Publication Date

Fall 2025

Abstract

Indonesia is home to the largest diaspora of Chinese people anywhere in the world. Yet, the experiences of Chinese-Indonesians reveal a sustained erasure, discrimination, and pressure to assimilate in the face of political and social tensions. Under Dutch colonial rule, they were placed in a racial hierarchy, placed between Europeans and Indigenous Indonesians, yet excluded from full participation in either group. This structure planted early seeds of mistrust and scapegoating that endured into the post-independence period. After 1945, state policies often sought to assimilate Chinese-Indonesians, restricting cultural expression, closing Chinese-language schools, and encouraging or even requiring the adoption of Indonesian-sounding names. Many Chinese people were pressured into converting their religion to avoid suspicion or discrimination during the 60’s, when Confucianism was restricted, before later being banned. However as Chinese-Indonesians continued to prosper economically, they became targeted in the anti-communist movements of the 1960s and again in the 1998 riots,, where Chinese-Indonesian businesses and people were targeted by protesters. In the wake of Reformasi and 1998 there has been resilience within Chinese-Indonesian communities, whether it be the restoration of Confucianism as an official language, the growth of Museums which focus on Chinese-Indonesian history, and more. Therefore this project examines through interviews the impacts of cultural erasure, to what extent there is cultural resilience, and whether interviewees face any difficulty on account of their ancestry. In addressing this paper finds that whilst there has been some linguistic and cultural recovery there are still obstacles that Chinese-Indonesians face both currently and due to the lingering effects of New Order policies which discriminated against them so heavily.

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Social and Behavioral Sciences

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