'Here voluntarily': How China is defending detention of Muslims to world

This reflects Xi's increased confidence, where he's directly challenged Western-style democracy with a centralised model of govt that uses advanced technology to control the behaviour of its citizens

At the Shu Le County Education Center, a sprawling three-story complex in China’s far west region of Xinjiang, the dormitories feature bars on windows and doors that only lock from the outside.

Inside are hundreds of minority Muslim Uighurs who have no way of leaving without an official escort, even though Chinese officials who took a group of foreign journalists around the “transformation through education” camp this week insisted they were there voluntarily. Asked what would happen if a Uighur refused to attend, Shu Le’s principal Mamat Ali became quiet.

“If they don’t want to come, they will have to