Chinese struggle in Indonesia<\/p>\n
I trust that many Chinese struggled before the country's
\nindependence and continued to do so after independence. Sumarsono
\nSastrowardoyo's letter (May 30) was very biased and is the result
\nof narrow-minded thinking.<\/p>\n
His controversial thoughts have been responded to and denied
\nin a number of letters. However, there was one conclusion that
\nwas omitted in the protests. He said that the ethnic Chinese were
\nnever involved in the independence struggle of this country. He
\neven clearly stated that most Chinese ran away or worked for the
\nDutch government. He only saw one side of the \"coin of truth\"
\nwithout trying to look at the matter from a different perspective
\nto enable him to assess it in a balanced way. I can also easily
\nsay that there were many puppet kings, regents, officials and
\nsoldiers working for the colonialists. They were indigenous
\nIndonesians. Many among them were willing to torture and to kill
\ntheir fellow citizens only for the sake of power and money. The
\nconcept of crime and goodness is not based on ethnicity, religion
\nor race, but goes back to man himself.<\/p>\n
In 1909 China (under puppet emperor Pu Yi) decreed that all
\noverseas Chinese were Chinese citizens. This led the Dutch
\ngovernment to state that all overseas Chinese in Indonesia were
\nDutch subjects. This caused the opposition of many Chinese. They
\norientated themselves toward China, especially after Dr. Sun Yat
\nSen became president. Chinese nationalism had repercussions in
\nIndonesia and received support from Indonesian national figures.
\nSukarno once said to Tjoe Bou San (chief editor of Sin Po daily)
\nthat he was more highly appreciative of the Chinese who had
\nadopted Chinese nationalism and supported the movement for
\nIndonesia's independence, without paying attention to danger,
\nthan those who wanted to become Indonesians for the sole purpose
\nof profit.<\/p>\n
However, since 1925 a Chinese movement started in support of
\nIndonesia's independence. Liem Koen Hian (member of the
\nIndonesian delegation to the Renville conference), Kwee Hing
\nTjiat (assimilation proponent), Kwee Kek Beng (successor to Tjoe
\nBou San as Sin Po's chief editor) and Kwee Tek Hoay (promoter of
\nTridharma, i.e. Chinese religio-ethical principles: Taoism,
\nConfucianism and Buddhism) were just a few among the Chinese who
\nsupported the struggle for Indonesia's independence at the time.<\/p>\n
They launched many heroic actions. Many Chinese journalists
\ncriticized the policies of the colonial government (like the
\ndetention and the hearing of struggle figures). Sin Po took the
\ncourage to publish Indonesia Raya (the national anthem) for the
\nfirst time 12 days after the Youth Pledge. Liem Koen Hian and a
\nnumber of Chinese traders were said to have smuggled arms into
\nthe territory of the Republic (after the declaration in 1945) in
\nthe interests of the independence struggle. The prominent Chinese
\nfigures at the time were also interested in joining the
\nIndonesian parties. One of the Parindra leaders, Dr. Soetomo
\n(national hero), fought for Chinese membership in his party, but
\nhis endeavor failed because many party members opposed the idea,
\nmaybe due to deep-rooted suspicion.<\/p>\n
The contribution of the ethnic Chinese to the nation and the
\nstate, both before and after independence, is not insignificant.
\nIt would be very wicked for certain people to have a biased
\nopinion and to say that all Chinese living in this country were
\nonly interested in making profit. Dr. Tjipto Mangunkusumo (a
\nnational hero who had a close relationship with a number of
\nChinese prominent figures) had the idea of the establishment of
\nan Indonesian Nation consisting of people who considered
\nIndonesia as their fatherland and were active in developing it.
\nThe indigenous people, Dutch-Indonesians, ethnic Chinese, ethnic
\nArabs would be its supportive components. His idea is worth
\nreflecting.<\/p>\n
Do not let racists and fundamentalists obstruct the process of
\nestablishing a state that provides justice, protection and
\nwelfare for every citizen without differentiating ethnicity,
\nreligion, race and grouping.<\/p>\n
BUDI SETIAWAN<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/chinese-struggle-in-indonesia-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }