Former trainees from Xinjiang's training centers have rejected Western media outlets' claims that the centers are "detention camps" and that China is committing ethnic cleansing in the autonomous region.
At a press conference held by the government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region on Saturday, Elijan Anayit, a spokesperson for the Information Office of the Xinjiang government, condemned the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, which in September published a report titled "Documenting Xinjiang's Detention System," falsely claiming that China is persecuting ethnic minorities in Xinjiang.
Anayit said the claims are totally fabricated and don't hold water. He explained that from 2010 till the end of 2018, the Uygur population in Xinjiang increased by 25.04 percent, rising from 10.1715 million to 12.7184 million, whereas the Han population increased by just 2.0 percent, rising from 8.8299 million to 9.0068 million.
Other officials said that in the training centers, students learn skills such as sewing, painting and cooking, and the goal is to help students acquire new skills so that they can earn more money and make a better life.
Shirali Amarjan, who is a former trainee at the center, told reporters that after graduating he started an interior design and decoration company. But before that, influenced by religious extremism, he saw the Han ethnic people as "pagans" and barely associated with them.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute falsely claimed a middle School (geographic coordinates: 38.9046N, 77.6153E) in Markit County of Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang was a "detention center." /Photo courtesy of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region government
Amarjan was also encouraged to rebel against national laws. Even the worse, he viewed his wife as a heretic and often abused her because she worked in a government position
"At the training center, I not only studied law, and standard spoken and written Chinese, but also acquired knowledge of computer science, which was my favorite subject," he said.
"Other skills taught included welding and automotive maintenance, and all my classmates chose to focus on areas aligned with their interests. Another positive point was the courses were all free of charge."
Aysham Rasul, also a graduate from the training center, now runs a beauty salon in Shanshan County of Xinjiang, which brings her a monthly income of 8,000 yuan to 10,000 yuan (about $1,000-1,500).
Before she went to the centers, she was extremely religious. She believed that women who wore fashionable clothes were against religious doctrine; women who were not masked were "pagans" and shall go to hell; women were not allowed to wear wedding dresses at weddings, nor were they allowed to express their joy through singing and dancing.
The Australian Strategic Policy Institute falsely claimed a logistics park (geographic coordinates: 39.8252N, 78.5501E) in Bachu County of Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang was a "detention center."/Photo courtesy of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region government
However, Rasul's life began to change after she went to the training center, learning makeup and spa.
"Through the training, I realized that my past beliefs were completely wrong and religious extremism was our enemy. It's a disease which poisons our body and a drug which leads us to death. I must stay away from religious extremism and lead a normal life," she said.
Other officials at the news briefing spoke about the economic development of Xinjiang, saying compared to the same period last year, the gross domestic product of the region increased by 2.2 percent in the first three quarters of 2020, standing at nearly 982 billion yuan ($149 billion).