Flag of East Turkestan

{{Other uses of|Kök Bayraq|Kök Bayraq (disambiguation){{!}}Kök Bayraq}}

{{Infobox flag

| Name = Kök Bayraq

| Image = Kokbayraq flag.svg

| Use = 111000

| Symbol = {{FIAV|111000}} {{FIAV|Normal}} {{IFIS|Mirror}}

| Proportion = 2:3

| Adoption = {{start date and age|1933|11|12|df=yes}}

| Design = A blue field charged with a white star and crescent slightly left-of-centre

}}

A number of flags have been used to represent the cultural and geographical region of East Turkestan in Central Asia, particularly by states that broke away from China during rebellions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Nearly all the flags feature a star and crescent, a symbol of the region's Turkic and Islamic identity.

The most well-known flag is the Kök Bayraq ({{langx|ug|كۆك بايراق|lit=blue flag}}), introduced by the government of the short-lived First East Turkestan Republic (1933–1934). It is a blue field charged with a white star and crescent slightly left-of-centre. It is identical to the flag of Turkey, albeit with a blue background instead of red. The Kök Bayraq remains a prominent symbol of the East Turkestan independence movement and the Uyghur diaspora. The Second East Turkestan Republic (1944–1946) introduced a similar star-and-crescent flag but with a green background, as well as a white flag with the Shahada written in gold. The Kök Bayraq is banned in China by the government's anti-separatism laws.

Construction

File:Uyghur flag construction.svg

class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"

! Letter

! Measure

! Size{{efn|Measurement relative to G}}

| Width

| G

| Distance between the centre of the outer crescent and the seam of the white band

| {{frac|1|2}} G

| Diameter of the outer circle of the crescent

| {{frac|1|2}} G

| Distance between the centres of the inner and outer circles of the crescent

| {{frac|1|16}} G

| Diameter of the inner circle of the crescent

| {{frac|2|5}} G

| Distance between the inner circle of the crescent and the circle around the star

| {{frac|1|3}} G

| diameter of the circle around the star

| {{frac|1|4}} G

| Length

| {{frac|1|1|2}} G

| Width of the white hem at the hoist

| {{frac|1|30}} G

History

= Kashgaria (Yettishar) =

File:Flag of the Ottoman Empire (eight pointed star).svg, which flew over Kashgar from 1873 to 1877]]

The breakaway state of Kashgaria (Yettishar) flew the flag of the Ottoman Empire from 1873 to 1877.{{sfn|Rudelson|1997|p=27}}{{sfn|Zoubir|2023|p=279}} A large Muslim revolt against Qing rule erupted in East Turkestan in 1862. The Kokandi military leader Yakub Beg conquered several oases in the region's west and proclaimed an emirate centered around Kashgar in 1864.{{sfn|Rudelson|1997|p=27}} Seyyid Yaqub Khan Töre, an official Kokandi envoy, made four trips to Istanbul from 1865 to 1875 to request Ottoman support for Yakub Beg.{{sfn|Shichor|2009|pp=5–6}} By the time of his last trip in April 1875, the Ottoman flag had already been flying over Kashgar for two years.{{sfn|Rudelson|1997|p=27}} In August 1875, the Ottoman sultan bestowed upon Yakub the title of emir and the {{lang|tr|Sancak-ı Şerif}} (the sultan's holy flag), and sent military advisors and weapons to assist Yakub Beg's army.{{sfn|Shichor|2009|p=6}} An expeditionary army sent by the Qing reconquered the area after Yakub Beg's sudden passing in 1877.{{sfn|Rudelson|1997|p=27}} Töre petitioned the Ottoman sultan to persuade the Qing emperor to withdraw his forces from Kashgaria, citing Kashgar's raising of the Ottoman flag as evidence of Ottoman sovereignty over the area. Töre's request was ignored.{{sfn|Shichor|2009|p=6}}

= First East Turkestan Republic =

File:Hoja-Niyaz.jpg, president of the First East Turkestan Republic, in front of the Kök Bayraq in January 1934]]

