Uighurs in China

China running 380 detention centers in Xinjiang, say researchers

Agence France-Presse

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China running 380 detention centers in Xinjiang, say researchers

This photo taken on May 31, 2019 shows a watchtower on a high-security facility near what is believed to be a re-education camp where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained, on the outskirts of Hotan, in China's northwestern Xinjiang region. - As many as one million ethnic Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are believed to be held in a network of internment camps in Xinjiang, but China has not given any figures and describes the facilities as "vocational education centres" aimed at steering people away from extremism. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY CHINA-XINJIANG-MEDIA-RIGHTS-PRESS,FOCUS BY EVA XIAO

Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY CHINA-XINJIANG-MEDIA-RIGHTS-PRESS,FOCUS BY EVA XIAO

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute says it has identified more than 380 'suspected detention facilities' in the region – where China is believed to have detained more than 1 million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking residents
China running 380 detention centers in Xinjiang, say researchers

China’s network of detention centres in the northwest Xinjiang region is much bigger than previously thought and has been expanded in recent years, according to research presented by an Australian think tank Thursday.

The Australian Strategic Policy Institute said it had identified more than 380 “suspected detention facilities” in the region – where China is believed to have detained more than one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking residents.

The number of facilities is around 40 percent greater than previous estimates and, according to Australian researchers, has been growing despite China’s claims that many Uighurs have been released.

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Using satellite imagery, eyewitness accounts, media reports and official construction tender documents, the institute said “at least 61 detention sites have seen new construction and expansion work between July 2019 and July 2020.”

Fourteen more facilities were under construction in 2020 and around 70 have had fencing or perimeter walls removed, indicating their use has changed or they have been closed.

US lawmakers recently voted to ban imports from Xinjiang, citing the alleged use of systematic forced labour.

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Beijing recently published a white paper defending its policies in Xinjiang, where it says training programs, work schemes and better education mean life has improved.

It has defended the so-called training centers as necessary to stamp out extremism.

Following the publication of the latest report, Chinese government-controlled nationalist tabloid the Global Times cited “sources” saying Australian Strategic Policy Institute contributors Clive Hamilton and Alex Joske were banned from entering China. – Rappler.com

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