Tall wire fences and hundreds of cameras surround a huge complex of more than 30 structures in Hotan, a city in China’s far western Xinjiang region. Armed officers and guard dogs keep watch outside. The complex is one of a growing number of internment camps in far western China. Most of the men and women detained in the camps are Muslim minorities. Experts and rights groups say China has detained about 1 million Uyghurs, Kazakhs and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. The Chinese government has described the camps as re-education centers. It has said the detainees are being taught Chinese culture, language, history, and a “modern” way of life. The detainees also make clothing, the Associated Press reports. Some of the clothing made in the camps is being sold to sports teams and colleges across the United States. The Chinese government recently began describing the camps as free training centers. They say people learn skills to help them find work. It claims that people in the centers have signed agreements to receive such job training.
