Uyghur Muslim Ethnic Separatism in Uyghuristan, China

Elizabeth Van Wie Davis
Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies
January 2008

Overview1
The April 1990 armed uprising in Baren marked an increase in Uyghur Muslim
violence in Xinjiang, China. Two justifications—ethnic separatism and religious
rhetoric—are given. The Uyghurs, who reside throughout the immediate region,
are the largest Turkic ethnic group living in Xinjiang as well as being
overwhelmingly Muslim. This combination of ethnicity and religion also involves
the movement of religious and political ideologies, weapons, and people.

The desired outcome by groups that use violence is, broadly speaking, a separate
Uyghur state, called either Uyghuristan or Eastern Turkistan, which lays claim to
a large part of China. While some Uyghurs want a separate state, others want to
maintain cultural distinction within an autonomous relationship with China, and
others are integrating into the Chinese system. There is no single Uyghur agenda.

The violent outbreaks in Xinjiang occur sporadically, and the groups that claim
responsibility are frequently splintering, merging, and collapsing. Some of the
Uyghur groups make claims that are difficult to substantiate. Nonetheless, the
Uyghur grievances against the Chinese government have old roots. Some of the
newer elements include Turkey’s unofficial support and Muslim funding and
training from abroad.

The heavy-handedness of the multiple “strike hard” campaigns by the central
Chinese government in Xinjiang simultaneously tamps down violence in the shortrun
but fuels a sense of injustice and mistrust among the Uyghurs in the long-run.
Beginning in 1996, regular “strike hard” campaigns were used to fight crime and
threats to order by mobilizing police, but are used in this decade to deal increasingly
with “separatism, extremism and terrorism.” A heavy police presence is a
constant in Xinjiang.

U.S. policy on this issue is constrained. Not only does the US need to work with
China on issues of geostrategic importance, but also the Uyghurs who use violence
have formed limited associations with groups that are categorized as terrorist
organizations. The best option for the United States is to continue to encourage
China to use the rule of law and to respect human rights.

The Roots of the Problem
A January 2007 Chinese raid on a training camp in Xinjiang killed 18 terrorist suspects
and one policeman. Seventeen more suspects were reported captured and explosives were
seized. The raid was said to have provided new evidence of ties to “international terrorist

Report Documentation Page Form Approved
OMB No. 0704-0188
Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information,
including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington
VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it
does not display a currently valid OMB control number.
1. REPORT DATE
JAN 2008 2. REPORT TYPE
3. DATES COVERED
00-00-2008 to 00-00-2008
4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE
Uyghur Muslim Ethnic Separatism in Xinjiang, China
5a. CONTRACT NUMBER
5b. GRANT NUMBER
5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER
6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER
5e. TASK NUMBER
5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER
7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES)
Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies,2058 Maluhia
Road,Honolulu,HI,96815
8. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION
REPORT NUMBER
9. SPONSORING/MONITORING AGENCY NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 10. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S ACRONYM(S)
11. SPONSOR/MONITOR’S REPORT
NUMBER(S)
12. DISTRIBUTION/AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
Approved for public release; distribution unlimited
13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES
14. ABSTRACT
15. SUBJECT TERMS
16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF
ABSTRACT
Same as
Report (SAR)
18. NUMBER
OF PAGES
15
19a. NAME OF
RESPONSIBLE PERSON
a. REPORT
unclassified
b. ABSTRACT
unclassified
c. THIS PAGE
unclassified
Standard Form 298 (Rev. 8-98)
Prescribed by ANSI Std Z39-18
2
forces.”2 The raid marks the latest clash between Uyghur Muslim separatists and Chinese
security services, reflecting a limited challenge to China’s mainland stability. In Beijing’s
view, however, instability in Xinjiang could also bring instability to Tibet, Inner
Mongolia, and Taiwan. As with many of these disputes throughout Asia, the root causes
of the problem are a complex mix of history, ethnicity, and religion, fueled by poverty,
unemployment, social disparities, and political grievances.
The central government has gone through several waves regarding the treatment of
religion and ethnicity within the territory of the People’s Republic of China. Historically,
ethnic minorities that are adherents to religions other than Chinese Buddhism raised fears
of social unrest in China. For instance in the nineteenth century, the Taiping Rebellion—
including the Hakka subgroup and Zhuang minorities—and the Hui Minorities War3 both
had their roots in religious movements. The Hui, ethnically Chinese but religiously
Muslim, are a unique minority in China. The ethnic minorities and Muslim majority in
Xinjiang, which means the “New Territories” in Chinese, were largely conquered and
integrated into the Chinese state in the 1750s. Xinjiang became a province in 1884,
fixing a firm western border with Russia.4 According to the noted historian Jonathan D.
