Discrimination against Chinese Indonesians
Encyclopedia
Discrimination against people of Chinese descent in Indonesia has been recorded since at least 1740, when the Dutch Colonial Government
killed up to 10,000 people of Chinese descent during the Chinezenmoord
. In the period since then, discrimination and violence have been recorded both foreign and Indonesian governments. The worst outbreaks took place in 1998, when hundreds of Chinese were killed and dozens more raped during the May 1998 riots.
The discrimination can take the form of violence, diction
or language use, and restrictive legislation. Due to this discrimination, Chinese Indonesians have suffered an identity crisis
, unable to be accepted by both native Chinese and native Indonesians.
in 1740, Tangerang
in 1946, during the period after the 30 September Movement
, and during the May 1998 riots.
Chinese Indonesians have become “the typical scapegoat
” in situations where widespread discontent and social unrest becomes violent. The scapegoating has become more pronounced during the period since Indonesia’s independence.
usage, at both the regional and national levels. The term Cina, the use of which was mandated in 1967 instead of the then-commonly used Tionghoa, was perceived as having similar negative connotations to inlander for Native Indonesians and nigger
for people of African descent
. The term Tionghoa began to be used again after the beginning of Reformation, but by then Cina was not considered negative by the younger generation of Chinese Indonesians.
In different regions different terms have come into use that reflect common stereotypes. The following examples are from Surakarta
.
, legislation was introduced specifically against Chinese Indonesians. One of the first was in 1816 and required ethnic Chinese to carry a special pass at all times. This was later expanded on during the Sukarno regime, with all Chinese Indonesians being required to state their intent to stay Indonesian citizens in 1958 and in 1959 being forbidden from doing business outside of urban areas.
This continued into the New Order. Chinese Indonesians were forced to choose Indonesian-sounding names, forbidden to practice their traditions, and required to obtain extra proof of citizenship. In total, forty five directly or indirectly discriminatory laws were passed during the New Order. Although the majority of this legislation was rescinded during the presidencies of Abdurrahman Wahid
and Megawati Sukarnoputri
, instances of enforcement continue.
was the arrival of Mongol
forces under Kublai Khan
that culminated in the Mongol invasion of Java
in 1293. The Mongols introduced Chinese technology to the island, particularly shipbuilding
and Ancient Chinese coinage. Their intervention also hastened the decline of the classical kingdoms and precipitated the rise of the Majapahit empire.
Later, Chinese Muslim traders from the eastern coast of China arrived at the coastal towns of Indonesia and Malaysia in the early 15th century. They were led by the mariner Zheng He
, who led several expeditions to southeastern Asia between 1405 and 1430. These traders settled along the northern coast of Java
, but there is no further documentation of their settlements beyond the 16th century. Scholars believe that the Chinese Muslims became absorbed into the majority Muslim population, until no Chinese communities remained when the Dutch arrived. Trade from China was re-established when it legalized private trade in 1567 and began licensing 50 junks
a year. Distinct Chinese colonies emerged in ports throughout the archipelago, including the pepper port of Banten
.
city walls, with another 15,000 individuals living outside of the city limits. Due to Chinese support of Native Indonesian campaigns against the Dutch, on 25 July 1740 the Dutch passed a resolution to "kill or disappear" Chinese who did not have a pass and were unemployed; in practice this included traders and businessmen unwilling to be blackmail
ed. Those so rounded up were put on ships to Ceylon. Other Chinese homes were subject to random searches, often accompanied by assault and robbery.
Rumours soon spread that those sent to Ceylon were being killed, and the Chinese armed themselves. As the situation became tenser, Governor General Adriaan Valckenier
held an emergency plenary session. On 7 October 1740, a group of hundreds of Chinese Indonesians attacked a Dutch stronghold in Tanah Abang
, killing 50. In response, a troop of 1,800 Company soldiers led by Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff, together with militia and conscripts ' onMouseout='HidePop("83916")' href="/topics/1740_Batavia_massacre">ethnic cleansing
campaign. They were later joined by Native Indonesians, fed by rumors of Chinese plans for rape and mass murder. For two weeks, the troops burned Chinese-owned houses and stores, killing ethnic Chinese and dumping their bodies in the Ciliwung River
. Eventually an estimated 10,000 were killed, including 500 prisoners and hospital patients. The surviving Chinese Indonesians in Batavia were moved to an area outside of the wall, in what is now Glodok
. This was later applied to other cities, where Chinatown
s were built to segregate the Chinese and other ethnic groups.
When the VOC was nationalized on 31 December 1799, the freedoms the Chinese experienced under the corporation were taken away by the Dutch government. An 1816 regulation introduced a requirement for the indigenous population and Chinese traveling within the territory to obtain a travel permit. Those who did not carry a permit risked being arrested by security officers. The Governor-General also introduced a resolution in 1825 which forbade "foreign Asians" from living within the same neighborhood as the native population.
