China dismisses 'hearsay' on Muslim internment

Up to a million Uighurs and other Chinese Turkic-speaking minority groups have been placed in political re-education camps in the Xinjiang region, according to a group of experts cited by the United Nations.

After originally denying the existence of the centres, Beijing has repeatedly described the camps as vocational "training centres" that were built to help people drawn to extremism to stay away from terrorism and allow them to be reintegrated into society.

But the programme has faced rising criticism outside the country -- notably from the United States and human rights groups.

"We hope our journalist friends and our other foreign friends will take into consideration the information and briefings on the situation given by the Chinese authorities," said China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

"Rumours and hearsay should not be believed," he said standing next to his German counterpart Heiko Maas at a press conference.

"It's quite clear that the government in Xinjiang knows best what is happening in Xinjiang -- not other people and third party organisations."

Critics say China is seeking to assimilate Xinjiang's minority population and suppress religious and cultural practises that conflict with Communist ideology and the dominant Han culture.

Former inmates of the camps say they were detained for having long beards or wearing the veil.

Attacks attributed to Uighurs have left hundreds dead over the last few years in China, many of them in Xinjiang, where Beijing says its concerned about a rise in Islamic radicalism.

The authorities have put in place intrusive measures of security -- ubiquitous surveillance cameras, DNA sampling, home visits by officials and GPS trackers in cars.

"We call that a combination of repression and prevention. But we place the priority on prevention. If it's done well, terrorism won't expand and take root. It's the most effective way to combat terrorism," Wang Yi said.

The German foreign minister did not mention the Xinjiang region at the press conference, but did say he had "spoken on the question of human rights" during his closed meeting with his Chinese counterpart.

A debate on the situation in Xinjiang was held in the German parliament last Thursday.

China's ambassador to Berlin expressed Beijing's "profound discontent" and put in an official protest following the "blatant interference" in its "domestic affairs".