The firm was founded by Erik Prince, a former US Navy Seal and the brother of the US education secretary, Betsy DeVos. FSG, which has a Hong Kong headquarters, has built up a wealth of contracts both inside China and for Chinese companies operating overseas, particularly in Africa. But its presence in Xinjiang is controversial because of the sweeping security crackdown Chinese authorities have launched in the restive far-western region, including reported mass incarcerations. “He had no knowledge or involvement whatsoever with this preliminary memorandum regarding the company’s activity in Xinjiang,” the spokesman said. FSG’s original Chinese language statement on 22 January said one of its subsidiaries had signed a deal for a training centre with the Kashgar Caohu industrial park in southern Xinjiang.

Source: The Guardian February 01, 2019 04:39 UTC