I want to go to Xinjiang and have been waiting for many years. When I really want to go, I prepare for two days and go for two weeks. Before leaving, I had not yet left, and I had begun to miss it.
—CGTN host Liu Xin
CGTN host Liu Xin recently went to Xinjiang to launch a special program of the "Journey to Xinjiang" series of investigative reports. Wong Chun Wai, a well-known Malaysian media person, conducted an exclusive interview with Liu Xin on this issue.
Huang Zhenwei was the CEO of The Star Malaysia Group, and in his 36 years of media experience, he has interviewed former US President Bill Clinton, British physicist Steve Hawking, Indonesian President Jokowi and other international celebrities. In 2014, Huang won the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Media Industry at the World Chinese Economic Forum. From 2012 to 2013, he was Chairman of the Asian Media Alliance. The Asian News Alliance is a news alliance composed of national newspapers in Asia and has great influence in the region. There are 25 media outlets in the alliance, including Malaysia's Star, Sin Chew Daily, Singapore's Straits Times, India's Statesman, China Daily (Hong Kong edition) and so on.
Liu Xin was interviewed by Wong Chun Wai, a well-known media personality in Malaysia
The interview is divided into two episodes, which are broadcast on Huang Zhenwei's personal Facebook platform. The first issue focuses on Liu Xin's "Journey to Xinjiang" to report and hear, and the second issue reveals the story behind Liu Xin's career highlights. The relevant content has been reprinted and forwarded on social platforms by many media outlets under the Asian News Alliance. Malaysia's Sin Chew Daily published a special article entitled "CCTV Famous Anchor Talks About Xinjiang Trip • "There Are Misunderstandings in the Outside World, Forced Labor Claims Are Untrue"" "" published by The Famous Anchor of CCTV.
Malaysia Sin Chew Daily published a special article "CCTV Famous Anchor Talks About Xinjiang Trip· There is a misunderstanding in the outside world that forced labor is not true".
Go away and go to the eye of the storm of international public opinion!
It's a "walk-and-go trip." Xinjiang, an ethnic minority autonomous region in northwestern China, is at the eye of the storm of international public opinion. Liu Xin recalled to Huang Zhenwei the origin of the "Trip to Xinjiang", "In fact, this is a trip that should have arrived long ago. But from hosting news programs to reporting abroad for six years, to live commentary programs every Monday to Friday after returning to China, Liu Xin's time never seems to belong to her. When allegations of "forced labor" and "genocide" in Xinjiang were rampant, she decided to "leave everything behind and start the journey." I need to experience Xinjiang first-hand and communicate with the people there. ”
Even though the whole studio was playing chicken blood, working tirelessly to investigate the topic selection and prepare the itinerary, this public opinion storm did not give them much time to breathe. Two days later, Liu Xin and his team were already in Xinjiang. "I was in a hurry, too late to prepare too much, and I didn't even know who to talk to. Friends in Xinjiang introduced some of the interviewees, and we decided to continue. The trip to Xinjiang lasted two weeks, spanning northern and southern Xinjiang, covering Urumqi and its nearby Hutupi County, Kashgar and other places. Liu Xin Studio has launched a series of nearly 30 reports, including exclusive interviews, field visits and reporter observations.
She spoke to the imam of kashgar's largest mosque and learned that there was a mosque for about every 5,000 people, and that although his son inherited his father's business, he fully respected his children's religious beliefs and life choices. She communicated with people from all walks of life, went to the fields for verification, and learned that more than 95% of the cotton fields in the northern Xinjiang region have been mechanized; ethnic minority children in southern Xinjiang can enjoy 15 years of free compulsory education, and the whole people can enjoy free health examinations once a year.
Liu Xin interviewed the imam of the Atiqa Mosque in Kashgar, whose father was his predecessor, who was tragically killed in a terrorist attack
The "smear campaign" is underway
Huang Zhenwei also visited Xinjiang in his early years. He believes that the so-called "Xinjiang issue" is a "smear campaign" stemming from the gradual loss of dominance and anxiety of the United States.
Excerpt from Huang Zhenwei's article "The Smear Campaign is underway", April 2021
In an article titled "The Smear Campaign is ongoing," Huang writes, "Most Americans neither know how to pronounce 'Xinjiang' nor point to Xinjiang on a map. Xinjiang, however, is a contentious issue for them. In fact, the United States is so troubled because its dominance has ended and the world order has changed. While the United States is busy campaigning and spending trillions of dollars on arms in the name of upholding human rights and Western values, Chinese has spent decades building the nation and eradicating poverty. ”
Liu Xin bluntly said that the motives of some Western countries for caring for Chinese Muslims are not pure! "One of the main bases they gauge the existence of ethnic oppression in Xinjiang is whether Muslims can live according to their religious habits." Why do Western countries have all sorts of restrictions on Muslims? For example, the United States has various prohibitions on people from Muslim countries... I worked as a journalist in Switzerland, and there are restrictions, such as the minaret of a mosque, which cannot be built freely; the freedom to go there and call people to pray. If they believe in freedom, rights, religious freedom and human rights, why are there these restrictions? This is clearly a double-standard act. ”
Recently, The Palestinians and Israelis have fought a big battle, and civilians have suffered heavy casualties. U.S. Secretary of State Blinken tweeted that while calling on both sides to ensure that the situation does not escalate, he said that "Israel has the right to protect itself." Extremely concerned about the so-called "human rights issue" in Xinjiang, and a heavy blow to Muslims in the Middle East, the double standards and prejudices of the United States have once again been exposed.
There has not been a single terrorist attack in Xinjiang for more than four years, and Liu Xin observes that "everyone can concentrate on improving their lives, boosting the economy, running businesses, and educating their children." "This makes Western establishments anxious about China's rise, and they have a hard time accepting that the Chinese model, the Chinese system is working, and the fact that China has the ability to fight terrorism."
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It is not only Liu Xin who misses the enthusiasm and simplicity of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. Huang Zhenwei recalls Xinjiang, the Silk Road that Italian merchants may have walked through in the 13th century, the place where the legend of the Monkey King Flame Mountain took place, with beautiful and mysterious ethnic minorities, and one of the world's largest bazaars, the International Grand Bazaar. Huang Zhenwei and Liu Xin shared: "I have been to many places in China, such as Xi'an and Nanjing. My passport says foreign journalists, but no one has stopped me. Liu Xin also welcomes foreign media who have doubts about this to "see is believing": Xinjiang is transparent and open. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the entry of foreigners into Xinjiang will be restricted, but foreigners already in China can travel to Xinjiang at any time, including qualified foreign journalists. The reports sent back from Xinjiang by foreign media such as the BBC and Reuters are also obvious to all.
Behind the career highlight is the tear fountain of every CGTN person's struggle
"Cross-ocean covenant debate, world war fame". After two years, Liu Xin and Fox's former host Tracy Reagan's "Sino-US anchor cross-ocean debate trade war" is still popular. The data shows that the number of viewers at that time reached 230 million. After the program was broadcast, the global reading of "CGTN" and "Liu Xin" exceeded 12 billion times and 3 billion times respectively, setting a historical record for the global dissemination effect of CGTN and Chinese issues.
"The flower of success, people only envy her current brilliance!" However, her buds were soaked with the fountain of tears of struggle. ”
Liu Xin admitted to Huang Zhenwei that the "explosion of popularity" is not accidental, and foreign media have only seen the moment when the anchor argues, but for more than 20 years, Chinese international communication workers have never stopped moving forward. "From the former CCTV-9, CCTVNews to the current CGTN, we have been working very hard, in the past 20 years, China's international journalists have spared no effort to build an international communication team and brand, from a short 30 minutes of daily recording news broadcasts to today's 5 languages, 24-hour uninterrupted live broadcast, large and small screen integrated communication." This is a recognition of the efforts of every CGTN person for many years. I'm proud, I'm happy, there's a strength in it. ”
In 2011, Liu Xin had been working on the anchor stage for many years, and the spotlights, flowers, applause, and comfortable life did not satisfy her. She knows that she does not understand the world, let alone speak on behalf of China and let the world know more about China. So she resolutely bid farewell to her glamorous anchor career, left the familiar Beijing, "plunged headlong into cold water", and worked as a reporter for CCTV in Geneva, Switzerland, for 6 years. "It was a huge shift and the beginning of my journalistic career. In the first few days of my arrival in Geneva, I couldn't even operate the camera, and now I'm an 'all-rounder', even if I am parachuted into a completely unfamiliar place, I can use local materials and dig up stories. ”
The original intention has not changed, and the return is still a teenager
Liu Xin won the 2020 China Journalism Award and the Renmin University Journalism Award, and the title of "March 8Th Red Flag Bearer" in 2021. For journalism students who dream of "shouldering morality with iron shoulders and writing articles with clever hands", Liu Xin is an idol and guiding light in their minds. When Huang Zhenwei asked her what advice she had for journalism students, Liu Xin was very humble and low-key, "I can't talk about giving advice, I want to say that this is a great and fulfilling profession." In different places, meet different people, forget yourself, and communicate with them wholeheartedly. This makes you wiser and more aware of the world, a valuable asset that you can't buy for any amount of money. At the same time, Liu Xin stressed that journalists need to always be vigilant about themselves, and always ask themselves whether they have achieved objectivity and fairness, and whether they have relied on facts rather than selective observations to support their preconceived views.
When she graduated from college, Liu Xin dreamed of opening an advertising agency to let the world use Chinese products and understand Chinese ideas. More than 20 years have passed, Liu Xin has played a bridge connecting China and foreign countries in international communication work, telling Chinese stories and disseminating Chinese news content products.
Telling the story of China has a long way to go, and the road to international communication is long and difficult. Fortunately, more than 20 years later, Liu Xin's original intention has not changed, and he has courage and strategy; more than 20 years later, CGTN is still a teenager, adding more confidence and calmness. He who walks a hundred miles is half ninety, the road is at his feet, and the journey is coming!