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 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.[10]
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][1][7][11]
2020With 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.[10]
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.[12] 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.[10][6][8][9][13]
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.[14][11] Hoja believes this to be forced testimony.[10]
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.[15][16]
Accolades
In November 2019, Hoja received the Magnitsky Human Rights Award for her reporting on the ongoing human rights crisis in Xinjiang.[4][17]
^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.
^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.
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