Masud Sabri, also known as Masʿūd Ṣabrī (; zh, s=麦斯武德·沙比尔, t=麥斯武德·沙比爾, p=Màisīwǔdé·Shābì'ěr; 1886–1952), was an ethnic Uyghur politician of the

Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

who served as the governor of

Xinjiang Xinjiang,; , SASM/GNC romanization, SASM/GNC: Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Sinkiang, officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an Autonomous regions of China, autonomous region of the China, People' ...

during the

Ili Rebellion The Ili Rebellion () was a Separatism, separatist uprising by the Turkic peoples of northern Xinjiang (East Turkestan) against the Kuomintang government of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China, from 1944 to 1946. The Ili Rebel ...

. He received education at Kulja and

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and was a Pan-Turkist. Chiang Kai-shek appointed him the first Uyghur governor of Xinjiang.

Education

After attending University of Istanbul and learning medicine, Sabri returned to Xinjiang to become a

pharmacist A pharmacist, also known as a chemist in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English, is a healthcare professional who is knowledgeable about preparation, mechanism of action, clinical usage and legislation of medications in ...

Career

Governor of Xinjiang Yang Zengxin jailed Masud Sabri for pan turkist activities and then deported him from the province. Masud supported the First East Turkestan Republic while based at Aqsu with Mahmud Sijan. After it was crushed by the 36th Division (National Revolutionary Army) Masud fled to British India and then to Nanking, where he joined the

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT) is a major political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). It was the one party state, sole ruling party of the country Republic of China (1912-1949), during its rule from 1927 to 1949 in Mainland China until Retreat ...

government. The Central Military Academy and Central University accepted some of his relatives as students in Nanking after he joined the Central Executive Committee of the Kuomintang. In 1942, Masud Sabri was serving on the 36 seated State Council (Chinese National Political Council), the only other Muslim member was the Chinese Muslim General Ma Lin. Bai Chongxi, the Defence Minister of China and a Muslim, was considered for being appointed Governor of Xinjiang. The position was then given to Masud Sabri, who was pro Kuomintang and anti-Soviet. He replaced Zhang Zhizhong. Ehmetjan Qasim, the Communist Uyghur Ili leader, repeatedly demanded that Masud Sabri be sacked as governor.UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPTS TO RESEOLVE POLITICAL PROBLEMS IN SINKIANG; EXTENT OF SOVIET AID AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO REBEL GROUPS IN SINKIANG; BORDER INCIDENT AT PEITASHAN
/ref> Masud Sabri was an opponent of the Soviet sponsored Second East Turkistan Republic in Ili during the

, opposing all efforts to negotiate with Ehmetjan Qasim along with others like Wang Tseng-shan, a Chinese Muslim, who was the KMT commissioner of Civil Affairs in the

Coalition Government from 1946–47, and was associated with the CC Clique. Masud Sabri was also a CC Clique member, as was the Tatar

Burhan Shahidi Burhan Shahidi (3 October 1894 – 27 August 1989) was a Chinese Tatar politician who occupied several high-level positions in Xinjiang, in the governments of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the People's Republic of Ch ...

and the KMT-general and Han-Chinese Wu Zhongxin. He led the Xinjiang coalition government from 1948-1949 Masud Sabri formed a group of pan turkists with Muhammad Amin Bughra and Isa Yusuf Alptekin to join the Kuomintang

coalition government in Xinjiang, opposing the Uyghur Communist Ili regime in the Second East Turkestan Republic.There were 3 Effendis, (Üch Äpändi) (ئۈچ ئەپەندى) Aisa Alptekin, Memtimin Bughra (Muhammad Amin Bughra), and Masud Sabri. The Second East Turkestan Republic attacked them as Kuomintang "puppets". Ehmetjan Qasim's government in Ili attacked Isa Yusuf Alptekin, Muhammad Amin Bughra, and Masud Sabri as supporters of the Kuomintang and puppets of imperialism. Masud Sabri and fellow Pan-Turkic Jadidist and East Turkestan Independence activist Muhammad Amin Bughra rejected the Soviet imposition of the name " Uyghur people" upon the Turkic people of Xinjiang. They wanted instead the name "Turkic ethnicity" (''Tujuezu'' in Chinese) to be applied to their people. Masud Sabri also viewed the

Hui people The Hui people are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Islam in China, Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the Northwest China, northwestern provinces and in the Zhongy ...

as Muslim Han Chinese and separate from his own people. The names "Türk" or "Türki" in particular were demanded by Bughra as the real name for his people. He slammed Sheng Shicai for his designation of Turkic Muslims into different ethnicities which could sow disunion among Turkic Muslims. In 1948 Sabri turned down the proposal of being appointed ambassador to Iran from China. In January 1949,

succeeded Masud Sabri as the chairman of Xinjiang Provincial Government. The Communist Party placed him under detention and imprisoned him in 1951. He died in 1952, still incarcerated. Alternatively, according to Xinjiang and Ukraine specialist Sean R. Roberts, the CCP had Sabri executed in 1951.

References

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External links

The Soviets in Xinjiang (1911-1949) by Mark Dickens
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabri, Masud Ili Rebellion Uyghur politicians Chinese Muslims Chinese Nationalist military figures Republic of China politicians from Xinjiang Prisoners who died in Chinese detention 1886 births 1952 deaths People from Yining County Darülfünun alumni Qing dynasty Muslims