'It's too late for regrets'

Turson spent his 23rd birthday in a detention center in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region after being caught helping to smuggle people out of China in February.

If he hadn't fallen for the fake promises of a yijilate, or "migration", cell, Turson would well be on his way to becoming a doctor.

Recalling the time he spent at senior high school outside Xinjiang still excites Turson. He was one of just six students from his junior high to make it to a senior high school that accepted students from the region.