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In spring and summer 1962, turmoil engulfed the region today commonly known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.1 In early April, hundreds of individuals from Ili prefecture (Yili 伊犁) in Xinjiang's far northern tip began to cross into Soviet Kazakhstan. By the end of the month, the scale of the exodus had grown significantly. In a dramatic display, thousands upon thousands of people left their homes in several Ili counties, including Qoqek (Tacheng 塔城), Dörbiljin (Emin 额敏), Toli (Tuoli 托里), Hoboksar (Hebukesai'er 和布克赛尔), Usu (Wusu 乌苏), Saven (Shawan 沙湾) and Qorghas (Huocheng 霍城). Those fleeing China first did so quietly at night, but as the flight swelled in size, those crossing the border became more daring, traversing the international boundary during daylight hours and bringing with them livestock, farm tools and oxcarts (most of which were, by that time, officially the property of state communes). When the final tally was made, Chinese officials estimated that more than 60,000 men and women, mostly Kazakhs and Uyghurs, had fled Xinjiang for the Soviet Union. Despite many protests from the Chinese government, the majority of these individuals never returned to Chinese soil.
The crisis did not end here. Chinese statesmen feared that the exodus in the far north of Xinjiang would have a ripple effect across the entire autonomous region and destabilize the predominantly Uyghur oases in the south, including Kashgar (Kashi 喀什). Partially in response to these concerns, when the unrest in Ili deepened on 29 May, the Chinese government chose to employ brute force to deal with it. In the prefectural seat of Ghulja (Yining 伊宁), more than 2,000 people blockaded the city centre after discovering that no more buses would go to Qorghas, a major gateway on the Sino-Soviet border. The would-be border crossers seized the Prefectural People's Committee building and ransacked warehouses, small shops and even the local archives. They held the prefectural governor hostage and issued a demand for transportation to the Soviet Union.2 The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) soon authorized the use of force to disperse the protestors. Troops from the Fourth Agricultural Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (Xinjiang shengchan jianshe bingtuan 新疆生产建设兵团), a paramilitary organization, as well as local police...