1. On not speaking Chinese Chinese Indonesian Case Study COMM 397i

2. On not speaking Chinese Trivia Background on Chinese Indonesians Group discussion Test #1 discussion

3. Indonesia: Trivia Which part of the world is Indonesia located? A. Middle East B. East Asia C. South Asia D. Southeast Asia

4. Indonesia: Trivia What is the main religion of Indonesia? A. Islam B. Buddhism C. Hinduism D. Confucianism

5. Indonesia: Trivia Which European country colonized the country for more than 300 years? A. Great Britain B. Portugal C. Netherlands D. Spain

6. Indonesia: Trivia How many islands does Indonesia have? A. 17,000 B. 1,700 C. 700 D. 170

7. Indonesia: Trivia What is the name of the capital city of Indonesia? A. Singapore B. Jakarta C. Brunei Darrusalam D. Bangkok

8. Case Study: Chinese Indonesians Ethnically diverse: has over 200 ethnicities living in 17,000 islands. Chinese minority constitutes 4% of the population. Has a stronghold on the economy. “Entrepreneurial minority”: Dutch positioning of the Chinese between the Europeans and the “natives”. Chinese were never accepted as “Indonesian”.

9. Case study: Chinese Indonesians Assimilation policies from the 60s to the 90s: Name-changing policies: Lie to Lianto. No public displays of Chinese cultural expression: Chinese language, Chinese New Year celebrations, books. Chinese books and dirty underwear. “Special” identity cards for ethic Chinese. SKBRI: special proof of citizenship.

10. Case study: Chinese Indonesians Most of people born after the 1950s didn’t grow up speaking Chinese. Still retain some elements of Chinese culture, but more of a hybrid: peranakan culture.

11. Case study: Chinese Indonesians Not really Indonesian… “As a minority (Chinese Indonesian) living in Indonesia, I grew up living my life exclusively mostly with other Chinese Indonesians (and communicating in Indonesian language). Although we lived in a community of Indonesians, I didn’t interact much with other Indonesians…This environment did not help me to mingle with other Indonesians and to learn about Indonesian culture in real life. I learned all of it in school, which mostly remains as a theory and was not as easily practiced in real live. This environment has dampened my understanding of what it means to be Indonesian…”

12. Case study: Chinese Indonesians Yet not really Chinese… When we declare ourselves as Chinese, most of us (especially the young generations) we don't even know our mother tongue language anymore. Some of us might still be able to speak some Chinese dialects, but that’s about it. Being Chinese Indonesian is like an exodus, never belonging anywhere, always in search of a “home” which we’ll probably never find…

13. Case study: Chinese Indonesian So here’s the confusion: We’re Chinese, but we don’t speak Chinese. We’re NOT Indonesian, but we’ve lived in Indonesia all our lives, we speak Indonesian as our native tongue thanks to the assimilation policy… So how we solve the dilemma?

14. Case study: Chinese Indonesians We’re still confused but… Bridging the language and cultural gap: be more Chinese than the Chinese. Hybrid identity: something that embraces both aspects of being Chinese-Indonesian.

15. Case study: Chinese Indonesians Group discussion: reading questions. Class discussion to follow.

16. Case study: Chinese Indonesian On Thursday: May 1998 riots targeting Chinese Indonesians in particular. DVD of my cousin’s wedding.

17. Jakarta Riots May 1998

18. Case study: Chinese Indonesian Former president Soeharto Reigned for 32 years Corrupt dictatorship 1998: Asian economic crisis, students protested against him calling him to step down.

19. Jakarta Riots May 1998

22. US Embassy in Jakarta

23. People line up outside from 5AM to get an interview for a visa. Heightened security due to several bombing attempts by Muslim extremists. My brother is American.

24. My brother Nelson

25. Case study: Chinese Indonesians Discrimination goes both ways: The Chinese tend to keep to themselves: no Indonesian friends until 2002. Views the Indonesians as “less”: most Indonesians are maids in a Chinese household. Inter-marriages hardly ever occur: the case of my aunt Felicia.

26. Discussion Questions for NY Times Reading What is the symbolic significance of public celebrations of Chinese New Year for the Chinese minority in Indonesia after 30 some years of being banned to do so? How are Chinese Indonesians a “triple minority”? Why did some community leaders cautioned the Chinese to tone down their celebrations?

27. Case study: Chinese Indonesians What’s the condition now? Discriminatory laws officially banned in 1999. Schools are teaching Chinese as foreign language option. The president goes live on TV during Chinese New Year to wish us a happy new year. Segregation (both economic and ethnic) still exists, but it’s not as prominent as before.

28. Case study: Chinese Indonesians Wedding DVD: All day event: 6AM-11PM Tea ceremony (both houses), church ceremony, family brunch, the reception. East-West, Chinese and Indonesian.