The Kök Bayraq was adopted as the flag of the First East Turkestan Republic, officially the Turkic Islamic Republic of East Turkestan, upon its proclamation of independence on 12 November 1933.{{sfn|Klimeš|2014|p=167}} Pan-Turkic and pan-Islamic sentiments among the Turkic population of East Turkestan culminated in local resistance against Chinese rule and the foundation of the republic in Khotan.{{sfn|Dillon|2003|p=20}}{{sfn|Rudelson|1997|p=28}} A government with a constitution and legislature was established, with the Kök Bayraq specifically defined in the former.{{sfn|Dillon|2003|p=21}}

The design of a blue field with a white star and crescent, nearly identical to the Turkish flag, was meant to symbolise the republic's cultural and political ties to Turkey.{{sfn|Zoubir|2023|p=279}}{{sfn|Shichor|2009|p=8}} While the Turkish public expressed enthusiasm at the republic's founding, the Turkish foreign ministry exercised caution. The Turkish foreign minister acknowledged Turkey's "feelings for a people which speaks her language" and reasserted the right of every nation to self-determination, but immediately denied any connection to the republic.{{sfn|Shichor|2009|p=8}} Soviet diplomatic pressure kept Turkish political influence out of Central Asia in general, and the republic collapsed with the capture of Kashgar by the Hui Muslim forces of the Ma clique on 6 February 1934.{{sfn|Zoubir|2023|p=279}}{{sfn|Dillon|2003|p=21}}{{sfn|Shichor|2009|p=8}}

= Second East Turkestan Republic =

{{Multiple image

| direction = vertical

| image1 = Flag of the Second East Turkestan Republic (2).svg

| image2 = Flag of the Second East Turkestan Republic (golden shahada).png

| footer = {{FIAV|historical}} Reconstruction of the two flags described by Seypidin Azizi

}}

On 7 November 1944, uprisings against Chinese rule erupted in the three northern districts of Ili, Tarbagatay, and Altay. Five days later, the Second East Turkestan Republic (officially just the East Turkestan Republic or ETR) was proclaimed in Ghulja (Yining).{{sfn|Evans|2017|p=53}} The new state was covertly supported by the Soviet Union, but its leadership was dominated by religious conservatives who saw it as a restoration of the First East Turkestan Republic.{{sfn|Evans|2017|p=53}}{{sfn|Hasanli|2020|p=125}} A green flag charged with a star and crescent was adopted as the national flag of the ETR, with the green symbolising Islam.{{harvnb|Wang|2020|p=148}}: "...{{nbsp}}a crescent moon and star design in the color green, symbolising Islam, was adopted for the national flag of the East Turkestan Republic."

Seypidin Azizi, a member of the ETR government who would later become the first chairman of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, described an additional flag in his biographical work The Eagle of Tian Shan{{snd}}The Life of Abdulkerim Abbas. In it, he describes a meeting he had with other Uyghur political leaders the day after the ETR's founding. He was the first to speak, expressing his confusion at the sudden turn of events in Ghulja: "Early this morning, many flags appeared on the street. One was a green field with a white star and crescent, and the other was a white field with 'There is no god but God; Muhammad is the messenger of God', written with gold powder. What is going on?"{{sfn|Azizi|1987|pp=71–72}} The exact designs and dimensions of the flags are not described by Azizi in his work.

Contemporary usage

File:East Turkestan (14674325238).jpg, in 2014]]

The Kök Bayraq is frequently used by supporters of the East Turkestan independence movement, Uyghur nationalists, and Turkic diaspora communities to represent East Turkestan or the Uyghur people in particular.{{sfn|Dillon|2003|p=21}}{{sfn|Shichor|2009|p=8}} The East Turkestan Government in Exile claims the Kök Bayraq as its national flag in its constitution.{{sfn|Constitution of the Republic of East Turkestan|2004|loc=Section I, Article 3}} Displaying the Kök Bayraq is illegal in China under the country's anti-separatism laws.{{sfn|Beck|2022}}{{sfn|Marlow|Lung|2020}} The Kök Bayraq was previously banned in Turkey as well during the tenure of prime minister Mesut Yılmaz.{{sfn|Asian News International|2023}}

