Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast

Inside China's High-Tech Penal Colony with Darren Byler

10.12.2021 - By Chris Hayes, MSNBC & NBCNews THINKPlay

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

Since 2017, a high-tech form of colonization has been rapidly growing in Xinjiang, China. As many as 1.5 million Muslim Uyghurs have vanished into high-security camps and factories. The Chinese regime describes these sites as “vocational education and training centers” that are utilized to counter terrorism. But what actually goes on inside of these internment camps? That’s the subject of Darren Byler’s new book, “In The Camps: China’s High-Tech Penal Colony.” In it, Byler draws on a decade of research on the region. He joins to discuss his findings and the role of various forms of technology including facial recognition, smartphones and apps like WeChat, in government surveillance.

More episodes from Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast