Each year, when June 26 arrives, the memory of the 2009 Shaoguan Toy Factory massacre often dominates discussions about Uyghur suffering. On that day, a mob of Han-Chinese beat Uyghur workers to death at a toy factory in Shaoguan, Guangdong province, China. Chinese state-run media says at least two Uyghurs were killed and over 100 injured. Yet many suspect the true toll was higher, as the Chinese government has never fully disclosed the facts.
While the Shaoguan massacre deserves acknowledgment, it should not overshadow other critical events that reveal the depth of Uyghur resistance and the ongoing realities they face. In particular, the events of June 26, 2013, in Turpan City’s Lukchun township deserve equal attention. On that day, a group of roughly 10 Uyghurs launched an attack on the local police station in Pichan county. The attacks resulted in the deaths of at least 35 people, with some local sources and residents reporting the number may have been as high as 46. According to Chinese state-run media a Chinese court sentenced three Uyghurs to death and another to 25 years in jail.
This act was a direct challenge to the Chinese state’s tightening control and occupation in East Turkistan. It highlighted the desperation and frustration experienced by the Uyghurs under increasing restrictions, surveillance, and repression. Despite being headline news across major news media outlets when it occurred, in recent years the incident has received considerably less international awareness than the Shaoguan massacre, leaving an incomplete picture of the varied forms of Uyghur resistance.
The United States government recognized the seriousness of the Lukchun incident. At a press briefing (37th minute) held on June 26, 2013, Patrick Ventrell, then Director of the U.S. State Department’s Press Office urged “Chinese authorities to conduct a thorough, transparent investigation of this incident,..we remain deeply concerned by the ongoing reports of discrimination and restrictions against Uyghurs and Muslims in China..”
We interviewed prominent Uyghur journalist Shohret Hoshur about what happened that day and its effects on the Uyghur people in East Turkistan. Hoshur told us that “This movement is an expression of how the Chinese government’s oppression has intensified in our homeland…”
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