Xinjiang cotton industry provides freedom to succeed

Cotton growers and workers from the textile and garment industry in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region shared their personal experiences to debunk allegations of "forced labor" in the region at a news conference on Tuesday.

Ababakri Mamat, a 33-year-old cotton grower in Shaya county, Aksu prefecture, cultivates around 533 hectares with his parents and brothers. They also raise cows and sheep.

"My wife runs a store that sells maternal and infant products, and we have two daughters," he said. They can earn around 700,000 yuan ($108,300) annually.

He said that many households in Shaya are involved in cotton growing. After graduation from college, he started to help his parents to manage the cotton field scientifically.

"We used to hire more than 100 part-timers to help us pick the cotton during the harvest season. We offered them free food and accommodations. And each of them could earn more than 10,000 yuan from the work," he recalled.

Later, as agricultural mechanization spread in Xinjiang, his family set up a cooperative and signed contracts with 62 fellow residents, who help them to operate machinery and handle the cotton.

He said that he noticed that some anti-China elements in foreign countries have fabricated lies about Xinjiang's cotton cultivation, and he feels angry about it.

"We are using our own hands to make money and embrace a better life. How could they distort the facts and claim it as forced labor?" he said. "I wish they would visit our cotton fields to see the truth with their own eyes."

Busala Ghulamkadir, an employee of a textile company in Changji Hui autonomous prefecture started making clothes in the company's workshop in 2017. She earns 3,600 yuan per month.

"The company offers us cozy dorms to live in and respects our habits and religious beliefs. It also regularly organizes various team building activities to add color to our lives," she said.

A hard worker, she was recognized as a model worker by the company. In 2019, she was offered a chance to travel to Beijing where she gained useful experience from outstanding counterparts and visited multiple tourist attractions.

"I used my salary to build a new house for my parents in my hometown in Hotan prefecture. We all feel very happy," she said.