3月24日，瑞典服装与化妆品销售企业H&M集团“宣布抵制新疆棉花”一事引发关注。
H&M集团在一份声明中称，该集团关注到新疆维吾尔自治区少数民族群众遭遇“强迫劳动”和“宗教歧视”的指控，并表示将不再与新疆工厂合作，抵制新疆产品。这种无中生有、别有用心的指控，充斥着偏见，暴露了无知。此事随即引发网友声讨。
@共青团中央连续发布多条微博有力回击道——“一边造谣抵制新疆棉花，一边又想在中国赚钱？痴心妄想！”；“新疆棉花不吃这一套！”品牌代言人黄轩和宋茜先后在微博上发文表示与H&M已无合作，并表示“国家利益高于一切”；“坚决反对以任何形式企图对国家及人权进行抹黑造谣的行为。” Huang Xuan and Song Qian, two celebrities, also ambassadors for the fashion retailer H&M, announced on Wednesday that they would break ties with the brand immediately. Their announcements came after the company said it had prohibited any type of "forced labor" in its supply chain, and it has ceased cotton supply from China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, citing so-called human rights concerns.
中国外交部对此早已进行过有力的批驳——所谓新疆存在“强迫劳动”是彻头彻尾的谎言。新疆企业发展得怎样、劳动者过得怎样，新疆人民最有发言权。
戳视频
听新疆棉农真实声音
↓↓↓
“新疆数十万少数民族劳工被迫手工摘棉花？”此前，所谓的德国学者郑国恩炮制了充满谎言和虚假信息的涉疆言论。新疆的本地棉农表示，这类虚假的言论除了罔顾事实，也让他们遭受了不小的经济损失。In a recent paper, German author Adrian Zenz accused Chinese authorities of forcing hundreds of thousands of Uygurs to pick cotton. But local farmers dismissed the allegations on Thursday, saying the claims have caused them to suffer economic losses.米吉提•依米提是来自新疆阿克苏地区库车市的棉农，他家里有20万平方米的农田，年收入约为15万元人民币——超2.3万美元。 前些年，他会花钱请新疆本地和内地来的采棉工帮忙。但是现在他用机器采摘，机采棉成本更低、效率更高。米吉提•依米提说，采棉是一份高薪工作，这就是为什么农民工会在采摘季来到新疆。 “我们种自己的地，收自己的棉花，挣自己的钱——怎么能称为‘强迫劳动’呢？我们之前请采棉工人摘棉花，两个月就能挣一万多元。大家都抢着来，这叫强迫劳动吗？”As a cotton farmer from the city of Kuqa in Aksu Prefecture, Mijit Timit owns 200,000 square meters of farmland, generating an annual income of about 150,000 yuan ($23,069). Several years back, he hired people from either Xinjiang or other parts of China to pick cotton when his family was short-handed during the harvest season. But now, he uses machines, which he says are more efficient and cost less.Mijit said picking cotton is a well-paid job, and that's why migrant workers go all the way to Xinjiang during the harvest season. "We're earning money by harvesting the cotton we grow ourselves. How can you call that 'forced labor?'" said Mijit. "The cotton pickers we used to hire could earn about 10,000 yuan in two months. Many people rushed to do the work. We don't need to force them."
“采棉”曾经是一个很吃香的工种，很多来自河南和四川的外来务工人员会选择到新疆采棉。新疆维吾尔自治区党委宣传部副部长徐贵相介绍说，种植户不仅会给采棉工人支付高额的薪水，还管吃管住。2014年9月1日，1100名棉农搭乘专列从河南许昌赴新疆摘棉。/CFP这些采棉工人会与雇主签订劳动合同，并且得到符合《劳动法》规定的报酬。近些年，由于中国内陆地区农村人口的收入在不断增加，外省到新疆采棉的工人数量有所下降。Cotton picking used to be a popular job for migrant workers from other provinces, such as Henan and Sichuan, according to Xu Guixiang, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.Xu said local employers would pay them high salaries and provide free meals and accommodation, adding that their rights were also guaranteed."These cotton pickers sign labor contracts with employers and receive legal payment in accordance with China's labor law and regulations. In recent years, the number of such cotton pickers from other provinces has decreased because the income of the rural labor force has been increasing in inland areas of China," said Xu.
随着科技的应用，新疆的棉花生产已经进入高度机械化时代，即使在采收季，也不再需要大量的采棉工人。据统计，去年北疆的棉花机采率已超九成。He added that with the development of technology, cotton production has been highly mechanized in Xinjiang, so even in the busy harvest season, there is no need for a large number of cotton pickers. According to officials, about 95 percent of cotton in northern Xinjiang was harvested by machines last year.2020年8月20日，在天山南麓的新疆棉花主产区尉犁县，“飞手”们操控农业植保无人机按照既定航线穿梭在棉田进行飞防作业。/CFP
郑国恩所谓的“强迫劳动论”让很多国家减少甚至停止从新疆进口棉产品。新疆当地的一些个人和企业正在发起诉讼，要求其赔礼道歉、恢复名誉并赔偿损失。Xu said as Adrian Zenz's "forced labor" claim has caused some countries to decrease or even stop importing cotton products from Xinjiang, some local individuals and enterprises are now suing the German author for economic losses and damaging their reputation.
去年9月9日，针对有关美方可能以所谓“违反人权”为由禁止从中国新疆进口部分商品的报道，外交部发言人赵立坚回应说，美方应立即停止干涉中国内政、损害中方利益的错误行径。中方将继续采取一切必要举措，维护中国企业合法权益。今年3月18日，外交部发言人赵立坚再次表示，所谓新疆存在“强迫劳动”、“强制绝育”等“侵犯人权行为”是个别别有用心的所谓学者和机构蓄意编造和散布的弥天大谎，违背公理良知，中国人民强烈愤慨。对此，任何愿意尊重和了解中国、不对新疆抱有恶意和偏见的人都应该予以警惕和抵制。法国作家维瓦斯在其著作《维吾尔族假新闻的终结》中也明确揭露了这些从未去过新疆的人在制造假新闻的阴谋。建议有关人士好好读一读这本书，认真了解一下什么是事实。