NHK WORLD, June 3 2022

A US government report on international religious freedom accuses China of having detained a slew of Muslims and other people in the country's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

The US State Department released the annual report on Thursday.

The report estimates that more than 1 million Uyghurs and others have been detained in internment camps in the Xinjiang region since 2017.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that China is still committing genocide and repressing the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and members of other religious minority groups.

He used the word genocide, which refers to the deliberate extermination of a particular ethnic or religious group.

A senior State Department official, who helped compile the report, said China uses sophisticated technology, such as AI and facial recognition, to surveil and maintain control of an open-air prison in Xinjiang.

He added that Beijing also continued its crackdown on Tibetan Buddhists. He said authorities arrested and tortured Tibetans, who promoted their language and culture.