During the Java War
, thousands of Chinese Indonesians were killed by Prince Diponegoro
's forces during raids on the southern coast of Java. Survivors fled to the northern coast or to Dutch settlements for protection. Setiono cites the Chinese's status as tax collectors and loan providers as a cause, as well as Diponegoro's belief that the Chinese brought bad luck upon his campaign.
In 1848, the Dutch colonial government enacted the legislation sorting all inhabitants of the archipelago into two groups, based on whether or not they practiced Christianity. This was later amended in 1855, combining Native Indonesian, Chinese, Arab
, and Indian Christians with non-Christians. However, in practice the “foreign Orientals”, were subject to separate regulations.
By 1912, the Dutch government had abandoned the policy of segregation. During the same period, the Xinhai Revolution
awakened Chinese nationalism in the ethnic Chinese, while Sarekat Islam
worked to awaken Indonesian nationalism in the Native Indonesian populace. Tensions between Sarekat Islam and the ethnic Chinese led to racially-charged riots in Surakarta
(1912), Tangerang
(1913), and Kudus (31 October 1918). Of these riots, the largest was in Kudus, where a group of rioters burned and looted forty houses and numerous Chinese temples. At least 16 were killed in the riots.
in 1942, at least 542 ethnic Chinese from Java and Madura
were arrested and detained in the Cimahi concentration camp; this group included leaders, spouses of Europeans, and Chinese who were legally considered Europeans. Chinese organizations were disbanded and banned. Not long afterwards, ethnic Chinese were required to register themselves and pledge their allegiance to the Japanese army. Despite Japanese attempts to quell dissent, there were several underground resistance movements led by ethnic Chinese.
This was followed by the Pontianak affair in October 1943. Over 1,500 people were arrested or killed by the Japanese occupying forces in an attempt to prevent a multi-ethnic rebellion. Ethnic Chinese were the largest single group targeted, with 854 killed in the affair.
From 30 May to 4 June 1946, attacks from Indonesian freedom fighters killed 653 Chinese Indonesians. Roughly a thousand Chinese Indonesian-owned homes were burned; Mely G. Tan
notes this as the worst of the violence targeted at Chinese Indonesians during the war. More cases were reported in Karawaci
, Bayur, and Bagansiapiapi
.
declared that Chinese citizenship was jus sanguinis
. This led to a treaty between China and Indonesia regarding the legal status of Chinese Indonesians, which formed the basis for the Citizenship Law of 1958. This law required all Chinese Indonesians to choose between Chinese and Indonesian citizenship, making a statement at the nearest district court. Approximately 390,000 ethnic Chinese rejected Chinese citizenship.
In May 1959, the Sukarno government passed legislation revoking the trading rights of foreign nationals in rural areas; this was based on two previous, lower-level legislations. Due to uncertainty relating to the legal status of the ethnic Chinese, they were included as well. This led to the exodus of between 102,000 and 136,000 Chinese Indonesians, who left for China on ships sent by the Chinese government.
Between 1963 and early 1965, the situation for Chinese Indonesians generally became more stable. Numerous Chinese-language schools were opened and a the Chinese-language press flourished. However, there were still minor attacks on Chinese Indonesians in Cirebon
, Sukabumi
, and Bandung
in 1963.
coup, Chinese Indonesians were targeted due to suspected ties to the Indonesian Communist Party. Property was targeted by rioters, and numerous Chinese Indonesians were killed; the number killed has been subject to debate, with the total ranging from “hundreds” to “hundreds of thousands”. Large pogroms happened throughout Java, as well as in Makassar
and Medan
.
During the same period, numerous discriminative laws were passed. In April 1966, all Chinese schools (at the time numbering 629) were closed. On 8 May 1966, Territorial Military Commander of Aceh
Ishak Djarsa declared that all ethnic Chinese had to leave Aceh prior to 17 August 1966; this was followed by a similar decree by the North Sumatra
government. In 1967, the usage of the term Cina, considered disparaging, became mandated for all official communications.
On 5 August 1973, a riot in Bandung
, West Java
, caused by three Chinese Indonesian teenagers beating another driver to death after a minor traffic accident, led to the looting and destruction of more than 1,500 Chinese Indonesian-owned shops and houses. The riots were not stopped by the local military; nineteen soldiers were arrested for participating in the riots. The riots were later blamed on an underground section of the PKI.
On 15 January 1974, student demonstrations against corruption, foreign investment, and President Suharto's clique of personal assistants
were diverted by suspected Special Forces provocateurs
into a full riot., and later an anti-Chinese Indonesian pogrom
. Stores in Glodok
, owned by ethnic Chinese, were looted and burned; the largest of these was the Senen shopping complex. The security forces did almost nothing to stop the looting. The demonstrations and their aftermath came to be known as the Malari incident
.
In 1978, the government began requiring a Letter of Proof of Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia . Although the SBKRI was legally required for all citizens of foreign descent, in practice it was generally applied to the Chinese. This led to difficulties for Chinese Indonesians when enrolling in state universities, applying to be civil servants, or joining the military or police.
