101-682: The East Turkistan Government in Exile (abbreviated as ETGE or ETGIE ), officially the Government in Exile of the Republic of East Turkistan , is a political organization established and headquartered in Washington, D.C. by Uyghurs , Kazakhs , and other peoples from East Turkistan ( Xinjiang ). The ETGE claims to be the sole legitimate organization and a parliamentary-based government in exile representing East Turkistan and its people on
202-515: A combination of disease and warfare, and recovery took generations. Han and Hui merchants were initially only allowed to trade in the Tarim Basin; their settlement in the Tarim Basin was banned until the 1830 Muhammad Yusuf Khoja invasion , when the Qing rewarded merchants for fighting off Khoja by allowing them to settle in the basin. The Uyghur Muslim Sayyid and Naqshbandi Sufi rebel of
303-593: A long history of independence". The ETGE does not consider themselves as "separatists" because they believe that, "you can't separate from something you don't belong to." The position of the PRC holds that the integration of Xinjiang into the PRC in 1949 was a "peaceful liberation", and that the region has "long been a part of China". The ETGE describes itself as democratically elected parliamentary-based exile government that seeks to end "China's occupation and colonization" of East Turkistan , which overlaps with what China calls
404-467: A military base in the province and deployed several military and economic advisors. Sheng invited a group of Chinese Communists to Xinjiang (including Mao Zedong's brother, Mao Zemin ), but executed them all in 1943 in fear of a conspiracy. In 1944, President and Premier of China Chiang Kai-shek , informed by the Soviet Union of Shicai's intention to join it, transferred him to Chongqing as
505-727: A number of countries. The present leadership was announced on November 11, 2023, following elections at the ETGE's 9th General Assembly in Washington, D.C. The Parliament is also made up of six committees that help oversee the government's different ministries. On July 14, 2020, the ETGE signed onto a joint letter by 64 Canadian MPs and 20 organizations urging Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau , his deputy Chrystia Freeland and Global Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne to sanction PRC and Hong Kong officials "directly responsible for
606-542: A prominent fringe Uyghur organization that advocates for radical methods driven by religious and ethnic motives. The organization is among several Uyghur groups that demand total independence in contrast to other organizations that advocate for more autonomy and democracy. It has been called the "most prominent Uyghur organization outside the WUC ". Numerous Uyghur organisations representing the Uyghur movement in exile formed around
707-595: A public demonstration, Prime Minister Hudayar urged the United States government and the United Nations to "break their silence and stand up against China." On August 28, 2020, the ETGE held a global demonstration in Adelaide, Tokyo, Frankfurt, The Hague, Paris, New York City, Washington, D.C., and Edmonton to protest what they claim are China's atrocities against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples and urged
808-653: A result of a long struggle with the Dzungars which began during the 17th century. In 1755, with the help of the Oirat noble Amursana , the Qing attacked Ghulja and captured the Dzungar khan. After Amursana's request to be declared Dzungar khan went unanswered, he led a revolt against the Qing. Qing armies destroyed the remnants of the Dzungar Khanate over the next two years, and many Han Chinese and Hui moved into
909-835: A succession of people and empires have vied for control over all or parts of this territory. The territory came under the rule of the Qing dynasty in the 18th century, which was later replaced by the Republic of China . Since 1949 and the Chinese Civil War , it has been part of the People's Republic of China. In 1954, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) established the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) to strengthen border defense against
1010-544: Is a group of political parties operating together in parliament . Oftentimes, party coalitions are formed after elections have taken place and no party has clearly won a majority seat in parliament (e.g. the AAP-Congress Government in Delhi ). Other coalitions are formed prior to elections and are effectively agreements between two or more parties to run jointly in elections and to pursue similar agendas (e.g.
