“Like We Were Enemies in a War": China's Mass Internment, Torture, and Persecution of Muslims in Xinjiang

June 11, 2021

Amnesty International

Azat, who worked for the government and was familiar with parts of the data collection system, told Amnesty about some of the movements and communications the government tracked:
In 2017… It was all going in the system… All the information, where you have gone, who you have talked to, goes into the database… We were collecting information on three main categories: who you travel with, where you sleep, and who you talked to… If you were involved with someone – you called them, you travelled with them, or you shared a hotel with them – then [your name] goes onto a list and is sent [to various levels of government].