Saifuddin Azizi

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Saifuddin Azizi
  • سەيپىدىن ئەزىزى‎
  • 赛福鼎·艾则孜
CCP Committee Secretary of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
In office
July 1972 – January 1978
(Acting: July 1972 – June 1973)
Preceded byLong Shujin
Succeeded byWang Feng
Chairman of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regional Revolutionary Committee
In office
October 1955 – January 1967
Preceded byBurhan Shahidi
(as Governor of Xinjiang)
Succeeded byLong Shujin
Other positions
Vice Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference
In office
27 March 1993 – 13 March 1998
Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
In office
27 September 1954 – 27 March 1993
Chairman of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regional Political Consultative Conference
In office
February 1955 – September 1955
Preceded byBurhan Shahidi
Succeeded byBurhan Shahidi
Minister of Education of the East Turkestan Republic
In office
13 March 1945 – 27 June 1946
Preceded byHabib Yunich
Personal details
Born(1915-03-12)12 March 1915
Tacheng, Xinjiang Province, Republic of China
Died24 November 2003(2003-11-24) (aged 88)
Beijing, People's Republic of China
Political partyChinese Communist Party (joined 1949)
Other political
affiliations
Awards Order of Liberation (First Class)
Military service
Allegiance
Branch/service
Rank Lieutenant General of the PLA
Battles/warsThree Districts Revolution (1944–1946)
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese赛福鼎·艾则孜
Traditional Chinese賽福鼎·艾則孜
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinSaìfúdǐng Àizézī
Wade–GilesSai4-fu2-ting3 Ai4-tse2-tzu1
IPA
Uyghur name
Uyghurسەيپىدىن ئەزىزى‎
Transcriptions
Latin YëziqiSeypidin Ezizi
Yengi YeziⱪSəypidin Əzizi
Siril YëziqiСəйпидин Əзизи
Russian name
RussianСайфутдин Азизов
RomanizationSayfutdin Azizov

Saifuddin Azizi (officially transcribed as Seypidin Azizi;[1][2] 12 March 1915 – 24 November 2003) was a Uyghur politician who occupied top positions in the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC), including Vice Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and Vice Chairperson of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He is best known for serving as the first chairman of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regional Government.

Before the proclamation of the PRC in 1949, Azizi was a leader of the Ili Rebellion, which sought to establish an independent East Turkestan. He served as the Second East Turkestan Republic's education minister from 1945 to 1946.

Biography

Early activities

Saifuddin Azizi was born in Tacheng to an influential Uyghur trader family originally from Artush.[3][4]

Saifuddin Azizi studied in the Soviet Union (center)

He attended school in Xinjiang and then moved to the Soviet Union in 1935, joining the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and studying at the Central Asia Political Institute in Tashkent.[5] He returned to Xinjiang as a Soviet agent, instigating the Soviet-backed Ili Rebellion against the Republic of China government in northwest Xinjiang in 1937. He was deemed a “radical young man” by Sheng Shicai, resulting in his exile to the border city of Tacheng.[6] Following the onset of the Anti-Japanese War, he vigorously advocated for anti-Japanese patriotic ideology and was appointed as the secretary-general and vice-president of the Tacheng Uyghur Culture Promotion Association (Chinese: 塔城维吾尔文化促进会). He was apprehended by the Kuomintang in Tacheng during the celebration of International Labor Day on May 1. He continued his resistance while incarcerated, prompting the Kuomintang regime to free him during a large-scale protest march.[7]

Three Districts Revolution

Four leaders of the Three Districts Revolution in 1944

In 1944, Saifudin participated in the Three Districts Revolution that broke out in the Ili, Tacheng and Altay regions of Xinjiang, resolutely opposing the Kuomintang's rule.[8] After the establishment of the Three-Region Revolutionary Provisional Government in 1945, he served as a member of the government and the director of the Department of Education, among other positions. Subsequent to the integration of insurgents from the three districts into the national army, he orchestrated the establishment of the Kashgar and assumed command, commanding the regiment in numerous engagements. He was involved in the establishment of the Revolutionary Youth Organization in the three regions and held the positions of central committee member and head of the publicity department.[9] Following the establishment of the Xinjiang People's Revolutionary Party, he emerged as a principal leader and the head of the Publicity Department, and participated as a member of the delegation in the peace negotiations between the Kuomintang government and the Revolutionary Provisional Government of the Three Regions in October 1945, during which the peace terms were ratified.[3][10]

Subsequent to the ratification of the Articles of Peace, he founded the Xinjiang Provincial Democratic Coalition Government (Chinese: 新疆省民主联合政府), where he assumed the roles of member and director of the Education Department, as well as chairman of the Democratic Election Supervisory Group. In November 1946, delegates from the three districts approached the representatives of the Chinese Communist Party and formally sought acceptance of CCP leadership. In August 1947, the Xinjiang Democratic League for the Defense of Peace (Chinese: 新疆保卫和平民主同盟) was founded, and he was appointed vice-chairman of the League, head of the Publicity Department, and editor-in-chief of the Forward Newspaper.[11] He subsequently held the positions of Acting Chairman and Chairman of the Xinjiang Democratic League for the Defense of Peace.[12]

