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User:Thalj/Gulchehra Hoja

< User:Thalj

Early life edit

Hoja was born in 1973 in Ürümqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.[1] Her father was a noted author and archaeologist who served as the head of the archeology department of Xinjiang Regional Museum;[1][2] His writing focused on Uyghur language and history and his archeological work included field work on mummies found in the Tarim Basin.[1][2] Hoja's mother worked both as a professor of pharmacology and as a pharmacist.[1] She has one brother, who is one-and-one-half years younger than her.[1] Her grandfather was a widely known composer of traditional Uyghur music.[1][2]

While growing up, Hoja attended Uyghur-language schools that were run by ethnic Uyghurs.[1]

Hoja is a graduate of Xinjiang Normal University, where she earned a bachelor's degree in Uyghur language and literature.[3][1]

Career edit

Chinese State Media edit

After graduating college, Hoja became the host of the first Uyghur-language children television program in China and became well-known throughout Xinjiang as a result of her role.[4][5] Hoja worked for Chinese state media outlets,[6] including Xinjiang Television[7][8] and China Central Television.[4]

Leaving China and Work with Radio Free Asia edit

Hoja first started to become uncomfortable with her work with Chinese state media and the treatment of the Uyghur people after she visited and reported on Uyghur children who were taken away from their home and villages to be raised in "mainland" China.[9]

In 2001, while on vacation in Austria, Hoja accessed the internet for the first time and learned about the activities of the Uyghur activists outside of China.[4][5] While in the Austrian capital of Vienna, feeling ashamed of her work for Chinese state media, Hoja decided to not return to China.[4][5] In October of that year, Hoja immigrated to the United States began working for Radio Free Asia reporting on the repression of the Uyghur people by the Chinese government.[6][10][4][5][11]

 
Hoja in 2020
 
Hoja with other Uyghur journalists at Radio Free Asia.

In 2017 Hoja was accused of being a terrorist by the Chinese government and placed on the Most Wanted list. Her brother was also arrested at this time and placed in one of the Xinjiang internment camps due to Hoja's reporting.[9]

On January 28, 2018, Hoja published an interview with Omurbek Eli, who arrested and accused of "terrorist activities" while visiting his parents in Xinjiang. Eli was held in one of the Xinjiang internment camps and later released.[12] Three days later on January 31st, twenty-five members of Hoja's family were summoned to local police stations in Xinjiang and detained due to their connection with Hoja.[9][13][7][8][14]

In April 2021, videos were released of Hoja's mother and brother in which they claim to be leading normal lives and criticize Hoja's reporting.[15][11] Hoja believes this to be forced testimony.[9]

On March 27, 2019, Hoja met with US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo as a representative of persons with family members held in the Xinjiang internment camps.[16][17]

Accolades edit

In November 2019, Hoja received the Magnitsky Human Rights Award for her reporting on the ongoing human rights crisis in Xinjiang.[18][19]

In 2020, Hoja was listed among The 500 Most Influential Muslims.[13]

In 2020, Hoja received the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation.[20]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Nordlinger, Jay (4 May 2021). "A Uyghur Daughter, and Journalist". National Review.
  2. ^ a b c Greenberg, Ilan (23 June 2021). "How China threatens prominent Uyghurs — in the US, in China and everywhere". Coda Story.
  3. ^ "Gulchehra A. Hoja Biography" (PDF). US House of Representatives. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-12-11. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  4. ^ a b c d e Nordlinger, Jay (4 May 2021). "A Uyghur Daughter, and Journalist". National Review.
  5. ^ a b c d Greenberg, Ilan (23 June 2021). "How China threatens prominent Uyghurs — in the US, in China and everywhere". Coda Story.
  6. ^ a b "Gulchehra A. Hoja Biography" (PDF). US House of Representatives. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-12-11. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  7. ^ a b "HANKEZI ZIKELI AUNT OF US-BASED UYGHUR JOURNALIST GULCHEHRA HOJA – CHINA AT RISK OF TORTURE". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on 23 February 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020. Gulchehra Hoja's aunt, Hankezi Zikeli, is detained in a "transformation-through-education" centrer in Urumqi, Xinjiang, and is believed to have suffered a nervous breakdown. She is one of 25 relatives of Gulchehra Hoja who have been detained since January 2018.
  8. ^ a b Andrew McCormick (1 March 2019). "What It's Like to Report on Rights Abuses Against Your Own Family". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 12 September 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  9. ^ a b c d Nordlinger, Jay (17 May 2021). "'Be a Human': A Uyghur-American journalist, working for Radio Free Asia". National Review. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  10. ^ Srinivas Mazumdaru (5 March 2018). "Uighur journalist Gulchehra Hoja: 'I have my own sad story to tell'". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  11. ^ a b "Opinion | China is intensifying the third phase of its genocide denial". Washington Post. 2021-04-18. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  12. ^ Hoja, Gulchehra (30 January 2018). "Interview: 'I Lost All Hope of Surviving'". Radio Free Asia.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ a b "Gulchehra Hoja". The 500 Most Influential Muslims. Archived from the original on 13 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  14. ^ "To suppress news of Xinjiang's gulag, China threatens Uighurs abroad". The Economist. 24 October 2019. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  15. ^ "新疆维吾尔自治区在京第7场涉疆问题新闻发布会实录 视频震撼". zj.zjol.com.cn. Retrieved 2021-06-25.
  16. ^ 罗伯特·帕拉迪诺 (2019-03-28). "国务卿蓬佩奥与维吾尔族穆斯林的会见". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in China 美国驻中国大使馆及领事馆. Archived from the original on 2019-07-13. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  17. ^ Fred Hiatt (1 December 2019). "These journalists have confounded China's massive propaganda machine". Washington Post. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020. To punish Gulchehra Hoja, a Washington-based journalist for Radio Free Asia, and to stifle her reporting, China's rulers have imprisoned her brother, harassed her parents and threatened many other relatives back home in Xinjiang, China.
  18. ^ "Radio Free Asia Uyghur journalist wins Magnitsky Human Rights Award". United States Agency for Global Media. 2019-11-15. Archived from the original on 2019-12-11. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  19. ^ Gulchehra Hoja (2019-12-05). "Uighur journalist Gulchehra Hoja on exposing China's detention camps". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 2019-12-08. Retrieved 2019-12-11.
  20. ^ "Gulchehra Hoja". Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
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