1111-680: Is a heterogenous parliamentary group composed of elected officials from political parties of differing ideologies (or independent of any party) who are not numerous enough to form groups on their own. A political group is a group composed of multiple political parties or independents of aligned ideologies. A labour union (or trade union) is a political organization formed to promote the interests of workers. Labour unions have various roles in modern politics, including: Unlike other political organizations, labor unions do not directly participate in elections, although they may campaign for parties and politicians supporting their positions. Labour unionization
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#17327806061801212-492: Is a way for workers to maintain unity and preserve their rights. Often, major corporations antagonize the principle of labor unionization since it results in heavier employment regulations which restrict the powers of big business to fire workers at will, effectively causing economic difficulties for such companies. Xinjiang Xinjiang , officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region ,
1313-471: Is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest of the country at the crossroads of Central Asia and East Asia . Being the largest province-level division of China by area and the 8th-largest country subdivision in the world, Xinjiang spans over 1.6 million square kilometres (620,000 sq mi) and has about 25 million inhabitants. Xinjiang borders
1414-513: Is home to most of the Uyghur population, about nine million people, out of a total population of twenty million; fifty-five percent of Xinjiang's Han population, mainly urban, live in the north. This created an economic imbalance, since the northern Junghar basin (Dzungaria) is more developed than the south. Land reform and collectivization occurred in Uyghur agricultural areas at the same general pace as in most of China. Hunger in Xinjiang
1515-544: Is made up of elected representatives from East Turkistani/Uyghur diaspora communities in over 13 countries, its leaders are based in a number of countries. The present leadership took office on November 12, 2023, following elections at the ETGE's 9th General Assembly in Washington, D.C. The Parliament is the legislative branch of the ETGE. As the Government in Exile's Parliament is made up of 60 members representing diaspora communities in 13 countries, its leaders are based in
1616-402: Is not concentrated in one party and that parties have to consider the opinion of the general public in order to retain power by winning elections. Most two-party systems are technically multiparty systems but all power is effectively concentrated amongst two parties or coalitions. Examples of two-party systems are: Another type of political organization is the party coalition. A party coalition
1717-504: Is the first attempt to use an international legal forum to challenge China over allegations of extensive human rights abuses against Muslim Turkic people in East Turkistan. The ETGE's Prime Minister, Salih Hudayar , told Radio Free Asia 's Chinese service that "for too long we have been oppressed by China and its Communist Party and we have suffered so much that the genocide of our people can be no longer ignored." On July 9, 2020,
1818-758: The Afaqi suborder, Jahangir Khoja was sliced to death (Lingchi) in 1828 by the Manchus for leading a rebellion against the Qing . According to Robert Montgomery Martin , many Chinese with a variety of occupations were settled in Dzungaria in 1870; in Turkestan (the Tarim Basin), however, only a few Chinese merchants and garrison soldiers were interspersed with the Muslim population. The 1765 Ush rebellion by
1919-494: The Bronze Age linked to the expansion of early Indo-Europeans . These population dynamics gave rise to a heterogeneous demographic makeup. Iron Age samples from Xinjiang show intensified levels of admixture between Steppe pastoralists and northeast Asians, with northern and eastern Xinjiang showing more affinities with northeast Asians, and southern Xinjiang showing more affinity with central Asians. Between 2009 and 2015,
2020-491: The Chinese Tajiks ( Pamiris ), Han Chinese , Hui , Kazakhs , Kyrgyz , Mongols , Russians , Sibe , Tibetans , and Uyghurs . There are more than a dozen autonomous prefectures and counties for minorities in Xinjiang. Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan , Chinese Turkistan, East Turkestan and East Turkistan. With a documented history of at least 2,500 years,
2121-552: The East Turkestan independence movement . Depending on how large a particular speaker defines the named region, "East Turkistan" has been administered at least in part by the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region , a situation that the ETGE considers an illegitimate military occupation . The position of the ETGE is that "East Turkistan and its people have
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#17327806061802222-631: The Kokand Khanate ) fled from the khanate in 1865 after losing Tashkent to the Russians . Beg settled in Kashgar, and soon controlled Xinjiang. Although he encouraged trade, built caravansareis , canals and other irrigation systems, his regime was considered harsh. The Chinese took decisive action against Yettishar; an army under General Zuo Zongtang rapidly approached Kashgaria, reconquering it on 16 May 1877. After reconquering Xinjiang in
2323-856: The National Democratic Alliance in India, and the Liberal/National Coalition in Australia). The electoral thresholds for multi-party alliances are set differently in many countries depending on the number of parties. Parliamentary groups are groups of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties, also called caucus in the United States Congress and the Parliament of Canada . A technical group or mixed group