People's Republic of China

Saifuddin standing behind Mao Zedong at the Proclamation of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949

In September 1949, Saifuddin attended the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference endorsed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), becoming a member of the new Communist government.[13][3] On October 15, 1949, Saifuddin filed his application for membership to the Chinese Communist Party, in accordance with recommendation of Mao Zedong himself[6] He joined the CCP on December 27. Simultaneously, he was designated Vice Chairman of the People's Government of Xinjiang Province (Chinese: 新疆省人民政府), Director of the Xinjiang Ethnic Affairs Committee, and Deputy Commander of the Xinjiang Military Region.[14][15]

From December 1949 through January 1950, Saifuddin accompanied Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai in their trip to Moscow to negotiate the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship, where he participated in the negotiation, preparation, and signing ceremony.[16][17] In December 1950, he accompanied Wang Zhen to the Junggar Basin and other desolate areas to identify locations for military reclamation units, thereby establishing the groundwork for the deployment of troops in Xinjiang and the formation and advancement of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps.[18]

Saifuddin Azizi, Xi Zhongxun, and Burhan Shahidi dealt with the affairs of the insurgency of Osman Batur in July 1952

In 1951, Saifuddin was designated as a member of the Standing Committee of the Xinjiang Branch of the CCP Central Committee, Minister of the Nationalities Department, Minister of the United Front Work Department, and Principal of the Xinjiang Provincial Cadre School. In July 1952, he was designated as the Fourth Secretary of the CCP Central Committee Xinjiang Branch. In September 1952, he was appointed deputy director of the Xinjiang Preparatory Committee for the Implementation of Regional Ethnic Autonomy, and in January 1953, he assumed the role of vice chairman of the Northwest Administrative Committee.[19] In August 1953, he was appointed as the third secretary of the CCP Committee and deputy commander of the Xinjiang Military Region; in December 1954, he ascended to the position of the second secretary of the CCP Committee and deputy commander of the Xinjiang Military Region.[20]

In February 1955, the Xinjiang Autonomous Region Political Consultative Conference was founded, and he assumed the role of chairman. In this year, he was given the rank of Lieutenant General of the PLA. On October 1, he registered with Mao his strong objection to proposals to name Xinjiang the "Xinjiang Autonomous Region", arguing that "autonomy is not given to mountains and rivers. It is given to particular nationalities". The CCP Central Committee endorsed Saifuddin's proposal, leading to the establishment of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.[21] He served as a member of the Northwest Bureau of the CCP Central Committee and held the position of Third Secretary of the CCP Xinjiang Autonomous Region.[22] He advanced land reform in Xinjiang and implemented trial projects in the Kashgar region of southern Xinjiang, with successful outcomes. He participated in directing Xinjiang's three-year national economic recovery efforts and the execution of the nation's inaugural Five-Year Plan, contributing significantly through diligent and meticulous work towards the fulfillment of socialist transformation in Xinjiang and its swift progression to extensive socialist economic development.[23][24]

In 1958, he assumed the position of second secretary of the CCP Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Committee. He fervently championed and endorsed the operation of educational institutions, formed Xinjiang classes at the Central Party School,[25] and dispatched foreign students to the Soviet Union, therefore educating a substantial number of cadres for the development of Xinjiang. He founded a flight school that trained the inaugural group of ethnic minority pilots for Xinjiang,[26] and in 1962, during the Yi–Ta incident in the border regions of Xinjiang, he participated in efforts to restore calm and stability as directed by Chairman Mao Zedong and Premier Zhou Enlai.[27][28]

Following 1968, he held the positions of deputy director of the Revolutionary Committee of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), deputy head of the core leading group of the Xinjinag Revolutionary Committee. Subsequent to February 1978, Saifuddin commenced employment in the Beijing and held the position of Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh National People's Congresses.[2]

He died in Beijing on November 24, 2003, and was interred at the Revolutionary Martyrs' Cemetery in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, in accordance with Uyghur customs.[2][29]

