Uyghur Resilience Amid Centuries Of Oppression In Xinjiang

A wall painting of three Uyghur princes (c. 8th-9th century CE).

The Uyghur people, a Turkic and predominantly Muslim ethnic group native to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwest China, have endured a long and difficult history of oppression and struggle. While their unique cultural identity has been shaped by centuries of language, religion, and art, the roots of their oppression have stretched equally as deep into history. From imperial conquests to modern surveillance states, the Uyghurs have faced continuous efforts to erase their beautiful culture. 

The history of the Uyghur people, a Turkic-Muslim ethnic group native to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in northwest China, is marked by rich cultural heritage—and increasingly, by systemic repression. The relationship between the Uyghurs and the Chinese state has been defined by tension, resistance, and a cycle of autonomy and domination. Only recently, in the past few decades, has the global spotlight turned to the mass human rights abuses in Xinjiang. However, Uyghur oppression has been going on for a large part of history.

The Uyghurs originated from Central Asian nomadic tribes and established civilizations such as the Uyghur Khanagate, an empire that existed from the 8th to the 9th century. However, fast forward to the 18th century, the Qing dynasty annexed the Uyghurs’ region of East Turkestan, which is now known as “Xinjiang”. This name means “New Frontier”, as Xinjiang was a frontier against enemies from the North (like the Mongolians).

The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in northwest China, highlighted in red.

Although some aspects of the Uyghur culture have changed, most of the Xinjiang region kept its distinct religious, linguistic, and cultural characteristics. Furthermore, because the Uyghur population was predominantly Muslim, they kept close cultural connections with other Turkic nations such as Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. 

Then, when the Qing dynasty collapsed in the 20th century and China shifted towards the Chinese Civil War, a war between supporters of communism and capitalism in China, the Uyghurs made several attempts at independence from China. The two most famous attempts were the short-lived First and Second East Turkestan Republics. The first one was established in 1933, and the second one was established in 1944. However, in 1949, after the victory of Mao Zedong’s Communist Party in the Chinese Civil War, the People’s Republic of China took control of Xinjiang. They designated Xinjiang as an autonomous region in name, but in practice, they were still oppressed with strict central control from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

Under Mao Zedong’s leadership, the People’s Republic of China continued to pursue aggressive efforts to consolidate the Uyghurs’ territory and ideology by enforcing land reforms and anti-religious campaigns across Xinjiang. Under their regime, mosques were closed, Islamic practices were heavily restricted, and the Uyghur people were viewed with heavy suspicion. 

It was only after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976 when some religious and cultural freedoms were restored. However, these policies were oftentimes accompanied by increased economic marginalization, where China rapidly industrialized in Xinjiang, with discrimination against Uyghurs heavily rampant within the new industries. 

During the 1990s, there was growing unrest in Xinjiang, with sporadic protests and low-level violence. These protests were exacerbated by China’s framing of Uyghur dissent as terrosim, especially after the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Through this framing, the People’s Republic of China was able to justify harsh security crackdowns under the guise of “counterterrorism” efforts in China. 

Thus, over the years, peaceful expressions of the Uyghur identity, such as their religious gatherings, native language, and cultural festivals, were represented in Chinese propaganda as precursors to extremism and terrorism. 

However, in 2009, the pot of conflict and hate within China boiled over. In the city of Urumqi in Xinjiang, there were deadly ethnic riots that resulted in hundreds of deaths. As a result, China’s Xinjiang policies became much harsher, and it dramatically intensified surveillance, police presence, and eventually established a mass internment system, which laid the ground for the exploitation that Uyghurs face in China today. 

By 2017, there were mounting reports and news of Uyghurs being detained in what the Chinese government called “vocational education and training centers.” This sharply contrasted with the reports of independent researchers and news reporters, who described these as internment camps. According to them, these facilities held over one million Uyghurs, and they were subjected to forced renunciations of Islam, physical and mental abuse, and erasure of their language. 

Survivors of these internment camps described that they were required to sing Communist songs, denounce their religious beliefs, and attend political indoctrination education sessions for hours. They observed that many of their fellow Uyghurs were forced to undergo labor and separation from their children. Thus, many human rights organizations, as well as several governments, began to classify China’s actions as cultural genocide or even outright genocide under the United Nations’ definition.

A family of present-day Uyghurs.

Uyghur oppression and surveillance by the Chinese government have become even worse with the innovative technologies created in the 21st century, as the Chinese government has created a heavy surveillance state in Xinjiang, incorporating facial recognition cameras, biometric data collection, AI-powered predictive policing, and mandatory mobile app installations that monitor online behavior.

The People’s Republic of China has used this surveillance to detain Uyghurs for doing basic actions like downloading Whatsapp, wearing a headscarf, or even having relatives abroad. This ethno-religious suppression and surveillance has made Xinjiang a dangerous testing ground for China’s authoritarian governance, leaving millions to be oppressed.

The international community has mixed responses towards Uyghur oppression. While the United Nations, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom have imposed harsh economic sanctions on China and companies involved in Xinjiang, many Muslim-majority nations, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan, have remained silent due to economic dependency on China. Furthermore, the Chinese government continues to deny these accusations, labeling them as “Western propaganda” and portraying internment camps as “education centers” that prevent terrorism and promote economic development.

The oppression of the Uyghur people is a centuries-long state effort to suppress ethnic and religious differences and enforce assimilation. Uyghur history in China has been shaped by a struggle for identity, autonomy, and cultural survival. The entire international community could recognize this struggle and speak out for the Uyghur people, instead of staying silent in the face of oppression and suppression. Silence enables oppression, but solidarity offers a path forward for the Uyghurs and the shared ideals of democracy and justice.