Wow, let's not get revisionists here. A quick study of history books published outside of China will tell you that the Uighur people were fighting with Manchu (Qing dynasty), Tibetan, and Russian (first Czarists, then the Soviets) control for independence for much longer than their more recent struggle with Han Chinese. It’s not an one-on-one fight as you mentioned… more like an one-on-all conflict.