Historians Dismiss Chinese Claims to Xinjiang Based on Han Dynasty Literature
2017-12-22
Recent government efforts to link northwest China’s majority Uyghur Xinjiang region to territorial claims associated with an ancient Chinese imperial dynasty “lack scientific standing†and are part of a bid by Beijing to legitimize repressive policies in the area, according to scholars.
Beijing has made repeated claims it says are based on ancient literature that China established the “Protectorate of the Western Regions†in 60 B.C., during the 202 B.C.-A.D. 8 period of the Western Han Dynasty, which exercised military and administrative jurisdiction over what is now Xinjiang.
http://www.rfa.org/english/news/uyghur/claims-12222017145043.html
