Detention Center 3: China's Largest Detention Center

Intro

One can confidently say that China has become increasingly influential, its role on the global stage rocketing in importance. The emerging dominance of the People’s Republic is largely due to their success in the field of economics, which they have come to redefine within the past 4 decades. Despite this economic prowess, China is severely lacking in several other essential areas, perhaps nowhere more so than in the continual infliction of mass human rights abuses on its citizens. While China has always had a history of state-sanctioned oppression, the recent persecution of its minority Uyghur population has become increasingly draconian, raising concerns on an international scale.

The efforts to systematically detain Muslim Uyghurs began in 2017, with civilians arrested for what has been labeled ‘religious extremism.’ To meet the demands resulting from this mass imprisonment effort, a vast network of internment centers was constructed throughout the Xinjiang region of northwestern China. The largest of all these facilities is the behemoth Urumqi Detention Centre No. 3, which has been imprisoning thousands upon thousands of Uyghurs since 2017.

Survivors of this facility, and others like it, have continually accused Chinese officials of severe human rights violations, with allegations spanning from indoctrination classes to the most intense forms of torture imaginable. This torture is so extensive that it has allegedly resulted in numerous inmate deaths.

Those held in Center 3 are subjected to horrors no human should ever have to experience. A common sentiment repeated amongst survivors, former camp staff, and the relatives of current inmates is that these facilities are “Hell on Earth,” and this is no overexaggeration. For the Uyghur people of Xinjiang, Hell is not some nebulous place that evil people are sent to in the afterlife. It isn’t even some mere theological concept.

For them, Hell lies only a few miles from their front door, and its name is Urumqi No. 3 Detention Centre.

Background on Urumqi No. 3 Detention Centre

Found in the Dabancheng district of Xinjiang, the mega facility Urumqi No. 3 Detention Centre (now going to refer to it as Center 3) holds an estimate of 10,000 people. Clouding this data is the fact that the Chinese government has repeatedly declined to comment on how many people are currently imprisoned at Center 3, or in the other facilities found throughout the region.

To give a rough idea of how massive the prisoner population could potentially be, an estimate released by U.S. and U.N. officials have alleged that as many as 1 million people were held throughout the entire Chinese camp network in 2017 alone. This number has most likely grown exponentially in subsequent years.

This prison system that Center 3 belongs to is a direct result of the government’s 2014 launch of the ‘Strike Hard Against Terrorism’ campaign. This mainly affected China’s religious citizens, particularly those belonging to the Muslim faith. Simple practices with zero connection to terrorist ideologies or groups were now prosecutable offenses, landing the offender in a detainment center.

The government also utilized this campaign to begin the seizure of cell phones, computers, and religious paraphernalia, as all could possibly be used as tools in terrorist activity. The imprisonment of Uyghur civilians did occur on a smaller scale beforehand, but 2017 is when mass detainment became an official state-operated initiative. China’s president, Xi Jinping, has been infamous for his persecution of religious groups, with him considering any type of faith a form of extremism.

In late 2016, Jinping appointed Chen Quanguo as the Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang. A man noted for his successful control of Tibet, Quanguo was somehow even more committed to the elimination of the “terrorist and separatist” threats the Uyghur people posed.

Quanguo was quoted as telling officials of Xinjiang to “round up everyone who should be rounded up,” and drastically increased the counterterrorism measures of police forces. The major component of these new efforts being the construction of ‘re-education camps/training centers’ throughout the Xinjiang region. Allegedly, Quanguo personally oversaw the assembly of the new prison system, though any confirmation of this claim is highly unlikely.

These ‘training centers’ were actually operating as internment camps where innocent ethnic minorities were made to assimilate into larger society through forced indoctrination and extreme forms of torture. The Chinese government has maintained that all training centers focused on reeducation have been shut down. These programs were labeled as ‘voluntary,’ with all occupants apparently ‘graduating’ from said programs by 2019.