Suharto's economic programs continued to work, with Indonesia experiencing an economic boom with its Gross Domestic Product growing at a rate of 8 percent in 1996, led by the manufacturing sector. However, the Asian Financial Crisis caused the rupiah
to collapse and economic growth slowed to 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter. Unable to stabilize the economy, the government sought assistance from the International Monetary Fund
. With rising unemployment and inflated food prices, the public lost confidence in the government's ability to turn the economy around. By the beginning of May 1998, students had been demonstrating in campuses throughout Medan
for nearly two months. The growing number of demonstrators was coupled with increasing calls from the public for overall reforms.
On 4 May, more than 500 protestors from the State Institute of Teacher Training and Education
(, IKIP Negeri) were barricaded and allegedly had Molotov cocktail
s thrown at them. Eventually, police reportedly stopped a group of students and assaulted them. Word of this attack spread through several witnesses, and a large group later attacked and destroyed a traffic police post. When more officers arrived to confront the group, the station was attacked. Not long after, shops owned by Chinese Indonesians were looted, while they reportedly left those marked with the words "" (owned by the indigenous pribumi
) in graffiti alone. When the Mobile Brigade arrived in the afternoon, the crowd was dispersed with tear gas. As businesses in Medan closed on the following day, thousands of people attacked markets throughout the city and its surrounding districts. Police and anti-riot soldiers fired rubber bullet
s at the crowd to disperse them but were unsuccessful. When the violence ended two days later, six people had died and one hundred were injured.
On 12 May, less than a week after the violence in Medan subsided, the police shot four protesting students
. Mass violence began almost simultaneously throughout Jakarta the following day. Mobs also attacked Glodok
in the northwestern part of the city, where the commercial area of Jakarta's Chinatown was badly damaged. Some store owners reportedly paid local thugs to protect them from the violence because security forces were largely absent. This violence spread to numerous cities throughout Indonesia on 14 and 15 May, including Surabaya
, Palembang
, Surakarta
, and Boyolali
. After the riots, there were dozens of documented accounts of ethnic Chinese women being raped; the total number of mass gang-rapes may have reached 468, with 168 victims in Jakarta alone. The incidents caused President Suharto to resign and Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie to become President of Indonesia.
, recalled the legislation forbidding the practice of Chinese culture and use of Mandarin in public. In 2002, Megawati Sukarnoputri
declared Chinese New Year
a national holiday
. However, some discriminative legislation still remains.
Chinese Indonesians have been “embraced” by the government, with numerous mixed-ethnic cultural presentations and media activity. By 2004, there were three Chinese Indonesian members of the Peoples Representative Council, as well as one cabinet member.
Discrimination, distrust, and violence against Chinese Indonesians is caused in part by a perception that they are still loyal to China, and only see Indonesia as a place to live and work. They are also seen as being “exclusive”, unwilling to mingle with other ethnic groups, as well as discriminating against native Indonesians in their business relations.
Sociologist Mely G. Tan
notes that presently many Chinese Indonesian families have prepared escape plans in case of further riots and find themselves unable to trust ethnic Indonesians. She also notes that younger Chinese Indonesians are increasingly impatient with the inability of the government and military to prevent inter-ethnic violence.
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
killed up to 10,000 people of Chinese descent during the Chinezenmoord
1740 Batavia massacre
The 1740 Batavia massacre was a pogrom against ethnic Chinese living in the port city of Batavia, the Dutch East Indies , that occurred between 9 and 22 October 1740....
. In the period since then, discrimination and violence have been recorded both foreign and Indonesian governments. The worst outbreaks took place in 1998, when hundreds of Chinese were killed and dozens more raped during the May 1998 riots.
The discrimination can take the form of violence, diction
Diction
Diction , in its original, primary meaning, refers to the writer's or the speaker's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression in a poem or story...
or language use, and restrictive legislation. Due to this discrimination, Chinese Indonesians have suffered an identity crisis
Identity crisis (psychology)
"Identity crisis is the failure to achieve ego identity during adolescence." The term was coined by the psychologist Erik Erikson. The stage of psychosocial development in which identity crisis may occur is called the Identity Cohesion versus Role Confusion stage...
, unable to be accepted by both native Chinese and native Indonesians.
Violence
Violence against Chinese Indonesians is generally limited to property, including factories and shops. However, killings and assaults have happened, including in BataviaJakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
in 1740, Tangerang
Tangerang
Tangerang is a city in the Province of Banten, Indonesia. It is located about 25 km west of Jakarta. It is the third largest urban center in the Jabotabek region after Jakarta and Bekasi. It has an area of 164.54 km² and an official intercensal estimated population of 1,537,244 for 2005...
in 1946, during the period after the 30 September Movement
30 September Movement
The Thirtieth of September Movement ) was a self-proclaimed organization of Indonesian National Armed Forces members who, in the early hours of 1 October 1965, assassinated six Indonesian Army generals in an abortive coup d'état. Later that morning, the organization declared that it was in control...
, and during the May 1998 riots.
Chinese Indonesians have become “the typical scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
” in situations where widespread discontent and social unrest becomes violent. The scapegoating has become more pronounced during the period since Indonesia’s independence.
