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Essay Subject: Examines cultural diversity in nation & problems of discrimination & abuse faced by Chinese minority.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Examines cultural diversity in nation & problems of discrimination & abuse faced by Chinese minority. Paper Introduction: INTRODUCTION Thesis Statement Indonesia is a multiethnic society, but this does not mean the different ethnic groups live together amicably. The chinese constitute the largest ethnic minority in Indonesia, and they face great problems of discrimination and prejudice in part because of their historic role in the society. The Chinese had economic advantages during the period of Dutch rule, allowing them to gain a virtual monopoly of internal trade and small industry: While a majority of the Chinese were laborers, working in tin mines and other foreign-owned enterprises, a minority owned the rice mills, the pawnshops, the small retain stores and the batik factories, and they were the ones who incurred Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. In the immediateperiod after Suharto, Chinese businessmen from Taiwan, Hong Kong, andelsewhere may be less willing to do business in Indonesia, and the supportof the ethnic Chinese community is needed to change this. As the Suharto government sought to carry out its stated policy ofassimilation during a period of rapprochement with China, it enacted newregulations in the intended to expedite the naturalization of persons withChinese citizenship. Such intermarriage has resulted in offspring who are less thanone-quarter Chinese in ancestry. The industrial sector has expanded rapidly and hasbeen given a particular emphasis by the government as a way of diversifyingthe economy and improving the ability of the country to compete in terms oftrade. In theearly 199 s, the policy of the Indonesian government favored theassimilation of the Chinese population into the local communities in whichthey lived, However, the Chinese have had a long history of enforcedseparation from their non-Chinese neighbors, and for nearly a centurybefore 1919, the Chinese were forced to live in separate urbanneighborhoods and were allowed to travel out of those areas only withgovernment permits. Tripathi, S. Indonesia is an increasingly mobile, multiethnicnation, and Indonesians have been made aware of the diversity of their ownsociety through education, television, cinema, print media, and nationalparks. "Flames of passion." FarEastern Economic Review, 21-22. In theearly 199 s, the Chinese continued to dominate the private sector in spiteof policies intended to promote indigenous entrepreneurs (Frederick andWorden, 1992). The miningsector has also made important contributions as the nation has a vast rangeof mineral resources. One-quarter of the Chinese population reactedcitizenship. Indonesia: A profile. Many ethnic Chinese have sought a coolingoff period by leaving the country until after the elections, and what musthappen is that the government addresses the problem directly and puts astop to attacks on the Chinese, including the government-directed attacksrecently taking place. In addition, many people who identify themselves asChinese Indonesians cannot read or write the Chinese language. There were also powerful Islamic and leftist currents that were nomore democratic in their leanings. and B. Even those Chinese who sided with the Indonesians were neverfully accepted by their colleagues. New York: D. "Power dictates whether proofof rapes exists." The Jakarta Post. References Chew, L.K. This comesafter 32 years of Suharto rule and after the May riots, which included theworst outbreak of looting, arson, and gang rapes against the Chinese since1965. The attacks on the ethnic Chinese make little sense in terms ofachieving a stable government in the post-Suharto era because the Chinesehold the key to the economic survival of the nation. The nation had a unitary political system as defined by theprovisional constitution of 195 , and from that time the government hasbeen a parliamentary democracy, with the government responsible to aunicameral House of Representatives elected directly by the people.Sukarno was now made president, but his powers were drastically reducedcompared with those given him in the 1945 constitution. Symbols ofChinese identity had long been discouraged and even occasionallyprohibited, including Chinese-language newspapers, schools, and publicritual use of Chinese names. After independence, nearly 5 percent of ChineseIndonesians failed to seek Indonesian citizenship either because ofcontinuing loyalty to the People's Republic of China or the Republic ofChina on Taiwan, or because of the prohibitive costs of gaining citizenshippapers. The chinese today constitute about 7 million of the nation's 21 million, and leaders see this as a time for reform (Chew, 1999, 32). The government program