Gulchehra Hoja

Gulchehra "Guli" A. Hoja (born 1973) is a Uyghur–American journalist who has worked for Radio Free Asia since 2001.[1][2][3] In November 2019, Hoja received the Magnitsky Human Rights Award for her reporting on the ongoing human rights crisis in Xinjiang[4] and in 2020, Hoja received the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation[5] and was listed among The 500 Most Influential Muslims.[6]

Gulchehra A. Hoja
Born1973
Ürümqi, Xinjiang, People's Republic of China
CitizenshipUnited States
EducationBachelor's degree in Uyghur language and literature, Xinjiang Normal University
Known forRadio Free Asia journalist

Early life

Hoja was born in 1973 in Ürümqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China.[3] Her father was a noted author and archaeologist who served as the head of the archeology department of Xinjiang Regional Museum;[3][7] His writing focused on Uyghur language and history and his archeological work included field work on mummies found in the Tarim Basin.[3][7] Hoja's mother worked both as a professor of pharmacology and as a pharmacist.[3] She has one brother, who is one-and-one-half years younger than her.[3] Her grandfather was a widely known composer of traditional Uyghur music.[3][7]

While growing up, Hoja attended Uyghur-language schools that were run by ethnic Uyghurs.[3]

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

Career

Chinese State Media

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.[7][3] Hoja worked for Chinese state media outlets,[8] including Xinjiang Television[9][10] and China Central Television.[3]

Leaving China and Work with Radio Free Asia

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.[11]

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.[7][3] While in the Austrian capital of Vienna, feeling ashamed of her work for Chinese state media, Hoja decided to not return to China.[7][3] In October of that year, Hoja immigrated to the United States and began working for Radio Free Asia, reporting on the repression of the Uyghur people by the Chinese government.[3][8][7][12]

2020
With other Uyghur journalists at RFA

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.[11]

On January 28, 2018, Hoja published an interview with Omurbek Eli, who was 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.[13] Three days later on January 31, twenty-five members of Hoja's family were summoned to local police stations in Xinjiang and detained due to their connection with Hoja.[11][6][9][10][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][12] Hoja believes this to be forced testimony.[11]

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

In November 2019, Hoja received the Magnitsky Human Rights Award for her reporting on the ongoing human rights crisis in Xinjiang.[4][18]

In 2020, Hoja was listed among The 500 Most Influential Muslims.[6]

In 2020, Hoja received the Courage in Journalism Award from the International Women's Media Foundation.[5]

Personal life

Hoja lives in Woodbridge, Virginia with her husband and three children.[1]

References
  1. "Gulchehra A. Hoja Biography" (PDF). US House of Representatives. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  2. Srinivas Mazumdaru (March 5, 2018). "Uighur journalist Gulchehra Hoja: 'I have my own sad story to tell'". Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on June 14, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  3. Nordlinger, Jay (May 4, 2021). "A Uyghur Daughter, and Journalist". National Review.
  4. "Radio Free Asia Uyghur journalist wins Magnitsky Human Rights Award". United States Agency for Global Media. November 15, 2019. Archived from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  5. "Gulchehra Hoja". Archived from the original on August 6, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  6. "Gulchehra Hoja". The 500 Most Influential Muslims. Archived from the original on October 13, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  7. Greenberg, Ilan (June 23, 2021). "How China threatens prominent Uyghurs — in the US, in China and everywhere". Coda Story.
  8. "Gulchehra A. Hoja Biography" (PDF). US House of Representatives. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  9. "HANKEZI ZIKELI AUNT OF US-BASED UYGHUR JOURNALIST GULCHEHRA HOJA – CHINA AT RISK OF TORTURE". Amnesty International. Archived from the original on February 23, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 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.
  10. Andrew McCormick (March 1, 2019). "What It's Like to Report on Rights Abuses Against Your Own Family". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on September 12, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
  11. Nordlinger, Jay (May 17, 2021). "'Be a Human': A Uyghur-American journalist, working for Radio Free Asia". National Review. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  12. "Opinion | China is intensifying the third phase of its genocide denial". Washington Post. April 18, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  13. Hoja, Gulchehra (January 30, 2018). "Interview: 'I Lost All Hope of Surviving'". Radio Free Asia.
  14. "To suppress news of Xinjiang's gulag, China threatens Uighurs abroad". The Economist. October 24, 2019. Archived from the original on October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 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 June 25, 2021.
  16. 罗伯特·帕拉迪诺 (March 28, 2019). "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 July 13, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  17. Fred Hiatt (December 1, 2019). "These journalists have confounded China's massive propaganda machine". Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 13, 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. Gulchehra Hoja (December 5, 2019). "Uighur journalist Gulchehra Hoja on exposing China's detention camps". Financial Times. Archived from the original on December 8, 2019. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
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