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Chinese Dreams: Indonesia

Will the growing prominence of ethnic Chinese create further resentment in Indonesia, or can there be a happier outcome?

Will the rise of China help or damage Chinese-Indonesians? The ethnic Chinese minority in Indonesia have long suffered discrimination – forbidden from taking jobs in government and the military and targeted during violent riots in 1998. In the city of Yogyakarta they are still not allowed to own land. But some Chinese-Indonesians have benefited economically from the rise of China - as middlemen between the two economies. Today, eight of the 10 richest Indonesians are thought to be ethnically Chinese. And now more and more Indonesians are studying in China or learning Mandarin.

³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Asia editor Rebecca Henschke asks if the rise of China and the growing prominence of some ethnic Chinese will create further resentment - or if there can be a happier outcome?

(Photo: Indonesian activists hold a rally to mark the 20th years of reformation in Jakarta on 21 May, 2018. Credit:: Adek Berry/AFP/Getty Images)

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27 minutes

Last on

Sun 3 May 2020 16:32GMT

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  • Sat 2 May 2020 07:32GMT
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  • Sun 3 May 2020 00:32GMT
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  • Sun 3 May 2020 16:32GMT