Spence, the Xinjiang region was not initially colonized or settled, but was maintained as a
strategic frontier zone, with up to 20,000 Manchu and Chinese banner garrisons, at a
huge annual cost. The largely Muslim inhabitants kept their own religious leaders, who
were bound by salaries and titles to the Qing state (China).5 After the dissolution of the
Qing Dynasty, the last Chinese dynasty, the Republic of China’s Nationalists gradually
saw the country fall into Japanese occupied territories and warlord fiefdoms, including
Xinjiang, which was ruled by an autonomous military governor who nervously sought aid
and sponsorship first from Soviet Russia and then from the Nationalists, before ultimately
surrendering to the Communists in Xinjiang in September 1949.6
Although initially declaring the People’s Republic of China as a multinational state7 in
1949, the Communist Party’s Anti Rightist Policy of 1957 opposed “local nationalism”
among ethnic minorities and clamped down on religions. A decade later, the harsh
Cultural Revolution (1966-76) saw many even greater injustices against ethnic
minorities. Religion was especially suppressed, but so was ethnic language, cultural
cuisines and garb. The Uyghur in Xinjiang, like other Muslim minorities throughout
China, saw their religious texts and mosques destroyed, their religious leaders persecuted,
and individual adherents punished. With the more open policies of the late 1970s
through the early 1990s, restrictions on minorities and religions began to loosen. This
opening resulted in more minorities speaking out against what were seen as
discriminatory economic, religious, and political practices. The Chinese government
began to crack down in Xinjiang in 1996, shortly after the first meeting of the Shanghai
Five, soon to be the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, whose members include Russia,
China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.8
In addition to police and military crackdowns, Beijing believes that economic
development can undermine Uyghur calls for independence and solve Xinjiang's
problems. And economically, Xinjiang has dramatically improved relative to its economy
of a decade ago, although it still lags behind the industrialized coastal areas. However,
3
the very improvements attributed to economic enhancement open China to risk in
Xinjiang. For example, as part of its development plans, Beijing is connecting Xinjiang to
Central Asia through roads, rails and pipelines to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and
Tajikistan. But these very openings are exposing Xinjiang directly to Islamic militant
training and arms as well as the drug trade emanating from these countries and beyond.9

State Responses
The response from Beijing has been officially reasonable, but less so in practice. In
September 1999, National Minorities Policy and Its Practice in China was released by
the Office of the State Council. The policy outlines a fairly generous policy toward
minorities.10 The problem, of course, is always in the actual adherence to policy in real
life situations where minorities are often viewed with various preconceived notions of
race and ethnicity. Open tolerance of minorities declined further in Xinjiang after
September 11, 2001, when China felt it was now both internationally permissible to
“crack down” on separatists in Xinjiang and nationally more urgent to protect its porous
borders from an influx of more violent forms of Islam, borders which abut Afghanistan as
well as Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.11
Chinese central government policies are also reflected in recent policy statements. For
instance, at the May 2006 meeting of the Chinese National Islamic Council, Jia Qinglin,
chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative
Congress, urged Islamic leaders in China to play a positive role in building a
“harmonious society.”12 The message reflects the Chinese government’s perceived
connection between Muslims, many of whom are also ethnic minorities in China, and
social unrest.13 According to Ye Xiaowen, Director of the State Administration for
Religious Affairs, “As Chinese Muslims advance with the nation, this is our response to
the many turbid misunderstandings that tarnish the Muslim image: Islam is a peaceloving
religion. Chinese Muslims love peace, oppose turmoil and separatism, advocate
tolerance and harmony, and treasure unity and stability.”14
Clearly the Chinese government has been cracking down on Uyghur militants. Western
human rights groups are concerned about overall treatment of prisoners and the targeting
of minorities, while the Chinese government is concerned that Islamic militant rhetoric
and funding are finding their way into China. The issue then becomes whether China is
victimizing the Uyghur minority, using terrorism and separatism as an excuse to violate
their human rights, or whether China itself is a victim of separatists and terror networks
like the al-Qaeda camps,15 which trained Uyghurs in Afghanistan for activities in
Xinjiang.16 The Chinese tend to refer to this concern by the three character slogan of
separatism, extremism and terrorism, implying a distinct link between the three concepts.
For instance, Chinese President Hu Jintao said on June 17, 2004, that "We have to fight
against the three evils of separatism, extremism and terrorism," in a speech at a summit
meeting of the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), adding that
terrorism in all forms must be suppressed and double standards must be ruled out in
fighting what is regarded as a grave threat to world peace and development. Efforts
should be made to tackle the problems of regional confrontation and poverty, which are
considered the roots of terrorism, said the Chinese president. "Terrorism is not
4
automatically related to certain ethnic groups or religions," he added.17 It is clear that the
Chinese leadership fears that Xinjiang separatism has and will continue to gain support
from transnational Muslim extremists, with possible ramifications both for other latent
Chinese separatist movements without a Muslim connection and for other Chinese
Muslims without a separatist agenda.
The central government’s policies on separatists include the use of force, certainly
evident in Xinjiang, For example, in August 2001, the Chinese military undertook largescale
exercises in Xinjiang with an imposing parade of military hardware through the
center of the city of Kashgar. The Xinjiang exercises, which were spread over almost a
month, reportedly involved 50,000 troops, one of the largest ever staged by the Chinese
in the region, featuring dozens of armored personnel vehicles, tanks, and camouflaged
trucks filled with troops, capped off by a flyover of fighter jets. The parade was presided
over by General Fu Quanyou, then chief of general staff of the People's Liberation Army
(PLA) and a member of the Central Military Commission. A number of other generals
and senior officers, based at the Lanzhou military region which co-ordinates defense in
Xinjiang, also sat on the podium to view the parade.18 The use of domestic force is
possible partly because of the existing international war on terrorism, the prevailing
perception of the linkages between terrorism and separatism, the general regional
reluctance to condone ethnic separatism, and the global concern that religion is mixing
with both terrorism and separatism.
Economic incentives, however, may well be the largest tool in the central government’s
policies toward Xinjiang and the Uyghurs, especially the Western Development policies.