Language
Terms considered disparaging against Chinese Indonesians have entered common IndonesianIndonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
usage, at both the regional and national levels. The term Cina, the use of which was mandated in 1967 instead of the then-commonly used Tionghoa, was perceived as having similar negative connotations to inlander for Native Indonesians and nigger
Nigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
for people of African descent
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
. The term Tionghoa began to be used again after the beginning of Reformation, but by then Cina was not considered negative by the younger generation of Chinese Indonesians.
In different regions different terms have come into use that reflect common stereotypes. The following examples are from Surakarta
Surakarta
Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...
.
| Original | Translation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Porsi Cina | Chinese portion | The largest portion of food |
| Mambu Cina | Smelling of the Chinese | Newly-purchased items |
| Tangisan Cina | Chinese tears | False tears, crocodile tears |
Legislation
Beginning in the Colonial EraDutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
, legislation was introduced specifically against Chinese Indonesians. One of the first was in 1816 and required ethnic Chinese to carry a special pass at all times. This was later expanded on during the Sukarno regime, with all Chinese Indonesians being required to state their intent to stay Indonesian citizens in 1958 and in 1959 being forbidden from doing business outside of urban areas.
This continued into the New Order. Chinese Indonesians were forced to choose Indonesian-sounding names, forbidden to practice their traditions, and required to obtain extra proof of citizenship. In total, forty five directly or indirectly discriminatory laws were passed during the New Order. Although the majority of this legislation was rescinded during the presidencies of Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid, born Abdurrahman Addakhil , colloquially known as , was an Indonesian Muslim religious and political leader who served as the President of Indonesia from 1999 to 2001...
and Megawati Sukarnoputri
Megawati Sukarnoputri
In this Indonesian name, the name "Sukarnoputri" is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name "Megawati"....
, instances of enforcement continue.
Background
Based on Chinese artifacts found in Indonesia, China is thought to have had trading relations with the Indonesian archipelago since the first century B.C. However, the first recorded movement of people from China into the Maritime Southeast AsiaMaritime Southeast Asia
Maritime Southeast Asia refers to the maritime region of Southeast Asia as opposed to mainland Southeast Asia and includes the modern countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, East Timor and Singapore....
was the arrival of Mongol
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
forces under Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan
Kublai Khan , born Kublai and also known by the temple name Shizu , was the fifth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire from 1260 to 1294 and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty in China...
that culminated in the Mongol invasion of Java
Mongol invasion of Java
In 1293, Kublai Khan, the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire and the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, sent a large invasion fleet to Java with 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers...
in 1293. The Mongols introduced Chinese technology to the island, particularly shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
and Ancient Chinese coinage. Their intervention also hastened the decline of the classical kingdoms and precipitated the rise of the Majapahit empire.
Later, Chinese Muslim traders from the eastern coast of China arrived at the coastal towns of Indonesia and Malaysia in the early 15th century. They were led by the mariner Zheng He
Zheng He
Zheng He , also known as Ma Sanbao and Hajji Mahmud Shamsuddin was a Hui-Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who commanded voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and East Africa, collectively referred to as the Voyages of Zheng He or Voyages of Cheng Ho from...
, who led several expeditions to southeastern Asia between 1405 and 1430. These traders settled along the northern coast of Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, but there is no further documentation of their settlements beyond the 16th century. Scholars believe that the Chinese Muslims became absorbed into the majority Muslim population, until no Chinese communities remained when the Dutch arrived. Trade from China was re-established when it legalized private trade in 1567 and began licensing 50 junks
Junk (ship)
A junk is an ancient Chinese sailing vessel design still in use today. Junks were developed during the Han Dynasty and were used as sea-going vessels as early as the 2nd century AD. They evolved in the later dynasties, and were used throughout Asia for extensive ocean voyages...
a year. Distinct Chinese colonies emerged in ports throughout the archipelago, including the pepper port of Banten
Banten
Banten is a province of Indonesia in Java. Formerly part of the Province of West Java, it was made a separate province in 2000.The administrative center is Serang. Preliminary results from the 2010 census counted some 10.6 million people.-Geography:...
.
Colonial era
By 1740, there were over 2,500 Chinese-owned houses within the BataviaJakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
city walls, with another 15,000 individuals living outside of the city limits. Due to Chinese support of Native Indonesian campaigns against the Dutch, on 25 July 1740 the Dutch passed a resolution to "kill or disappear" Chinese who did not have a pass and were unemployed; in practice this included traders and businessmen unwilling to be blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
ed. Those so rounded up were put on ships to Ceylon. Other Chinese homes were subject to random searches, often accompanied by assault and robbery.
Rumours soon spread that those sent to Ceylon were being killed, and the Chinese armed themselves. As the situation became tenser, Governor General Adriaan Valckenier
Adriaan Valckenier
Adriaan Valckenier , was Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies from 3 May 1737 until 6 November 1741....
held an emergency plenary session. On 7 October 1740, a group of hundreds of Chinese Indonesians attacked a Dutch stronghold in Tanah Abang
Tanah Abang
Tanah Abang is a subdistrict of Central Jakarta, Indonesia. The subdistrict hosts the biggest textile market in Southeast Asia, Tanah Abang Market...
