The United States and China in Power Transition - Strategic Studies ...

大会 or 世维会). It is an international organization of
exiled Uyghur groups said to represent the collective
interests of the Uyghur people both inside and outside
of Xinjiang. It was founded in mid-April 2004 in
Munich, Germany, as a collection of various exiled
Uyghur groups including the Uyghur American Association
(UAA) and East Turkestan National Congress
(ETNC). Rebiya Kadeer is the current president, elected
in 2006. There is no known link between the WUC
and the ETIM. The WUC aim is to promote the right
of the Uyghur people to use peaceful, nonviolent, and
democratic means to determine the political future
of East Turkestan. The organization is funded in part
by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED),
which gives the WUC $215,000 annually for “human
rights research and advocacy projects.” The NED is a
U.S. nonprofit organization founded in 1983 to promote
democracy by providing cash grants funded
primarily through an annual allocation from the U.S.
Congress. President Kadeer met former U.S. President
George W. Bush in June 2007.
The Uyghur American Association (UAA) is a
Washington DC-based advocacy organization. It was
established in 1998 by a group of Uyghur scholars to
raise American public awareness of the Uyghur people
in East Turkestan and other parts of the world. The
UAA receives $249,000 annually from the NED for the
human rights research and advocacy projects. 197
The WUC got a boost in 2005 with the release of
Rebiya Kadeer and her arrival in the United States.
Kadeer is a very dynamic and charismatic leader. She
soon took over the leadership of WUC. Under her
leadership, the WUC distanced itself from the militant
groups. It will take a long-term approach to pursue
their goals. They are relocating their action center to
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