TIL Desk/World/Washington/ Chinese officials on Tuesday said “most” individuals held in re-education camps in its northwest Xinjiang region have left the centres and found jobs – though they did not provide any figures.
In Xinjiang, experts and human rights groups say more than one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are held in a network of camps where they endure political indoctrination.
But Alken Tuniaz, vice chairman of Xinjiang, told at a press briefing that “most personnel who have received educational training have already returned to society and have returned home.” “Right now, most have already completed their studies and obtained employment,” he said.
After initially denying their existence, Beijing has gone on a public relations blitz to defend what it calls “vocational education centres” as a necessary measure to counter religious extremism and boost employment.
