ABSTRACT
Conflict in Xinjiang (also known as East Turkestan) in the far west of present-day China has political, economic, social and cultural derivations. Recurrent sources of unrest centre on Chinese government policies towards the Turkic Uyghur people in the region. Han Chinese migration to the region, political and economic marginalisation of the Uyghur people, as well as curbs on Uyghur cultural rights, such as religious and linguistic freedoms, are all issues of contention between Uyghur civil society and the Chinese government. Uyghur manifestation of discontent with Chinese government policy is neither new nor infrequent. Successive imperial, republican and communist Chinese administrations have all considered the western regions a strategic area for the protection of the Chinese heartland. Chinese governments have laid claim to the territory of Xinjiang on predominately historical grounds; however, Chinese control of Xinjiang has fluctuated. Present Chinese Communist Party rule is the most consolidated Chinese administration yet experienced in Xinjiang, but was preceded by an independent East Turkestan Republic (1944–1949). Although it is not within the scope of this chapter to discuss the legality of Chinese claims to the territory, it is important to note that Chinese domination of the region has been contested by Uyghurs for many years.