of assimilation of the Chinese was carried outin several ways, many of them involving enforced conformity. Mr. Santosa states that since the May 1998 riots, the ethnicChinese are more aware than before of how they are viewed and how dangeroustheir position may be. Economic problems leadto attacks on the Chinese, and because of the economic importance of theChinese, this leads in turn to more economic problems for the country.Breaking this cycle is an important issue if the country is to achievedemocracy and succeed economically. She is not pure Chinese butwas raised in a Chinese environment and so says she can relate to theChinese people in Indonesia. Drake, C. At the same time, while she has doubts about the ability ofIndonesia to change, she wishes it would happen. Fully 26 percent of the population of Indonesia in 1992 consistedof numerous small ethnic groups or minorities, though the true extent ofthis diversity is unknown given that the Indonesian censuses do not collectdata on ethnicity. Frida is another Indonesian interviewed. The impact of these riots was considerable. While theperanakan were more likely to have settled on Java, the totok were betterrepresented on the other islands (Frederick and Worden, 1992). and R.L. Nearly all Chinese who immigrated to Indonesia came from either Fujianor Guangdong provinces in southern China, and the dominant languages amongthese immigrants were Hokkien, Hakka, and Cantonese. At the same time, there are some peoplewho could be considered half Chinese by ancestry but who regard themselvesas fully Indonesian. Dolven (1998, May 28). They also sought to protect themselves so that many neighborhoodsin Jakarta were made into virtual armed camps ("Indonesia: The DamagingDebate," 1999). In 1963 Indonesia also assumed sovereigntyover Irian Jaya, formerly Netherlands New Guinea, and this was followed in1976 by East Timor, which joined Indonesia as the 27th province. "Old scourge of war becomes its latestcrime." The New York Times. In the first phase after independence, from 195 to 1965, Indonesiansociety remained deeply divided by ethnic, regional, class, and religiousdifferences. The importance of the industrial sector, especially the government-owned segment of that sector, will be examined in terms of how it hasdeveloped and how it affects the other sectors of the economy. Regulations were announced in June 1992by the director general of immigration to allow immigrants from China whohad lived illegally in Indonesia for decades to receive entry permits andto reside legally in Indonesia once they obtained a Chinese passport(Frederick and Worden, 1992).Conflict Anti-Chinese riots occurred in Indonesia as early as 1911, and theChinese often served as scapegoats for anti-Dutch feeling before that. Human Rights Watch,www.hrw.org/hrw/press98/feb/indo-al1.htm. She says that violencewill not solve the problems of Indonesia and that the situation is onlygetting worse since the riots. She says she is embarrassed at what hercountry did to this population and also notes how many have been fleeingthe country. Inthe early 199 s, totok considered themselves to be the keepers of Chinesecultural ideals and maintained their traditions through household shrines,reverence for ancestors, and private language instruction in Chineseschools. Although the Chinese hadsettled in rural areas of Java in the 192 s and 193 s, in the 196 s thegovernment again prohibited them from exercising free choice of residenceby requiring them to live in cities (Frederick and Worden, 1992). While a few citizens of Chinese origin rose to importantpositions in government and were active in the inner councils of politicalparties, the chinese were still prohibited by law from owning land orengaging in certain economic enterprises reserved for those of Indonesianorigin. The Chinese have received ambivalent government support and so remainhated and resented by much of the population. Human Rights Watchsuggests that the riots and other actions taken against ethnic Chinese inIndonesia can be related to the economic crisis in the region so that thosewho dominate the retail economy, the Chinese, are blamed and attacked.Human Rights Watch further notes that high government and militaryofficials had fueled anti-Chinese sentiments with veiled language and alsoby failing to explain that high prices and food shortages were not thefault of individual retailers: Human Rights Watch calls on the government to state explicitly that the ethnic Chinese are a values and important part of Indonesian society and that violence against them and their property will not be tolerated. That was in the 198 s, and the policy was successfulso that by 1992 only about 6 percent, or 3 , out of approximately 5million Chinese Indonesians, were acknowledged by the People's Republic ofChina as being Chinese citizens. "Indonesian Chinese political re-awakening."Indonesia Media, 32-33. Most Chinese continued