Colonialism did not die with the end of the British empire, this article states that clearly.

Well, I'm not so sure about that. Most people date the death of the British Empire to the end of WWII about 1945, but this article was published in 1933. I do agree, though, that colonialism was still strong at that time as is shown by British and Russian interest in Xinjiang.

Interesting reading. I would love to read more articles from 1930s. I think on NYT website you still have to pay to read archives from that period although access to articles from earlier time (1850s-1920s) are free.

Glory glory hallelujah!

Great find. Speaking of separatism, did you see this article in the Joint Forces Quarterly, "Five Lessons from China's War on Terror" (.pdf)? I wrote a response here. but wondered if you had any thoughts on it.

Beijing's/Nanjing's attempts to conquer and "pacify" E. Turkestan are simply continuing the efforts of the Tang dynasty to conquer central Asia, which failed with a crushing defeat at the battle of Talas River. This defeat at the hands of a much smaller, less equipped force also allowed the transfer of gunpowder, paper and printing press knowledge out of China (out of 100,000 Tang troops and support, most of the force was destroyed save for scholars and logistical personnel, who were forced to teach the Persians these new techniques/technologies).

@mc_masterchef:

That article is informative but a bit, er, dry. Good reading, though, for any of you who want to understand the security situation in Xinjiang from the point of the CPC.

One point that I did appreciate being made was that separatist sentiment is not monolithic:

Causes espoused in Xinjiang are many: the search for autonomy promised but never truly delivered; simple ethnic nationalism, whereby the Han should leave Xinjiang to its “rightful Uyghur owners”; freedom for religious practice beyond that sanctioned by the state as not politically threatening; the hope of self-determination and perhaps even democracy; the goal of Central Asia’s “colored” revolutions of the mid 2000s and a hope harbored in Xinjiang throughout the previous decade; the search for human rights denied by a repressive and brutal regime; and, in some cases, the desire to use religious identity as a direct challenge to state power. With so many grievances espoused, searching for one all-encompassing explanation may be fruitless.

I think this diversity more than anything else explains the relative weakness of Xinjiang separatism. Uyghurs, unlike say the Taliban, aren't all fighting for a transnational Muslim caliphate. They're looking for more freedom in all its competing facets.

But Turkey has had some aspirations about a "Pan-Turkish" organization and the Uyghur fit into that mold.

Michael,
Thank you for the fascinating research. You may be able to dig out more similar headlines from about a decade later: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_East_Turkistan_Republic
I don't know what NYT policies are but I haven't been able to find anything on that 2nd rather successful attempt to split the motherland. Does NYT let you search the 1940s and 1950s for free?

Uyghurs in Xinjiang often have a bizarre view of the world, like isolated people throughout the world, including other parts of China. When I was out there I was told by several Uyghurs that they would not buy Pepsi because it was controlled by Jews (an indication of how you could run a cynical advertising campaign in certain parts of the world), and that Google Earth was a Japanese conspiracy to plan an invasion.

I wonder what an independent Uyghur state would look like. Would it be a backward dictatorship like many of its neighbors in Central Asia?

Josh
www.cupofcha.com

Well, take account of the two sources of information for the Uyghurs, AQ/other radical islamic groups and the CCP (Japanese conspiracies are a dead giveaway when these people and the Japanese have never, ever had a history of contact aside from an occasional tourist. They have their hatred of the Russians due to the Chechnya conflict.

Uyghurs in Xinjiang often have a bizarre view of the world, like isolated people throughout the world, including other parts of China. When I was out there I was told by several Uyghurs that they would not buy Pepsi because it was controlled by Jews (an indication of how you could run a cynical advertising campaign in certain parts of the world), and that Google Earth was a Japanese conspiracy to plan an invasion.

I wonder what an independent Uyghur state would look like. Would it be a backward dictatorship like many of its neighbors in Central Asia?

Josh
www.cupofcha.com

I am Uyghur who live in XJ.My oppion about above is very clear:
Uyghurs Are not like that,they like to drink Pepsi,they like to use Google Earth! Of course we have some people who don't drink it because we have our own companies which produces drinks and if one person drinks it,the profit will go to the Uyghur company and ,of course,it goes directly to Uyghur farmers pockets,that is why they don't drink it.but inwardly,they love it very much!
so i want you not mislead the netfriends!

Wish you the luck that you pursue in your life!

I wish that the Red Russians had entered Xingjiang from Outer Mongolia and then to Tibet in those days. In that case Xingjiang and Tibet would have been an independent country today, like Mongolia is. The sufferings of the people & repression in Xingjiang and Tibet would have not existed. Dalai Lama could be living in Tibet with his people where he rightfully belonges, and todays violence in these regions would not have existed.