2424-703: The Protectorate General to Pacify the West ( 安西都護府 ) or Anxi Protectorate, in 640 to control the region. During the Anshi Rebellion , which nearly destroyed the Tang dynasty, Tibet invaded the Tang on a broad front from Xinjiang to Yunnan . It occupied the Tang capital of Chang'an in 763 for 16 days, and controlled southern Xinjiang by the end of the century. The Uyghur Khaganate took control of Northern Xinjiang, much of Central Asia and Mongolia at
2525-400: The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region , and seeks to "restore the independence of East Turkistan" which would take the form of a democratic parliamentary republic with protections for civil liberties for all people groups of the region . The ETGE has convened nine General Assemblies since its creation in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019, and 2023. As the Government in Exile
2626-559: The "infidel Kalmuks" (Dzungars) built Buddhist monuments in their region. The Turkic Muslims of the Turfan and Kumul oases then submitted to the Qing dynasty and asked China to free them from the Dzungars; the Qing accepted their rulers as vassals. They warred against the Dzungars for decades before defeating them; Qing Manchu Bannermen then conducted the Dzungar genocide , nearly eradicating them and depopulating Dzungaria. The Qing freed
2727-669: The 13th century, although it was ruled by foreign overlords. The Kara-Khanids converted to Islam. The Uyghur state in Eastern Xinjiang, initially Manichean , later converted to Buddhism . Remnants of the Liao dynasty from Manchuria entered Xinjiang in 1132, fleeing rebellion by the neighboring Jurchens . They established a new empire, the Qara Khitai (Western Liao), which ruled the Kara-Khanid and Uyghur-held parts of
2828-630: The 1860s, Xinjiang had been under Qing rule for a century. The region was captured in 1759 from the Dzungar Khanate , whose population (the Oirats ) became the targets of genocide. Xinjiang was primarily semi-arid or desert and unattractive to non-trading Han settlers, and others (including the Uyghurs) settled there. The Dungan Revolt by the Muslim Hui and other Muslim ethnic groups
2929-825: The 2nd century BC and 2nd century AD, the Han Empire established the Protectorate of the Western Regions or Xiyu Protectorate ( 西域都護府 ) in an effort to secure the profitable routes of the Silk Road . The Western Regions during the Tang era were known as Qixi ( 磧西 ). Qi refers to the Gobi Desert while Xi refers to the west. The Tang Empire had established the Protectorate General to Pacify
3030-563: The Afaqi Khoja leader Burhan-ud-din and his brother, Khoja Jihan, from Dzungar imprisonment and appointed them to rule the Tarim Basin as Qing vassals. The Khoja brothers reneged on the agreement, declaring themselves independent leaders of the Tarim Basin. The Qing and the Turfan leader Emin Khoja crushed their revolt, and by 1759 China controlled Dzungaria and the Tarim Basin. The Manchu Qing dynasty gained control of eastern Xinjiang as
3131-610: The Afaqi and the Afaq Khoja invited the 5th Dalai Lama (the leader of the Tibetans ) to intervene on his behalf in 1677. The Dalai Lama then called on his Dzungar Buddhist followers in the Dzungar Khanate to act on the invitation. The Dzungar Khanate conquered the Tarim Basin in 1680, setting up the Afaqi Khoja as their puppet ruler. After converting to Islam, the descendants of the previously- Buddhist Uyghurs in Turfan believed that
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3232-664: The Minister of Agriculture and Forestry the following year. During the Ili Rebellion , the Soviet Union backed Uyghur separatists to form the Second East Turkestan Republic (ETR) in the Ili region while most of Xinjiang remained under Kuomintang control. The People's Liberation Army entered Xinjiang in 1949 , when Kuomintang commander Tao Zhiyue and government chairman Burhan Shahidi surrendered
3333-693: The Prime Minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile, told The Wall Street Journal that the ETGE had been pushing for the designation for two years and that the ETGE hopes that this designation will lead to real, strong actions to hold China accountable and bring an end to China's genocide. The ETGE also called on the U.S. Justice Department to enact 18 U.S. Code Section 1091 and prosecute Chinese diplomats, specifically Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai , for genocide. The ETGE further urged countries to follow suit and recognize
3434-427: The Soviet Union and promote the local economy by settling soldiers into the region. In 1955, Xinjiang was administratively changed from a province into an autonomous region . In recent decades, abundant oil and mineral reserves have been found in Xinjiang and it is currently China's largest natural-gas-producing region. From the 1990s to the 2010s, the East Turkestan independence movement , separatist conflict and
3535-493: The Tang dynasty, a series of expeditions were conducted against the Western Turkic Khaganate and their vassals: the oasis states of southern Xinjiang. Campaigns against the oasis states began under Emperor Taizong with the annexation of Gaochang in 640. The nearby kingdom of Karasahr was captured by the Tang in 644 and the kingdom of Kucha was conquered in 649 . The Tang Dynasty then established
3636-444: The Tarim Basin for the next century. Although Khitan and Chinese were the primary administrative languages, Persian and Uyghur were also used. Present-day Xinjiang consisted of the Tarim Basin and Dzungaria and was originally inhabited by Indo-European Tocharians and Iranian Sakas who practiced Buddhism and Zoroastrianism . The Turfan and Tarim Basins were inhabited by speakers of Tocharian languages, with Caucasian mummies found in
