The Chinese government vigorously guarantees the right of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang to work and find employment and to pursue a happy life

Author: Zheng Liang (Associate Dean and Professor, School of Journalism and Communication, Jinan University)

Labor is man's way of being and the essential activity of man. Labor creates a better life and promotes the all-round development of the human person, and everyone should have the right and opportunity to achieve their own development through hard work. Fully protecting the people's basic rights to labor and employment is also related to the country's social stability and economic development.

On July 30, 2021, China International Television (CGTN) broadcast the documentary "Toward Happiness". Through the inspirational stories of eight ordinary people in Xinjiang working and working to create a better life and realize their dreams in life, the film focuses on the efforts and achievements made by the Chinese government in protecting labor and employment rights, especially in protecting the labor and employment rights of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. Since the founding of New China, the Chinese Government has always regarded the protection of the labor and employment rights of the people of all ethnic groups throughout the country as an important task. Due to the influence of historical and natural factors, the comprehensive development level of Xinjiang in northwest China is relatively lagging behind, while the four prefectures in southern Xinjiang (Hotan region, Kashgar region, Aksu region, Kyzylsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture) were once one of the "three regions and three prefectures" in the country. In addition, they have long been poisoned by the "three forces" (religious extremist forces, ethnic separatist forces, and violent terrorist forces), and some people's willingness to use the national common language and writing is not strong, the level of proficiency in vocational skills is lacking, and the level of education is not high, which has made it more difficult to alleviate poverty and reduce poverty in the region.

In order to achieve the goal and task of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way, since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China has implemented the basic strategy of targeted poverty alleviation and precise poverty alleviation, comprehensively launched the battle against poverty, and strived to improve the material and cultural living standards of the people. According to the white paper "Xinjiang's Labor and Employment Security" released by the Information Office of the State Council in September 2020, "from 2014 to 2019, the total number of labor and employment in Xinjiang increased from 11.3524 million to 13.3012 million, an increase of 17.2%; the average annual new urban employment was more than 471,200, of which 148,000 in southern Xinjiang, accounting for 31.4% The average annual transfer of rural surplus labor force is more than 2.763 million person-times, of which 1.678 million are in southern Xinjiang, accounting for more than 60%. At the same time, the per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region increased by 8.6% and 8.9% respectively in nominal terms. Overall, in recent years, Xinjiang's labor and employment security work has achieved remarkable results in terms of policy system, employment scale, employment structure, labor quality, and labor income.

The above achievements are the crystallization of the hard work of the people of all ethnic groups, and are also the results of the Chinese government's continuous improvement of various employment promotion policies and the implementation of the development strategy of promoting and expanding employment. Taking the scale of employment as an example, giving full play to the advantages of the national counterpart aid mechanism to carry out labor transfer is one of the effective ways to broaden the employment channels of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. The economic development level of china's southeast coastal provinces is relatively high, and the per capita income is also higher than that of Xinjiang, so it has become the choice of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang to go out to Xinjiang to work. In addition to choosing Aksu, Kashgar and Urumqi in Xinjiang as interview locations, the film crew of the documentary "Departure to Happiness" also chose Jinhua and Dongguan in the interior, fully demonstrating the Chinese government's overall concern for the protection of labor and employment rights of people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang.

Under the premise of fully respecting the wishes of the people of all ethnic groups, the Chinese government has actively created opportunities to expand employment and increase incomes and become rich, and the vast number of relevant enterprises have fully guaranteed the basic rights of ethnic minority workers in Xinjiang, including equal employment, labor remuneration, statutory holidays and holidays, rest days, participation in social insurance, and occupational safety, while also taking into account their particularities in eating habits, language habits, religious beliefs and other aspects. For the workers themselves, they choose to work in Enterprises in Xinjiang or the Mainland because they are attracted by the livable natural environment, high-paying job opportunities, high-quality educational resources, etc., or influenced by family and friends. In general, no matter where the ethnic minorities in Xinjiang work, it is their independent and voluntary choice, and it is also a vivid practice of their pursuit of a better life. The rights of ethnic minorities during the period of work are not only fully guaranteed, but the experience of migrant workers in Xinjiang has many positive significance for them, such as increasing economic income and improving vocational skills.

This documentary only reflects a microcosm of the labor and employment situation of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, but it shows the efforts made by the Chinese government to fully protect the labor and employment rights of the people of all ethnic groups and to develop and improve people's livelihood. Regrettably, for some time now, out of ideological prejudice and anti-China needs, some Western countries led by the United States have disregarded the truth of the facts and the voices of the masses of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, frantically smeared Xinjiang's labor and employment guarantee work, hyped up the so-called "forced labor" issue in Xinjiang, and exposed their sinister intentions of depriving the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang of their basic rights to labor and employment and curbing the steady development of Xinjiang. In fact, the Xinjiang-related sanctions issued by the United States and other Western countries have interfered with the normal labor and employment process of migrant workers of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang. The Western Xinjiang-related sanctions on the grounds of "human rights" have caused some enterprises to be reluctant to hire ethnic minority migrant workers in Xinjiang, which is a violation of the labor rights of ethnic minority migrant workers in Xinjiang and a violation of the human rights of ethnic minority workers in Xinjiang.

To guarantee the right to work is to guarantee the survival and development of people and to protect human rights. Looking forward to the future, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the efforts of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government in promoting the labor and employment of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang will not stop, the process of social modernization and urbanization in Xinjiang will not slow down, and the pace of the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang to pursue a better life by relying on labor will also be more determined.

Guangming Daily ( 2021-08-02 09 edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily