Comparison of United States incarceration rate with other countries
The incarceration rate of the People's Republic of China varies depending on sources and measures. According to the World Prison Brief, the rate for only sentenced prisoners is 118 per 100,000 (as of 2015). The rate for prisoners including estimations for the number of pre-trial detainees and those in administrative detention is 164 per 100,000 (as of 2015). In a 2010 interview Harry Wu, a U.S.-based human rights activist and ex-Chinese labor camp prisoner, estimates that "in the last 60 years, more than 40–50 million people" were in Chinese labor camps, but that period includes the mass incarcerations of the 1950s or the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and is not representative of modern China.
Mihrigul Tursun
November 28, 2018, Mihrigul Tursun, speaking through a translator, testified before the Congressional-Executive Commission on China about her harrowing experience over a series of three internments. She said that: There were around 60 people kept in a 430 square feet cell so at nights, 10 to 15 women would stand up while the rest of us would sleep on sideways so we could fit, and then we would rotate every 2 hours. There were people who had not taken a shower over a year.
Responding to a CNN report, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying vehemently rejected Mihrigul's allegations and gave a detailed account of the events. According to Hua, Mihrigul was taken into custody by Qiemo County police for 20 days from April 21 to May 20, 2017 on suspicion of inciting ethnic hatred and discrimination, but she was never jailed or put in vocational education and training center. Apart from those 20 days, she was totally free during her stay in China and traveled abroad extensively.