Fact check: Alleged Xinjiang 'detention centers' anything but
2020-11-30
One of the alleged "detention centers" in Kashgar prefecture is an elementary school in Markit county. [Photo/Global Times]
Rumor: Using satellite images, a report titled "Documenting Xinjiang's Detention System" by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute claims to have identified many detention centers in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.
Fact:
Another alleged "detention center" is a nursing home in Markit county of Kashgar prefecture. [Photo/Global Times]
Buildings with outer walls, which were all identified as detention centers by the ASPI report, are in fact civil institutions.
Using satellite images to prove the existence of detention centers in Xinjiang is "absurd" and "misleading", said Ilijan Anayt, a regional government spokesman, at a news conference.
This alleged "detention center" in Kashgar prefecture is a logistics park. [Photo/Global Times]
The "detention center" in the city of Turpan mentioned in the report is a local administrative building, and the "detention centers" in Kashgar prefecture are care homes, logistics parks and schools, he said. Ilijan also presented photos of the buildings that were alleged to be detention centers or forced labor sites.
Xinjiang is open so there is no need to learn about it through satellite images, Ilijan added.
