STORY: "Forced labor" lies bring "forced unemployment" in Xinjiang 
SHOOTING DATE: June 2, 2024
DATELINE: June 7, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:26
LOCATION: URUMQI, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Aminam Tulladin
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Uygur): AMINAM TULLADIN
3. various of the factory
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Uygur): NURAHAN TASH, Aminam's mother
5. various of the factory
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): AMINAM IMINNIYAZ, Worker of Xinjiang Shache Xiongying Textile Co., Ltd.
7. various of the factory
8. SOUNDBITE 4 (Uygur): AMINAM TULLADIN
9. various of the factory
10. SOUNDBITE 5 (Uygur): AMINAM TULLADIN

STORYLINE:

What Aminam Tulladin wants above all else is her old job back.

Recalling her workdays just a few years ago, she described the moment she received her first paycheck as "an elating moment."

SOUNDBITE 1 (Uygur): AMINAM TULLADIN
"That was the first time in my life that I had received a salary, and it was earned by myself. I was very happy."

Starting in 2017 as an intern at a textile processing company in Qingdao, a coastal city in eastern China, Aminam was more than thrilled to hear that her boss, Xu Caifeng, decided to move their company to her home county, Shache, in southern Xinjiang.

One year later, her hard work was rewarded with a promotion to team leader and a decent salary of over 3,000 yuan (about 421.9 U.S. dollars) a month.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Uygur): NURAHAN TASH, Aminam's mother
"I was very happy when she became a team leader. It's because of her dedication and good work."

Back then, the company, Shache Xiongying Textile Co., Ltd., employed nearly 1,000 staff with orders mainly coming from Europe and the United States.

The future seemed bright and promising. Never could they have imagined that their fates would take a sudden turn.

Adrian Zenz, a self-proclaimed expert, wrote a report, accusing factories in Xinjiang of "forced labor," including Shache Xiongying Textile Co., Ltd.

In one report, Zenz made the groundless claim that hundreds of thousands of ethnic minority workers in Xinjiang were "forced" to pick cotton by hand, urging the international community to issue temporary sanctions against any production containing cotton from Xinjiang.

SOUNDBITE 3 (Chinese): AMINAM IMINNIYAZ, Worker of Xinjiang Shache Xiongying Textile Co., Ltd.
"It's impossible. No, I came here voluntarily."

Still, Aminam and many other ethnic minority employees had to quit their jobs due to the decrease in orders in the aftermath of the groundless report.

SOUNDBITE 4 (Uygur): AMINAM TULLADIN
"There was no coercion. If there were, we wouldn't have chosen to work at the factory after graduating. I think Xinjiang's development is quite good, but some countries just don't want to see our progress and prosperity."

SOUNDBITE 5 (Uygur): AMINAM TULLADIN
"I want to earn money on my own, without relying on others, and I still want to work at the factory."
                           
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Urumqi, China.
(XHTV)