Checkpoints:Every 500 meters, the inhabitants of Xinjiang are required to show their identity cards, submit to facial recognition cameras and turn over their cellphones to be scanned by special software.

Low-tech monitoring

Uyghurs are not even alone in their own homes. They are subject to compulsory stays by Chinese officials in their private residences, which are intended to prevent the observance of Islamic practices.

Spreading throughout China and beyond

China’s surveillance of Uyghurs extends beyond Xinjiang. Beijing and Shanghai metro stations, for example, already have facial recognition and cellphone scanning systems, says Ferkat Jawdat, a Uyghur software engineer living in the United States who in March met with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the situation in Xinjiang.

China’s surveillance of Uyghurs also extends beyond its borders, invading the sovereignty of other countries to harass and threaten Uyghurs living abroad.

Mihrigul Tursun, whoescaped from Xinjiang to the United States in 2018, says that she has been followedsince she chose to speak out about her experiences in the camps. “I was terrified that the Chinese government could still threaten me from so far way,” Tursun said in 2018.

https://share.america.gov/chinas-surveillance-state-an-open-air-prison-in-xinjiang/