A Stone Is Most Precious Where It Belongs

In February 2018, twenty-four members of Gulchehra Hoja's family disappeared overnight. In one evening, all those she had left behind in Ürümchi when she fled to a new life in the United States were arrested because of her. Her crime - and thus that of her family - was her award-winning investigations for Radio Free Asia on the plight of the Uyghur people. A Stone is Most Precious Where it Belongs is Gulchehra Hoja's, stunning literary memoir, taking us into the everyday world of life under Chinese rule in East Turkistan (more formally as the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China). The grandchild of a renowned Uyghur musician and the daughter of an esteemed Uyghur archaeologist, Hoja grew up with her people's culture and history running through her veins. She showed her gifts early on as a dancer, actress, and storyteller, putting her on a path to success as a major television start for China's state TV. Slowly though, she began to realize the realities of Communist rule and understand what China was doing to her people. As her rising fame and growing political awakening coincided, she made the decision to flee the US, where she has fight to expose the crimes Beijing is committing in the far reaches of its nation. Revealing the beauty of East Turkistan and its people - its music, its culture, its heritage, and above all its emphasis on community and family, A Stone is Most Precious Where it Belongs gives us a glimpse beyond what the Chinese state wants us to see - showcasing a woman who was willing to risk not just her own life, but also that of her family, to expose her people's story to the world.