Page 141 - Communist Chinas Policy of Oppression in East Turkestan

s we have seen, there are many
economic reasons why East
Turkestan is very important to
China. That country's interest in east
Turkestan goes back thousands of years and
the region has frequently been occupied by China, either
fully or in part.
The latest Chinese occupation, that is still in existence today, began in
the middle of the 1700s. The civil conflicts in East Turkestan in the seven-
teenth and eighteenth centuries not only damaged popular unity, but also
weakened the state itself. At the same time, the Manchus came to power in
China and the Manchu dynasty began. Throughout their rule, East
Turkestan was run by centrally appointed governors and bureaucrats. In
1911 the Manchu Empire was overthrown and replaced by the Chinese
Republic under Sun Yat Sen, the leader of the Kuomintang party, and East
Turkestan was totally enslaved.
The cruelty inflicted on the people of East Turkestan by the Kuom-
intang regime led to a popular uprising and a declaration of independence
in 1931. Up until then, the Muslims of East Turkestan, aware of the politi-
cal realities of the time, avoided any initiatives aimed at securing indepen-
dence. It was not only China that had its sights set on the region, but
Soviet Russia was also waiting for an opportunity to take it over. The peo-
ple of East Turkestan were aware of this (and of the sufferings
the Russians had inflicted on the Muslims of West
Turkestan) and for this reason preferred to accept the
status quo rather than fall into communist hands.
However, the 1931 move towards indepen-
dence left the Muslims facing the very
threat they had feared. China was
able to put the movement
down only with help