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| China has staunchly defended its policies in Xinjiang, saying training programmes and work schemes have improved people's lives. (Photo by= AFP/Greg Baker) |
[Asia News Communication = Reporter Reakkana] China praised the success of its vocational and jobs schemes in the troubled Xinjiang region on Thursday (Sep 17), just days after the US government said they were being operated from facilities run like "concentration camps".
Beijing came under intense international criticism over its policies in the region, where rights groups say around one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities are being held in internment camps. US customs said Monday it would bar a raft of Chinese products from Xinjiang over fears of forced labour, saying "religious and ethnic minorities are forced to work in heinous conditions with no recourse and no freedom". Homeland Security Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli told reporters: "This is not a vocational centre, it is a concentration camp."
But Beijing says the centres are for vocational training, necessary for counter terrorism efforts and to give education for alleviating poverty.Training includes teaching written and spoken Mandarin, labour skills and giving knowledge of urban life, according to the report, which says rural people have started businesses or taken employment in factories after state support. The EU meanwhile has urged China to allow independent observers to travel to the highly surveilled region. China this week said experts were "welcome" but didn't detail if they would be allowed free access to the controversial facilities.
