The below statement is attributed to the Prime Minister of the East Turkistan Government in Exile

Recently, Wei Jingsheng, of the so-called “Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition,” has been making numerous statements online demonizing the Uyghurs. 

He has been echoing racist propaganda similar to those made by the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party, denying China’s ongoing genocide of Uyghurs in Occupied East Turkistan and labeling Uyghurs as “extremists” and even “terrorists.” 

It seems very clear from his recent comments that Mr. Wei Jingshen has not removed the Chinese communist and fascist indoctrination that he received in his youth and during his time as a Communist Red Guard. His recent statements show his true character and ideology, one that is not compatible with democracy and democratic ideals but rather deeply espouses the ideology of communism, ultranationalism, and Chinese chauvinism. 

In addressing the racist and false revisionist propaganda that Wei Jinsheng has been spreading, we want to clarify that Genetic and archeological research proves that the modern Uyghurs didn’t originate from Mongolia in the 9th century as the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese ultranationalists like Wei Jingsheng falsely claim.

Genetic research shows that the modern Uyghurs are the direct descendants of the ancient Indo-European and Turkic peoples that have been inhabiting East Turkistan, or what China calls “Xinjiang,” meaning “the colony” or “new territory” for over 6,000 years. Genetic research found that the modern Uyghurs are an admixture of the Caucasian Indo-European peoples inhabiting East Turkistan and the Hun (which the Chinese call “Xiongnu”)-Turkic tribes of Central Asia. Genetic researchers concluded that the admixture initially occurred around 2,200 to 2,900 years ago.

Contrary to the false narrative put forth by the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese supremacists like Wei Jingsheng, Uyghurs have a very long history of independence and statehood in East Turkistan.

Throughout their long history, the Indo-European and Hun-Turkic ancestors of the modern Uyghurs established dozens of empires and states across East Turkistan and Central Asia. 

It wasn’t until 1759 that our nation began to decline and come under foreign occupation. East Turkistan was invaded by the Manchu Qing Dynasty in 1759, leading to 42 national uprisings against the Qing Dynasty from 1759-1865. The Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples of East Turkistan regained their independence in 1865 by establishing the State of East Turkistan, also known as Kashgaria, under Yaqub Beg.

As a result of the Great Power Competition between the British and Russian Empires in the late 19th century, the Manchu Qing Empire tasked the Han Chinese General Zuo Zontang with invading and occupying East Turkistan in 1877, which resulted in the fall of the State of East Turkistan following the death of Yaqub Beg. On November 18, 1884, the Manchus formally incorporated East Turkistan into its empire as “Xinjiang,” which was initially translated as “the colony,” according to Chinese-English dictionaries from 1884 and is now commonly translated as “the new territory.” 

The Chinese Communist Party and Chinese ultranationalists falsely deny Chinese invasion, colonization, and occupation of East Turkistan. However, historical records and the very term “Xinjiang” ( meaning the colony” or the “territory”), which the Chinese use to refer to East Turkistan, clearly shows that East Turkistan was invaded, occupied, and colonized by the Chinese even after the fall of the Manchu Qing Empire in 1912. 

In 1921, Chinese leader Sun Yat-sen, who is also known as the “modern founder of China and Chinese Democracy,” explicitly wrote in his book “The International Development of China” about the need for the Chinese to colonization Mongolia and East Turkistan (he referred to it as Sinkiang). If East Turkistan was a part of China, as the CCP and Chinese supremacists falsely claim, why would it need to occupy and colonize it? 

Moreover, the people of East Turkistan declared independence twice in the 20th century as the East Turkistan Republic in 1933-1934 and from 1944-1949 before being invaded and occupied by the People’s Republic of China. 

At the time of the Chinese occupation of East Turkistan in December 1949, the Chinese occupation forces and their colonists made up less than 6% of the population. Due to 7 decades of Chinese occupation, colonization, and genocide, the Chinese colonists and occupation forces make up over 40%. Millions of our people have been brutally killed by Chinese occupation forces through various methods from massacres of entire towns to nuclear testings, to forced abortions, to forced sterilization, organ harvesting, torture, and summary executions.  

Contrary to the popular misconception, the current systematic colonization, genocide, and occupation of East Turkistan by Chinese occupation forces are not new, as it has been occurring on and off for over 100 years. 

While the political ideology of various Chinese administrations may seem to have changed, the Chinese desire to occupy, colonize, and eradicate East Turkistan and its people has not changed. Nor is it something unique to only the Chinese Communist Party and the current so-called People’s Republic of China. 

The conflict between East Turkistan and China is not one over ideology but rather an international conflict between two different nations or states. The nature of the relationship between the Uyghur and other Turkic peoples of East Turkistan and the Chinese government and its people is that one of an occupied country versus a foreign occupier or a colonized nation versus a colonial power.

Opposing Chinese occupation and colonization of our country is not only our right but our duty under established international laws; it does not make us “terrorists,” “extremists,” or “racists” for wanting to be free of foreign Chinese occupation. If we use Wei Jingshen’s delusional logic, then one could argue that the Chinese people themselves are “terrorists,” “extremists,” and “racists” for having opposed Manchu and Japanese occupation.

China and its occupation forces, including its Chinese colonial settlers, have no right to East Turkistan, just like the Japanese forces and Japanese colonial colonists had no right to China during World War II.

The people of East Turkistan do not need nor want the support of so-called “democratic Chinese forces” or any other Chinese forces to achieve human rights.  If they want to help, they need to respect our national sovereignty and urge China and its occupation forces and their colonists to end their illegal occupation, colonization, and genocide in East Turkistan.

It is evident from the actions and statements made by the Chinna, its occupation forces, the Chinese communist party, and even Chinese supremacists disguised as so-called “Chinese democracy activists” and “human rights defenders” that restoring East Turkistan’s independence is the only way to guarantee and ensure the fundamental human rights, freedoms, and very existence of the Uyghur nation.

We want to make it clear to Wei Jingshen, his so-called “Overseas Chinese Democracy Coalition,” all Chinese forces which seek to continue Chinese occupation and colonization of East Turkistan, and the whole of the international community that East Turkistan and its people, especially the Uyghur nation, will no longer tolerate Chinese occupation, colonialism, racism, and Chinese chauvinism in any form. 

We also call on the European Parliament, the National Endowment for Democracy, and other relevant entities to condemn Wei Jingshen’s racist and supremacist attacks against the Uyghur nation facing genocide and rescind the awards given him. 

Lastly, while we are grateful that many governments, organizations, and individuals worldwide are speaking out against China’s genocide of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples in East Turkistan, we call on them to address the root cause of the ongoing genocide and understand the end goal of China’s genocide. 

China is waging genocide against Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples of East Turkistan to ensure Chinese supremacy, occupation, and colonization of East Turkistan. We call on the international community to Act against Chinese colonization, genocide, and occupation in East Turkistan by recognizing East Turkistan as an occupied country, supporting our case against China at the International Criminal Court, and supporting the fundamental rights of East Turkistan and its people to regain their independence.