Officials at Center 3 continue to deny that their facility was ever a part of the reeducation system. Zhao Zhongwei, director of the Urumqi Public Security Bureau, has claimed no connection between Detention Center 3 and the formerly operating training centers. Zhongwei went as far to say, “there’s never been one around here,” in reference to the immediate area where Center 3 resides.

Despite continual denials, the evidence showing that Center 3 was at least once used for training programs is abundant. Many former inmates and officers have come forward to confirm it operated as a training facility. Perhaps most damning is the original name Center 3 was given, “the Urumqi Vocational Skills and Educational Training Center.”

Despite adamantly claiming that all reeducation camps have been shut down, stories and evidence continually collected by experts paint a much more sinister picture. Though the government did close the training centers of Xinjiang, they found a bit of a loophole. Instead of ending the use of these facilities entirely, officials decided to do a bit of rebranding, turning these former training camps into fully operational prisons or pre-trial detention facilities.

Construction of Center 3 and the Prison Network

In 2020, the Xinjiang Data Project, a collection of relevant data and research concerning the region’s camp network, published a report that revealed the true extent of this system. Researchers used satellite imaging to identify and map over 380 centers, all built or massively expanded upon since 2017. Of all these desolate fortresses, Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center looms larger than the rest, both physically and metaphorically.

This center is massive in size, spanning over 220 acres, all enclosed by 25-foot concrete walls. Watchtowers occupied by armed guards and deadly electric wiring line the perimeter, ensuring that any form of disobedience will be spotted and summarily punished. This extensive security system makes escape essentially impossible, immediately squelching any glimmer of freedom detainees may have.

To put the size of this prison into context, it is twice the size of Vatican City, bigger than Disneyworld’s Magic Kingdom by over 78 acres, and could fit roughly 28-30 American football fields within its grounds. Center 3 is a structural monster, standing ever-present in the lives of the Xinjiang people. Despite the 10,000 inmate-estimate, the total number of prisoners it can hold when operating at maximum capacity remains unknown.

Additionally, the numbers of the released and of those who have potentially died while held there are also unclear.

Reasons for Internment

Nearly all prisoners who were once or currently are imprisoned at Center 3 have been charged with serious crimes. These alleged heinous and potentially threatening acts of criminality, terrorism, and separatism? The minutiae of daily life.

If one is an active person of faith, even on the most rudimentary level, the Chinese government considers this fodder for, or even direct evidence of, extremist ideologies and terrorist motivations. Numerous investigations have found that many Uyghur inmates were arrested for maintaining the innocuous standards of their Muslim faith, the essential tenets of Islam now considered grounds for imprisonment. Something as simple as attending a religious service could result in the “offender” being held indefinitely at Center 3, facing serious charges and a potential prison sentence sure to include copious amounts of torture.

Some reported reasons for arrest include:

• Any evidence showing a person is a practicing Muslim: praying, having a prayer mat, working in a mosque, reading the Quran, etc.
• Possessing videos with religious themes
• Living, traveling, or studying abroad
• Having “connections” to other people who lived, studied, or traveled abroad
• Having forbidden software platforms on computers or cell phones
• Guilt by association, meaning they have relationships with other people deemed to be threats
• Perceived guilt by association, meaning the government accuses detainees of relationships with dangerous people they have never even met
• Being classified as “suspicious” or “untrustworthy” by the government

The majority of those arrested have never committed anything close to a legitimate crime. For most reasonable people, imprisoning a person for something as simple as traveling abroad or reading a holy text would be considered almost laughable. These grounds for imprisonment may seem entirely farcical, but those being held in China for such reasons are subjected to the severest forms of torture in some of the harshest conditions imaginable. Further adding to this madness is the large number of civilians detained on false charge, being punished for things they never did, or for relationships they never had.

To put it simply, if you are a Muslim Uyghur and the officials of Xinjiang want to address this so-called threat you pose, they will find a reason to arrest and detain you, even if they have to invent completely fictional justifications.

