A Successful Transition

After the Japanese defeat in the Pacific War and the Proclamation of Indonesian Independence, the Dutch reoccupied most of the territory of the Republic of Indonesia – but not Aceh. Most Indonesian Chinese were confused about which side to choose. They had suffered during the Japanese colonial period and looked forward to the arrival of the Allied forces.¹ The Chinese Nationalist Government led by the Kuomintang wavered over whether to give diplomatic recognition to Indonesia in the early days of independence. China still considered the Dutch, American and British powers – their Allies in World War ii – to be protectors of their citizens outside China, and it also distrusted the Republic. The Kuomintang Government encouraged the Chinese in Indonesia to adopt a neutral attitude in the Indonesian-Dutch conflict. This in turn caused pro-Republican indigenous Indonesians (known as bumiputra) to distrust the Chinese community. Open conflicts broke out between Republican fighters and ethnic Chinese in several places reoccupied by the Dutch, such as Tangerang, Bagan Siapi-Api and Medan, resulting in casualties and property losses. Bai Chongxi, a special staff of the Chinese Nationalist Government who served as intermediary between the Republic and the Chinese community in Indonesia, wrote that the Indonesian government had inherited a suspicious attitude towards the Chinese from the Dutch, although it was trying hard to eradicate it.²