to settle in urban areas ofIndonesia even after this "quarter system" was discontinued in 1919, and insome areas, such as Pontianak in Kalimantan Barat Province, the Chineseeven came to form a majority of the population. They are highly oriented toward success and so see themselves asmore dedicated to hard work, individual social mobility through theacquisition of wealth, and self-reliance than do the peranakan. "Shattered confidence."Far Eastern Economic Review, 2 -23. McBeth, J. Immigration, and he introduced me to Mrs. and Mrs. Anton Santosa, whowith their two daughters constitute a family of ethnic chinese fromIndonesia. The Javanese see the Chineseas culturally and economically, and most Indonesians "feel especiallybitter toward the Chinese businessmen who finance and manage the businessconcerns of the pribumi government and military officials and amassunacceptably great wealth to the detriment of the ordinary citizens of thecountry" (Drake, 1989, 232).Current Situation The Chinese minority continued its business success but otherwisetried to a great extent to blend in and to go unnoticed. National integration in Indonesia. (1989). Mintz, J.S. (1998, September 17). Some of the violencewas organized, though it is not clear who the organizers were or whatmotives they may have had, though there has been much speculation aboutboth. There is greatoccupational diversity among contemporary Indonesia's Chinese, but mosthave been either engaged in trade, mining, or skilled artisanry. (1961). Still, it is important to note that the Chinese are not a monolithicgroup. "Indonesia alert" (1998, February). He says they have to be prepared for the worst andthat one way to do this is to leave for a while during the campaign andelection period because that is the most dangerous time. Crossette makes reference to rape as a tactic of warfare in Indonesiaand elsewhere and refers to the reports of rape in Jakarta during the riotsagainst Chinese neighborhoods (Crossette, 1998). "Indonesia: the damaging debate on rapes of ethnic Chinese women."Human Rights Watch, http://www.hrw.org/hrw/reports98/indonesia3/violence.htm. (1999, May). The Dutch had done nothing to make suchpreparations, and the military was deeply involved in politics from thefirst. There are some people who consider Chinese bythemselves in spite of generations of intermarriage with the localpopulation. The first general election took placein 1955 (Frederick and Worden, 1992).Population In the early 199 s, Indonesian society was divided into numerousethnic groups and minorities, with the largest being the Javanese at 45percent of the total population, followed by the Sundanese at 14 percent,followed by the Madurese at 7.5 percent, and the coastal Malays at 7.5percent. Each immigrant group had its own distinctive characteristics, someof which were accentuated overseas before they arrived in Indonesia, andone of the main contrasts among Indonesian Chinese in the 199 s could beseen in the differences between the peranakan (native-born Chinese withsome Indonesian ancestry) and totok (full-blooded Chinese, usually foreignborn). Indonesia: A country study.Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress: http://lcweb2.loc.gov. During the period of Dutchrule, the Chinese were seen as cooperating with the Dutch and as achievingtoo much economic power. Van Nostrand. Worden (1992). The Chinese had economic advantages during the period of Dutchrule, allowing them to gain a virtual monopoly of internal trade and smallindustry: While a majority of the Chinese were laborers, working in tin mines and other foreign-owned enterprises, a minority owned the rice mills, the pawnshops, the small retain stores and the batik factories, and they were the ones who incurred Indonesian resentment (Mintz, 1961, 12 ).Purpose of Study This attitude has persisted and even been strengthened form time totime, and recently there had been a number of incidents showing that enmityon the part of the Indonesian majority is still directed at the Chinese intheir midst. Cohen (1999, February 4). (1998, June 14). Amajority of the Chinese sided with the Dutch during the revolution orremained neutral, so prejudice against the Chinese increased. Crossette, B. More recently,however, there has been a political re-awakening of the Chinese minorityafter the heavy hand of President Suharto was removed. It can be difficult to identify someone in Indonesia as a member ofthe Chinese (orang Tionghoa) because the physical characteristics,language, name, geographical location, and life-style of ChineseIndonesians are not always distinct from those of the rest of thepopulation. There was littlein the diverse cultures of Indonesia or in their historical experience toprepare the people for democracy. The discussion which follows will present both historical andcurrent evidence of discrimination and prejudice.Positioning The long history of enmity toward the