Let Indonesia-China Friendly RelationsContinue to Flourish

When my friends from the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the CPAFFC, asked me to write in their jubilium magazine, for the fiftieth anniversary of the Association, I felt very much honoured indeed. Because in the deepest feeling of my heart, I always consider the Chinese people, and China, as the true friends, as lao peng you (old friends), of myself, my family, and of the Indonesian people. This is not merely a result of the fact that I, my wife and our four daughters lived, worked and studied in China for as long as 20 years. This is because of the friendly and traditional relations that exist between our two peoples for centuries.

More than a thousand years ago, Chinese immigrants came to Indonesia to start a new life and share their joy and sorrow with the Indonesian people. This movement of migration to Indonesia continued for centuries. The Chinese immigrants brought with them friendship and expertise in the art of living. They also came with their own culture and tradition that later coexisted and interwove with that of the Indonesian people.

As time went by, many ethnic Chinese, integrating themselves with the life of the people, became staunch fighters for the independence of Indonesia. Siauw Giok Tjhan (1914-1981) was one of them. He is a true patriot who dedicated his whole life for the cause of Indonesian national independence. He was a dedicated fighter for the realization of the integration of Indonesian of ethnic Chinese origin with the Indonesian people. In the past as well as at present the Chinese-Indonesians have made important contributions for the economic development and progress of the country.

An important message I brought with me from the Indonesian Organization for Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity (OISRAA), when I went to Cairo in 1960, to represent Indonesia at the Permanent Secretariat of the Afro-Asian People’s Solidarity Organization (AAPSO), was this: to work together and cooperate closely with the Chinese representative at the Permanent Secretariat of the AAPSO and at international gatherings and organizations, so as to contribute to initiating and supporting solidarity activities among members of the AAPSO, in the common struggle to achieve, defend and strengthen national independence.

This great policy of solidarity in the common struggle was a logical conclusion drawn from the achievements of the Asian-African Conference in Bandung in 1955. Was it not for the remarkable and important contributions made by President Sukarno, Premier Zhou Enlai of the People’s Republic of China, PM Nehru of India, President Nasser of Egypt, and other leaders of Asia and Africa, participants of the conference, working hand in hand in the deliberations of the Asian-African Conference at Bandung, the Conference would not achieve such a historical and great success. The Bandung Conference was an event that signified the awakening and consolidation of the Asian and African peoples’ solidarity for self-determination, national independence, peaceful coexistence and world peace. The conference was an important milestone in the history of the Asian and African countries, and in their endeavour and struggle to seek and establish their own identity, as a free and independent force, in the era of “cold war”, intervention and hegemonism.

On the question of nation and state building, its philosophical source and foundation, there was a clear common idea of independence and democracy between the vision of the founder of the modern state of China, Dr Sun Yat Sen, and that of the founder and proclamator of the new independent state of Indonesia, President Sukarno, first president of the Republic of Indonesia. In his speech on June 1, 1945 outlining the philosophical and political foundation of the Indonesian State, which he called the PANCASILA, i.e. the Five Principles, Sukarno pointed out that the san min zhu yi, i.e. the Three People’s Principles (Nationalism, Democracy and the People’s Livelihood) of Dr.Sun Yat Sen, was his source of inspiration.

In the present era, sometimes called the era of “globalization”, in which the political concept of hegemonism and unilateralism is very much a threat to stability and world peace, developing countries, mostly in Asia, Africa and Latin America, are still being controlled and economically exploited by advanced countries in the world. In such a complicated international situation, the existence of a developing country, the People’s Republic of China, is of tremendous importance, a country which is growing in strength, furthermore an important member of the Afro-Asian Conference, co-inspirator of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence and of the Ten Principles of the Bandung Conference, principles that uphold independence, non-interference and peaceful coexistence.

Indonesia, being a member of the Afro-Asian community, and one of the initiator of the Bandung Principles of independence, sovereignty and non-intervention, should cooperate more closely with the People’s Republic of China, and promote bilateral, cultural and economic relations for the mutual benefit of the two peoples and countries. There is a profound basis for such a development, since both peoples and countries share common traditional friendly relations. It is for the benefit of both countries that Indonesia and China continue to cooperate and promote exchange of contacts at people’s level, such as exchanges of students, scientists, sports and culture. This will no doubt enhance mutual understanding between the two peoples, thereby strengthening friendly relations.

There is a lot that Indonesia could learn from China. China has successfully reformed its economic policy, and carried out economic transformation in the countryside and cities. Thus, creating necessary conditions for the recovery and fast growth of the national economy. Recent launching of a Chinese astronaut into space shows that China has reached a high international level in the fields of science and technology, especially in space exploration.

My wife and I were witnesses when we, upon the invitation of the CPAFFC, revisited China in 1998, to the tremendous progress China had made since we left the country in 1986. The national economy is booming. Big strides have been made in the fields of agriculture, industry and commerce, in the cities as well in the countryside. While the living standard of the majority of the people is better than before, a significant part of the society has already surpassed that of a developing country.

History has shown that dark forces with ulterior motives try from time to time, but continuously, to create obstacles in the friendly relations between Indonesia and China, and between China and the other neighbouring countries of China.

Time and again they launched an anti-Chinese and anti-China campaign. This is their political strategy during the “cold war” era to isolate China and to promote the one China and one Taiwan policy. The era of the “cold war” has ended. But that policy still continues until now. They concoct an anti-Chinese hysteria by inventing the so-called “yellow threat from the north”, etc. They spread rumours that in the near future China will become a great economic and military power in Asia and the world. Then, they say, China will embark along a hegemonic policy to dominate Asia and the world. By pursuing this policy they create a false picture of China.

This slander and false accusations addressed to China are in fact an attempt to cover up their own ambitions and hegemonism. Such machinations to create dissensions and division among the Afro-Asian countries in general, and between Indonesia and China in particular, should be exposed and opposed, so that the road of understanding and friendly relations between Indonesia and China, will be safeguarded, expanded and flourish.

Let us hope that in the future all obstacles in the way of more harmonious relations among the multi-ethnic population of Indonesia, and better relations between Indonesia and China, are put away once and for all. (February 2004)

The author is currently secretary of the Wertheim Foundation, Leiden, Holland; co-founder of the Asian Studies, Research and Information, Amsterdam; member of the Royal Institute for Language, Land and Ethnology, Leiden.