Life Inside the Prison and the AP Report

The daily life of a person held in Center 3 is nothing short of a waking nightmare. These detainees are forced to endure and witness countless acts of human depravity. The atrocities are so horrendous, they have even gone on to affect some of those working at Center 3, with former teachers and guards reporting on the vile acts they witnessed. Many even partook.

In 2021, the Associated Press was granted exclusive access to this prison system whilst on a state-run tour of the Xinjiang province. With strict oversight from government officials, journalists were allowed into Center 3, witnessing the daily activities of this torture chamber. The main entrance of the center was equipped with armed guards and face-scanning turnstiles that monitored who came in and out of the prison.

In the control room, guards had unlimited access to detainee surveillance via a wall-to-wall display of live CCTV footage. Cameras were located everywhere throughout Center 3, allowing guards to monitor inmates 24/7. This, along with a densely populated living space, made privacy completely impossible.

Running alongside the live feed of prisoners, the state broadcasted government-produced programming throughout the facility, all intended to rehabilitate the minds of the so-called extremists. Zhu Hongbin, the director of Center 3, revealed that prisoners are subjected to video classes teaching them about their alleged crimes. These lessons are used to explain why their actions, purported crimes, and beliefs are considered “bad.”

The inmates seemingly did have some access to the outside world, with 22 rooms in the facility being equipped with computers, allowing video contact with their relatives or anyone else allowed to speak to them. These rooms are also reportedly for detainees to meet with counsel, though legal representation is essentially nonexistent in the Xinjiang prison network. According to officials, inmates are held anywhere from 15 days to a year before going to trial for their suspected crimes, with the holding period dependent on the severity of the alleged charges.

The AP noted that while at the facility, it did not appear to be operating at full capacity, despite the fact that the last official government statistics available at the time showed there were twice as many arrests in Xinjiang during 2019 than in the years before the crackdown on terrorism began in 2017. In 2019 alone, the rates of prison sentences reached the hundreds of thousands, with many people sentenced to 5 plus years. Xinjiang officials credited the higher rates of incarceration to growing measures taken in their “war on terror.”

As expected, reporters were not allowed to speak to any former or current detainees during their visit, and they did not witness any torture. Even still, Dake Kang, one of the AP journalists touring the facility, noted that in one cell, prisoners were sat in uniform rows, all with their legs crossed in the lotus position. While in this position, the people sat silently, watching a state-produced reeducation video that displayed images from the Chinese Communist Party’s proud history.

The stories surviving detainees and one-time staff members have shared are extremely harrowing. One former teacher at Center 3 reported that they could hear the sound of inmates being tortured while trying to lead instructional classes. Other colleagues allege that they could hear people being brutalized with electric batons and iron chairs. Many of those held were forced or coerced into signing false confessions, admitting to serious offenses they took no part in, and then being subsequently beaten as punishment.

The AP also noted guidelines hanging the walls of medical rooms used to treat sick inmates. One poster specifically stuck out. This poster contained the proper protocol used when an inmate tries to participate in a hunger strike. Documented was the ‘how to’ on force-feeding the protester, specifically by inserting a feeding tube into their nose.

In a study conducted by Amnesty International, 55 survivors of various centers revealed the true extent of the horrors camp detainees are subjected to. Those arrested and sent to the camps are victims of an arbitrary justice system that operates outside the bounds of the larger Chinese system of law. All reported that they were arrested with no warrant, no credible reasoning ever given for their detainment.

Each person interviewed stated that they were imprisoned for engaging in what would be considered lawful conduct in most other nations. They have no access to any due process or legal counsel to help in their defense, making a guilty sentence the probable outcome. The amount of time they remained in custody was completely arbitrary, with them having little to no idea of when their trial would take place.

After being found guilty, most received sentence of anywhere between 2 to 5 years, where they were subjected to the most brutal of treatments.

