By Hou Weili

When Cash Investigation, a self-proclaimed investigative journalism TV program from France, misinterprets the Chinese word "Manqinjiang," which means attendance bonus, into "Xinjiang," some Western media lay bare the tricks they usually employ to push anti-China propaganda and fool the world people.

A cotton picker operates in a field in Awat County of Aksu, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Oct. 24, 2024. (Xinhua/Gao Han)

In running stories on Xinjiang, some Western media have only one job – to describe Xinjiang as an evil place. In their coverage, Uygur people cannot work in a factory, or they would be miserable victims of "forced labor." Factories cannot run businesses in Xinjiang, or they would be evil employers using "forced labor." Uygur women and girls cannot go to their gynecologists, or they would be forced to get sterilized by the government. Children cannot visit their parents at workplace, or they would be child labor. Uygur students cannot attend school, or their cultural identity would be erased. The list goes on.

In one word, anything Xinjiang does to better its people might be abused by these media outlets to defame Xinjiang. When world people saw Cash Investigation, it all clicked – ideas about Xinjiang and China at large were so wrong and how deeply they were fooled by anti-China propaganda.

Such media do not do the trick independently. They have the backup of "masterminds." Adrian Zenz is one of the best. A man lacking academic rigor, Zenz never did solid fieldwork in Xinjiang, but used dubious sources to fabricate "academic reports" on Xinjiang. Former British journalist Barrie Jones has long pointed out that Zenz got paid from government sources for presenting "academic reports." Such so-called reports then serve as fodder for anti-China propaganda by politicians and media. A full-chain anti-China disinformation campaign, in which think tank, politicians and media collude with each other to defame China, is then completed.

No matter how meticulously they colluded, lies are lies and will be exposed one day as in the Cash Investigation case. When the day comes, it can be the moment of enlightenment for the world people, a chance they can grasp to see what a real Xinjiang is, and what the real Xinjiang people are.

A peek at Xinjiang in figures. In 2024, Xinjiang's regional GDP hit two trillion yuan, meaning the regional economy is comparable to that of Greece. Residents' disposable income per capita surpassed 30,000 yuan, around $4,200. Free 15-year compulsory education is accessible to all school-age children in southern Xinjiang. More than 95 percent of the regional population is covered by basic medical insurance system.

So, for anyone who is interested, take off the lens shaped by some Western media and discard bias and preconceptions, come to Xinjiang and see the place and its people as it is. This will do justice to both yourself and Xinjiang.

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