Chinese Indonesians and Regime Change ed. by arleen Dieleman, Juliette Koning, and Peter Post (review)

The aftermath of the regime change in Indonesia in May 1998 witnessed an unprecedented proliferation of research on the ethnic Chinese in Indonesia. This new burgeoning field stands in stark contrast to the Suharto and pre-Suharto eras, when research on Chinese Indonesians was but a marginal enterprise. Riding this new wave of research, Chinese Indonesians and Regime Change uncovers the agency exercised by Chinese Indonesians during the period of regime change. With a particular focus on the innovative strategies used by Chinese Indonesians in confronting situations of adversity and crisis, Chinese Indonesians and Regime Change stands out from a literature long dominated by “themes of violence, discrimination and oppression” (p. 4).

The book offers new avenues to engage with the study of Chinese Indonesians and opens exciting possibilities for novel conceptualizations. In the Introduction, the editors critically problematize the disempowering “nation-state paradigm” and the all-encompassing “diaspora perspectives,” which are central to studies of Chinese Indonesians, particularly during the New Order. Departing from the state-centered perspective, which presents the Chinese as disenfranchised victims, juxtaposed against a strong and oppressive state, this book treats the Chinese as insiders and active agents of historical events. Rather than viewing regime changes as synonymous to crises for the Chinese Indonesians, Chinese Indonesians and Regime Change explores the opportunities such changes have brought to some of them. In the same spirit, the book examines the paradox of regimes as being both “constraining and enabling” (p. 13), and it is this very paradox that the remaining eight chapters endeavor to address.

Drawing from a wealth of ethnographic data collected in Yogyakarta, Juliette Koning (chap. 2) analyzes the appeal of Charismatic Christianity to Chinese Indonesians as a means to “turn away from the nation-state and an embracement of a larger frame of reference” (p. 41). Having had a long history of contested citizenship, and experiencing a series of oppressive ethnic policies through the various regimes, feelings of insecurities surged, and hence Chinese Indonesians found spiritual meaning and a new sense of belonging through being a part of the global community of Charismatic Christians. As with Koning, Andreas Susanto (chap. 4) conducted ethnographic research on the Chinese in Yogyakarta, albeit with a different focus. Susanto focuses on the various assimilation strategies employed by the ethnic actors, which are overwhelmingly influenced by their class status. His chapter sheds new light on the dynamics and diversity in ways that different sectors of the Chinese community had complied with (or circumvented) the assimilation policy during the New Order. The inclusion of a reflection on the author’s position as a Chinese Indonesian researcher conducting research in the “home field” of Yogyakarta would have provided more insights into the research process.

Chinese Indonesians in post-Suharto Indonesia seem to have escaped from the tyranny of assimilation enforced by the authoritarian regime of Suharto. In chapter 3, Nobuhiro Aizawa offers us a neat and systematic analysis of what the assimilation policy meant to the policy makers, in contrast to what it meant to the Chinese Indonesian leaders who advocated for the same policy during the New Order. While the assimilationist Chinese leaders hoped that assimilation would enhance the living conditions of the Chinese, prevent social conflicts, and allow them to gain political access, the authority was interested to use the policy only to depoliticize ethnicity and to curb political opposition to the regime. This chapter de-homogenizes the assimilation discourse and provides new perspectives on the contested objectives of assimilation.

Central to the purpose of this volume is to “correct” (p. 4) the misrepresentation of the Chinese Indonesians in Indonesia’s historiography. To challenge the stereotype of the Chinese as passive bystanders of historical events, Nobuto Yamamoto (chap. 5) and Patricia Tjiook-Liem (chap. 6) reveal the active political role played by the Chinese in the Dutch East Indies. The former discusses the significant contributions of Chinese journalists to the early stages...