The western regions, over half of China’s vast expanse of land with its highlands and
deserts, are made up of six provinces and three autonomous regions, including Xinjiang.
The Western Development policies were first an economic development strategy to
reduce poverty and then an urgent social necessity of Chinese leaders. In the early 1980s,
then-leader Deng Xiaoping developed a policy to first develop the eastern coastal
regions, which already had a better economic foundation than the western regions, and
then second to increase the development of the western regions after the development of
the eastern regions reached a certain point. In the following decades the poverty gap
between eastern and western China widened, resulting in Beijing’s creation in June 1999
of a leading group responsible for the development of the western regions with Premier
Zhu Rongji and 17 ministerial-level officials as members. The attempt to use economic
tools to address ethnic separatism in Xinjiang reflects the Chinese government’s longstanding
belief that most peoples, Uyghurs included, primarily want a good economic life
for themselves and their children.
The current Chinese government, under President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, is
acutely aware of the challenges and dangers that lesser development in the western
regions like Xinjiang means for not only China’s overall continued prosperity, but also
for political stability, the possible enticements of Islamic extremism, and the calls for
ethnic separatism. In 2006, Wang Jinxiang, deputy director of the National Development
and Reform Commission, assured the National Committee of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) that the national strategy to develop the
5
country's western region had made great progress. He said that a total of one trillion yuan
(US$125 B) has been spent building infrastructure in western China with an annual
average regional economic growth rate of 10.6 percent for six years in a row.19 China,
continuing with its transportation infrastructure projects, will build twelve new highways
in Xinjiang to connect with Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan. The longest
road will stretch 1,680 kilometers from Xinjiang to Uzbekistan, Iran, Turkey, and finally
reach Europe, scheduled for completion before 2010.20 Other infrastructure projects
either significantly underway or completed as of 2007 are: a south-to-north water
diversion, a west-to-east natural gas transfer, a west-to-east power transmission and the
completed Qinghai-Tibet Railway.21
The underlying idea is that if the western regions, most notably Xinjiang, have sufficient
development, then the minorities will prosper, be less restive, give less support for
separatist activities, and be more integrated into the fortunes—both economic and
political—of China. A complicating factor that has become manifest along with this
economic development has been migration into the western regions, primarily of Han (or
majority) Chinese. Not only is this making the western regions more ethnically Chinese,
but also it is reinforcing the “minority” status of the Uyghurs, who watch the better
paying jobs go to Han Chinese while the harder labor, poorer paying positions are given
to Uyghurs. The other ethnic groups living in Xinjiang—Kazaks, Hui, Kirgiz, Mongols,
and others—have more mixed feelings about Han money and people moving into the
region.
In addition to the national Western Development policies, there are the provincial and
local policies in Xinjiang. 22 As in many places, politics are local in China. While it
would be a mistake to underestimate the importance of Muslim status and politics inside
of China, with a Muslim population of approximately 20 million,23 there is a decidedly
regional, provincial and ethnic character to Islam in China as well. China’s ten Muslim
ethnic minorities usually find common cause only when they feel an issue denigrates
Islam, as was the case with the offensive Danish cartoons of the Muslim prophet
Mohammed. The largest group, the Hui who have blended fairly well into Chinese
society, regard some Uyghurs as unpatriotic separatists who give other Chinese Muslims
a bad name. The Hui “don't tend to get too involved in international Islamic conflict,"
said Dr. Dru Gladney, a scholar of Chinese ethnic minorities. "They don't want to be
branded as radical Muslims." 24
The local perception of groups as radical Muslims or ethnic separatists can have severe
consequences. Provincial policies also include the threat of force. Armed police held a
large-scale anti-terror exercise in Xinjiang on August 30, 2005. In the exercise, special
police forces fought and subdued a group of "armed terrorists" who took over a company
building and held some people as hostages following a failed attack at a prison. 25
There are mixed policy assessments in the Xinjiang region itself regarding the Uyghurs.26
On the one hand, deputy secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
committee of the Chinese Communist Party and a Han Chinese, Zhang Xiuming, implied
that separatism and terrorism in Xinjiang is an issue when he said, “We need to take the
6
initiative and go on the offensive, crack down on gangs as soon as they surface and strike
the first blow. We must absolutely not permit the three vicious forces to build
organizations, have ringleaders, control weapons and develop an atmosphere. We need to
destroy them one by one as we discover them and absolutely not allow them to build up
momentum.” On the other hand, the Chair of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
government and a Uyghur Chinese, Ismael Tiliwaldi, implied something quite different,
when he said, “In Xinjiang, not one incident of explosion or assassination took place in
the last few years....Last year Xinjiang’s public security situation was very good...”27
It is clear nonetheless that both the central government and the provincial authorities
broadly fall on the side of avoiding becoming a victim of terrorist or separatist activities
when it comes to the question of whether China is victimizing the Uyghur minority or
whether China itself is a victim of Uyghur militants. For instance, following the mass
protests and violent riots of April 1990 in Baren township, there were further Uyghur
demonstrations and disturbances in various cities including Yining, Khotan and Aksu in
the mid-1990s. This was followed by the Chinese government response: the initiation of
a "strike hard" campaign against crime throughout China in 1996 which made Uyghurs
and separatists in Xinjiang a key target. After the forceful suppression of a demonstration
by Uyghurs in the city of Yining in February 1997, several days of serious unrest reigned
in the city. A renewed national "strike hard" campaign against crime was initiated in
April 2001 and has never formally been brought to a close. Several levels of police
conspicuously and daily patrolled the Uyghur sections of Urumqi in 2007; Han police
officers patrolled the streets in a six-man formation wearing black uniforms and black
flack jackets, armed with batons and side arms.
