China says people held in Xinjiang camps have 'graduated', condemns US bill

Governor Shohrat Zakir also hit out at Western criticism of thecampsand said the United States had launched a smear campaign againstXinjiang.

Chinahas repeatedly denied any mistreatment of Uighursandsaysthecampsprovide vocational training. It describes detainees as students.

"At present, the trainees whohaveparticipated haveall graduated," Zakir told a news conference in Beijing. "With the help of the government, stable employment has been achieved and their quality of life has been improved."

Xinjiangwill continue with training based on "independent will" and "the freedom to come and go", he said.

Chinahas not provided any official figures on how manypeoplehavebeenheldin thecampsbut Zakhir said foreign estimates were "pure fabrication". He gave no details.

He also called a measure passed by theUSHouse of Representatives that condemnedChina's treatment of the Uighur minority a severe violation of international law and a gross interference inChina's internal affairs.

"TheUSis getting restless and has launched a smear campaign againstXinjiang," Zakir said. "But no force can stopXinjiang's progress toward stability and development."

Claims about thecampsare hard to verify asChinaonly allows periodic supervised visits and gives little information on their operations.

Watch: China slams US bill on Uighur Muslims

In July, aXinjiangofficial said mostpeoplehad returned to society from thecamps. Asked on Monday how manypeoplehad completed the training, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she could not give an exact number.

"Because the number ofpeopleparticipating in these training centers is dynamic, there's coming and going, so it's very difficult to give an exact number," Hua told reporters at a separate briefing.

Human rights groupsand former detaineeshavesaid conditions in thecampsare poor, with inmates subject to psychological and physical abuse.

At Zakir's news conference, images of past violence were displayed in excerpts from an English-language documentary, "Fighting Terrorism inXinjiang" aired on state broadcaster CGTN last week.

Hua expressed disappointment at the lack of foreign media coverage of the documentary despite the intense concern over theXinjiangissue.

She said there had been no terrorist attack inXinjiangin the past three years due to the success of thecamps.

TheUSUighur Act passed by the House of Representatives last week requires theUSpresident to condemn abuses against Muslims and calls for the closure of thecampsinXinjiang.

The issue, along with Washington's support for pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong, complicates prospects for a near-term deal to end a 17-month long trade war betweenChinaand the United States.