The East Turkestan independence movement is a political movement that seeks the independence of
East Turkestan, a large and sparsely-populated region in
northwest China, as a
nation state for the
Uyghur people. The region is currently administered as a
province-level subdivision of the People's Republic of China (PRC), under the official name
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Within the movement, there is widespread support for the region to be renamed, since "Xinjiang" (meaning "new territory" in Chinese) is seen by independence activists as a
colonial name. "East Turkestan" is the best-known proposed name as it is the historical geographic name of the region and the name of the two independent states that briefly existed in the region in the first half of the 20th century.
Large parts of Xinjiang were under intermittent influence of the Chinese, since roughly 2,000 years ago during the
Han dynasty. In 101 BC, during the Han dynasty the far eastern parts of the region was settled by the Chinese military garrisons, and outposts such as canton points were established, where each point became the initial distribution area for the Han military garrisons after entering the region.[citation needed] After the establishment of the
Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BCE, Han settlers entered the
Tarim Basin.[1][2] The
Tang dynasty also influenced the Western Regions until Chinese influence was lost in the 8th century, and direct control of the region would not resume until the
Qing dynasty a thousand years later.
Xinjiang fell under the rule of the Qing dynasty in the 1750s. 1759 was the year of the establishment of the original form of the modern-day administrative region. Xinjiang was subsequently inherited by the
Republic of China (ROC), which succeeded the Qing dynasty after the
1911 Revolution, and then by the PRC, which mostly succeeded the ROC after the
Chinese Communist Revolution (1949), although
Taiwan has remained under ROC rule until the present day. Throughout Qing and ROC rule, there were several periods of brief de facto independence for either the entire region of Xinjiang or parts of it, as well as foreign occupation and
warlord governance.
The PRC incorporation of Xinjiang occurred soon after the PRC was established in 1949, and since then, Xinjiang has remained part of China. Historically, the region had various independent states, mostly nomadic hordes, prior to the 1750s. Xinjiang has been a hotbed of
ethnic and religious conflict throughout much of the period that it has been governed by successive Chinese regimes.
The most common name for Xinjiang used by independence advocates is "
East Turkestan" (or "Uyghurstan"). There is no consensus among secessionists about whether to use "East Turkestan" or "Uyghurstan";[10] "East Turkestan" has the advantage of also being the name of two historical political entities in the region, while Uyghurstan appeals to modern ideas of ethnic
self-determination. Uyghurstan is also a difference in emphasis in that it excludes more peoples in Xinjiang than just the
Han,[11] but the "East Turkestan" movement[12] is still a
Uyghur phenomenon. The name "East Turkestan" is not currently used in an official sense by most sovereign states and intergovernmental organizations. Another proposed alternative is "Yarkand" or "Yarkent," which harkens back to the
Yarkent Khanate, a powerful Uyghur state in the 16th and 17th centuries.[citation needed]
The Kokandi
Yaqub Beg invaded Kashgar during the
Dungan revolt to establish an independent state after taking advantage of local rebellions.
Also, during the Dungan revolt, the
Taranchi Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang initially cooperated with the Dungans (Chinese Muslims) when they rose in revolt, but turned on them, because the Dungans, mindful of their Chinese heritage, attempted to subject the entire region to their rule. The Taranchi massacred the Dungans at
Kuldja and drove the rest through the Talk pass into the Ili valley.[13]
Within the Republic of China (1912–1949)
After the collapse of the
Qing dynasty, the region became largely free of the control of the government of
Republic of China (ROC). An early attempt at East Turkestan independence was the establishment of the short-lived "
First East Turkestan Republic" (aka "Turkish Islamic Republic of East Turkestan"), which lasted between 1933 and 1934. This republic was formed following a rebellion in Kashgar against the ROC, which had been in the process of asserting control over Kashgar after two decades of
Warlordism in the ROC. The Chinese Hui Muslim
36th Division (National Revolutionary Army) suppressed the First East Turkestan Republic following Chinese (ROC) victories at the
Battle of Kashgar (1933) and
Battle of Kashgar (1934).
Within the People's Republic of China (1949–present)
Since the
Chinese economic reform from the late 1970s exacerbated uneven regional development, while Uyghurs have migrated to
urbanizing Xinjiang cities, some Hans have also migrated to Xinjiang for independent economic advancement. Increased ethnic contact and labor competition coincided with Uyghur
separatist terrorism from the 1990s, such as the
1997 Ürümqi bus bombings.[14]
A police roundup of suspected separatists during
Ramadan resulted in large demonstrations that turned violent in February 1997 in an episode known as the
Ghulja Incident that led to at least 9 deaths.[15] The Ürümqi bus bombings of 25 February 1997, perhaps a response to the crackdown that followed the Ghulja Incident, killed 9 and injured 68. Speaking on separatist violence, Erkin Alptekin, a former East Turkestan National Congress chairman and prominent Uyghur
activist, said: "We must emphasize dialog and warn our youth against the use of violence because it delegitimizes our movement".[16]
Despite much talk of separatism and terrorism in Xinjiang, especially after the
9-11 attacks in the United States and the
US invasion of Afghanistan, the situation in Xinjiang was quiet from around 1998 to mid-2006. In 2005, Uygur author
Nurmemet Yasin was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for inciting separatism following his publication of an allegorical short story, "The Blue Pigeon".[17]
Rebiya Kadeer claimed that Turkey is hampered from interfering with the Uyghurs because it recognizes that the
Kurdish-Turkish conflict may receive interference from China in retaliation.[18]
Several proponents of independence state that the Uyghurs have had a defined history in Xinjiang for "over 4000 years".[19] There are historical arguments for the independence of Xinjiang, such as the argument that the People's Republic of China is a
colonialoccupier of Xinjiang, rather than it naturally being an integral part of the sovereign state which traditionally includes Xinjiang. Evidence for this argument usually consists of claims that the PRC is not the legitimate
successor state to either the ROC (now based in
Taiwan) or the previous
imperialdynasty of China, which is the
Qing dynasty, or that previous regimes were also illegitimate.[20]
Arguments against independence
The
Government of China is strongly opposed to the idea of Xinjiang (East Turkestan) independence and its supporters are subject to harsh criminal penalties. China officially claims that Xinjiang has been part of China since the
Han dynasty of China (220 BC – AD 206) established a
Protectorate of the Western Regions in 60 BC.[21] China claims that Xinjiang has always belonged to China even at times when it was
occupied by several other countries. Historically, various Chinese governments have described invasions of Xinjiang as a sort of "
reconquest" of previously lost territories ever since the Han and Tang dynasties.