China’s official statement on "East Turkestan terrorists" published in January 2002 listed
several groups allegedly responsible for violence, including the East Turkistan Islamic
Movement (ETIM), the East Turkistan Liberation Organization (ETLO), the Islamic
Reformist Party ‘Shock Brigade’, the East Turkestan Islamic Party, the East Turkestan
Opposition Party, the East Turkestan Islamic Party of Allah, the Uyghur Liberation
Organization, the Islamic Holy Warriors and the East Turkestan International
Committee.28 There is not always clarity in the way these groups are officially labeled
nor do these groups seem to stay static. For instance, in 1997, the Uyghurstan Liberation
Front and the United National Revolutionary Front of East Turkestan (UNRF) overcame
their differences and joined together in a jihad in Xinjiang. The UNRF fears Uyghurs
who agree with China, and announced that it had assassinated an imam of the mosque in
Kashgar in 1996 because of his pro-China views.29 When China destroyed an Islamist
camp in Xinjiang in January 2007, killing 18 suspected terrorists and capturing 17 others,
a police spokeswoman, Ba Yan, said the training camp was run by ETIM.30
Some of the issues between Uyghurs and the Chinese government, however, seem
unrelated to separatist issues. In another recent incident, hundreds of Uyghurs protested
outside government offices over plans to push them off their farmlands to build a dam,
according to a Chinese police official and Radio Free Asia. Police arrested at least 16
protesters in Xinjiang's Yili county, the site of clashes between security forces and
Uyghurs in 1997. The June 2004 protests began outside the offices of a reservoir and
7
hydropower station planned for the local Tekas River, according to U.S.-based Radio
Free Asia. Authorities plan to move about 18,000 farmers, forestry workers and herders
to make way for the reservoir, but protesters said they've been paid only 880 yuan (about
US$100) out of 38,000 yuan (US$4,600) promised to them, the station said, citing
anonymous witnesses. An officer at Tekas County police headquarters confirmed the
June 11, 2004, protest, saying, "The protest was big. People don't want to move because
they aren't satisfied with the amount of compensation for resettlement.”31

International Responses
It is less clear how the international community stands on this question of whether China
is victimizing the Uyghur minority or whether China itself is a victim of Uyghur
militants. A report produced in December 2001 by the US Congressional Research
Service, for instance, documented a number of armed groups operating in the region.32 Its
list of armed groups included: the United Revolutionary Front of Eastern Turkestan, the
Organization for the Liberation of Uighurstan, the Wolves of Lop Nor, the Xinjiang
Liberation Organization, the Uighur Liberation Organization, the Home of East
Turkestan Youth and the Free Turkestan Movement. Pakistan also considers several of
these organizations as terrorist or militant separatist organizations.
The US did agree in 2002 to specifically single out ETIM as a terrorist organization in
response to a planned attack on the US Embassy in neighboring Kyrgyzstan.33 Deputy
Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage announced that ETIM had been added to a State
Department list of terrorist groups, freezing its assets in the United States, saying the
group “committed acts of violence against unarmed civilians without any regard for who
was hurt.” A spokesman for the embassy went further, accusing ETIM of working with
Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda network and “planning attacks against U.S. interests abroad,
including the U.S. Embassy in Kyrgyzstan.” ETIM's leader and China's most-wanted
terrorist, Hasan Mahsum, who was later killed by Pakistani forces on October 2, 2003,
said, “We don't have any organizational contact or relations with al Qaeda or the
Taliban…. Maybe some individuals fought alongside them on their own.”34 Two
suspected ETIM members were deported to China from Kyrgyzstan in May 2002 for
planning terrorist attacks. The Kyrgyz government has identified the men as Mamet
Yasyn and Mamet Sadyk and said they were planning attacks on embassies, markets and
public gathering places in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.35
However, the US has declined to formally add another Uyghur organization, ETLO, to its
list. In a Radio Free Asia interview, conducted on 24 January 2003, the leader of ETLO,
Mehmet Emin Hazret reportedly stated, “Our principle [sic] goal is to achieve
independence for East Turkestan by peaceful means. But to show our enemies and friends
our determination on the East Turkestan issue, we view a military wing as inevitable.”36
Regarding other Uyghur militants, Chinese officials asked the United States to return
Chinese Uyghurs captured fighting in Afghanistan. The United States has rejected
China's claims and in May 2006 released five Uyghurs37 to Albania, a neutral third
country, while continuing to hold thirteen more Chinese Uyghurs in the U.S. prison in
Guantanamo Bay.38 Lawyers for these thirteen Uyghurs say the men were moved to
8
Guantanamo Bay's high-security facility,39 while the U.S. Government does not comment
on enemy combatants held in Guantanamo.
Pakistan, both a neighbor and friend of China, has taken a more stringent line toward
Uyghurs, closer to the policies of most Central Asian neighbors. China and Pakistan
agreed to enter into an extradition treaty to facilitate the exchange of prisoners in 2003.
Ismail Kadir, reported to be the third highest leader of ETIM, was returned to China in
March 2002 following his capture by Pakistani authorities reportedly in either Kashmir or
in the city of Rawalpindi, northern Pakistan, home to a sizeable community of Uyghurs.
