Chinese publications face rivalry<\/p>\n
By I. Christianto<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Only a small percentage of people in Indonesia
\ncan speak Chinese, let alone read the characters. But new local
\nmagazines and newspapers in Chinese are now available in the
\ncapital.<\/p>\n
The publications are openly sold by most street vendors in
\nhectic Chinatown in the Glodok area in West Jakarta -- a
\nsituation not seen until recently after the government lifted the
\nover-three-decade ban on Chinese religion and culture in the
\ncountry.<\/p>\n
Among the new publications, mostly published in Jakarta, are
\nthree magazines: Weekly Bulletin, Indonesia and ASEAN (based in
\nBandung) and the Voice of Indonesian Chinese (Yinhua Zhisheng).
\nThe daily newspapers include Peaceful (Harian Umum Perdamaian\/Ho
\nPing Ri Bao), The New Life (Harian Hidup Baru\/Xin Sheng Ri Bao)
\nand Indonesia Shang Bao, the Chinese version of Bisnis Indonesia.
\nIn addition, there is the 34-year-old Harian Indonesia, which is
\npublished under the government's auspices.<\/p>\n
Under the New Order government, the use and teaching of
\nMandarin, the main Chinese language was banned in public in order
\nto support the Chinese-Indonesian assimilation scheme. The total
\nprohibition of any Chinese facets dates back to 1965 following
\nthe failed communist coup as the government believed that the
\ncoup was supported by China. Harian Indonesia was the only paper
\nlicensed by the government as was printed under the authorization
\nof the special executor and commander for the restoration of
\nsecurity and order in 1972.<\/p>\n
President Abdurrahman Wahid, who gained power last October,
\nhas revoked some discriminative policies against the Chinese.<\/p>\n
Yinhua Zhisheng is run by Eddy Untung, 62, who previously
\nworked for a tourism magazine. The 52-page monthly magazine was
\nfirstly published in July last year.<\/p>\n
\"We target Chinese-Indonesians and those who understand
\nMandarin. I think they are senior Chinese-Indonesians of over 50
\nyears as most the younger generation under 40 years don't
\nunderstand Mandarin,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said that he worked only with two other colleagues as it
\nwas a kind of family business.<\/p>\n
\"Indonesia is now new. We want to promote the awareness about
\nthis. There are also other interests, including to support the
\ngovernment in increasing the sense of a new Indonesia, that
\nChinese-aspects are not forbidden anymore, to some extent,\" he
\nsaid, adding that the magazine was independent.<\/p>\n
Yinhua Zhisheng is priced at Rp 5,000 (63 U.S. cents) per copy
\nand has a circulation of between 4,000 and 5,000 copies, with
\ncontent mainly politics and literature.<\/p>\n
\"Our costs reach Rp 10 million (US$1,025) per month, and for
\nsure, we haven't reached break even point yet,\" he said, adding
\nthat he was optimistic about surviving.<\/p>\n
Eddy, who also runs a photocopy service, said that putting the
\nmagazine in as many as possible outlets in Glodok was the best
\nmarketing strategy for the magazine.<\/p>\n
\"The only challenge is rivalry. There are so many Chinese
\nlanguage publications now, including those owned by media giants
\nand the well-established Harian Indonesia.\"<\/p>\n
In the efforts to be different, he admitted that sometimes he
\nused the coverage of overseas magazines, \"Just like the recent
\nreport on (former Army Strategic Reserves Command chief) Prabowo
\nby Asiaweek.\"<\/p>\n
Another challenge, according to Eddy, was the lack of
\nadvertisers, though his rates are moderate: Rp 2.5 million ($315)
\nfor the back cover.<\/p>\n
\"The market is there, we believe that there's still a segment
\nseeking Chinese-language media,\" said Eddy.<\/p>\n
Other publishing companies appear to agree.<\/p>\n
The respected Indonesian business newspaper Bisnis Indonesia
\nhas recently expanded its market by printing Indonesia Shang Bao.<\/p>\n
\"We target the Chinese-Indonesians as well as industrialists
\nin East and Southeast Asia,\" said businessman Sukamdani S.
\nGitosardjono of Indonesia Shang Bao.<\/p>\n
\"It's different from other Chinese-language papers as it
\nfocuses on economic and business affairs,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The 12-page daily has a circulation of 25,000 copies, while
\nBisnis Indonesia has at least 20 pages and with a circulation of
\nbetween 70,000 and 75,000 copies.<\/p>\n
Newspaper vendors in Glodok said that Harian Indonesia was
\npopular, while retail prices were quite competitive.<\/p>\n
A vendor said that he sold about 10 copies of the Chinese
\nlanguage newspaper. Indonesia Shang Bao is sold at Rp 1,700 (22
\nU.S. cents), Xin Sheng Ri Bao Rp 1,500 and Harian Indonesia Rp
\n1,300.<\/p>\n
Chinese healer Yiu, 70, said that Harian Indonesia had good
\ncoverage of domestic affairs while Xin Sheng Ri Bao lead with its
\nworld and foreign news.<\/p>\n
Ping Ping, 33, said that she read several newspapers every day
\nand found the contents about the same.<\/p>\n
Akiko, a shop owner in Salemba, Central Jakarta, said he had
\nbeen subscribing to Harian Indonesia for years. Interestingly,
\none of the columns that he always reads is the obituaries as this
\nkeeps him informed about those in the Chinese community who pass
\naway.<\/p>\n
\"In recent weeks, I got some other Mandarin newspapers freely.
\nI don't understand why there are so many papers in Mandarin now,
\nalbeit with the same contents,\" he said.<\/p>\n
The local media are now enjoying greater freedom after
\nenduring years of ex-president Soeharto's authoritarian rule. The
\nprocess to get a publishing license has been simplified. During
\nthe New Order regime, a number of publications lost their
\npublishing licenses because of contents that the government did
\nnot agree with.<\/p>\n
Atmakusumah Astraatmadja of the National Press Council and the
\nDr. Soetomo Press Institute said that the Chinese-language
\nnewspapers would enrich the journalism in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"It's good to show that Indonesia is quite diversified. We
\nhave to be accustomed to diversity as it enriches us in
\nunderstanding each other. What I regret is that there's no new
\nmedia in regional languages as Indonesia has a lot of dialects.
\nWe need to provide for local cultures as well,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/chinese-publications-face-rivalry-1447893297",
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