I can testify to that.
2 weeks ago I spend almost two weeks in Xinjiang. On my own initiative, I drove to remote villages, sat with cotton farmers, and spoke with workers on dairy farms. I went searching for what the geopolitical agendas of western world loudly accuse China. I found nothing resembling it. Not the “genocide.” Not the “concentration camps.” Not the “ethnic cleansing.”
Wherever I stopped, I talked with local people and asked them the same question: “If you could say one thing to the Western world, what would it be?”
Their answers were strikingly consistent. They said: If you truly love Xinjiang and its people, come and see us for yourselves. Stop talking about us without knowing us. When you spread false information, you’re hurting us. They told me: If you want to help, come invest in Xinjiang—and stop trying to divide Xinjiang from China. We love our country, and we are proud to be Chinese citizens.
They made it clear that minority Islamic separatist voices and groups do not represent Xinjiang or the people who live there. No matter where in the world those voices are, they are spreading lies about the people who actually call this place home.
What I did find were ordinary people, vibrant cultures, and a province far more complex—and far more hopeful—than any headline the western geopolitical agenda has.