In Pakistan, a senior Interior Ministry official confirmed Kadir's repatriation to China,
saying the man had been arrested in March. “He was sent back to China after being
interrogated,” the official said giving no further details.40 Ismail Semed, allegedly another
Uyghur ETIM founder, was executed in Urumqi after being deported from Pakistan
where he had fled after serving two jail terms for alleged involvement in the violent
Baren uprising in 1990. Semed was convicted in October 2005 of “attempting to split the
motherland” and the possession of firearms and explosives.41 And Pakistani troops
reportedly killed Hasan Mahsum, yet another ETIM leader, in the South Waziristan
region of Pakistan on 2 October 2003.42 Pakistan President Musharraf stated during his
November 2003 visit to Beijing that “his country will never allow anybody, including the
terrorist force of ‘East Turkestan’, to use the territory of Pakistan to carry out any form of
anti-China activities.”43 Thousands of Uyghurs reportedly travel to and from Pakistan for
business and religious purposes, particularly to study in Pakistan’s madrassas. China
believes that more than 1,000 Uyghurs were trained by bin Laden's forces in
Afghanistan,44 with approximately 110 returning to China, about 300 allegedly captured
or killed by U.S. forces, and about 600 escaping to northern Pakistan.45 In addition, some
reports suggest that Uyghurs have been trained in unofficial Pakistan militant training
camps.46
This combination of ethnicity and religion also involves the Uyghur population resident
in Central Asia who are associated with the movement of religious and political
ideologies, weapons, and individuals. Uyghurs are often viewed with a great deal of
leeriness in Central Asia. Uyghur separatists within Xinjiang drew inspiration and envy
from their Central Asian neighbors' independence after the Soviet Union collapsed in
1991, and they increased their movement toward a separate Uyghur state. Militant
Uyghur groups exploited Xinjiang’s porous border with Kazakhstan, Tajikistan,
Kyrgyzstan and Afghanistan to establish training camps outside of China's reach47 as well
as to move explosives and small arms into China. Additionally, it is much easier for
citizens of surrounding countries to serendipitously travel into China. “This year, we have
arrested 19 people from abroad who were sent to Xinjiang for violent sabotage,'”
Xinjiang Communist Party Secretary Wang Lequan told reporters at a news conference in
Xinjiang's capital, Urumqi. “When they entered the territory of Xinjiang, we immediately
caught them,” Wang said without elaborating. 48
The very rapid growth of economic relations and connecting infrastructure between
China and Central Asian countries49 has also enabled the enhanced movement of ideas,
weapons and people. There are roughly a half million Uyghurs in Central Asia. Most of
9
the Central Asian governments, notably Kyrgyzstan, have made several attempts to crack
down on Uyghurs whom they view as undesirable or militant. There is a tendency to view
Uyghurs with suspicion—they are frequently unemployed and thus seen as thieves and
troublemakers as well as harboring discontent toward their host governments. Uyghurs in
Central Asian countries often join hands with other dissident groups, united by the global
Islamic resurgence. For instance, Uzbek leaders believe that ethnic Uyghurs from Central
Asia and China are members of the terrorist organization known as the Islamic
Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU).50 Since the beginning of 2005, there has been a wave of
“election-related turmoil” or so-called “Color Revolutions” in Central Asia, with terrorist
and extremist forces often funded from outside and uniting religious extremists with
political dissidents against authoritarian governments. Afghanistan has witnessed the
resurgence of Taliban and al Qaeda in the wake of a new wave of terrorist attacks
following the Iraq War. More severely, Hizb-ut-Tahrir and other extremist groups are
quickly winning popular support in Central Asia, particularly in the poverty-stricken
Fergana countryside, bespeaking a reemerging grim security situation in the region that
poses new challenges to both Central Asian countries and China.51

Energy
Although most experts would agree that the primary issues at stake in Xinjiang are ethnic
separatism and Muslim extremism, the issue of energy is not negligible. Not only does
Xinjiang have considerable energy resources in terms of gas and oil, in addition to its
former role as the Chinese nuclear test grounds, but also Xinjiang is the gateway to
Central Asian energy resources. China is pursuing pipeline deals with its oil rich
neighbors in Central Asia, as well as Russia, to help meet the booming economy's
demand for energy.
China and Kazakhstan started energy cooperation in 1997, marked by an
intergovernmental agreement covering diverse means of collaboration in oil and gas
fields, including an oil pipeline between western Kazakhstan and China's Xinjiang. The
transnational Atasu pipeline was completed in November 2005. The deal, signed in 2004,
came as Kazakhstan's president, Nursultan Abishevich Nazarbayev and President Hu
Jintao signed a broad agreement for joint exploration and development of oil and gas
resources in the Caspian Sea. The two sides also are stepping up consideration of plans
for a natural gas pipeline to connect gas fields in the Caspian Sea with China. 52
Kazakhstan and China signed an agreement to build up international passenger and
freight rail transport, as part of an effort to boost trade and complete routes through
Kazakhstan to Europe. A China-Kazakhstan rail link opened in 1992.53 Additionally,
China and Kazakhstan have opened a free trade zone at their mutual border to further
enhance their already rapidly growing economic relationship.