Some Uyghur nationalist historians such as
Turghun Almas claim that Uyghurs were distinct and independent from Chinese for 6000 years, and that all other ethnic groups are later immigrants to Xinjiang.[22] Records show that military colonies (
tuntian) and commanderies (
duhufu) were set up by the
Han dynasty to control Xinjiang, while the
Tang dynasty (618–907) also controlled much of Xinjiang until the
An Lushan rebellion.[23] Chinese historians refute Uyghur nationalist claims by pointing out the 2000-year history of Han settlement in Xinjiang, documenting the history of
Mongol,
Kazakh,
Uzbek,
Manchu,
Hui,
Xibo indigenes in Xinjiang, and by emphasizing the relatively late "westward migration" of the
Huigu (equated with "Uyghur" by the PRC government) people from Mongolia the 9th century.[22] The name "Uyghur" was associated with a Buddhist people in the Tarim Basin in the 9th century, but completely disappeared by the 15th century, until it was revived by the
Soviet Union in the 20th century.[24]
In a 2014 speech,
CCP general secretaryXi Jinping argued that the
dissolution of the Soviet Union demonstrated that economic development alone would not prevent separatism in Xinjiang. He elaborated “In recent years, Xinjiang has grown very quickly and the standard of living has consistently risen, but even so, ethnic separatism and terrorist violence have still been on the rise. This goes to show that economic development does not automatically bring lasting order and security.”[25]
In 2020, the Chinese government published a White Paper on Employment and Labor Rights in Xinjiang, which had been circulated via Xinhua, the Global Times and other public news channels. In this paper, the
Chinese Communist Party and government maintain the view that its policies in Xinjiang are directed to realize the (constitutional) mandate to provide employment and the facilitation of employment as the most fundamental project for ensuring and improving people's wellbeing.[26]
Right to self-determination
While the earliest ROC constitutional documents during the
Beiyang era already claim Xinjiang as part of China, Chinese political leaders also acknowledged the principle of
self-determination. For example, at a party conference in 1924,
Kuomintang leader
Sun Yat-sen issued a statement calling for the right of self-determination of all Chinese ethnic groups: "The Kuomintang can state with solemnity that it recognizes the right of self-determination of all national minorities in China and it will organize a free and united Chinese republic."[27]
In 2022 a number of Taiwanese NGOs came out in support of Uyghur self determination.[30]
Organizations
In the 1980s and 1990s, numerous Uyghur organisations representing the Uyghur movement in exile formed around the world but were disorganised and disunited.[31][32] Some Uyghur organizations use more moderate methods of human rights advocacy to influence the Chinese government within the international community.[31] Other Uyghur organizations advocate for more radical radical forms of ideological and armed struggle in their push for independence.[31][33]
The Soviet Union supported the Uyghur
Second East Turkestan Republic in the
Ili Rebellion against the
Republic of China. According to her autobiography, Dragon Fighter: One Woman's Epic Struggle for Peace with China,
Rebiya Kadeer's father served with pro-Soviet Uyghur rebels under the
Second East Turkestan Republic in the
Ili Rebellion (Three Province Rebellion) in 1944–1946, using Soviet assistance and aid to fight the
Republic of China government under
Chiang Kai-shek.[40] Kadeer and her family were close friends with
White Russian exiles living in Xinjiang and Kadeer recalled that many Uyghurs thought Russian culture was "more advanced" than that of the Uyghurs and they "respected" the Russians a lot.[41]
Many of the Turkic peoples of the
Ili region of Xinjiang had close cultural, political, and economic ties with Russia and then the Soviet Union. Many of them were educated in the Soviet Union and a community of Russian settlers lived in the region. As a result, many of the Turkic rebels fled to the Soviet Union and obtained Soviet assistance in creating the Sinkiang Turkic People's Liberation Committee (STPNLC) in 1943 to revolt against
Kuomintang rule during the
Ili Rebellion.[42] The pro-Soviet Uyghur who later became leader of the revolt and the
Second East Turkestan Republic,
Ehmetjan Qasim, was Soviet educated and described as "Stalin's man".[43]
The Soviet Union incited separatist activities in Xinjiang through propaganda, encouraging Kazakhs to flee to the Soviet Union and attacking China. China responded by reinforcing the Xinjiang-Soviet border area specifically with Han
Bingtuan militia and farmers.[44] The Soviet Union supported Uyghur nationalist propaganda and Uyghur separatist movements against China. The Soviet historians claimed that the Uyghur native land was Xinjiang and Uyghur nationalism was promoted by Soviet versions of history on turcology.[45] The
East Turkestan People's Party received support from the Soviet Union.[46][47][48] During the 1970s, the Soviets supported the URFET to fight the Chinese.[49]
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Note: Forms of nationalism based primarily on
ethnic groups are listed above. This does not imply that all nationalists with a given ethnicity subscribe to that form of
ethnic nationalism.