, killing 50. In response, a troop of 1,800 Company soldiers led by Gustaaf Willem van Imhoff, together with militia and conscripts ' onMouseout='HidePop("83916")' href="/topics/1740_Batavia_massacre">ethnic cleansing
1740 Batavia massacre
The 1740 Batavia massacre was a pogrom against ethnic Chinese living in the port city of Batavia, the Dutch East Indies , that occurred between 9 and 22 October 1740....
campaign. They were later joined by Native Indonesians, fed by rumors of Chinese plans for rape and mass murder. For two weeks, the troops burned Chinese-owned houses and stores, killing ethnic Chinese and dumping their bodies in the Ciliwung River
Ciliwung River
Ciliwung is a river that passes through Jakarta, Indonesia. The river flows from its source near Puncak on the highlands of West Java to the Jakarta Bay....
. Eventually an estimated 10,000 were killed, including 500 prisoners and hospital patients. The surviving Chinese Indonesians in Batavia were moved to an area outside of the wall, in what is now Glodok
Glodok
Glodok is a part of the Jakarta, Indonesia. The area is also known as Pecinan or Chinatown since the Dutch colonial era, and is considered the biggest in Indonesia, as a majority of the traders in Glodok are of Chinese descent...
. This was later applied to other cities, where Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
s were built to segregate the Chinese and other ethnic groups.
When the VOC was nationalized on 31 December 1799, the freedoms the Chinese experienced under the corporation were taken away by the Dutch government. An 1816 regulation introduced a requirement for the indigenous population and Chinese traveling within the territory to obtain a travel permit. Those who did not carry a permit risked being arrested by security officers. The Governor-General also introduced a resolution in 1825 which forbade "foreign Asians" from living within the same neighborhood as the native population.
During the Java War
Java War
The Java War or Diponegoro War was fought in Java between 1825 and 1830. It started as a rebellion led by Prince Diponegoro. The proximate cause was the Dutch decision to build a road across a piece of his property that contained his parents' tomb...
, thousands of Chinese Indonesians were killed by Prince Diponegoro
Diponegoro
Diponegoro , also known as Dipanegara, was a Javanese prince who opposed the Dutch colonial rule. He played an important role in the Java War...
's forces during raids on the southern coast of Java. Survivors fled to the northern coast or to Dutch settlements for protection. Setiono cites the Chinese's status as tax collectors and loan providers as a cause, as well as Diponegoro's belief that the Chinese brought bad luck upon his campaign.
In 1848, the Dutch colonial government enacted the legislation sorting all inhabitants of the archipelago into two groups, based on whether or not they practiced Christianity. This was later amended in 1855, combining Native Indonesian, Chinese, Arab
Arab Indonesian
Arab Indonesians are citizens of Indonesia of Arab, mainly Hadrami, descent. Restricted under Dutch East Indies' law until 1919, the community elites later gained economic power through real estate investment and trading...
, and Indian Christians with non-Christians. However, in practice the “foreign Orientals”, were subject to separate regulations.
By 1912, the Dutch government had abandoned the policy of segregation. During the same period, the Xinhai Revolution
Xinhai Revolution
The Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, also known as Revolution of 1911 or the Chinese Revolution, was a revolution that overthrew China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing , and established the Republic of China...
awakened Chinese nationalism in the ethnic Chinese, while Sarekat Islam
Sarekat Islam
Sarekat Islam, formerly Sarekat Dagang Islam, was a Javanese batik traders's cooperative in Indonesia.Sarekat Dagang Islam was founded by Haji Samanhudi, a businessman in Surakarta, in 1905 or 1912. His business was trading in batik, the traditional cloth made in Java...
worked to awaken Indonesian nationalism in the Native Indonesian populace. Tensions between Sarekat Islam and the ethnic Chinese led to racially-charged riots in Surakarta
Surakarta
Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...
(1912), Tangerang
Tangerang
Tangerang is a city in the Province of Banten, Indonesia. It is located about 25 km west of Jakarta. It is the third largest urban center in the Jabotabek region after Jakarta and Bekasi. It has an area of 164.54 km² and an official intercensal estimated population of 1,537,244 for 2005...
(1913), and Kudus (31 October 1918). Of these riots, the largest was in Kudus, where a group of rioters burned and looted forty houses and numerous Chinese temples. At least 16 were killed in the riots.
