| Publication |
2009.
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| Summary/Abstract |
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.
1This paper is based on the analysis of the relevant literature concerning its theme and of the data gathered during field research in Jakarta between 2000 and 2002 and during shorter stays thereafter. Most responses and statements by informants quoted in this paper have been translated from Indonesian to English. In some cases, conversations and interviews took place in different languages besides Indonesian, namely in English, German and/or Dutch, because informants wanted to practise their foreign language knowledge.
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