3737-609: The Tarim Basin were originally ruled by the Chagatai Khanate and the nomadic Buddhist Oirat Mongols in Dzungaria ruled the Dzungar Khanate. The Naqshbandi Sufi Khojas , descendants of Muhammad , had replaced the Chagatayid Khans as rulers of the Tarim Basin during the early 17th century. There was a struggle between two Khoja factions: the Afaqi (White Mountain) and the Ishaqi (Black Mountain). The Ishaqi defeated
3838-475: The Tianshan Mountains and the Tarim Basin south of the Tianshan Mountains, before Qing China unified them into one political entity called Xinjiang Province in 1884. At the time of the Qing conquest in 1759, Dzungaria was inhabited by steppe dwelling, nomadic Tibetan Buddhist Dzungar people, while the Tarim Basin was inhabited by sedentary, oasis dwelling, Turkic-speaking Muslim farmers, now known as
3939-618: The Tocharian language had high amounts of influence from Paleosiberian languages , such as Uralic and Yeniseian languages . Yuezhi culture is documented in the region. The first known reference to the Yuezhi was in 645 BC by the Chinese chancellor Guan Zhong in his work, Guanzi ( 管子 , Guanzi Essays: 73: 78: 80: 81). He described the Yúshì , 禺氏 (or Niúshì , 牛氏 ), as a people from
4040-579: The Turpan-Urumchi region offered its allegiance to the Mongols in 1209, contributing taxes and troops to the Mongol imperial effort. In return, the Uyghur rulers retained control of their kingdom; Genghis Khan's Mongol Empire conquered the Qara Khitai in 1218. Xinjiang was a stronghold of Ögedei Khan and later came under the control of his descendant, Kaidu . This branch of the Mongol family kept
4141-546: The U.S. Senate to introduce a genocide resolution and urged the U.S. Government to recognize the genocide. On January 11, 2021, the ETGE made a press statement urging the Trump Administration to recognize China's actions against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan as a genocide before January 20, 2021. On January 19, 2021, the U.S. State Department formally designated China's actions against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples as genocide. Salih Hudayar,
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4242-613: The U.S. and other governments and organizations across the globe to recognize East Turkistan as an occupied country. The ETGE also denounces the use of the Chinese term " Xinjiang ". On February 20, 2024, the ETGE spearheaded a joint letter from 61 Uyghur organizations around the world addressed to the U.S. Congress. The letter urged the U.S. Congress to pass the Uyghur Policy Act, appoint a Special Coordinator for East Turkistani Issues, and recognize East Turkistan, as well as to resist China's attempts to erase East Turkistan. Notably,
4343-536: The US government sanctioned 3 senior PRC officials including Xinjiang Communist Party Secretary Chen Quanguo and Zhu Hailun , who were among the 30 officials mentioned in the complaint to the ICC. ETGE Prime Minister Salih Hudayar told Radio Free Asia that the ETGE welcomed the sanctions and that Uyghurs wanted real justice. He stated that the PRC officials should be tried for human rights abuses by an international court, citing
4444-527: The Uyghurs against the Manchu began after Uyghur women were raped by the servants and son of Manchu official Su-cheng. It was said that "Ush Muslims had long wanted to sleep on [Sucheng and son's] hides and eat their flesh" because of the months-long abuse. The Manchu emperor ordered the massacre of the Uyghur rebel town; Qing forces enslaved the Uyghur children and women, and killed the Uyghur men. Sexual abuse of Uyghur women by Manchu soldiers and officials triggered deep Uyghur hostility against Manchu rule. By
4545-450: The Uyghurs, who were governed separately until 1884. The Qing dynasty was well aware of the differences between the former Buddhist Mongol area to the north of the Tian Shan and the Turkic Muslim area south of the Tian Shan and ruled them in separate administrative units at first. However, Qing people began to think of both areas as part of one distinct region called Xinjiang. The very concept of Xinjiang as one distinct geographic identity
4646-559: The West or Anxi Protectorate ( 安西都護府 ) in 640 to control the region. During the Qing dynasty , the northern part of Xinjiang, Dzungaria was known as Zhunbu ( 準部 , " Dzungar region") and the Southern Tarim Basin was known as Huijiang ( 回疆 , "Muslim Frontier"). Both regions merged after Qing dynasty suppressed the Revolt of the Altishahr Khojas in 1759 and became the region of "Xiyu Xinjiang" ( 西域新疆 , literally "Western Regions' New Frontier"), later simplified as "Xinjiang" ( 新疆 ; formerly romanized as "Sinkiang"). The official name
4747-619: The Western Tarim Basin such as Loulan , the Xiaohe Tomb complex and Qäwrighul . These mummies have been previously suggested to have been Tocharian or Indo-European speakers, but recent evidence suggest that the earliest mummies belonged to a distinct population unrelated to Indo-European pastoralists and spoke an unknown language, probably a language isolate . Although many of the Tarim mummies were classified as Caucasoid by anthropologists, Tarim Basin sites also contain both "Caucasoid" and "Mongoloid" remains, indicating contact between newly arrived western nomads and agricultural communities in
4848-455: The World Uyghur Congress and instead advocated for independence. The East Turkistan Government in Exile was formally declared on September 14, 2004, in room HC-6 of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. by members of the global East Turkistani community under the leadership of Anwar Yusuf Turani . Ahmat Igambardi, who had previously been the chairman of the first East Turkistan National Congress created in Istanbul , Turkey in 1992,
4949-478: The Xiongnu and Han China in which China eventually prevailed. During the 100s BCE, the Silk Road brought increasing Chinese economic and cultural influence to the region. In 60 BCE, Han China established the Protectorate of the Western Regions ( 西域都護府 ) at Wulei ( 烏壘 , near modern Luntai ), to oversee the region as far west as the Pamir Mountains . The protectorate was seized during the civil war against Wang Mang (r. AD 9–23), returning to Han control in 91 due to
