well-being. It insists on the well-combined employment principle of encouraging individual initiative, regulatory role of the market and government policies facilitating employment,entrepreneurship and business start-ups. It vigorously implements employment-first strategy and proactive employment policy so as to guarantee the quality and coverage of employment. It fully respects people’s will for work and creates conditions for people of all ethnic groups to be employed nearby, move to cities in an orderly manner and start their own businesses, thus realizing basically full employment of the urban and rural population with working ability. In the past five years, a total of 2.3486 million new urban jobs have been created, 14.333 million surplus rural laborers have been transferred for employment and the total number of employment has been over 13 million.The happy scene that “each household has access to job opportunities, each person has work to do, and each month goes with an income” has been achieved across Xinjiang. People of all ethnic groups now have made more money and their life blooms and grows like sesame seeds.

Now let’s invite Tuerxunayi Maimait, director of Ren’an Medical Textile Factory, Xinjiang Lebeier Co., Ltd to share her story of creating a wonderful life by working hard via video link

Tuerxunayi Maimait: Hello,everyone. I’m Tuerxunayi Maimait, director of Ren’an Medical Textile Factory,Xinjiang Lebeier Co.,Ltd. Please have a look at where I work. This is the processing workshop. The seemingly complicated machines can be handled by two or three people with ease.

As I didn’t have a stable job, I took care of my parents and children by doing odd jobs. In March 2019, upon my friend’s recommendation, I applied to work at Xinjiang Lebeier Co.,Ltd and became an apprentice in sewing. The company signed labor contract with me and paid for my medical insurance, endowment insurance, unemployment insurance, insurance against injuries at work, birth insurance and pension.When I came to work at the company, I simply didn’t know what to do. The company assigned a master worker to instruct me skills patiently and slowly. The master worker is kind-hearted and very nice to me. I learned after her earnestly and even took time practising by myself. I gradually mastered the skills and became a qualified worker by working hard.

Later, I was promoted to be the director of the factory in charge of production and my salary was raised to RMB5,500. I was so overjoyed that I bought new clothes for my family and took them out for a wonderful meal after getting the salary.As my work goes smoothly, my life is getting better and better. I’ve renovated my house and bought furniture and household appliances with my savings over the two years. I was very excited the moment I moved in the new home and I felt as if I were in a dream. What’s more delightful is that my son was admitted to Zhejiang Sci-tech University and his dream of going to university is fulfilled. There are many common people like me around who create a happy life with hard work.

Xu Guixiang: OK, Tuerxunayi Maimait. Thank you very much for your introduction. Through you we feel deeply what work creates a wonderful life really means and that happy life comes from hard work. Thank you. See you.

Xu Guixiang: Media friends, we’ve shared with you human rights stories from seven aspects.They manifest the situations where the right to sustain and develop is fully realized among people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. We are convinced that you are eager to know more about the efforts Xinjiang has made in respecting and protecting human rights. Now let’s invite Mr. Elijan Anayat to share his views with us.

Elijan Anayat：Just now, eight representatives from various circles in Xinjiang have shown the achievement of human right protection and development from different perspectives by sharing with us their personal experiences. The international community should listen to their voices more often so as to know the real Xinjiang instead of being blinded by the lies fabricated by the United States. The US politicians should reflect on their own dark histories in human rights before viciously smearing the human rights conditions in Xinjiang.

Being a country with advanced medical facilities and technologies, the United States remains reluctant to think about the policy of governance or seek to fight the epidemic. The prevention and control of the epidemic has been highly politicized. Misled by political manipulation, some Americans refuse to wear musk, and even engage in anti-vaccine movement. As a result, the United States has become the country with the highest number of COVID-19 infections and deaths in the world, and nearly one million American lives have fallen victim to political maneuvering.

Democracy as claimed by the United States is simply in form and belongs to the limited minorities of the elite class. The nationwide primaries for presidential elections are completely manipulated by the rich, famous, the media and interest groups. The general electorate’s right to vote is so restricted that more than 420 bills restricting voter access have been introduced in 49 U.S. states. Such democracy can never be called “one that people have the say” and will only end up breaking people’s trust. Only 7% of the American youth believe that the American democracy is “healthy”.

The United States is torn apart, with more intense racial conflict and growing racial inequality. Over hundreds of years, its genocide practices against the Indians have been persisted and the Indians are the ones who are overwhelmed with hardships. Domestic discrimination and attack against ethnic minorities, the Asians in particular have kept growing. In 2021 hate crimes against the Asians increased to 361% in contrast to that of 2020. The U.S. politicians’ discrimination against the Moslem community keeps growing.

As its own human rights conditions keep deteriorating and are criticized by the international community, the U.S.government points fingers at the human right conditions of other countries instead of reflecting on its problems, which fully exposes its double standards and hypocrisy on human rights issues. It has been proved that the United States is the biggest destroyer of human rights in the world. It should feel ashamed of itself, face up to and correct all its ills in human rights instead of pointing fingers at others.

Elijan Anayat：Now let’s watch a video that reflects the miserable situations of forced labor in the United States.

Xu Guixiang: Now it’s time for questions. Many friends of the media come to the press conference. Some media reporters from abroad join us via video link. Now please raise questions that you are concerned about.

Xu Guixiang: Reporter from Global Times please.

Global Times: According to foreign media reports, US dignitaries met with a number of “human rights activists” before issuing a statement saying that the US Congress firmly supports the Chinese people and emphasizing that the United States will abide by its commitment to defend human rights in China. What’s your comment?

Xu Guixiang: The US politicians’ remarks are ridiculous. This is “the weasel gives the chicken a New Year’s greeting. Without good intentions.” We are crystal clear what they are up to. They do not care about defending the so-called human rights at all. Instead what they do is to find an excuse for violating human rights and manipulating hegemony. Look at the turbulent situations in some countries and regions in the world and those homeless refugees. When has the United States ever defended human rights in other countries. That the United States wantonly revokes the terrorist nature of the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) at the cost of sacrificing the right to life of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang is ample evidence. We would advise the US politicians to defend human rights in their own country. Human rights of the Chinese are none of the Americans’ business.

Xu Guixiang: Now reporter from Xinhua News Agency, please.

Xinhua News: According to relevant media reports, the US Customs and Border Protection issued a statement that goods by Chinese sportswear giant Li Ning are subject to forced labor and will be held at all US ports of entry. What is your comment?

Xu Guixiang: Based on its domestic law, the United States exercises long-arm jurisdiction over companies of China, which is flagrant bullying instead of proper law enforcement. Based on the principle of “presumption of guilt,” the United States assumes that Chinese companies exporting products to the U.S. are “forced labor” and demands that these companies prove their innocence. Failing to do so results in seizure and confiscation of the companies’ products. We argue that this is serious blackmailing practices and robber logic,which is equal to open robbery. We strongly oppose it!

Xu Guixiang: Reporter of Macau Monthly please.

Macau Monthly: Michelle Bachelet Jeria, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is to go to Xinjiang during her visit to China. Does the Chinese government permit foreign media in China including Japanese media to go to report ? Thank you.

Xu Guixiang: Thank you for your question. As you said, Ms. Michelle Bachelet is to go to Xinjiang during her visit of China in May. The exact dates and itinerary are being agreed upon and we don’t know yet. As for whether the media will be invited to participate, we are not yet particularly clear. We will contact the media friends in a timely manner after learning about the relevant arrangements.

Xu Guixiang: Do you have any more questions? If not, that’s the end of this press conference. Thank all the media friends for your attendance. See you!