China is running hundreds of detention centers in the Xinjiang region across a network that is much bigger than previously thought, research presented yesterday by an Australian think tank showed.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) said that it identified more than 380 “suspected detention facilities” in the region, where China is believed to have held more than 1 million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim Turkic-speaking residents.
The number of facilities is about 40 percent greater than previous estimates, the research said, and has been growing despite China’s claims that many Uighurs have been released.
Photo: AFP
Using satellite imagery, eyewitness accounts, media reports and official construction tender documents, the institute said that “at least 61 detention sites have seen new construction and expansion work between July 2019 and July 2020.”
Fourteen more facilities have been under construction this year, and about 70 have had fencing or perimeter walls removed, indicating that their use has changed, or that they have been closed.
Beijing, which has said the sites are vocational training centers used to counter extremism, yesterday again denied the existence of detention sites.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) called ASPI “the vanguard of anti-China forces, whose academic credibility is seriously questionable.”
US lawmakers recently voted to ban imports from the Xinjiang region, citing the alleged use of systematic forced labor.
Beijing has published a white paper defending its policies in Xinjiang, where it says training programs, work schemes and better education mean that life has improved.
It said that “training sessions” have been given to an average of 1.29 million workers per year from 2014 to last year.
Following the publication of the ASPI report, the Global Times cited “sources” as saying that contributors Clive Hamilton and Alex Joske were banned from entering China.
Wang yesterday did not confirm whether the two academics had been banned, but said that the matter was “totally within the scope of China’s sovereignty.”
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
BULLY TACTICS: Beijing has continued its incursions into Taiwan’s airspace even as Xi Jinping talked about Taiwan being part of the Chinese family and nation China should stop its coercion of Taiwan and respect mainstream public opinion in Taiwan about sovereignty if its expression of goodwill is genuine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. Ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) made the comment in response to media queries about a meeting between former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) the previous day. Ma voiced support for the so-called “1992 consensus,” while Xi said that although the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have “different systems,” this does not change the fact that they are “part of the same country,” and that “external