East Turkestan independence movement

Not to be confused with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, now known as the Turkistan Islamic Party.

East Turkestan independence movement
Uyghur name
Uyghurشەرقىي تۈركىستان مۇستەقىللىق ھەرىكىتى‎
Transcriptions
Latin YëziqiSherqiy Türkistan Musteqilliq Herikiti
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese东突厥斯坦独立运动
Traditional Chinese東突厥斯坦獨立運動
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinDōng Tūjuésītǎn dúlì yùndòng
The Kök Bayraq is a symbol of the East Turkestan independence movement.
This emblem, featuring the basmalah-stylized tughra (calligraphic monogram), is sometimes used alongside the flag above.
Part of a series on the
History of Xinjiang
Ancient period
Medieval and early modern period
Modern period

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 by the People's Republic of China (PRC) in the 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.

In the 18th century, Uyghurs rebelled against the ruling Dzungar Khanate. The Manchu Qing dynasty took control of the region in 1756 during the Dzungar–Qing Wars and established Xinjiang as an administrative region in 1759. 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 Chinese government considers all support for the East Turkestan independence movement to fall under the definitions of "terrorism, extremism, and separatism" (a.k.a. the "Three Evils").[3][4] The East Turkestan independence movement is supported by both militant Islamic extremist groups which have been designated terrorist organizations by several countries and the United Nations, such as the Turkistan Islamic Party,[5][6][7][8][9] as well as certain advocacy groups, such as the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement and the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile, which is based in Washington, D.C., and denounced jihadist groups.[10]

  1. ^ Zhao, Huasheng (2016). "Central Asia in Chinese Strategic Thinking". The new great game : China and South and Central Asia in the era of reform. Thomas Fingar. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-8047-9764-1. OCLC 939553543.
  2. ^ Millward, James A. (1998). Beyond the Pass: Economy, Ethnicity, and Empire in Qing Central Asia, 1759–1864 (illustrated ed.). Stanford University Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-8047-2933-8. Retrieved 10 March 2014.
  3. ^ O'Rourke, Breffni (7 April 2006). "Turkmenistan: President Ends China Visit After Forming Front Against Uyghurs". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Retrieved 17 May 2024. In a declaration, Turkmen leader Niyazov and Chinese President Hu Jintao pledged their countries will work together to root out what they called the "three evils" -- terrorism, separatism, and extremism. [...] But the primary target of this pledge is clear, in that the only grouping specifically named in the declaration is the "East Turkestan" separatist movement, which seeks independence for China's 19 million Muslim Uyghurs in the western Xinjiang Province.
  4. ^ Hasan, Mehdi (15 September 2018). "Has China detained a million Uighur Muslims?". Al Jazeera (This is an interview published by the news channel Al Jazeera on the video-sharing website YouTube. The interview was conducted between the presenter of the show (named Mehdi Hasan), the chairman of the Uyghur Human Rights Project at the time (named Nury Turkel), and the vice president of the Center for China and Globalization at the time (named Victor Gao)). Archived from the original on 28 February 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2019. I know [what] the importance of law is in China. I really hope everyone respects the law. However, in Xinjiang, the major threat we face is terrorism and extremism and separatism, and I think the authorities have the right to ensure that innocent people are not harmed and that extreme versions of religions of all kinds are not penetrating through the population, and then people cannot misuse religion as an excuse to stir up trouble, to destabilize, and to bring the society to a halt. And I think the people are justified to that.
  5. ^ "Governance Asia-Pacific Watch". United Nations. April 2007. Archived from the original on 17 July 2007. Retrieved 23 August 2007.
  6. ^ "هؤلاء انغماسيو أردوغان الذين يستوردهم من الصين – عربي أونلاين". 3arabionline.com. 31 January 2017. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  7. ^ "Turkey lists "E. Turkestan Islamic Movement" as terrorists – People's Daily Online". En.people.cn. 3 August 2017. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  8. ^ Martina, Michael; Blanchard, Ben; Spring, Jake (20 July 2016). Ruwitch, John; Macfie, Nick (eds.). "Britain adds Chinese militant group to terror list". Reuters. Archived from the original on 14 August 2017.
  9. ^ "U.S.Department of State Terrorist Exclusion List" Archived 3 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved on 29 July 2014).
  10. ^ "About the ETGE". East Turkistan Government in Exile. Archived from the original on 16 January 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2021.