| The Indonesian Chinese ethnic group is the product of the combined forces of history.The long history of immigration of Chinese groups and their settlement in Indonesia has laid the foundation for the formation of Indonesian Chinese groups.From the perspective of national consciousness and identity,the Dutch-Indian colonial government classified Chinese immigrants as "Chinese" ethnic groups,combined with demographic surveys and institutionalized construction of various administrative measures,making them gradually became a tangible existence by a social group "imagined" by the colonial rulers.The Chinese immigrants have been "identified" and "created" as an ethnic group.Later,driven by various factors such as the protection and utilization of the Qing government and the influence of the Chinese nationalist movement and the Indonesian nationalist movement,this constructed ethnic group gradually became conscious of its own identity,and national consciousness began to awaken and develop.Diversified identities have emerged among the Chinese community for China,the Dutch-Indian government,and "imagined" Indonesia.The independence of the Indonesian state and the settlement of the dual nationality issues between the Chinese and Indonesian governments have played a key role in promoting the political identity of Indonesian Chinese immigrants to Indonesia.In this context,they have positioned themselves,including Indonesian citizenship,politically identified with the Indonesian country,culturally identified with the Chinese culture and ethnically identified with the Chinese community itself,which is the Indonesian "Chinese ethnic group".Later,under the pressure of the Indonesian government’s Chinese policy,the Chinese ethnic group in Indonesia had to adapt to this.Especially under the assimilation policy of the Suharto government,the cultural representation of the Chinese ethnic group has mostly been assimilated to the local society,and only the "Chinese consciousness" with subjective identity has been retained.However,this situation has changed under the Indonesian government’s democratization and pluralism policy after Suharto’s fall.The Chinese ethnic group has been officially recognized by the Indonesian government as one of the Indonesian plural ethnic groups.The status of theChinese has been improved to a certain extent,and the Chinese culture has been relatively freely displayed,and the political consciousness of the Chinese has also been enhanced. |
