Key Points

In a statement posted on X, ETGE said it "solemnly honours the memory of the hundreds of thousands" who perished as a result of nuclear testing carried out by China between 1964 and 1996. The group claimed that over the course of 47 nuclear tests, equivalent to more than 1,600 Hiroshima bombs, China's program killed an estimated 750,000 people and left more than a million suffering from cancers, birth defects, and radiation-related illnesses.

"By using East Turkistan as its nuclear testing ground, China inflicted mass death and lasting destruction on our nation. This was not only a grave violation of human rights but a deliberate act of nuclear genocide, carried out as part of Beijing's broader campaign of colonisation and extermination against the people of East Turkistan," the government-in-exile stated.

The group alleged that nuclear testing has not stopped, pointing to evidence suggesting that Beijing continues underground tests in the region, "further endangering our people, poisoning our land, and expanding its arsenal of mass destruction."

ETGE also highlighted China's growing nuclear capabilities, noting that Beijing currently possesses over 600 nuclear warheads and is constructing hundreds of new missile silos across East Turkistan's deserts. The exiled government warned that this escalation, combined with what it describes as China's "ongoing campaign of colonisation, genocide, and occupation", poses a threat not only to East Turkistan but to global peace and security.

ETGE urged decisive action from the international community to halt what it called China's "ongoing genocide, including nuclear genocide," and to support the East Turkistani struggle for sovereignty and independence.

- ANI