SYDNEY - China is continuing to invest in detention camps in Xinjiang, according to a new research report, findings that could bolster calls to punish Beijing over its human rights practices in the predominately Muslim region.
One 100,000 sq m camp that opened in January in Kashgar, near the Kyrgyzstan border, is comprised of 13 five-story residential buildings surrounded by a 14-metre high wall. The findings could fuel calls in the US and Europe for more measures to punish Chinese authorities responsible for Xinjiang and companies that do business there.
China has defended the camps as"vocational education centres" intended to"purge ideological diseases," including terrorism and religious extremism.The facilities were built after a spate of deadly attacks involving Uighurs in 2013 and 2014, prompting President Xi Jinping to order authorities to"strike first" against Islamist extremism.