Uyghur people
The Uyghur people are a Turkic people from Xinjiang.[1] Xinjiang was most recently annexed by China following the 1949 victory of the Chinese Communist Pary, in the Chinese Civil War.[2] Xinjiang broke away from the new Chinese Republic in 1932. There were earlier periods when Xinjiang was a Chinese protectorate.
Unlike the Han Chinese, and other ethnic groups in China, Uyghur people are almost all muslims, and the the Uyghur language is a Turkic language, unrelated to the Chinese language.[1]
It is the official position of the country of China that Uyghurs are just another of its 55 ethnic minority groups.[3] Since annexation China has encouraged ethnically Han Chinese people to move to Xinjiang.[1] The Chinese government hold millions of Uyghurs in concentration camps, or "re-education". Captives in those camps are employed as slave labor.
References
[edit | edit source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2
"Who are the Uyghurs and why is China being accused of genocide?". BBC News. 2013-04-24. Archived from the original on 2026-06-24. Retrieved 2026-07-05.
The Uyghurs speak their own language, which is similar to Turkish, and see themselves as culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations. They make up less than half of the Xinjiang population.
- ↑
"Historical Overview of Events Shaping the Politics of Xinjiang". Xinjiang Documentation Project. 2021-06-07. Archived from the original on 2026-04-10. Retrieved 2026-07-05.
The rebellion spreads westward through Turpan, and then all the way to Kashgar and Khotan, as local Muslim leaders see an opportunity for independence.
- ↑
"In China's 56 ethnic groups, which is the smallest one?". Our China Story. 2024-11-19. Archived from the original on 2026-01-06. Retrieved 2026-07-05.
China's population of more than 1.4 billion people encompasses 56 ethnic groups, collectively referred to as the Chinese nation. Among them, the long-established Han (漢族) is the main ethnic group, accounting for over 91% of the total population, exceeding 1.28 billion people.