We start our first week with an explanation of the simple difference that really matters to all people who fight for the independence of Uyghurs.
The term `East Turkestan` was coined in the 19th century by Russian Turkologists to replace another term `Chinese Turkestan`, which referred to the Tarim Basin (an endorheic basin with an area of about 1,020,000 km2) under the ruling of the Qing Dynasty (the 1750s to 1912).
You may ask – but how did the word `Xinjiang` appear?
The independent Uyghur Kingdom in East Turkistan — the Seyyid Kingdom — was invaded by the Manchu rulers of China in 1759 who annexed East Turkestan into their empire. The Manchu were finally expelled in 1864 and the Uyghurs established the Yetteshahar State. However, independence was short-lived, as the Manchus invaded East Turkestan again in 1876. After eight years of bloody war, the Manchu Empire formally annexed East Turkestan into its territories and renamed it “Xinjiang” (meaning “New Territory”) on November 18, 1884.
The following years brought few moments of pride and uncounted reasons for sorrow. Due to the loosening of control from the Chinese Nationalists, the Uyghurs, who wanted to free themselves from foreign domination, staged numerous uprisings against Chinese rule, and twice (in 1933 and in 1944) set up an independent East Turkestan Republic (ETR).
In October of 1949, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops marched into East Turkestan, ending the Republic. The Chinese communists established the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the territory of East Turkistan.
Since those days Uyghur freedom fighters and their supporters have rejected the name of Xinjiang because of the Chinese perspective reflected in the name and prefer East Turkestan to emphasize the connection to other, westerly, Turkic groups.
Follow our Twitter account and check our posts to be informed and join the campaign. We call on all human rights activists and members of the global liberal family to spread the information and put their efforts to help Uyghurs!
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