5050-404: The Yuan dynasty at bay until their rule ended. During the Mongol Empire era the Yuan dynasty vied with the Chagatai Khanate for rule of the region and the latter controlled most of it. After the Chagatai Khanate divided into smaller khanates during the mid-14th century, the politically-fractured region was ruled by a number of Persianized Mongol Khans, including those from Moghulistan (with
5151-500: The army of the First East Turkestan Republic in the 1934 Battle of Kashgar , ending the republic after Chinese Muslims executed its two emirs: Abdullah Bughra and Nur Ahmad Jan Bughra . The Soviet Union invaded the province ; it was brought under the control of northeast Han warlord Sheng Shicai after the 1937 Xinjiang War . Sheng ruled Xinjiang for the next decade with support from the Soviet Union , many of whose ethnic and security policies he instituted. The Soviet Union maintained
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#17327806061805252-456: The assistance of local Dughlat emirs), Uigurstan (later Turpan) and Kashgaria. These leaders warred with each other and the Timurids of Transoxiana to the west and the Oirats to the east: the successor Chagatai regime based in Mongolia and China. During the 17th century, the Dzungars established an empire over much of the region. The Mongolian Dzungars were the collective identity of several Oirat tribes which formed and maintained, one of
5353-470: The central government denied the name Xinjiang was colonialist and denied that the central government could be colonialists both because they were communists and because China was a victim of colonialism. However, due to the Uyghur complaints, the administrative region would be named "Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region". Xinjiang consists of two main geographically, historically and ethnically distinct regions with different historical names, Dzungaria north of
5454-427: The countries of Afghanistan , India , Kazakhstan , Kyrgyzstan , Mongolia , Pakistan , Russia , and Tajikistan . The rugged Karakoram , Kunlun and Tian Shan mountain ranges occupy much of Xinjiang's borders, as well as its western and southern regions. The Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract regions are claimed by India but administered by China. Xinjiang also borders the Tibet Autonomous Region and
5555-532: The country's territory. Xinjiang borders the Tibet Autonomous Region and India 's Leh district in Ladakh to the south, Qinghai and Gansu provinces to the east, Mongolia ( Bayan-Ölgii , Govi-Altai and Khovd Provinces ) to the east, Russia 's Altai Republic to the north and Kazakhstan ( Almaty and East Kazakhstan Regions ), Kyrgyzstan ( Issyk-Kul , Naryn and Osh Regions ), Tajikistan 's Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region , Afghanistan 's Badakhshan Province and Pakistan 's Gilgit-Baltistan to
5656-421: The east. Mummies have been found in various locations in the Western Tarim Basin such as Loulan , the Xiaohe Tomb complex and Qäwrighul . Nomadic tribes such as the Yuezhi , Saka and Wusun were probably part of the migration of Indo-European speakers who had settled in Tarim Basin of Xinjiang long before the Xiongnu and Han Chinese. By the time the Han dynasty under Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BC) wrested
5757-401: The efforts of general Ban Chao . The Western Jin dynasty succumbed to successive waves of invasions by nomads from the north at the beginning of the 4th century. The short-lived kingdoms that ruled northwestern China one after the other, including Former Liang , Former Qin , Later Liang and Western Liáng , all attempted to maintain the protectorate, with varying degrees of success. After
5858-405: The example the Nuremberg Trials of high-ranking Nazi Party officials after World War II . The East Turkistan National Awakening Movement and the East Turkistan Government in Exile were the first Uyghur groups to refer to China's mass surveillance and internment of the inhabitants of Xinjiang/East Turkistan as a genocide. They have actively lobbied for the U.S. and other countries to declare
5959-431: The final reunification of Northern China under the Northern Wei empire, its protectorate controlled what is now the southeastern region of Xinjiang. Local states such as Shule, Yutian , Guizi and Qiemo controlled the western region, while the central region around Turpan was controlled by Gaochang , remnants of a state ( Northern Liang ) that once ruled part of what is now Gansu province in northwestern China. During
6060-412: The fringes of Uyghur diaspora organizations (including the East Turkistan Liberation Organisation and East Turkestan Islamic Movement ) that advocates for "more radical forms of ideological and armed struggle" in contrast to the more moderate methods used by the World Uyghur Congress to influence the Chinese government. In particular, the East Turkistan Government in Exile rejected the autonomy desired by
6161-420: The genocide, it also urged the Biden Administration to "take a more active approach to resolve the East Turkistan issue" by recognizing East Turkistan as an Occupied Country, boycotting the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and meeting with the East Turkistan Government in Exile like the Trump Administration met with the Tibetan Government in Exile . The East Turkistan Government in Exile has actively called on
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#17327806061806262-429: The historical Uyghur name for the southern half of the region referring to "the six cities" of the Tarim Basin , as well as Khotan, Khotay, Chinese Tartary , High Tartary, East Chagatay (it was the eastern part of the Chagatai Khanate ), Moghulistan ("land of the Mongols"), Kashgaria, Little Bokhara, Serindia (due to Indian cultural influence) and, in Chinese, Xiyu ( 西域 ), meaning " Western Regions ". Between
