Throughout Qing and ROC rule, there were several periods of brief de facto independence for either the entire region of Xinjiang or parts of it, as well as foreign occupation and warlord governance.

The Chinese government considers all support for the East Turkestan independence movement to fall under the definitions of "terrorism, extremism, and separatism" (a.k.a.

[citation needed] The Kokandi Yaqub Beg invaded Kashgar during the Dungan revolt to establish an independent state after taking advantage of local rebellions.

The rebellion led to the establishment of the Second East Turkistan Republic (1944–1949), which existed in three northern districts (Ili, Tarbaghatai, Altai) of Xinjiang with secret aid from the Soviet Union.

After emerging victorious at the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the People's Liberation Army annexed Xinjiang from the ROC and the Second East Turkestan Republic.

[15] A police roundup of suspected separatists during Ramadan resulted in large demonstrations that turned violent in February 1997 in an episode known as the Ghulja Incident that led to at least 9 deaths.

In 2005, Uyghur author Nurmemet Yasin was sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for inciting separatism following his publication of an allegorical short story, "The Blue Pigeon".

[18] Rebiya Kadeer claimed that Turkey is hampered from interfering with the Uyghurs because it recognizes that the Kurdish-Turkish conflict may receive interference from China in retaliation.

[21] The Government of China is strongly opposed to the idea of Xinjiang (East Turkestan) independence and its supporters are subject to harsh criminal penalties.

[24] Chinese historians refute Uyghur nationalist claims by pointing out the 2000-year history of Han settlement in Xinjiang, documenting the history of Mongol, Kazakh, Uzbek, Manchu, Hui, Xibo indigenes in Xinjiang, and by emphasizing the relatively late "westward migration" of the Huigu (equated with "Uyghur" by the PRC government) people from Mongolia the 9th century.

[25] The government of the People's Republic of China considers all support for the East Turkestan independence movement to fall under the definitions of "terrorism, extremism, and separatism".

[3][4] In a 2014 speech, CCP general secretary Xi Jinping argued that the dissolution of the Soviet Union demonstrated that economic development alone would not prevent separatism in Xinjiang.

He elaborated “In recent years, Xinjiang has grown very quickly and the standard of living has consistently risen, but even so, ethnic separatism and terrorist violence have still been on the rise.

This goes to show that economic development does not automatically bring lasting order and security.”[26] In 2020, the Chinese government published a White Paper on Employment and Labor Rights in Xinjiang, which had been circulated via Xinhua, the Global Times and other public news channels.

[27] While the earliest ROC constitutional documents during the Beiyang era already claim Xinjiang as part of China, Chinese political leaders also acknowledged the principle of self-determination.