Erkin Tuniyaz, the Chinese Communist Party deputy secretary in Xinjiang and chairman of the Xinjiang government, who is slated to meet with UK and EU officials in February, gave a speech in 2018 in which he instructed officials to ensure that “absolutely secure” measures were adopted to prevent people from escaping from political education camps and police detention facilities. The US sanctioned Tuniyaz in 2021 for his role in Xinjiang abuses.