East Turkestan - Current Usage

Current Usage

The term "East Turkestan" is inextricably linked with politics. In general, most of the toponyms for places in Central Asia—although its boundaries and Xinjiang's inclusion in it are disputed—do not reflect the region's diversity. As the history of Xinjiang in particular is contested between the government of China and Uyghur separatists, the official and common name of Xinjiang (with its Uyghur loanword counterpart, Shinjang) is rejected by those seeking independence. "East Turkestan", a term of Russian origin, asserts a continuity with a "West Turkestan", or the now-independent states of Soviet Central Asia. Not all of those states accept the designation of "Turkestan", however; Tajikistan's Persian-speaking population feels more closely aligned with Iran and Afghanistan. For separatists, East Turkestan is coterminous with Xinjiang, or the independent state that they would like to lead in Xinjiang. Proponents of the term "East Turkestan" argue that the name Xinjiang (Chinese: 新疆; pinyin: Xīnjiāng; Postal map spelling: Sinkiang) is arrogant, because if the individual Chinese characters are to be taken literally and not as a proper name, then Xinjiang means "New Territory". The official translation for "Xinjiang" is "old territory returned to the motherland". Some Chinese scholars have advocated a name change for the region, or a reversion to the older term Xiyu, arguing that "Xinjiang" might mislead people into thinking that Xinjiang is "new" to China. Other scholars defend the name, noting that Xinjiang was new to the late Qing Dynasty, which gave Xinjiang its current name.

In modern separatist usage, "Uyghurstan", which means "land of the Uyghurs", is a synonym for Xinjiang or a potential state in Xinjiang, like "East Turkestan". There is no consensus among separatists about whether to use "East Turkestan" or "Uyghurstan"; "East Turkestan" has the advantage of also being the name of two historic political entities in the region, while Uyghurstan appeals to modern ideas of ethnic self-determination. Uyghurstan is also a difference in emphasis in that it excludes more peoples in Xinjiang than just the Han, but the "East Turkestan" movement is still a Uyghur phenomenon. Kazakhs and Hui Muslims are largely alienated from the movement, as are Uyghurs who live closer to the eastern provinces of China. Separatist sentiment is strongest among the Uyghur diaspora, who practice what has been called "cyber-separatism", encouraging the use of "East Turkestan" on their websites and literature. Historically "Uyghurstan" referred to the northeastern oasis region of "Kumul-Turfan". "Chinese Turkestan", while synonymous with East Turkestan in historical terms, is not used today, rejected by Uyghur separatists for the "Chinese" part of the name and by China for the "Turkestan" part. In China, the terms "East Turkestan", "Uyghurstan", and even "Turkestan" alone connotes old Western imperialism and the past East Turkestan republics, and modern militant groups, such as the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). The government of China conflates the violence of differing separatist groups, such as the ETIM and the East Turkestan Liberation Organization, as coming simply from "East Turkestan forces". Chinese diplomatic missions have objected to foreigners' use of "East Turkestan". They argue that the term is political and no longer geographical or historical, and that its use represents "a provocation" to the sovereignty of China. The historical definitions for "East Turkestan" are multivarious and ambiguous, reflecting that outside of Chinese administration, the area now called "Xinjiang" was not geographically or demographically a single region.