Gas pipelines from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to China are also in the works. These
pipelines, if connected with the Xinjiang-Shanghai gas pipeline, will also contribute to
the implementation of China’s Western Development policies. Turkmen President
Saparmurat Niyazov, now deceased, and Chinese President Hu Jintao signed a
framework agreement on oil and gas cooperation on April 3, 2006, including a
10
Turkmenistan-China gas pipeline to be commissioned in 2009.54 Turkmenistan's gas
reserves are considered to be the largest in Central Asia.55 These developments usher in
new energy cooperation between China and Central Asia, and these energy supplies—
unlike Middle Eastern or other energy supplies—do not require maritime security.56

Alternative Futures
The future that most worries the Chinese is that the Uyghur Muslim movement in
Xinjiang will, on the one hand, externally hook up with international Muslim movements
throughout Asia and the Middle East, bringing with it an influx of Islamic extremism and
a desire to challenge the Chinese central government. On the other hand, the Chinese
fear the Uyghur movement could internally radicalize other minorities, whether it was the
ethnic Tibetans or the Muslim Hui. While Beijing is currently successfully managing the
separatist movements in China, the possibility of increased difficulty is linked partly to
elements outside of Chinese control, such as political instability or increased Islamic
extremism in neighboring Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and
Kazakhstan. Partly, however, the progress of separatist movements in China will be
determined by the Chinese themselves in policies and reactions. If “strike hard”
campaigns do or are seen to discriminate against nonviolent Uyghurs and if the
perception that economic development in Xinjiang aids Han Chinese at the expense of
Uyghurs, the separatist movements will be fueled.
The region as a whole has concerns about growing Uyghur violence. Central Asian
countries, especially those with sizable Uyghur minorities, already worry about Uyghur
violence and agitation. Many of the regional governments, especially authoritarian
secular governments, in South Asia and Central Asia are worried about the contagion of
increasing Muslim radicalization. The governments of Southeast Asia are also worried
about growing radical networks and training camps, but they also fear the very idea of a
fragmenting China. Not only is China economically important to the region, but also
political instability in China would impact all of Asia.

Implications for the United States
Given that the existing scope of the Uyghur Muslim separatist movement in China
remains weak and under reasonable control, this need not be a top issue for the United
States. Although Beijing has decided to cast this ethnic separatist movement in light of
new global perceptions following September 11, 2001, the Uyghur issue, both inside of
China and in the neighboring countries, well predates the war on terrorism. While this is
a genuine ethnic separatist movement with at least some ties to global Muslim networks,
it is not supported by any of the immediate neighboring country governments and thus is
unlikely to erupt into a major concern in the near term.
The United States is constrained in its policy on this issue in any case. Not only does the
US need to work with China on issues of geostrategic importance, but also the Uyghurs
who use violence have formed limited associations with groups that are categorized as
11
terrorist organizations. The best option for the United States is to continue to encourage
China to use the rule of law and to respect human rights.
The primary concern for the United States has been57 and should remain human rights
abuses. The US-led war on terrorism has led some international human rights
organizations to speculate that this new international environment will lead to an increase
in human rights abuses globally. Many of the human rights groups that watch Xinjiang,
especially the Chinese “strike hard” campaigns, fear that China is using the war on terror
to disregard the human rights of Uyghurs. Not only are human rights abuses abhorrent in
and of themselves, but also the Chinese worsen the problem by targeting and
antagonizing nonviolent Uyghurs.
A focus on human rights is consistent with the US decision to cite one Uyghur militant
group as a terrorist organization, specifically when it was asserted by a third party
government that that organization (ETIM) was targeting both civilians and an American
embassy, but not to label other Uyghur organizations as terrorists. There are a few issues
with the Uyghur detainees held at Guantanamo, according to a 2007 Congressional
Research Service Report, with some Uyghurs being released and other Uyghurs being
held indefinitely.58 The United States should neither absolutely agree to other countries’
allegations of who is a terrorist nor ignore the growing linkages between extremist
organizations that train and arm militants.
1 The Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) is a regional study, conference and research center
under the United States Department of Defense. The views in this paper are personal opinions of the author,
and are not official positions of the U.S. government, the U.S. Pacific Command, or the APCSS. All
APCSS publications are posted on the APCSS web site at www.apcss.org.
2 “Police Destroy Islamist Camp, Killing 18” China Daily January 8, 2007.
3 See Kim Hodong, Holy War in China: The Muslim Rebellion and State in Chinese Central Asia, 1864-
1877 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2004).
4 Jonathan D. Spence, The Search for Modern China (New York: WW Norton & Company, 1990) p. 97,
110, 210, 221.
5 Ibid., p. 98.
6 Ibid., p. 450, 512.
7 “The People's Republic of China is a united multi-ethnic state founded jointly by the people of all its
ethnic groups. So far, there are 56 ethnic groups identified and confirmed by the Central Government, …
As the majority of the population belongs to the Han ethnic group, China's other 55 ethnic groups are
customarily referred to as the national minorities.” See Office of the State Council, National Minorities
Policy and Its Practice in China, September 1999, Part 1.A.
8 “In April 1996 and April 1997, two agreements for security and disarmament along the borders—the
“Treaty on Deepening Military Trust in Border Regions” and the “Treaty on Reduction of Military Forces
in Border Regions”—were signed by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. These two
12
agreements marked the beginning of the Shanghai Five-SCO process.” Pan Guang, “China and Central
Asia: Charting a New Course for Regional Cooperation, “ China Brief/The Jamestown Foundation Vol. 7,
Issue 3 February 7, 2007.
