The ETPRP was founded in 1969 or earlier in Xinjiang, China. It was made up of mainly Uyghurs, but also had a small number of Kazakh fighters.[1] According to Chinese historian Zhang Yuxi, the ETPRP may have been established secretly in 1963.[2] Former members of the ETPRP claimed that the party had around 60,000 members and 178 underground branches in 1969; however, this had not been verified by a third-party.[1]