These allegations from the other prisons echo those stemming from Center 3. In basically all of these facilities, the lives of detainees were completely controlled by their jailors, with them being afforded absolutely no privacy. All detainees were monitored around the clock, even while sleeping or using the bathroom. Speaking and talking amongst the inmates was forbidden, unless instructed otherwise.

When permitted by a guard or teacher, they were only allowed to speak Mandarin Chinese, a language that people native to the Xinjiang region are largely unfamiliar with. Those from more rural areas and the elderly especially struggled with this, as they tended to have the least amount of exposure to Mandarin. If any other language was spoken, the person was then subjected to violent physical punishment.

Basic hygiene practices essential to good health were heavily restricted or forbidden, many sanitary practices entirely disregarded. Access to food and water was insufficient at best. They were also given little to no access to fresh air and natural light. Ramping up the stresses of imprisonment at Center 3, guards would force the detainees to take shifts monitoring their cellmates during nighttime.

This specific practice only exacerbates the immense tension and discomfort people face when living in such close and hostile quarters. Though the Chinese government claimed to have ended the use of ‘training facilities,’ similar classes were reportedly still found throughout the prison network, even in Center 3. Countless survivors and former staff have alleged this, claiming that these reeducation efforts were considered essential to the ‘War on Terror.’

The reports collected by Amnesty International also revealed the specific torture methods used during interrogations and detainment. Sleep deprivation, solitary confinement, electric shocks, being hung from a wall, the unlawful use of restraints, being forced into stress positions, and physical beatings have all allegedly been utilized to garner false confessions during interrogation sessions that lasted for hours. This brutal level of treatment has been found in essentially every facility found throughout Xinjiang.

Even after serving their sentences, former detainees found themselves heavily monitored by the government, with most of their movements and activities being severely restricted. Many were sent from the prisons to go work in factories, others were sent from facility to facility, their ultimate release date never being revealed and/or arbitrarily moved around. Deaths do occur in these facilities, with many inmates suddenly disappearing, never to be seen again.

Definitive numbers are hard to pin down, as the government refuses to even acknowledge the abuses taking place, let alone any deaths they may lead to. The total number of these victims will most likely never be known but be assured that it is most likely a devastatingly large amount.

An Ominous Future (Wrap Up)

At first, China denied the existence of this prison/camp network, only conceding to the investigative pressure of the international community in 2019. Though they claim to no longer operate any training centers, they continue to use these facilities as pre-trial detention facilities and prisons. Officials have repeatedly maintained that no torture or human rights violations have ever, and still don’t, take place in these facilities, despite the mountains of evidence proving otherwise.

If one thing is for certain, it is that the Chinese government never intended for their prison network to become public knowledge. Unfortunately for them, hiding this mass detainment effort proved impossible, especially when considering the horrific treatment victims are constantly subjected to. Groups like Amnesty International and the Xinjiang Data Project have remained committed to exposing the state-sanctioned abuse of the Uyghur people by the Chinese government.

They continue to monitor all available data sources while documenting the stories of surviving inmates and former camp officials.

Satellite images from the past few years have revealed that new buildings were further added to the Center 3 in 2019, stretching to almost a mile long, with many other facilities also adding on newer expansions. Center 3, and other similar camps, are still used as prisons or pre-trial detention facilities, and the government has continued building entirely new centers throughout Xinjiang. The expansion of the existing prison network, the construction of new facilities, and the fact that older camps (Center 3 included) are still running, indicates just how committed the government is to the future imprisonment of Uyghur and other Muslim minorities.

Responses from the international community have varied, with the far majority condemning the actions taken against the Uyghur civilians. Despite this, no massive relief efforts have been orchestrated, with Amnesty International claiming that the UN has completely failed to take any serious actions against China. Any punishment imposed on China, whether by the UN or specific nations, have been rather underwhelming.