6363-451: The human rights atrocities happening in Tibet, occupied East Turkestan (Xinjiang), and Hong Kong." On August 15, 2020, Salih Hudayar the Prime Minister of the ETGE greeted India on its 74th Independence Day and said that "the decades of prolonged Chinese occupation and genocide in East Turkistan has taught us that without independence there is no way to guarantee or ensure even our most basic human rights, freedoms, and our very survival." In
6464-502: The influence of radical Islam have resulted in unrest in the region with occasional terrorist attacks and clashes between separatist and government forces. These conflicts prompted the Chinese government to commit a series of ongoing human rights abuses against Uyghurs and other ethnic and religious minorities in the province including, according to some, genocide. The general region of Xinjiang has been known by many different names throughout time. These names include Altishahr ,
6565-403: The interests of their members. While parties are one type of political organization that may engage in some or all of those activities, they are distinct in that they typically focus on supporting candidates for public office, winning elections and controlling government . The most well-known type of political organization is the political party . Political parties are directly involved in
6666-495: The international community to recognize the alleged atrocities as a genocide while also recognizing "East Turkistan as an occupied country." On July 6, 2020, the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported that the East Turkistan Government in Exile and the East Turkistan National Awakening Movement filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court , urging it to investigate and prosecute PRC officials for genocide and other crimes against humanity . The complaint
6767-468: The international stage. Although the East Turkistan Government in Exile was declared inside Room HC-6 of the U.S. Capitol Building , the East Turkistan Government in Exile and the territory it claims under East Turkistan are unrecognized by the United States. The People's Republic of China has sternly opposed the East Turkistan Government in Exile since its creation in September 2004. The East Turkistan Government in Exile has been described by scholars as
6868-404: The last nomadic empires . The Dzungar Khanate covered Dzungaria, extending from the western Great Wall of China to present-day Eastern Kazakhstan and from present-day Northern Kyrgyzstan to Southern Siberia . Most of the region was renamed "Xinjiang" by the Chinese after the fall of the Dzungar Empire, which existed from the early 17th to the mid-18th century. The sedentary Turkic Muslims of
6969-402: The late 1870s from Yaqub Beg, the Qing dynasty established Xinjiang ("new frontier") as a province in 1884 – making it part of China, and dropping the old names of Zhunbu ( 準部 , Dzungar Region) and Huijiang (Muslimland). After Xinjiang became a Chinese province, the Qing government encouraged the Uyghurs to migrate from southern Xinjiang to other areas of the province (such as
7070-455: The late 1970s has exacerbated uneven regional development, more Uyghurs have migrated to Xinjiang's cities and some Han have migrated to Xinjiang for economic advancement. Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping made a nine-day visit to Xinjiang in 1981 and described the region as "unsteady". The Deng era reforms encouraged China's ethnic minorities, including Uyghurs, to establish small private companies for commodity transit, retail, and restaurants. By
7171-404: The late 19th century, it was still being proposed by some people that two separate regions be created out of Xinjiang, the area north of the Tianshan and the area south of the Tianshan, while it was being argued over whether to turn Xinjiang into a province. Xinjiang is a large, sparsely populated area, spanning over 1.6 million km (comparable in size to Iran ), which takes up about one sixth of
7272-705: The mid-first millennium BC, the Yuezhi engaged in the jade trade, of which the major consumers were the rulers of agricultural China." Crossed by the Northern Silk Road , the Tarim and Dzungaria regions were known as the Western Regions. At the beginning of the Han dynasty the region was ruled by the Xiongnu, a powerful nomadic people. During the 2nd century BC, the Han dynasty prepared for war against Xiongnu when Emperor Wu of Han dispatched Zhang Qian to explore
7373-541: The mysterious kingdoms to the west and form an alliance with the Yuezhi against the Xiongnu. As a result of the war, the Chinese controlled the strategic region from the Ordos and Gansu corridor to Lop Nor . They separated the Xiongnu from the Qiang people on the south and gained direct access to the Western Regions. Han China sent Zhang Qian as an envoy to the states of the region, beginning several decades of struggle between
7474-452: The name colonialist in nature since it meant "new territory". Saifuddin Azizi , the first chairman of Xinjiang, registered his strong objections to the proposed name with Mao Zedong , arguing that "autonomy is not given to mountains and rivers. It is given to particular nationalities." Some Uyghur Communists proposed the name " Tian Shan Uyghur Autonomous Region" instead. The Han Communists in
7575-526: The north-west who supplied jade to the Chinese from the nearby mountains (also known as Yushi) in Gansu. The longtime jade supply from the Tarim Basin is well-documented archaeologically: "It is well known that ancient Chinese rulers had a strong attachment to jade. All of the jade items excavated from the tomb of Fuhao of the Shang dynasty , more than 750 pieces, were from Khotan in modern Xinjiang. As early as
