Xinjiang vocational centers 'effective' against extremism

Vocational education centers in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region are not concentration or re-education camps as portrayed in some media reports, Shohrat Zakir, chairman of the regional government, said on Tuesday.

Instead, they have proved effective in eliminating religious extremism in the region, he said during a panel discussion of the annual session of the National People's Congress in Beijing.

Claims that the trainees are abused and their freedom is restricted in the centers are inaccurate, and there is no way there are more than 1 million people in them, Shohrat said.