This sinister network of internment camps is still fully operational in Xinjiang, and it shows no signs of ending any time soon. China is among the most dominant nations today’s society with it being considered the leader in manufacturing, the second-largest global economy, and having one of the most powerful militaries in the world. Even still, this global dominance cannot hide the fact that China is worryingly behind most others when it comes to the general treatment of its citizens.

And for the country’s minority groups, this treatment is far more malevolent. No one better knows this than the Uyghur communities of Northwestern China. They exist in a constant state of stress, the threat of imprisonment an ever-present force found throughout their daily lives.

For the Uyghur people, Hell is just a stone’s throw away. These camps loom over towns and villages like a monster sitting there silently taunting whoever’s next, none other quite as large and ominous as Urumqi Detention Center 3.

Links

• AP Article
• The Sun Article
• Al Jazeera Article
• BBC Article
• Zenz Report
• HRW History of Uyghur Oppression
• Xinjiang Data Project
• Amnesty International

Key Takeaways

• Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center is the largest of China’s internment camps, holding an estimated 10,000 Uyghurs.
• The Chinese government has systematically detained Uyghurs since 2017 for practices like praying or owning a Quran.
• Survivors and former staff describe severe torture and human rights abuses at Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center.
• China has expanded its network of internment camps, with over 380 facilities identified since 2017.
• Despite international condemnation, China continues to operate and expand its internment camp network.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center?

Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center, also known as Center 3, is the largest detention facility in China, located in the Dabancheng district of Xinjiang. It is estimated to hold around 10,000 people and has been used to detain Uyghur Muslims since 2017.

Why were Uyghur Muslims detained in Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center?

Uyghur Muslims were detained for practices labeled as ‘religious extremism,’ such as praying, having a prayer mat, working in a mosque, reading the Quran, possessing religious videos, traveling or studying abroad, and having forbidden software on their devices.

What is the size of Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center?

Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center spans over 220 acres, making it larger than Vatican City and Disneyworld’s Magic Kingdom. It is enclosed by 25-foot concrete walls and has extensive security measures, including watchtowers and electric wiring.

What is the background of the detention campaign in Xinjiang?

The detention campaign began in 2014 with the ‘Strike Hard Against Terrorism’ campaign, which targeted religious practices among Muslim Uyghurs. The campaign intensified in 2017, leading to the construction of numerous internment centers, including Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center.

What are the conditions like inside Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center?

Conditions inside the center are described as ‘Hell on Earth’ by survivors and former staff. Detainees are subjected to constant surveillance, forced indoctrination, torture, and severe restrictions on basic human needs like hygiene, food, and water.

How does the Chinese government justify the detention of Uyghur Muslims?

The Chinese government justifies the detention by labeling practices of the Muslim faith as ‘extremism’ and ‘terrorism.’ They claim that these measures are part of a ‘War on Terror’ to combat separatist threats.

What is the international response to the detention of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang?

The international community has largely condemned the actions taken against Uyghur civilians, but no massive relief efforts have been orchestrated. The UN and specific nations have imposed underwhelming punishments on China.

What is the future of Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center and similar facilities?

The Chinese government continues to expand the existing prison network and build new facilities, indicating a commitment to the ongoing imprisonment of Uyghur and other Muslim minorities. Satellite images show new buildings added to Center 3 in 2019.

What is the role of Chen Quanguo in the detention campaign?

Chen Quanguo, appointed as the Communist Party Secretary of Xinjiang in late 2016, was instrumental in increasing counterterrorism measures and overseeing the construction of ‘re-education camps’ throughout the Xinjiang region.

What evidence supports the existence of Urumqi No. 3 Detention Center as a re-education facility?

Despite official denials, evidence includes testimonies from former inmates and officers, as well as the original name of the center, ‘the Urumqi Vocational Skills and Educational Training Center.‘

Sources

• Original Into the Shadows video: Detention Center 3: China’s Largest Detention Center
• Hero image source by 罗布泊 / openverse, by.

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