The flag has also been flown at numerous anti-Chinese government protests, including demonstrations held in Istanbul, Washington D.C., New York City, Hong Kong, and Taipei.Istanbul: {{harvnb|AFP|2019a}}, Washington D.C.: {{harvnb|Ghayrat|2024}}, New York City: {{harvnb|Tu|2022}}, Hong Kong: {{harvnb|AFP|2019b}}, Taipei: {{harvnb|Wang|Chung|2022}}. On 22 December 2019, Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters held a rally in solidarity with East Turkestan independence supporters, amid wider anti-government protests. Many demonstrators waved the Kök Bayraq or wore face masks with the flag on it.{{sfn|AFP|2019b}} The Kök Bayraq was banned in Hong Kong with the introduction of the 2020 national security law, which prohibits all symbols of separatism from China.{{sfn|Marlow|Lung|2020}}

During the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, Turkish ski jumper Fatih Arda İpcioğlu competed with light-blue skis featuring a star and crescent. Uyghur activists praised İpcioğlu, believing his skis deliberately depicted the Kök Bayraq. However, İpcioğlu later declined interview questions about the Kök Bayraq, insisting that his skis were meant to depict the Turkish flag and that he was merely a sportsman. The Turkish National Olympic Committee echoed İpcioğlu's statements, commenting to Reuters: "This was not a political statement. As you may know, the official Turkish flag includes a white crescent and a star on it."{{sfn|Grohmann|Phillips|2022}}

