Legislators meet with Chinese envoy<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Legislators met with the ambassador of the
\nPeople's Republic of China on Thursday to discuss Beijing's
\nperception of Indonesia following the May riots.<\/p>\n
Golkar legislator Pinantun Hutasoit questioned Chinese
\nAmbassador Chen Shi Qiu on the subject during a meeting organized
\nby the House of Representatives Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation
\nBody, Antara reported on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Many demonstrations have been staged overseas, including in
\nmainland China, protesting against the violence in May in which
\nmore than 100 Chinese-Indonesians were reportedly raped in
\nJakarta and other cities.<\/p>\n
Chen Shi Qiu said the world, including China, was deeply
\nconcerned about the May riots.<\/p>\n
The violence, in which the Chinese-Indonesian community was
\ntargeted, was a tragedy, he said.<\/p>\n
Chinese-Indonesians have been a traditional target of
\nfrustration throughout Indonesia's history mainly because they
\nare seen as owning a vastly disproportional amount of the
\ncountry's wealth.<\/p>\n
The ambassador said he had met President B.J. Habibie,
\ngovernment and military officials and party leaders about the
\nriots, adding they had all condemned the violence.<\/p>\n
\"We deeply regret the incidents. I consider they were
\ntriggered by the social, economic and political crisis,\" Chen Shi
\nQiu said.<\/p>\n
He said he hoped the government-appointed joint fact-finding
\nteam investigating the violence would reveal those responsible
\nfor the violence to the public so that they could be brought to
\njustice.<\/p>\n
\"This would be very important to restore both public trust and
\nthe economy,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He stressed that his government did not intend to put the
\nIndonesian government in a difficult position.<\/p>\n
The investigation's results, he said, \"would greatly help
\nChinese-Indonesians live in harmony together forever\" with other
\nIndonesians.<\/p>\n
He said the reports of rapes during the riots on the Internet
\n\"were not taken as a fact\", Antara wrote.<\/p>\n
\"We are still waiting and hoping for the results of the joint
\nfact-finding team's investigation... In our country rape is a
\nheinous crime and generates a very deep sense of vengeance,\" he
\nsaid. (01)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/legislators-meet-with-chinese-envoy-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}