East Turkestan
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East Turkestan or East Turkistan (Uyghur: شەرقىي تۈركىستان, ULY: Sherqiy Türkistan, UKY: Шәрқий Туркистан) is a loosely defined geographical region in the northwestern part of the People's Republic of China, in easternmost Central Asia.[1] The term was coined in the 19th century by Russian Turkologists, including Nikita Bichurin, who intended the name to replace the common Western term for the region, "Chinese Turkestan", which referred to the Tarim Basin in Southern Xinjiang.[2][3] Beginning in the 17th century, Altishahr, which means "Six Cities" in Uyghur, became the Uyghur name for the Tarim Basin. Uyghurs also called the Tarim Basin "Yettishar," which means "Seven Cities," and even "Sekkizshahr", which means "Eight Cities" in Uyghur. Chinese dynasties from the Han dynasty to the Tang dynasty had called an overlapping area the "Western Regions".
Starting in the 20th century, the Turkic Muslim Uyghur separatists and their supporters used East Turkestan as an appellation for the whole of Xinjiang (the Tarim Basin and Dzungaria) or for a future independent state in present-day Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. They reject the name Xinjiang (meaning "New Frontier" in Chinese)[4] because of the Chinese perspective reflected in the name, and prefer East Turkestan to emphasize the connection to other, western Turkic groups.
The First East Turkestan Republic existed from November 12, 1933, to April 16, 1934, and the Second East Turkestan Republic existed between November 12, 1944, and June 27, 1946. East Turkestan is a founding member of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) formed in 1991, where it was represented initially by the East Turkistan National Congress and later by the World Uyghur Congress post 2004.[5] In September 2004, the East Turkistan Government in Exile was established in Washington, D.C. With public support of China draining outside of Asia, some outsiders, the Uyghur diaspora, and anti-PRC activists consider East Turkestan, along with Tibet and Inner Mongolia, occupied. Opponents to this viewpoint say that without China the independent country would end up in civil war.
- ^ Millward, James A. (2007). Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-13924-3.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
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Kamalov-2007was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Introduction". The Lost Frontier Treaty Maps that Changed Qing's Northwestern Boundaries. Archived from the original on January 29, 2020. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
The Qianlong emperor (1736–1796) named the region Xinjiang, for New Territory.
- ^ "UNPO: East Turkestan". Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization. December 16, 2015. Archived from the original on September 7, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2019.