Lamenting China’s occupation of his homeland while recounting how Beijing has exploited his people and tried to destroy their culture, Japan Uyghur Association chairman Ilham Mahmut recounted how he become an activist for the independence of East Turkestan — now under Chinese rule as Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region — and urged Taiwanese to be cautious when dealing with China to avoid history repeating itself.

“When you try to deal with the Chinese, it is important to remember that the Chinese Communist Party [CCP] government could make hundreds or thousands of beautiful promises, but none of those will ever be realized,” Ilham told the Taipei Times in an interview on Thursday in Taipei.