7676-403: The pacified areas. The native Dzungar Oirat Mongols suffered greatly from the brutal campaigns and a simultaneous smallpox epidemic. Writer Wei Yuan described the resulting desolation in present-day northern Xinjiang as "an empty plain for several thousand li , with no Oirat yurt except those surrendered." It has been estimated that 80 percent of the 600,000 (or more) Dzungars died from
7777-522: The policies in Xinjiang as genocide. ETGE and ETNAM held numerous demonstrations, press conferences, and other events urging the world to recognize China's genocide in East Turkistan (Xinjiang). The East Turkistan National Awakening Movement and the East Turkistan Government in Exile filed a complaint urging the International Criminal Court to investigate and prosecute Chinese officials for genocide. The ETGE also successfully lobbied
7878-524: The political process both through elections and by forming their own political parties as they please. Examples of multi-party systems are: In single-party systems , one political party exercises control over the government. Unlike under other systems, single-party systems do not necessarily extend democratic privileges to the citizens. This means that citizens have little say regarding political subjects. Examples of single-party systems are: Two-party systems are similar to multi-party systems in that power
7979-420: The political processes of countries with party systems, of which there are several types. Some of the most common types are multi-party systems , single party dictatorships , and two party systems . In multi-party systems such as India, Pakistan, etc., there is no restriction on the number of parties allowed to be in operation at any given time. Under these types of systems, people are free to participate in
8080-692: The province and acceded in name to the Republic of China in March of that year. Balancing mixed ethnic constituencies, Yang controlled Xinjiang until his 1928 assassination after the Northern Expedition of the Kuomintang . The Kumul Rebellion and others broke out throughout Xinjiang during the early 1930s against Jin Shuren , Yang's successor, involving Uyghurs, other Turkic groups and Hui (Muslim) Chinese. Jin enlisted White Russians to crush
8181-465: The province to them. Five ETR leaders who were to negotiate with the Chinese about ETR sovereignty died in an airplane crash that year in the outskirts of Kabansk in the Russian SFSR . The PRC continued the system of settler colonialism and forced assimilation which had defined previous Chinese expansionism in Xinjiang. The PRC autonomous region was established on 1 October 1955, replacing
8282-525: The province; that year (the first modern census in China was taken in 1953), Uyghurs were 73 percent of Xinjiang's total population of 5.11 million. Although Xinjiang has been designated a "Uygur Autonomous Region" since 1954, more than 50 percent of its area is designated autonomous areas for 13 native non-Uyghur groups. Modern Uyghurs developed ethnogenesis in 1955, when the PRC recognized formerly separately self-identified oasis peoples. Southern Xinjiang
8383-551: The provinces of Gansu and Qinghai . The most well-known route of the historic Silk Road ran through the territory from the east to its northwestern border. Xinjiang is divided into the Dzungarian Basin ( Dzungaria ) in the north and the Tarim Basin in the south by a mountain range and only about 9.7 percent of Xinjiang's land area is fit for human habitation. It is home to a number of ethnic groups, including
8484-444: The region between Qitai and the capital, largely inhabited by Han Chinese, and Ürümqi, Tacheng (Tabarghatai), Yili, Jinghe, Kur Kara Usu, Ruoqiang, Lop Nor and the lower Tarim River. In 1912, the Qing dynasty was replaced by the Republic of China . The ROC continued to treat the Qing territory as its own, including Xinjiang. Yuan Dahua, the last Qing governor of Xinjiang, fled. One of his subordinates, Yang Zengxin , took control of
8585-697: The region. The area became Islamified during the 10th century with the conversion of the Kara-Khanid Khanate , who occupied Kashgar. During the mid-10th century, the Saka Buddhist Kingdom of Khotan was attacked by the Turkic Muslim Karakhanid ruler Musa; the Karakhanid leader Yusuf Qadir Khan conquered Khotan around 1006. After Genghis Khan unified Mongolia and began his advance west the Uyghur state in
8686-573: The remains of 92 individuals in the Xiaohe Cemetery were analyzed for Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA markers. Genetic analyses of the mummies showed that the paternal lineages of the Xiaohe people were of almost all European origin, while the maternal lineages of the early population were diverse, featuring both East Eurasian and West Eurasian lineages, as well as a smaller number of Indian / South Asian lineages. lineages. Over time,
8787-513: The revolts. In the Kashgar region on 12 November 1933, the short-lived First East Turkestan Republic was self-proclaimed after debate about whether it should be called "East Turkestan" or "Uyghuristan". The region claimed by the ETR encompassed the Kashgar , Khotan and Aksu Prefectures in southwestern Xinjiang. The Chinese Muslim Kuomintang 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army) defeated
8888-846: The same time. As Tibet and the Uyghur Khaganate declined in the mid-9th century, the Kara-Khanid Khanate (a confederation of Turkic tribes including the Karluks , Chigils and Yaghmas) controlled Western Xinjiang during the 10th and 11th centuries. After the Uyghur Khaganate in Mongolia was destroyed by the Kirghiz in 840, branches of the Uyghurs established themselves in Qocha (Karakhoja) and Beshbalik (near present-day Turfan and Ürümqi). The Uyghur state remained in eastern Xinjiang until
