Family or Freedom: The Changing Landscape of Uyghur Diaspora Activism (Accepted Manuscript)

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Abstract (English)

This chapter presents an overview of Uyghur diaspora activism in Europe, Türkiye, and North America since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. The different phases of Uyghur activism were influenced by international politics, like the non-aligned movement and anti-communism during the Cold War and lately by rising US–China tensions. Even more importantly they were colored by what was happening in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR). Student protests in the late 1980s; independent movements and harsh state clampdown in the 1990s; the rise in religiosity and economic inequality rising throughout the 2000s; the Ürümchi Violence in 2009 and violent campaigns against religious extremism in the 2010s provided the Uyghur activist organizations established throughout the 20th and 21st centuries with members and motivation. Debates over whether to focus on independence, strengthened autonomy or human rights continued throughout. The mass incarcerations and state violence against the minoritised people of XUAR in 2017 became a game changer for diaspora activism. Despite an increasing Uyghur diaspora population, activism had remained rather limited until 2017, but the internment of 100,000s of ordinary Uyghurs propelled their relatives abroad into activism. These were often Uyghurs of a different demographic than the previously dominant activists. They were younger, well educated and well integrated into their host societies. The campaigns became digital, more personal and focussed on their families rather than general principles. After the release of many Uyghurs in 2020, some activists retreated from the scene, but this phase has left Uyghur activism and its institutions permanently changed.