Japanese occupation and National Revolution (1942–1949)
After the Japanese occupied IndonesiaJapanese Occupation of Indonesia
The Japanese Empire occupied Indonesia, known then as the Dutch East Indies, during World War II from March 1942 until after the end of War in 1945...
in 1942, at least 542 ethnic Chinese from Java and Madura
Madura
Madura is an Indonesian island off the northeastern coast of Java. The island comprises an area of approximately 4,250 km². Madura is administered as part of the East Java province. It is separated from Java by the narrow Strait of Madura.-History:...
were arrested and detained in the Cimahi concentration camp; this group included leaders, spouses of Europeans, and Chinese who were legally considered Europeans. Chinese organizations were disbanded and banned. Not long afterwards, ethnic Chinese were required to register themselves and pledge their allegiance to the Japanese army. Despite Japanese attempts to quell dissent, there were several underground resistance movements led by ethnic Chinese.
This was followed by the Pontianak affair in October 1943. Over 1,500 people were arrested or killed by the Japanese occupying forces in an attempt to prevent a multi-ethnic rebellion. Ethnic Chinese were the largest single group targeted, with 854 killed in the affair.
From 30 May to 4 June 1946, attacks from Indonesian freedom fighters killed 653 Chinese Indonesians. Roughly a thousand Chinese Indonesian-owned homes were burned; Mely G. Tan
Mely G. Tan
Mely Tan Giok Lan , professionally known as Mely G. Tan, is a Chinese Indonesian sociologist. Tan obtained her bachelor's degree from the University of Indonesia, later receiving a scholarship to study at Cornell University...
notes this as the worst of the violence targeted at Chinese Indonesians during the war. More cases were reported in Karawaci
Karawaci, Tangerang
Karawaci is a subdistrict of Tangerang, Banten, Indonesia. It has an area of 13.475 km² and population of 150,574. Lippo Karawaci, a planned community, is located here.The subdistrict is divided into 16 administrative villages ....
, Bayur, and Bagansiapiapi
Bagansiapiapi
Bagansiapiapi is a small town near Dumai, Riau, Indonesia. The town is the capital of Rokan Hilir Regency in the Riau Province and is located on the east coast of Sumatra, on the Rokan River delta across the strait west of Malacca.-History:The town was originally populated mainly by Chinese...
.
Old Order (1949–1965)
In 1955, Zhou EnlaiZhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from October 1949 until his death in January 1976...
declared that Chinese citizenship was jus sanguinis
Jus sanguinis
Ius sanguinis is a social policy by which citizenship is not determined by place of birth, but by having a parent who are citizens of the nation...
. This led to a treaty between China and Indonesia regarding the legal status of Chinese Indonesians, which formed the basis for the Citizenship Law of 1958. This law required all Chinese Indonesians to choose between Chinese and Indonesian citizenship, making a statement at the nearest district court. Approximately 390,000 ethnic Chinese rejected Chinese citizenship.
In May 1959, the Sukarno government passed legislation revoking the trading rights of foreign nationals in rural areas; this was based on two previous, lower-level legislations. Due to uncertainty relating to the legal status of the ethnic Chinese, they were included as well. This led to the exodus of between 102,000 and 136,000 Chinese Indonesians, who left for China on ships sent by the Chinese government.
Between 1963 and early 1965, the situation for Chinese Indonesians generally became more stable. Numerous Chinese-language schools were opened and a the Chinese-language press flourished. However, there were still minor attacks on Chinese Indonesians in Cirebon
Cirebon
Cirebon is a port city on the north coast of the Indonesian island of Java. It is located in the province of West Java near the provincial border with Central Java, approximately 297 km east of Jakarta, at .The seat of a former Sultanate, the city's West and Central Java border location have...
, Sukabumi
Sukabumi
Sukabumi is a city surrounded by the regency of the same name in the highlands of West Java, Indonesia, about south of the national capital, Jakarta....
, and Bandung
Bandung
Bandung is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, and the country's third largest city, and 2nd largest metropolitan area in Indonesia, with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 metres above sea level, approximately 140 km southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler...
in 1963.
New Order (1965–1998)
During the riots following the abortive 30 September Movement30 September Movement
The Thirtieth of September Movement ) was a self-proclaimed organization of Indonesian National Armed Forces members who, in the early hours of 1 October 1965, assassinated six Indonesian Army generals in an abortive coup d'état. Later that morning, the organization declared that it was in control...
coup, Chinese Indonesians were targeted due to suspected ties to the Indonesian Communist Party. Property was targeted by rioters, and numerous Chinese Indonesians were killed; the number killed has been subject to debate, with the total ranging from “hundreds” to “hundreds of thousands”. Large pogroms happened throughout Java, as well as in Makassar
Makassar
Makassar, is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the largest city on Sulawesi Island. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, and the two names are often used interchangeably...
and Medan
Medan
- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....
.
During the same period, numerous discriminative laws were passed. In April 1966, all Chinese schools (at the time numbering 629) were closed. On 8 May 1966, Territorial Military Commander of Aceh
Aceh
Aceh is a special region of Indonesia, located on the northern tip of the island of Sumatra. Its full name is Daerah Istimewa Aceh , Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam and Aceh . Past spellings of its name include Acheh, Atjeh and Achin...
