Foreign news

Putting people first’ at heart of Xinjiang’s cotton textile industry: report

Published

4 years ago

February 1, 2021

On Sunday, the Xinjiang Textile Industry Association issued a report reviewing the history and development of Xinjiang’s cotton textile industry and refuted rumors of “forced labor” as claimed by Western media and politicians.

The report said the industry helps the region eliminate hunger and poverty while improve the general well-being of people across Xinjiang.

“The industry secures the livelihoods of millions of people in Xinjiang, including cotton growers, cotton textile workers and their family members, improves their lives and promotes the realization of their economic rights,” the report said.

Almost a day before Joe Biden took office as President of the United States, the Trump administration announced a ban on imports of cotton and tomatoes from Xinjiang, citing human rights violations and the alleged use of “forced labor” in the region. Meanwhile, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo – a famous China hawk – decided to go all out by accusing the Chinese government of committing “genocide” against Uygur people despite offering no credible evidence.

Recently, there have been some voices overseas saying Xinjiang’s local government forces people to collect cotton; this is just nonsense,” said Kakri Usur, a cotton grower from Kuqa City in Aksu Prefecture in southern Xinjiang during a press conference on Monday.

“We grow our own field, collect our own cotton, earn our own money, how is that forced? Those who spread the rumors aren’t interested in protecting our rights. They want us farmers to rot in the cotton fields by taking away our business and let us starve; we won’t allow that.”

The U.S. government’s latest move comes at a time when businesses are coming under increasing pressure to move supply chains out of Xinjiang due to the “forced labor” claims. A report released by a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers in March last year listed an array of American companies suspected of having ties to the so-called forced labor in Xinjiang, including Coca-Cola, Nike, Adidas, Patagonia, Calvin Klein, among others.

“I don’t think it exists at all. For all the time that I worked in rural areas of southern Xinjiang, I’ve never heard anything about forced labor,” said Urumqi-based photographer Parhat Yusanjan who worked in Awat County in Aksu from 2017 to 2020. The county is known for its long-staple cotton production.

In recent years, Western media have turned up the heat on Xinjiang as then U.S. government takes on an increasingly hostile view toward China and its rise.

Based on a network of anti-China experts, right-wing think tanks and dubious witness testimonies, Western media and governments have smeared and politicized China’s anti-terrorism efforts in the region, enforcing the image of China as an “authoritarian” government.

From claims of “internment camps” to “mass surveillance,” the the vast far western land of the country suddenly become a troubled hotspot for “human rights abuses” under the relentless PR campaign.

With sensational headlines such as “Over 570,000 Uygurs forced to pick cotton in Xinjiang” or “Scope of Xinjiang forced labor is bigger than we know,” the West continues its distortion of reality in an attempt to discredit China.

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Foreign news

French Envoy Seeks Collaboration With NAN To Boost Seamless Relationship

Published

2 months ago

February 5, 2025

The Gleamer

The new French envoy to Nigeria, Marc Fonbaustier, on Wednesday called for collaboration with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) toward strengthening the mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries.

Fonbaustier, who is the French ambassador to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, made the call when he paid a courtesy visit to Malam Ali Muhammad Ali, NAN’s Managing Director, in Abuja.
The ambassador said that his purpose of visiting was to pay tribute to the MD, and to seek collaboration in three areas with a view to promoting stronger, seamless and fruitful partnership between both countries.

He added that Nigeria and its people were hospitable, especially to the foreigners and ambassadors alike.

He added that Nigeria was a country with so much energy, strength, stamina and so many talents.

In Nigeria, with the population of this size, it is inevitable that the elites of the country are very outstanding, “and there may be a Franco/Nigeria moments now”, he jokes.

According to him, France and Nigeria can collaborate more and learn from each other.
“I could feel it particularly during the state visit of President Bola Tinubu which took place in November 2024.

“I was there and I could see the intensity, the strength and the scope of the partnership, and I am here to scale up that partnership in all sectors.

“I am coming here for three reasons, first, to pay a tribute to the NAN MD and his team for the quality of this agency. We can testify that the contents that you publish are very factual, and also very well set up and structured.

“You do fact checking and you really do try to provide the community with quality information. I think, as a French ambassador, I can recognise that as part of a living democracy,” he said.

The French ambassador said the second reason for the visit was to intimate the NAN MD of France’s eagerness to go on partnership with NAN saying he hoped for assurance of a seamless, fluid and easy relationship.

He said that his third reason stemmed from his observation that NAN recently signed some partnership framework agreements with Egypt and China, saying “it may be time to think of balancing this partnership with others”.

“Especially with French, and to talk with Agence France-Presse (AFP) to see if there’s ground for a closer relationship between NAN and AFP.

“Which is also a recognised agency like yours, and I bet you the sky will be the limit to the collaboration, ’’he said.

Responding, the NAN MD informed the envoy that the agency was African’s biggest news content provider on account of its size.

Ali gave the envoy a little details of the agency’s operation and its outreach, saying “as our continent’s biggest news content provider, we have offices nationwide and in selected African countries.

“We have offices in countries such as South Africa, Cote d’ivoire, Addis Ababa, and then we have offices also beyond the shores of Africa. We have in New York and we are the only resident wire service in the United Nations.

“At a time in the past, the agency had 11 foreign offices, including Moscow, and presently, we are trying to re-open some of our shut offices, especially in London.
“We value partnership and understanding that we have with similar news organisation such as Reuters and, incidentally, we have a long standing relationship with AFP which you just raised.
“I know for years we have exchange of news between NAN and AFP but it’s a cooperation that we will like to strengthen and with your greater involvement,’’ he said.

The MD commended the ambassador for reaching out and engaging with some Nigerians communities to douse the tension of the allegation made by the Nigeriens.

He also lauded the envoy’s leadership and visibility to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, “which has helped to douse the perception and misconceptions about France, especially in the Sahel”.
“I think you have helped to reverse some of this perceptions. I thank you for the kind words that you said about the agency and about our management.

“We also see partnership as an important tool in checking the spread of fake news.
“We’ve seen instances where fake news has done great deal of damage, and with the coming of social media it has done even greater damage.

“Our country is facing a lot of challenges, one of which is the increasing insecurity, and the social media has been used by those who do not want to see our country to prosper,” Ali said.
He further said that NAN was a credible news agency that always fact check to correct the wrong narratives by those who are in the business of causing troubles.

He also told the envoy that the agency has its content in the Nigerian indigenous languages, starting with Hausa and it would proceed to Yoruba and Igbo languages later, “then later in future to French.

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