The Xinjiang conflict (), also known as the East Turkestan conflict, Uyghur–Chinese conflict or Sino–East Turkestan conflict (as argued by the East Turkistan Government-in-Exile), is an ethnic geopolitical conflict in what is now China's far-northwest autonomous region of Xinjiang, also known as East Turkestan. It is centred around the Uyghurs, a Turkic ethnic group who constitute a plurality (or 'relative majority') of the region's population. translation printed in Washington: JPRS 3936, 19 September 1960.
In the 1930s, armed conflicts known as the Xinjiang Wars broke out during the Warlord Era of the Republic of China and the Chinese Civil War, beginning with the Kumul Rebellion which saw the establishment of the First East Turkestan Republic in 1933 as well as its destruction in 1934. The Second East Turkestan Republic was later founded in 1944 with the support of the Soviet Union in the wake of the Ili Rebellion. Many of the Turkic peoples in Ili had close ties with the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union. As a result, many Turkic rebels fled to the Soviet Union and obtained Soviet assistance to create the Sinkiang Turkic People's Liberation Committee (STPNLC) in 1943 against Kuomintang rule during the Ili Rebellion. Since the incorporation of the region into the People's Republic of China, there have been armed conflicts between the Chinese government and separatist groups, the latter receiving support from the Soviet Union during the Sino-Soviet split during the 1960s.
Insurgency and hostilities increased following the Barin uprising and continued throughout the 1990s, marked by events such as the 1997 Ürümqi bus bombings and the Ghulja incident, and factors such as the mass state-sponsored migration of Han Chinese from the 1950s to the 1970s and harsh responses to separatism have contributed to regional tensions. The conflict saw a resurgence since the 2000s in the form of terror attacks and other events including the June 2009 Shaoguan Incident and the resulting July 2009 Ürümqi riots, the 2011 Hotan attack, April 2014 Ürümqi attack, May 2014 Ürümqi attack, 2014 Kunming attack, as well as the 2015 Aksu colliery attack.
In 2014, the Chinese government launched the Strike Hard Campaign Against Violent Terrorism in Xinjiang. In recent years, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's policy has been marked by much harsher policies, including mass surveillance and the alleged incarceration without trial of over one million Uyghurs and other Muslim minority ethnic groups in internment camps. Numerous reports have stated that many of these minorities have been used for prison labour. Western observers have labelled the campaign to be an instance of crimes against humanity and cultural genocide.
The Chinese government has refuted charges of genocide and other human rights abuses, characterising the centers as deradicalisation and integration programs and were the subject of dispute at the 44th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC); 39 Western-aligned countries condemned China's treatment of the Uyghurs in Xinjiang in June 2020. Similarly, in July, a group of 45 nations, including many Middle Eastern nations, issued a competing letter to the UNHRC, defending China's treatment of both Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. Various groups and media organisations worldwide have both disputed and supported the claim that human rights violations have occurred.
Background
Xinjiang is a large central-Asian region within the People's Republic of China comprising numerous minority groups: 45% of its population are Uyghurs, and 40% are Han. Its heavily industrialised capital, Ürümqi, has a population of more than 2.3 million, about 75% of whom are Han, 12.8% are Uyghur, and 10% are from other ethnic groups.
In general, Uyghurs and the mostly Han government disagree on which group has greater historical claim to the Xinjiang region: Uyghurs believe their ancestors were indigenous to the area, whereas government policy considers Xinjiang to have belonged to China since around 200 BC during Han Dynasty. According to Chinese policy, Uyghurs are classified as a National Minority; they are considered to be no more indigenous to Xinjiang than the Han, and have no special rights to the land under the law. During the Mao era the People's Republic oversaw the migration into Xinjiang of millions of Han, who have been accused of economically dominating the region, although a 2008 survey on both ethnic groups has contradicted the allegation.
Current Chinese minority policy is based on affirmative action, and has reinforced a Uyghur ethnic identity that is distinct from the Han population. However, Human Rights Watch describes a "multi-tiered system of surveillance, control, and suppression of religious activity" perpetrated by state authorities. In 2018, it was estimated that over 100,000 Uyghurs were held in political "re-education camps". China justifies such measures as a response to the terrorist threat posed by extremist separatist groups. These policies, in addition to some long-standing prejudices between the Han and Uyghurs, have sometimes resulted in tension between the two ethnic groups. As a result of the policies, the Uyghurs' freedoms of religion and of movement have been curtailed.
On the other hand, some Han citizens view Uyghurs as benefiting from special treatment, such as preferential admission to universities and exemption from the (now abandoned) one-child policy, and as "harbouring separatist aspirations". Nonetheless, it was observed in 2013 that at least in the workplace, Uyghur-Han relations seemed relatively friendly, and a survey from 2009 suggested that 70% of Uyghur respondents had Han friends while 82% of Han had Uyghur friends.
