XINJIANG / CHINA — China has built a vast camp system in Xinjiang and interned about a million Uyghurs. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, or ICIJ, says that a new leak has revealed the conditions in the system.
The Guardian reports that the documents contain instructions for officials to "never allow escape."
The orders demand constant surveillance with no blindspots and establishing guard towers and layers of fences and walls, according to the Guardian.
The BBC reports that every aspect of life in the camps is controlled. The document shows that a detainee must take a fixed position for bed, for workshop, and for lunch queues.
The BBC reports that the documents include orders to enforce strict discipline for sleeping, waking, closing doors and roll calls.
Chinese officials claimed the camps give lessons on Chinese language and citizenship, but former detainees described them as harsh brainwashing sessions, the New York Times reports.
According to the BBC, the camps established a points system based on the detainee's ideological transformation and compliance.
The Guardian reports that those who loses points could be transferred to a higher tier of security camps and see their internment increased from the required term of one year.
The ICIJ says the documents also revealed the extent of China's AI-powered domestic surveillance program.
The predictive system tracks VISAs application records, use of encrypted apps and facial recognition to flag thousands of people for searches and detention.
Speaking to the BBC, China's UK ambassador Liu Xiaoming dismissed latest Uyghur internment camp revelations as "fake news," in a press conference on Tuesday.