9 Justin Rudelson, Xinjiang's Uyghurs In The Ensuing US-China Partnership (Congressional-Executive
Commission on China, Uyghur Panel, June 10, 2002).
10 In 1994, the Regulation Governing Venues for Religious Activities was released with terms defining
acceptable activities. There are several dimensions to the rules on religion. According to Article 2,
“Registration is required for the establishment of a venue for religious activities.” And “‘venues for
religious activities’ refers to monasteries, temples, mosques, churches and other fixed venues.” This
registration allows the government to keep administrative tabs on all religious activities to prevent
excessive dissidence against the government, but allows their practice in principle. See Regulation
Governing Venues for Religious Activities – 1994 (Promulgated by Decree No. 145 of the State Council,
signed by Premier Li Peng, January 31, 1994).
11 See Gaye Christoffersen, “Islam and Ethnic Minorities in Central Asia: The Uyghurs” in Islam, Oil, and
Geopolitics edited by Elizabeth Van Wie Davis & Rouben Azizian (Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, 2006).
12 “______________________ (Jia Qinglin Meets with Representatives of the Chinese
National Islamic Congress).” Guangxi News 15 May 2006.
13 See CIIR, “Chinese Muslims Encouraged to Help Build a Harmonious Society” Global Issues Report 22
May 2006.
14 “_____:________________ (State Administration for Religious Affairs: Chinese Muslims
Must Continue to Carry Forward their Peace-loving Tradition).” China News May 8, 2006.
15 The primary target of China’s anti-terror campaign is the “East Turkestan” terrorist group. Evidence
recently disclosed reveals Osama bin Laden told the terrorists: “I support your jihad in Xinjiang”
Information Office of the P.R.C. State Council, “East Turkestan” Terrorist Forces Cannot Get Away with
Their Offences, Beijing, January 1, 2002.
16 See Gaye Christoffersen, “Islam and Ethnic Minorities in Central Asia: The Uyghurs” in Islam, Oil, and
Geopolitics edited by Elizabeth Van Wie Davis & Rouben Azizian (Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, 2006), p. 48.
17 See “Chinese President Calls For Joint Efforts In Fighting Terrorism In Central Asia,” People’s Daily
June 18, 2004. Similar comments were made were when China and Tajikistan agreed May 14, 2006 to
intensify cooperation in fighting the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism. The two
countries vowed to continue their joint crackdown on drug trafficking, according to a consensus reached
between Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and his Tajik counterpart Talbak Nazarov. “China,
Tajikistan Pledge To Further Cooperate In Fighting ‘Three Evil Forces’,” People’s Daily May 16, 2006.
18 Richard McGregor, “Chinese Military in Muslim Region,” Financial Times August 15, 2001, Pg. 8.
19 The combined GDP of western regions reached 3.33 trillion yuan last year, compared with 1.66 trillion
yuan in 2000, when the central government launched the current strategy to help its relatively backward
west catch up with the more prosperous east, said Wang. According to Wang, in the period 2001-2005, net
income grew on average 10 percent for urban residents in the west and 6.8 percent for rural residents. The
progress was spurred by increased financial support and infrastructure projects from central government. In
addition, the central government has invested more than 122 billion yuan on western environmental
protection in the past six years, said Wang. “One Trillion Yuan Spent On Western Infrastructure” China
Net September 6, 2006 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-09/06/content_5055217.htm
13
20 “China to build twelve new highways linking its west region with Central Asia” Xinhua April 6, 2007.
www.chinaview.cn
21 See Michael H. Glantz, Qian Ye & Quansheng Ge, “China's Western Region Development Strategy And
The Urgent Need To Address Creeping Environmental Problems” Arid Lands Newsletter No. 49 May/June
2001.
22 See Amnesty International, People’s Republic Of China: Uighurs Fleeing Persecution As China Wages
Its ‘War On Terror’, July 7, 2004. http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa170212004
23 The count of the number of Muslims in China is rich in disparity and controversy. The US Government
adheres to a number of 19.5-20 million. See The CIA Fact Book at
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/ and the US State Department’s International Freedom
Report at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71338.htm. The BBC's Religion and Ethics webpage,
however, assesses a range of 20 million to 100 million Muslims in China.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/china_4.shtml . Official Chinese censuses, whatever
their flaws, are closer to the 20 million mark.
24 See Jim Yardley, “A Spectator's Role for China's Muslims” New York Times, February 19, 2006.
25 “Armed Police Holds Large-Scale Anti-Terror Exercise in Xinjiang” People’s Daily August 30, 2005.
26 See "China’s Xinjiang Chief Urges Intensified Crackdown On ‘Three Forces’", Zhongguo Xinwen She,
17 January 2004. And then see, "Governor Says China’s Xinjiang Has Seen No Terrorist Attacks For
Years" Xinhua, 12 April 2004. Both cited in Amnesty International, People’s Republic Of China: Uighurs
Fleeing Persecution As China Wages Its ‘War On Terror’, July 7, 2004.
http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa170212004
27 Ibid.
28 Information Office of the P.R.C. State Council, “East Turkestan” Terrorist Forces Cannot Get Away
with Their Offences,” Beijing, January 1, 2002.
29 See Gaye Christoffersen, “Islam and Ethnic Minorities in Central Asia: The Uyghurs” in Islam, Oil, and
Geopolitics edited by Elizabeth Van Wie Davis & Rouben Azizian (Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, 2006.
