The Memoir China Doesn’t Want You to Read
The story you’re about to support is not just mine — it’s the truth the Chinese state tried to erase.
I was born in Kashgar under Chinese rule. Once celebrated as an entrepreneur, I was later branded as a “traitor.” This memoir is not only my story, but the untold story of a people silenced over half a century—told through my journey of what was taken, what I rebuilt, and the fight to preserve voices that must never be erased.Your support helps fund the writing, editing, and production of this memoir—ensuring it is completed and shared with the public as a cultural and educational resource.
Donations are tax-deductible through my fiscal sponsor, Fractured Atlas, and directly support the completion of this memoir.
The memoir I am fighting to finish—and the truth the world needs to hear.
Doppa my grandmother hand-stitched, only thing I have with me.
From Kashgar’s Bazaars to America’s Capital — Bearing Witness to a Silenced People
I left behind my family, friends, and the language school I built from nothing. In exile, I have watched my homeland disappear behind propaganda, prisons, and silence.This memoir is not just my story — it is a living record of erasure, and a fight to keep our truth alive. Every chapter carries the voices of those who can no longer speak for themselves.
The Honors That Became a Warning
In 2016, in Ürümqi, I met Erkin Tuniyaz — then Vice Chairman of Xinjiang, now its current Chairman. That day, I was awarded the title of “A Virtuous and Aspiring Young Role Model” of Xinjiang (向上向善好青年) — recognition that felt like pride, but now reads as foreshadowing.In May 2017, inside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, I was awarded the same title again — this time nationally — by then Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao. Within weeks, I would flee my homeland, leaving everything behind.
June 2016 — Meeting Erkin Tuniyaz in Ürümqi after receiving the regional “A Virtuous and Aspiring Young Role Model” title.
May 2017 — Meeting Chinese Vice President Li Yuanchao after receiving the national “A Virtuous and Aspiring Young Role Model” title.
Why This Memoir Can’t Wait
The world still does not see the full picture of China’s campaign against the Uyghurs—or the international propaganda machine that has made that campaign so effective.My life story—from winning China’s national speech competitions, to founding a thriving language school in Urumqi, to becoming the first and only Uyghur journalist at Voice of America—is a first-hand account of how oppression takes root, deepens over decades, and stretches across oceans.If I do not finish this book now, the moment may be lost—and with it, the chance to preserve the truth before it is erased.
A Family’s Place in History
In July 1965, my mother, then a young role model student at Uyghur Middle School in Kashgar, was chosen to present flowers to Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. She stood beside him for the official photograph—a moment the state celebrated, but that our family remembered as a complicated symbol of survival and identity under power.Five decades later, in 2017, I too was paraded as a “Young Role Model” in Beijing, shaking hands with China’s vice president. But behind the staged honor, I was already planning my escape, as repression closed in and no Uyghur felt safe.
Be Part of the Journey
I’m finishing the final chapters now, and I need your help to ensure this book reaches the world. As a supporter, you’ll receive project updates and early notice when the memoir becomes publicly available.Every donation brings us closer to a book that history cannot erase.
My mother (second from left) after presenting flowers to Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai during his visit to Kashgar, July 1965.