'Free the dragon' versus 'Becoming Betawi': Chinese identity in contemporary Jakarta 1

摘要

The Chinese in Indonesia suffered considerable discrimination particularly during Suharto's rule (1967-1998). They were considered a foreign threat that needed to be kept under state control. Since the end of Suharto's regime and as a result of liberalisasi, demokratisasi and desentralisasi a revival of Chinese identity has set in, initiating a public discourse on the compatability of Chinese and Indonesian identity. This discourse refers to different categories of identification which are connected with specific conceptualizations concerning the interrelatedness of indigeneity, ethnicity and nationalism in Indonesia and Jakarta in particular.