8989-900: The signatures of pro-autonomy groups like the World Uyghur Congress and its affiliates were absent from this joint letter. On May 18, 2023, the East Turkestan Government in Exile announced its recognition of the Circassian genocide . Political organization A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties , non-governmental organizations , and special interest advocacy groups . Political organizations are those engaged in political activities (e.g., lobbying , community organizing , campaign advertising , etc.) aimed at achieving clearly-defined political goals, which typically benefit
9090-570: The two groups. Supporters of the WUC, who were suspicious of the East Turkistan Government in Exile, expressed their concerns on the bulletin board of the Uyghur American Association, which is affiliated with the World Uyghur Congress. They wrote statements accusing Anwar Yusuf Turani of acting under the instructions of the Chinese government, particularly in relation to the strategy of dividing dissident organizations." Turani himself
9191-503: The west Eurasian maternal lineages were gradually replaced by east Eurasian maternal lineages. Outmarriage to women from Siberian communities, led to the loss of the original diversity of mtDNA lineages observed in the earlier Xiaohe population. The Tarim population was therefore always notably diverse, reflecting a complex history of admixture between people of Ancient North Eurasian , South Asian and Northeast Asian descent. The Tarim mummies have been found in various locations in
9292-691: The west. The east-west chain of the Tian Shan separate Dzungaria in the north from the Tarim Basin in the south. Dzungaria is a dry steppe and the Tarim Basin contains the massive Taklamakan Desert , surrounded by oases. In the east is the Turpan Depression . In the west, the Tian Shan split, forming the Ili River valley. The earliest inhabitants of the region encompassing modern day Xinjiang were genetically of Ancient North Eurasian and Northeast Asian origin, with later geneflow from during
9393-748: The western Tarim Basin away from its previous overlords (the Xiongnu), it was inhabited by various peoples who included the Indo-European -speaking Tocharians in Turfan and Kucha , the Saka peoples centered in the Shule Kingdom and the Kingdom of Khotan , the various Tibeto-Burmese groups (especially people related to the Qiang ) as well as the Han Chinese people. Some linguists posit that
9494-702: The world from the 1980s to early 2000s but were disorganised and disunited. In April 2004, two such organizations, the Eastern Turkistan National Congress and the World Uyghur Youth Congress, merged to form the World Uyghur Congress (WUC). A radical pro-independence minority of the Eastern Turkistan National Congress refused to join the merger and instead established the East Turkistan Government in Exile in Washington D.C. in 2004. They started on
9595-406: Was created by the Qing. During the Qing rule, no sense of "regional identity" was held by ordinary Xinjiang people; rather, Xinjiang's distinct identity was given to the region by the Qing, since it had distinct geography, history and culture, while at the same time it was created by the Chinese, multicultural, settled by Han and Hui and separated from Central Asia for over a century and a half. In
9696-488: Was elected by the delegates present as president and Turani was elected as Prime Minister. The East Turkistan Government in Exile claimed to be the "sole organ of the Eastern Turkestan Republic" just four months after the formation of the World Uyghur Congress, threatening the World Uyghur Congress's claim to being the highest Uyghur representative organization and leading to immediate tensions between
9797-584: Was fought in China's Shaanxi , Ningxia and Gansu provinces and in Xinjiang from 1862 to 1877. The conflict led to a reported 20.77 million deaths due to migration and war, with many refugees dying of starvation. Thousands of Muslim refugees from Shaanxi fled to Gansu; some formed battalions in eastern Gansu, intending to reconquer their lands in Shaanxi. While the Hui rebels were preparing to attack Gansu and Shaanxi, Yaqub Beg (an Uzbek or Tajik commander of
9898-687: Was given during the reign of the Guangxu Emperor in 1878. It can be translated as "new frontier" or "new territory". In fact, the term "Xinjiang" was used in many other places conquered, but never were ruled by Chinese empires directly until the gradual Gaitu Guiliu administrative reform, including regions in Southern China. For instance, present-day Jinchuan County in Sichuan was then known as "Jinchuan Xinjiang", Zhaotong in Yunnan
9999-459: Was later impeached by the ETGE's Parliament in 2006 for violating its constitution. The East Turkistan Government in Exile has been described by scholars as one of several "Uyghur groups advocating radical forms of ideological and armed struggle including terrorist activities". It has become marginalized in Western politics but is still described as a prominent Uyghur organization on the fringes of
10100-474: Was named directly as "Xinjiang", Qiandongnan region, Anshun and Zhenning were named as "Liangyou Xinjiang" etc. In 1955, Xinjiang Province was renamed "Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region". The name that was originally proposed was simply "Xinjiang Autonomous Region" because that was the name for the imperial territory. This proposal was not well-received by Uyghurs in the Communist Party, who found
10201-560: Was not as great as elsewhere in China during the Great Leap Forward and a million Han Chinese fleeing famine resettled in Xinjiang. In 1980, China allowed the United States to establish electronic listening stations in Xinjiang so the United States could monitor Soviet rocket launches in central Asia in exchange for the United States authorizing the sale of dual-use civilian and military technology and nonlethal military equipment to China. The Chinese economic reform since
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