Notes

References

= Citations =

= Sources =

{{cite news |title=1,000 protest in Istanbul over China's treatment of Uygurs |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/world/middle-east/article/3043058/1000-protest-istanbul-over-chinas-treatment-uygurs |access-date=19 August 2024 |work=Agence France-Presse |via=South China Morning Post |date=21 December 2019 |language=en |ref={{harvid|AFP|2019a}}}}
{{cite book | last=Azizi | first=Seypidin | author-link=Saifuddin Azizi | script-title=zh:天山雄鹰——阿布杜克力木·阿巴索夫生平 | trans-title=The Eagle of Tian Shan – The Life of Abdulkerim Abbas | publisher=Chinese Literature and History Press | date=December 1987 | isbn=9787503400254 | url=https://www.marxists.org/chinese/pdf/biography/ccp/4.pdf | language=zh-Hans-CN | access-date=2024-01-04 | archive-date=2023-12-17 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231217095804/https://www.marxists.org/chinese/pdf/biography/ccp/4.pdf | url-status=live}}
{{cite magazine |last=Beck |first=John |title=China is erasing their culture. In exile, Uyghurs remain defiant. |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/china-uyghurs-oppressed-exile-defiance-culture-preservation-istanbul-diaspora |access-date=23 March 2025 |magazine=National Geographic |date=22 November 2022 |language=en}}
{{cite web |title=Constitution of the Republic of East Turkestan |url=http://en.eastturkistan-gov.org/constitution/ |url-status=dead |publisher=East Turkestan Government in Exile |date=25 November 2004 |access-date=19 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402040952/http://en.eastturkistan-gov.org/constitution/ |archive-date=2 April 2018 |language=en |ref={{harvid|Constitution of the Republic of East Turkestan|2004}}}}
{{cite book |last=Dillon |first=Michael |title=Xinjiang: China's Muslim Far Northwest |date=23 October 2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-36096-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1ia-2lDtGH4C |access-date=18 August 2024 |language=en}}
{{cite thesis |last=Evans |first=Michael P. |degree=PhD |title=A Nearly Perfect Storm: The Rise and Fall of the Eastern Turkistan People's Revolutionary Party |date=July 2017 |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/11e8fd9da1420389db71eea5b201f824/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750 |via=ProQuest |language=en}}
{{cite news |last=Ghayrat |first=Shahrezad |title=Uyghurs remember 1990 Baren Uprising over China's forced abortions |url=https://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/baren-uprising-04082024174615.html |access-date=19 August 2024 |work=Radio Free Asia |date=8 April 2024}}
{{cite news |last1=Grohmann |first1=Karolos |last2=Phillips |first2=Mitch |title=Athlete hailed by Uyghur advocates for 'East Turkestan' flag |url=https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sports/athlete-hailed-by-uyghur-advocates-east-turkestan-flag-2022-02-06/ |access-date=19 August 2024 |work=Reuters |date=6 February 2022}}
{{cite book |last=Hasanli |first=Jamil |title=Soviet Policy in Xinjiang: Stalin and the National Movement in Eastern Turkistan |date=3 December 2020 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-7936-4127-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=710JEAAAQBAJ |language=en |access-date=30 December 2023 |archive-date=29 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231229012539/https://books.google.com/books/about/Soviet_Policy_in_Xinjiang.html?id=710JEAAAQBAJ |url-status=live}}
{{cite news |title=Hong Kongers take to streets in support of Uighurs |url=https://www.nst.com.my/world/world/2019/12/550105/hong-kongers-take-streets-support-uighurs |access-date=19 August 2024 |work=Agence France-Presse |via=New Straits Times |date=22 December 2019 |language=en |ref={{harvid|AFP|2019b}}}}
{{cite journal |last=Klimeš |first=Ondřej |title=Nationalism and modernism in the East Turkestan Republic, 1933–34. |journal=Central Asian Survey |date=3 November 2014 |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=162–176 |doi=10.1080/02634937.2014.976947 |s2cid=144960375 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02634937.2014.976947 |access-date=27 March 2021}}
{{cite news |last1=Marlow |first1=Iain |last2=Lung |first2=Natalie |title=Hong Kong Says Common Protest Slogan Calling for 'Revolution' Is Now Illegal Under National Security Law |url=https://time.com/5862683/hong-kong-revolution-protest-chant-security-law/ |access-date=23 March 2025 |work=Bloomberg News |via=TIME |date=3 July 2020 |language=en}}
{{cite web |title=National Flag |url=https://east-turkistan.net/national-flag/ |publisher=East Turkestan Government in Exile |date=4 March 2021 |access-date=27 March 2021 |ref={{harvid|East Turkestan Government in Exile|2021}}}}
{{cite book |last=Rudelson |first=Justin Ben-Adam |title=Oasis Identities: Uyghur Nationalism Along China's Silk Road |date=1997 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-10787-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DMU8Ue0HECcC |language=en}}
{{cite book |last=Shichor |first=Yitzhak |title=Ethno-Diplomacy: The Uyghur Hitch in Sino-Turkish Relations |date=2009 |publisher=East-West Center |location=Honolulu, HI |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep06509}}
{{cite news |last=Tu |first=Shing-Cheng |title=Protesters demand freedom in China |url=https://nyunews.com/2022/12/05/protesters-demand-freedom-in-china/ |access-date=19 August 2024 |work=Washington Square News |date=5 December 2022}}
{{cite news |title=Turkish govt banning activities of East Turkestan Turks: Report |url=https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/turkish-govt-banning-activities-of-east-turkestan-turks-report20230416141240/ |access-date=19 August 2024 |work=Asian News International |date=16 April 2023 |language=en |ref={{harvid|Asian News International|2023}}}}
{{cite news |last1=Wang |first1=Chien-hao |last2=Chung |first2=Jake |title=Uighur rights advocated at rally for East Turkestan |url=https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2022/11/13/2003788833 |access-date=19 August 2024 |work=Taipei Times |date=13 November 2022}}
{{cite book |last=Wang |first=Ke |translator-last=Fletcher |translator-first=Carissa |title=The East Turkestan Independence Movement, 1930s to 1940s |date=15 March 2020 |publisher=The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press |isbn=978-962-996-769-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ys89EAAAQBAJ |language=en}}
{{cite book |last=Zoubir |first=Yahia H. |title=Routledge Companion to China and the Middle East and North Africa |date=16 May 2023 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-000-83531-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Ua1EAAAQBAJ |language=en}}