The delegation of deputies to the 14th National People's Congress (NPC) from northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region took questions from the press on March 7 during the ongoing Two Sessions. A Uygur deputy, Akram Memtimin, debunked the so-called "forced labor" in Xinjiang's cotton industry.

"This snow-white cotton is our major source of income. We make a good living, we purchase cars and move into modern houses by growing cotton. Do we need to be forced to do so?" Memtimin said, adding that such claims are "sheer nonsense."