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Today in History: Chen Quanguo named Xinjiang secretary later built camps

8/29/2026

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Summary

Story summary

On 29 August 2016, Chen Quanguo was appointed Chinese Communist Party secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Using his authority as the region’s top official, he directed the 2017 launch of vocational-education-training centers that evolved into mass internment camps, later condemned for forced indoctrination and labor of Uyghurs.

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Story summary

On 29 August 2016, Chen Quanguo was appointed Chinese Communist Party secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Using his authority as the region’s top official, he directed the 2017 launch of vocational-education-training centers that evolved into mass internment camps, later condemned for forced indoctrination and labor of Uyghurs.