Press Release – For Immediate Release
10 April 2023
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In the most recent social media poll conducted by the East Turkistan Government in Exile, the overwhelming majority of East Turkistani / Uyghur netizens said they prefer an independent state as the solution to the ongoing conflict between East Turkistan and China.
According to the survey, 99% of East Turkistani / Uyghur respondents on Facebook preferred a “independent state” as a solution to the ongoing conflict between East Turkistan and China, while only 1% preferred “greater autonomy under Chinese rule.“
The East Turkistan Government in Exile conducted the Facebook survey as a public opinion poll in the Uyghur language from March 8 to April 8, 2023, with a total of 2,337 East Turkistani / Uyghur diaspora members participating.
In contrast, 92% of East Turkistani / Uyghurs responded on Twitter that they preferred a “independent state” as a solution to the ongoing conflict between East Turkistan and China, while only 8% preferred “greater autonomy under Chinese rule.”
The East Turkistan Government in Exile conducted the Twitter survey as a public opinion poll in the Uyghur language from March 9 to March 16, 2023, with 158 East Turkistanis / Uyghur diaspora members participating.
Because the majority of global East Turkistanis / Uyghurs diaspora members use Facebook, the Facebook survey received more responses than Twitter.
“The results of the public opinion polls reflect the true aspirations of the East Turkistani people and clearly demonstrates that the vast majority of East Turkistani people reject Chinese occupation and favor the restoration of their independence,” said East Turkistan Government in Exile Prime Minister Salih Hudayar.
“In light of these facts, the East Turkistan Government in Exile once again calls on the international community, particularly the United States, to recognize, respect, and support the East Turkistani people’s right to external self-determination and their efforts to restore East Turkistan’s independence,” said East Turkistan Government in Exile President Ghulam Yaghma.
The People’s Republic of China, led by the Chinese Communist Party, invaded East Turkistan on October 12, 1949, and overthrew the independent East Turkistan Republic on December 22, 1949, resulting in the ongoing conflict between East Turkistan and China. Over the years, the people of East Turkistan have consistently resisted Chinese occupation and demanded their country’s independence.
Since 2014, the Chinese government has been conducting a genocide campaign in East Turkistan, targeting Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, and other Turkic peoples under the guise of combating “separatism and extremism.” Senior Chinese government officials’ public and leaked statements, such as those in the “Xinjiang Police Files,” show that the Chinese government is committing genocide in order to combat “pro-independence thoughts” among East Turkistan’s native Turkic population.
In recent years, the East Turkistan Government in Exile has led the campaign to gain recognition of China’s atrocities as genocide, recognition of East Turkistan’s status as an Occupied Country, and support for East Turkistan’s right to independence.
The East Turkistan Government in Exile, as well as many East Turkistanis and Uyghurs, believe that restoring East Turkistan’s independence is the only way to end China’s ongoing campaign of colonization and genocide, as well as to ensure the human rights, freedoms, and very existence of Uyghurs and other Turkic peoples.