30 One police officer was killed and another was injured during the gun battle with the suspects. Police
seized 22 hand grenades and more than 1,500 others that were still being made, as well as guns and other
home-made explosives, Ba said. “Police Destroy Islamist Camp, Killing 18” China Daily January 8, 2007.
31 “Government Land Grab Plan Causes Stir In Muslim China” Associated Press June 16, 2004.
32 “China’s Relations with Central Asian States and Problems with Terrorism,” CRS Report for Congress,
17 December 2001.
33 Erik Eckholm, “China Muslim Group Planned Terror, U.S. Says,” New York Times August 31, 2002.
34 Philip P. Pan, “U.S. Warns Of Plot by Group in W. China” Washington Post August 29, 2002; Page A27.
35 Ibid.
36 "Separatist leader vows to target Chinese government", RFA, 29 Jan 2003.
14
37 See Radio Free Asia, “Guantanamo Uyghurs Find Freedom 'Like a Celebration'” May 10, 2006.
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/2006/05/10/uyghur_guantanamo/
38 Josh White, “Lawyers demand Release of Chinese Muslims,” Washington Post December 5, 2006 p.
A13.
39 Jeffrey Smith & Julie Tate, “Uighurs Detention Conditions Condemned” Washington Post January 30,
2007, p. A4.
40 Kadir fled Xinjiang after Sept. 11, said Wang Lequan, Xinjiang's Communist Party secretary, adding
China finds it ``hard to understand and a pity that some people do not believe that our efforts to fight
terrorism are part of the international campaign.'' Aziz Ait, deputy director general of the paramilitary
People's Armed Police in Xinjiang, said the number of terrorist incidents has declined, though he did not
give details and said he could not give an estimate of how many active terrorists there are in the region. ``It
is not safe to say Xinjiang is completely free of terrorist attacks, so we have to remain on guard,'' Ait said.
Associated Press, “China: Terror Suspect Handed Over” May 27, 2002 as quoted in The World Uighur
Network News. http://www.uygur.org/wunn02/2002_05_27.htm
41 “China ‘Executes’ Uighur Activist” BBC News February 9, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asiapacific/
6345879.stm
42 See Amnesty International http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa170212004
43 "China, Pakistan Highlight Cooperation in Beijing", Xinhua November 4, 2003.
44 That claim is supported by the United National Revolutionary Front of East Turkestan (UNRF), which
also claimed that there were more than 100 Uyghurs in Afghanistan at that time helping the Taliban. The
UNRF’s backing of these figures that support the Chinese claim is given credence because the UNRF
stridently opposes Sinification of Xinjiang. See Gaye Christoffersen, “Islam and Ethnic Minorities in
Central Asia: The Uyghurs” in Islam, Oil, and Geopolitics edited by Elizabeth Van Wie Davis & Rouben
Azizian (Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006).
45 See Associated Press, “China: Terror Suspect Handed Over” May 27, 2002 as quoted in The World
Uighur Network News http://www.uygur.org/wunn02/2002_05_27.htm
46 See Congressional Research Service Report, 17 December 2001, op. cit. Also See:
http://www.uyghuramerican.org/statements/letter-to-colin.html
47 See Adam Wolfe, “China Takes the Lead in Strategic Central Asia” Asia Times, September 17, 2004.
http://www.atimes.com
48 “China Arrests Foreign Militants in Restive West” New York Times October 18, 2005 nytimes.com
49 Overall levels of trade have grown from a meager US$500 million in 1992 to $8.5 billion in 2005, an
increase of more than 16 times in 14 years. Among the bilateral trade relations between China and the
Central Asian countries, Sino-Kazakh trade is the largest, reaching $6.8 billion in 2005. Pan Guang, “China
and Central Asia: Charting a New Course for Regional Cooperation,” China Brief/The Jamestown
Foundation Vol. 7, Issue 3 February 7, 2007.
50 The IMU changed its name to the Islamic Party of Turkestan in 2001, but it is still commonly referred to
as the IMU.
51 Pan Guang, “China and Central Asia: Charting a New Course for Regional Cooperation,” China
Brief/The Jamestown Foundation Vol. 7, Issue 3 February 7, 2007.
15
52 See “Kazakhstan Oil Piped into China,” The China Daily May 25, 2006.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-05/25/content_600060.htm
53 “China, Kazakhstan to Build Oil Pipeline” New York Times May 18, 2004.
54 Sergei Blagov, “Turkmenistan Seeks to Strengthen Energy Ties with China,”
Eurasia Daily Monitor, April 10, 2006.
55 “Chinese Sign Up For Turkmen Gas: Turkmenistan And China Have Agreed To Build A Pipeline To
Supply Turkmen Natural Gas For The Energy-Hungry Chinese Economy” BBC News April 3, 2006.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4872668.stm
56 Pan Guang, “China and Central Asia: Charting a New Course for Regional Cooperation,” China
Brief/The Jamestown Foundation Vol. 7, Issue 3 February 7, 2007.
57 “Democracy activists and some spiritual or religious adherents, including Tibetan Buddhists, Uighur
Muslims and the Falun Gong practitioners, continue to suffer harsh treatment.” See Lorne W. Craner,
“Prospects on Human Rights and Democracy in China,” Statement before the East Asian and Pacific
Affairs Subcommittee, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Washington, DC, April 22, 2004.
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/rm/31721.htm
58 Kerry Dumbaugh, “China-U.S. relations: Current Issues and Implications for U.S. Policy,” CRS Report
for Congress October 1, 2007, p. 28.