The United Nations human rights panel said in August that China is believed to be holding up to 1 million ethnic Uighurs in a secretive system of "internment camps" in Xinjiang, in China's far west, where they undergo political education. Beijing has denied that such camps are for "political education" and says they are instead vocational training centres, part of government initiatives to bolster economic growth and social mobility in the region. Uighurs and other Muslims held in the camps are forbidden from using Islamic greetings, must learn Mandarin Chinese and sing propaganda songs, according to a report by Human Rights Watch based on interviews with five former camp detainees. Security conditions in Xinjiang outside the camps had also intensified markedly and now bear "a striking resemblance to those inside", Hong Kong-based Human Rights Watch researcher Maya Wang said, based on interviews with 58 former Xinjiang residents now living abroad. Wang and her team only spoke with people who had left Xinjiang due to a lack of access to the region and to avoid endangering those still living there.

Source: bd News24 September 10, 2018 05:15 UTC