Ishak Djarsa declared that all ethnic Chinese had to leave Aceh prior to 17 August 1966; this was followed by a similar decree by the North Sumatra
North Sumatra
North Sumatra is a province of Indonesia on the Sumatra island. Its capital is Medan. It is the most populous Indonesian province outside of Java. It is slightly larger than Sri Lanka in area.- Geography and population :...
government. In 1967, the usage of the term Cina, considered disparaging, became mandated for all official communications.
On 5 August 1973, a riot in Bandung
Bandung
Bandung is the capital of West Java province in Indonesia, and the country's third largest city, and 2nd largest metropolitan area in Indonesia, with a population of 7.4 million in 2007. Located 768 metres above sea level, approximately 140 km southeast of Jakarta, Bandung has cooler...
, West Java
West Java
West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
, caused by three Chinese Indonesian teenagers beating another driver to death after a minor traffic accident, led to the looting and destruction of more than 1,500 Chinese Indonesian-owned shops and houses. The riots were not stopped by the local military; nineteen soldiers were arrested for participating in the riots. The riots were later blamed on an underground section of the PKI.
On 15 January 1974, student demonstrations against corruption, foreign investment, and President Suharto's clique of personal assistants
Aspri
The Asisten Pribadi or better known by its acronym, Aspri, was President of Indonesia Suharto's team of advisors from its formation in 1968 until it was disbanded in early 1974.-History:Aspri was the successor institution to the personal staff...
were diverted by suspected Special Forces provocateurs
Agent provocateur
Traditionally, an agent provocateur is a person employed by the police or other entity to act undercover to entice or provoke another person to commit an illegal act...
into a full riot., and later an anti-Chinese Indonesian pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
. Stores in Glodok
Glodok
Glodok is a part of the Jakarta, Indonesia. The area is also known as Pecinan or Chinatown since the Dutch colonial era, and is considered the biggest in Indonesia, as a majority of the traders in Glodok are of Chinese descent...
, owned by ethnic Chinese, were looted and burned; the largest of these was the Senen shopping complex. The security forces did almost nothing to stop the looting. The demonstrations and their aftermath came to be known as the Malari incident
Malari incident
The Malari incident was a student demonstration and riot that happened from 15 to 16 January 1974. In reaction to a state visit by Japan Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka, students held a demonstration protesting corruption, high prices, and inequality in foreign investments...
.
In 1978, the government began requiring a Letter of Proof of Citizenship of the Republic of Indonesia . Although the SBKRI was legally required for all citizens of foreign descent, in practice it was generally applied to the Chinese. This led to difficulties for Chinese Indonesians when enrolling in state universities, applying to be civil servants, or joining the military or police.
Suharto's economic programs continued to work, with Indonesia experiencing an economic boom with its Gross Domestic Product growing at a rate of 8 percent in 1996, led by the manufacturing sector. However, the Asian Financial Crisis caused the rupiah
Indonesian rupiah
The rupiah is the official currency of Indonesia. Issued and controlled by the Bank of Indonesia, the ISO 4217 currency code for the Indonesian rupiah is IDR. Informally, Indonesians also use the word "perak" in referring to rupiah...
to collapse and economic growth slowed to 1.4 percent in the fourth quarter. Unable to stabilize the economy, the government sought assistance from the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
. With rising unemployment and inflated food prices, the public lost confidence in the government's ability to turn the economy around. By the beginning of May 1998, students had been demonstrating in campuses throughout Medan
Medan
- Demography :The city is Indonesia's fourth most populous after Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bandung, and Indonesia's largest city outside of Java island. Much of the population lies outside its city limits, especially in Deli Serdang....
for nearly two months. The growing number of demonstrators was coupled with increasing calls from the public for overall reforms.
On 4 May, more than 500 protestors from the State Institute of Teacher Training and Education
State University of Medan
State University of Medan or UNIMED is a public university located in the city of Medan in North Sumatra, Indonesia.-History:State University of Medan was originally established in 1956 as the Teachers Training College in Medan...
(, IKIP Negeri) were barricaded and allegedly had Molotov cocktail
Molotov cocktail
The Molotov cocktail, also known as the petrol bomb, gasoline bomb, Molotov bomb, fire bottle, fire bomb, or simply Molotov, is a generic name used for a variety of improvised incendiary weapons...
s thrown at them. Eventually, police reportedly stopped a group of students and assaulted them. Word of this attack spread through several witnesses, and a large group later attacked and destroyed a traffic police post. When more officers arrived to confront the group, the station was attacked. Not long after, shops owned by Chinese Indonesians were looted, while they reportedly left those marked with the words "" (owned by the indigenous pribumi
Pribumi
Native Indonesians are also known as Pribumi, literally meaning "sons of the soil", is a term that refers to a population group in Indonesia that shares a similar sociocultural heritage...
) in graffiti alone. When the Mobile Brigade arrived in the afternoon, the crowd was dispersed with tear gas. As businesses in Medan closed on the following day, thousands of people attacked markets throughout the city and its surrounding districts. Police and anti-riot soldiers fired rubber bullet
Rubber bullet
Rubber bullets are rubber or rubber-coated projectiles that can be fired from either standard firearms or dedicated riot guns. They are intended to be a non-lethal alternative to metal projectiles...
s at the crowd to disperse them but were unsuccessful. When the violence ended two days later, six people had died and one hundred were injured.