ethnic Chinese has accustomedtoo many people in Indonesia to seeing the ethnic Chinese as different andas the enemy, when they are not. Under the Hague Agreement after therevolution, the Chinese as well as other non-indigenous Asians were tobecome Indonesian citizens within two years unless they specificallyrejected that status. Suryakusuma, J.I. LITERATURE REVIEWBackground Indonesia is a nation formed in 1949 from a region which was formerlyunder the control of the Netherlands. Since independence, the economic power of theChinese has continued to be a point of contention. The chinese constitute thelargest ethnic minority in Indonesia, and they face great problems ofdiscrimination and prejudice in part because of their historic role in thesociety. Each of these symbols was subject to stronggovernmental disapproval. Tens of thousands ofethnic Chinese left Indonesia for Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong, andother locales, while many of those who stayed behind sent their childrenabroad. Indonesiatoday has a well-diversified economy in which every sector of theIndonesian economy plays an important role. In May 1998, therewere anti-Chinese riots which made the Chinese see themselves asvulnerable, so there has been a growing awareness of the need to takeaction to assure their safety and to protect their interests. Violence against the Chinese has indeeddestroyed the economic structure so that the distribution of goods andservices has been affected and prices are now rising. Frederick, W.H. That communityhas a disproportionately large share of economic power because this wasfostered by the Suharto family, and this has generated bitterness in thepopulation at large (Tripathi and Dolven, 1998, 2 -21). Ethnic clasheshave continued and are seen as threatening any transition to democracy.This year's elections are seen as only another reason for inflaming thesepassions (McBeth and Cohen, 1999, 22-23).Interview Rudy is an Indonesian friend who currently has an asylum status fromU.S. Indonesia is composed of the islandsof Java and Madura, Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi (Celebes), Bangka Belitung,the Riau Archipelago, the Moluccas, and the Nusa Tenggara Islands(including Bali and Timor). She also says thatthe Chinese are being scapegoated for economic and other problems.Conclusion The ethnic Chinese in Indonesia have been treated as scapegoats by themajority population since before independence. As noted, census figures do not record Chinese or otherminorities as a special group, and there are no simple racial criteria formembership in this group. Though the vast majority of Indonesians are Muslim, they maintainvery different social identifications (Frederick and Worden, 1992). On severaloccasions, Indonesia mobs attacked chinese communities, killing andlooting. They often spoke BahasaIndonesia as their first language, and some even converted to Islam. INTRODUCTIONThesis Statement Indonesia is a multiethnic society, but this does not mean thedifferent ethnic groups live together amicably. and M. Denouncing communal violence in generic terms is not enough ("Indonesia Alert," 1998).Human Rights Watch further called on the government to cease its harassmentof two prominent members of the ethnic Chinese community, Jusuf and SofyanWanandi, and to begin a long-term effort to end discrimination against theethnic Chinese in Indonesia. While these laws were meant to break the hold of the Chinese onthe economy, they did not accomplish their goal because few Indonesianbusinessmen had the capital or the experience needed and so madearrangements with Chinese businessmen who did (Mintz, 1961, 12 -121). Honolulu:University of Hawaii. The Indonesian government questioned whether the mass rapes in 1998had even occurred, and Suryakusuma (1998) noted that on this as on otherissues, evidence would not materialize "if the perpetrators are the samesystem of power as the investigators and the judges" (Suryakusuma, 1998).Human Rights Watch monitored the violence and investigated the claims madeabout the riots and found that the riots were sparked by the shooting offour Trisakti University students by police snipers. While the distinctiveness and social significance of this divisionvaries considerably in different parts of the archipelago, ties to theChinese homeland were more distant among the peranakan community, and therewas also stronger evidence of Indonesian influence in this community.Unlike the more strictly male-dominated totok Chinese, peranakan familiesrecognized descent based on both female and male lines, were more likely tohave converted to Christianity, and were more likely to have assimilated inother ways to the norms of Indonesian culture. The country has a strongagricultural potential, and thus agriculture has historically been thedominant activity, both in terms of employment and output. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.