What are the reasons for Indonesia’s anti-Chinese sentiment?

From May 13 to 15, 1998, a political movement originally launched to overthrow the Suharto regime turned into serious "anti-Chinese riots" in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, and other places.

At that time, more than 5,000 Chinese factories, shops, houses, and residences were burned down in Jakarta alone, about 150 Chinese women were raped, and nearly 1,200 Chinese were massacred. In the report "Indonesia denies rape atrocities but never forgets them", Agence France-Presse stated that even though most residents would rather forget that the atrocities occurred, the victims still vividly remember the scenes of robbery and rape.

A Chinese woman recounted: "At that time, my aunt called us and told us to turn off all the lights in the room to make the thugs feel that no one was in the house. We heard that many Chinese women were victims.

The Agence France-Presse reported that several Chinese houses and shops were openly looted and burned under the eyes of the Indonesian security forces. Chinese woman Yu Yun said: "It was really terrifying at the time. People were trapped in burning shops, the streets were filled with burning buildings and cars, and thick smoke was billowing everywhere. "

AFP said that if the Indonesian military was trying to re-establish credibility amid the fear of the Asian Golden Eagle Storm, then they failed.

Extended information

The impact of the anti-Chinese incident in Indonesia in 1998:

The anti-Chinese incident in Indonesia received widespread attention and condemnation from the world. At the same time, it became a major factor in the deterioration of perceptions of Indonesia in the Chinese world. . In mainland China, Indonesia is generally listed as one of the countries most disgusted by the people because of this incident.

On May 21, 1998, Suharto stepped down and Habibie led the transition period. After the government, the Wahid government continued its previous policies and abolished some discriminatory laws and regulations and discriminatory names against Chinese. The Indonesian government also plans to review discriminatory regulations against Chinese.

Xiamen. Zhuang Tutu, dean of the Nanyang Institute of the University, said in an interview with a reporter from the Global Times on the 12th that although there are still voices of denial in Indonesian society, 10 years after the violence, the problem of racial discrimination against Chinese in Indonesia has been significantly improved. " Indonesian officials have canceled the 'ethnic identification' policy. The Chinese can celebrate the Spring Festival and enjoy political rights that they have not enjoyed for three to four hundred years. "Zhuang Guoguo said, "The Chinese in India have ushered in the best period. "

Yu Yun (sound) also told the AFP reporter that she has never felt the "hatred" of local Indonesians towards her. She said: "In Indonesia's Chinatown, Chinese and Indonesian locals have merged with each other. Here, no race is distinguished from each other and there are no differences.

”