On 12 May, less than a week after the violence in Medan subsided, the police shot four protesting students
Trisakti shootings
The Trisakti shootings occurred at Trisakti University, Jakarta, Indonesia on 12 May 1998. At a demonstration asking for president Suharto's resignation, soldiers opened fire on unarmed protestors. Four students, Elang Mulia Lesmana, Heri Hertanto, Hafidin Royan, and Hendriawan Sie, were killed;...
. Mass violence began almost simultaneously throughout Jakarta the following day. Mobs also attacked Glodok
Glodok
Glodok is a part of the Jakarta, Indonesia. The area is also known as Pecinan or Chinatown since the Dutch colonial era, and is considered the biggest in Indonesia, as a majority of the traders in Glodok are of Chinese descent...
in the northwestern part of the city, where the commercial area of Jakarta's Chinatown was badly damaged. Some store owners reportedly paid local thugs to protect them from the violence because security forces were largely absent. This violence spread to numerous cities throughout Indonesia on 14 and 15 May, including Surabaya
Surabaya
Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...
, Palembang
Palembang
Palembang is the capital city of the South Sumatra province in Indonesia. Palembang is one of the oldest cities in Indonesia, and has a history of being a capital of a maritime empire. Located on the Musi River banks on the east coast of southern Sumatra island, it has an area of 400.61 square...
, Surakarta
Surakarta
Surakarta, also called Solo or Sala, is a city in Central Java, Indonesia of more than 520,061 people with a population density of 11,811.5 people/km2. The 44 km2 city adjoins Karanganyar Regency and Boyolali Regency to the north, Karanganyar Regency and Sukoharjo Regency to the east and...
, and Boyolali
Boyolali
Boyolali is a regency in the eastern part of Central Java province in Indonesia. Its capital is Boyolali.-Geography:The capital also named as Boyolali and lies 27 km to the west from Solo....
. After the riots, there were dozens of documented accounts of ethnic Chinese women being raped; the total number of mass gang-rapes may have reached 468, with 168 victims in Jakarta alone. The incidents caused President Suharto to resign and Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie to become President of Indonesia.
Reformation (1998 – present)
After the fall of Suharto, numerous discriminative laws were recalled and others promoting unity were passed. President Habibie passed legislation requiring the elimination of the terms pribumi and non-pribumi (native Indonesian and non-native) in 1998. In 2000, the next president, Abdurrahman WahidAbdurrahman Wahid
Abdurrahman Wahid, born Abdurrahman Addakhil , colloquially known as , was an Indonesian Muslim religious and political leader who served as the President of Indonesia from 1999 to 2001...
, recalled the legislation forbidding the practice of Chinese culture and use of Mandarin in public. In 2002, Megawati Sukarnoputri
Megawati Sukarnoputri
In this Indonesian name, the name "Sukarnoputri" is a patronymic, not a family name, and the person should be referred to by the given name "Megawati"....
declared Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year
Chinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...
a national holiday
Public holidays in Indonesia
The following table indicates declared Indonesian government national holidays for the year 2012 only—cultural variants also provide opportunity for holidays tied to local events. Beside official holiday, there are the so-called "libur bersama" or "cuti bersama", or joint leave declared nationwide...
. However, some discriminative legislation still remains.
Chinese Indonesians have been “embraced” by the government, with numerous mixed-ethnic cultural presentations and media activity. By 2004, there were three Chinese Indonesian members of the Peoples Representative Council, as well as one cabinet member.
Causes
The use of Chinese Indonesians as scapegoats is partly caused by their lack of political power and government protection. The New Order policy of assimilation has also been seen as a factor; the need to assimilate the ethnic Chinese “indicated that Chinese cultural elements are unacceptable”.Discrimination, distrust, and violence against Chinese Indonesians is caused in part by a perception that they are still loyal to China, and only see Indonesia as a place to live and work. They are also seen as being “exclusive”, unwilling to mingle with other ethnic groups, as well as discriminating against native Indonesians in their business relations.
Effects
During the Old and New Orders, Chinese Indonesians generally complied with legal restrictions as best they could. However, the May 1998 riots caused a change in attitude, including greater political activity and assertiveness. Additionally, the discrimination led to an ethnic identity crisis, with Chinese Indonesians with strong Chinese ties feeling unaccepted by the Indonesian populace, and those with strong Indonesian ties wanting equal rights.Sociologist Mely G. Tan
Mely G. Tan
Mely Tan Giok Lan , professionally known as Mely G. Tan, is a Chinese Indonesian sociologist. Tan obtained her bachelor's degree from the University of Indonesia, later receiving a scholarship to study at Cornell University...
notes that presently many Chinese Indonesian families have prepared escape plans in case of further riots and find themselves unable to trust ethnic Indonesians. She also notes that younger Chinese Indonesians are increasingly impatient with the inability of the government and military to prevent inter-ethnic violence.