Foreign Policy > Uyghurs

An Interview With The Prime Minister Of The East Turkistan Government In Exile

Although the Uyghurs’ plight at the hands of the Chinese Communist Party has vanished from the headlines, they are still fighting for their freedom.

Arthur Schaper | May 25, 2026

Last year, I interviewed Salih Hudayar, the Foreign Minister for the East Turkistan Government in Exile. Last month, the prime minister, Abdulahat Nur, reached out to me requesting an interview. He requested this opportunity so that more people would hear the plight of the Uyghur people.

Who was I to say “No” to interviewing a head of state, right?

Like his foreign ministry counterpart, PM Nur does not govern his home country from...home. In exile, like many Uyghurs, Nur fled his country but hopes for the restoration of his people's independence and self-determination.

His story is just as harrowing as the suffering of his fellow Uyghurs.

Nur was born in Maralbeshi County, East Turkistan, on June 10, 1967. As a child, he endured severe harassment from Chinese Communist officials because of his religion and ethnicity. He quit the Chinese government’s “official” school and attended an underground national school to learn the Uyghur language and history, since the Chinese Communist Party had banned these subjects.

In the late 1980s, he moved to Kashgar City for higher education, then became an educator himself to preserve the traditions and culture of his people. For these activities, Nur was arrested in 1990 by the Chinese government, imprisoned for three years, and then released due to lack of evidence. Nur lived as a displaced person until 1997, when he left China and traveled to Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and eventually Turkey to continue his pro-freedom activities against Chinese repression of the Uyghur people.

In retaliation for his escape, the Chinese government placed Nur’s family in concentration camps. After seeking help from the United Nations office in Ankara, he was granted refugee status and moved to Canada in 2001. His wife and some of his children joined........

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