Due to exemption from the one-child policy, Uyghur numbers increased from 5.5 million in 1980s to over 12 million in 2017. Ethnic minority couples were paid incentives to keep their family size below the legal limit and accept sterilisation after three children preceding the removal of the preferential policy.
Restrictions
Islamic leaders during the Cultural Revolution were forced to take part in acts against their religion, such as eating pork. China does not enforce the law against children attending mosques on non-Uyghurs outside Xinjiang. Since the 1980s Islamic private schools (Sino-Arabic schools ()) have been permitted by the Chinese government in Muslim areas, excluding Xinjiang because of its separatist sentiment.
Hui Muslims employed by the state, unlike Uyghurs, are allowed to fast during Ramadan. The number of Hui going on Hajj is expanding and Hui women are allowed to wear veils, but Uyghur women are discouraged from wearing them. Muslim ethnic groups in different regions are treated differently by the Chinese government with regard to religious freedom. Religious freedom exists for Hui Muslims, who can practice their religion, build mosques and have their children attend them; more restrictions are placed on Uyghurs in Xinjiang. Hui religious schools are allowed, and an autonomous network of mosques and schools run by a Hui Sufi leader was formed with the approval of the Chinese government. According to The Diplomat, Uyghur religious activities are curtailed but Hui Muslims are granted widespread religious freedom; therefore, Chinese governmental policy is directed at Uyghur separatism.
In the last two decades of the 20th century, Uyghurs in Turpan were treated favourably by China with regard to religion; while Kashgar and Hotan were subject to more stringent government control. Uyghur and Han Communist officials in Turpan turned a blind eye to the law, allowing Islamic education of Uyghur children. Religious celebrations and the Hajj were encouraged by the Chinese government for Uyghur Communist Party members, and 350 mosques were built in Turpan between 1979 and 1989. As a result, Han, Hui and the Chinese government were then viewed more positively by Uyghurs in Turpan. In 1989, there were 20,000 mosques in Xinjiang. Until separatist disturbances began in 1996, China allowed people to ignore the rule prohibiting religious observance by government officials. Large mosques were built with Chinese government assistance in Ürümqi. While rules proscribing religious activities were enforced in southern Xinjiang, conditions were comparatively lax in Ürümqi.
According to The Economist, in 2016 Uyghurs faced difficulties travelling within Xinjiang and live in fenced-off neighbourhoods with checkpoint entrances. In southern Ürümqi, each apartment door has a QR code so police can easily see photos of the dwelling's authorised residents.
In 2017, overseas Uyghur activists claimed that new restrictions were being imposed, including people being fined heavily or subjected to programmes of "re-education" for refusing to eat during fasting in Ramadan, the detention of hundreds of Uyghurs as they returned from Mecca pilgrimages, and many standard Muslim names, such as Muhammad, being banned for newborn children. It was claimed that Han officials had been assigned to reside in the homes of those with interned Uyghur family members as part of the government's "Pair Up and Become Family" program. There were also reportedly separate queues for Uyghurs and outsiders, where the former needed to get their identity cards checked at numerous points.
In 2021 Amnesty International released a 160-page report on the human rights violations occurring in Xinjiang. It intensively describes China's collection of the biometric data and surveillance of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.“‘Like We Were Enemies in a War.’” China's Mass Internment, Torture and Persecution of Muslims in Xinjiang, Amnesty International, 2021, xinjiang.amnesty.org/. Additionally in 2021 PBS' Frontline discussed the extensive surveillance and facial recognition software used in Xinjiang. From QR codes to facial recognition cameras and "home stays," by government officials. They estimated nearly two million Uyghurs were being detained across over 12,000 camps.Barnwell, Robin, and Gesbeen Mohammad. “China Undercover.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 23 Aug. 2022, www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/china-undercover/.
Timeline Pre-20th century
The history of the region has become highly politicised, with both Chinese and nationalist Uyghur historians frequently overstating the extent of their groups' respective ties to the region. In reality, it has been home to many groups throughout history, with the Uyghurs arriving from Central Asia in the 10th century. Although various Chinese dynasties have at times exerted control over parts of what is now Xinjiang, the region as it exists today came under Chinese rule as a result of the westward expansion of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, which also saw the annexation of Mongolia and Tibet.
Early Qing rule was marked by a "culturally pluralist" approach, with a prohibition on Chinese settlement in the region, and indirect rule through supervised local officials. An increased tax burden placed on the local population due to rebellions elsewhere in China later led to a number of Hui-led Muslim rebellions. The region was subsequently recaptured, and was established as an official province in 1884.
Near the end of their rule the Qing tried to colonise Xinjiang along with other parts of the imperial frontier. To accomplish this goal they began a policy of settler colonialism by which Han Chinese were resettled on the frontier.
20th century