References

  1. ^ "Yu Zhengsheng attends symposium commemorating Seypidin Azizi". www.cppcc.gov.cn. National Committee of Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.
  2. ^ a b c "Noted Uygur leader Seypidin Azizi dies". People's Daily. 25 November 2003.
  3. ^ a b c McMillen, Donald H. (1979). Chinese Communist Power and Policy in Xinjiang, 1949-1977. Westview Press. pp. 34–36. ISBN 978-0-89158-452-0.
  4. ^ Donald W. Klein; Anne B. Clark (1968). Biographic Dictionary of Chinese Communism, 1921-1965. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 743. ISBN 978-0-674-14850-5 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland by S. Frederick Starr
  6. ^ a b 中国民族 (in Chinese). 民族团结杂志社. 2003. p. 34. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  7. ^ 新疆维吾尔自治区地方志编纂委员会 (1992). 新疆通志. 新疆维吾尔自治区地方志丛书 (in Chinese). Xinjiang People's Press. p. 401. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  8. ^ 新疆三区革命史. 新疆三区革命丛书 (in Chinese). 民族出版社. 1998. p. 127. ISBN 978-7-105-03219-8. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  9. ^ 未来民主中国制度与政策设计: The Future System and Policy Design for Democratic China. 当代华语世界思想者丛书 (in Chinese). Bo deng shu wu. 2024. p. 56. ISBN 979-8-8691-8596-9. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  10. ^ 伊宁县地方志编纂委员会 (2003). 伊宁县志. 新疆维吾尔自治区地方志丛书 (in Chinese). Xinjiang People's Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-7-228-08486-9. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  11. ^ 新疆现代翻译史 (in Chinese). 新疆大学出版社. 1999. p. 31. ISBN 978-7-5631-1111-4. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  12. ^ Ăzizi, S. (1993). 赛福鼎回忆录 (in Chinese). 华夏出版社. p. 516. ISBN 978-7-80053-664-9. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  13. ^ Benson, Linda; Ingvar Svanberg (1998). China's last Nomads: the history and culture of China's Kazaks. M.E. Sharpe. p. 100.
  14. ^ 政协新疆维吾尔自治区委员会新疆政协志编纂委员会; 《新疆政协志》编纂委员会; 新疆维吾尔自治区地方志编纂委员会 (1996). 新疆政协志 (in Chinese). Xinjiang People's Press. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  15. ^ 国家行政学院 (2000). 中华人民共和国政府机构五十年, 1949-1999 (in Chinese). 党建读物出版社. p. 312. ISBN 978-7-80098-406-8. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  16. ^ 中苏同盟启示录 (in Chinese). 清华大学出版社. 2008. p. 114. ISBN 978-7-302-18660-1. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  17. ^ 陈布雷与陈伯达: 踩在中国历史转折点上的两位秘书. 国共两党比较研究丛书 (in Chinese). 书海出版社. 1993. p. 299. ISBN 978-7-80550-156-7. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  18. ^ China. 国家民委; "中国民族年鉴"编辑部 (2004). 中国民族年鉴 (in Chinese). 民族出版社. p. 450. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  19. ^ 国家科委人才资源研究所 (1985). 中华人民共和国人事工作大事记: 1949-1983 (in Chinese). 国家科委人才资源研究所. p. 99. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  20. ^ 新疆维吾尔自治区地方志编纂委员会 (2001). 新疆通志: 共产党志. 第十四卷. 新疆维吾尔自治区地方志丛书 (in Chinese). Xinjiang People's Press. p. 163. ISBN 978-7-228-06380-2. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  21. ^ Bovingdon, Gardner (2010). The Uyghurs: Strangers in Their Own Land. Columbia University Press. p. 199.
  22. ^ Dang dai Zhongguo yan jiu suo, Hongkong (1975). 关于少数的民族干部政策及培训 (in Chinese). p. 75. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  23. ^ China. 国家民委 (2003). 中国民族 (in Chinese). 民族团结杂芝社. p. 35. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  24. ^ 中共新疆维吾尔自治区委员会. 统一战线工作部; 中共新疆维吾尔自治区委员会. 党史工作委员会 (1993). 中国资本主义工商业的社会主义改造: 新疆卷. 《中国资本主义工商业的社会主义改造》资料丛书 (in Chinese). 中共党史出版社. p. 156. ISBN 978-7-80023-569-6. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  25. ^ 中国人民大学. 书报资料中心; 中国人民大学. 书报资料社 (1994). 中国共产党. 报刊资料选汇 (in Chinese). 中国人民大学书报资料社. p. 116. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  26. ^ 中国人民解放军历史资料丛书编审委员会 (2001). 空军: 回忆史料. 中国人民解放军历史资料丛书 (in Chinese). p. 151. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  27. ^ Service Center for Chinese Publications (1995). 中共重要历史文献资料汇编 (in Chinese). 中文出版物服务中心. p. 35. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  28. ^ 战后中苏关系若干问题研究: 来自中俄双方的档案文献 (in Chinese). 人民出版社. 2006. ISBN 978-7-01-005426-1. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
  29. ^ "新疆沉痛送别赛福鼎·艾则孜同志". 新闻 (in Chinese). 28 November 2003. Retrieved 24 December 2024.
Government offices
Preceded by Chairman of Xinjiang
1955–1967 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chairman of Xinjiang
1972–1978 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Secretary of the CCP Xinjiang Committee
1972–1978 		Succeeded by