Identity C h inese N ew Y ear eu phoria and p olitical traum a

4 6 “Acknowledging the cultural rights of the Chinese does not give the governm ent an excuse to forget about the recognition of other rights. Human rights are som ething that cannot be abolished or limited in any way. For 30 years under the New O rder regime, the political rights of ethnic Chinese citizens were violated and completely ignored -- a fact that, to the present day, causes unease and trepidation among Chinese communities throughout Indonesia.”Fourth paragraph “This is the second year in which Chinese New Year has been celebrated as a national holiday. There is a kind of euphoria about marking Chinese New Year, but the rights of ethnic Chinese -- like other human rights conditions in this country -- are still far from perfect due to violations by power-holders who do not respect law and human rights.” 1 2 th pa ra g ra p h T h e tw o o f tex ts a b o v e also d e sc rib e th e jo u rn a list w h o id en tifie s h im se lf a s eth n ic C h in ese w h o is still d iscrim in a ted in fie ld o f h u m a n righ ts esp e c ia lly in th e p o litic al righ ts. “In this struggle, we must eradicate the fears of the past and look forward to a new day when democracy, human rights and the rule of law are respected. Ethnic Chinese enter fields like public adm inistration, law, national defense, policing, the judiciary and education in order to develop Indonesia in the right direction in partnership with other ethnic groups of this great and diverse nation.” 18 th paragraph B a sed o n th e tex t ab o v e , th e jo u rn a list id e n tifie s h im se lf as p a rt o f In d o n e sia g o v ern m en t. A lth o u g h , h e re a liz es th a t eth n ic C h in ese is d isc rim in a te d b u t h e su g g ests e rad ica tin g th e p ast a n d lo o k in g fo rw a rd to h av e b e tte r fu tu re to d ev e lo p In d o n esia to ge th e r. B a sed o n th o se te x ts a b o v e ca n b e co n c lu d ed th a t th e jo u rn a list p o sitio n s h im se lf in th e n eu tral p o s itio n . 4 7

2. Fittin g In

T h e te x t te lls ab o u t th e d iscrim in a tio n w h ich is eth n ic C h in e se go t sin c e 1 9 6 0 s. T h e y go t it d a y b y d a y. It b e c a m e w o rs e w h e n th e M a y rio ts h a p p en e d . T h e y lo st th e ir sh o p a n d o f c o u rse th e y h o m e also w h ich is v an d a liz ed an d lo o te d d u rin g M a y rio ts. It w a s n o t o n ly h a p p en ed in J ak arta b u t a lso h ap p en ed in S u ra k a rta an d o th e r c itie s in Ja v a , a n d S u m a tra a s sta ted in th e te x t in fifth p a ra g ra p h . “The ’98 riots’ in which an orgy of violence overtook the predom inantly ethnic Chinese com mercial center of Glodok in Jakarta, Surakarta, and other cities in Java and Sumatra,… … “ T h e d isc rim in a tio n n o t o n ly o c cu rs p h ysic ally b u t a lso o c cu rs in id en titie s p ro b le m . F o r in stan c e, id en tific a tio n c a rd K T P , b irth c e rtifica te o r ev e n m a rria g e c ertific a te, th a t is w h y, th e y h a v e n e v e r b een to p a rtic ip a te in g en e ra l elec tio n b ec au se o f it. A n d a lso th e y are c a lle d a s fo re ign c itiz en . “Some have never been to participate in general election because they do not have identification card KTP required to register.” 2 9 th p a rag rap h . “I never had a birth certificate,” says Yin Fang, a native of Bangka province. “The government make it so difficult for me to process any paper work. I’ve been married for 30 years and I don’t even have a marriage certificate.” 3 0 th p ara g ra p h . “one of the most discriminatory among them was the labeling of Chinese- Indonesians as “foreign citizens” WNA,… ” 27 th paragraph G en e ra lly, th e te x t is tak in g ab o u t th e d iscrim in a tio n w h ic h e th n ic C h in ese go t. T h e tex t o n ly ta lk s a b o u t su fferin g o f C h in e se , an d d o e s n o t ta lk m o re ab o u t w h y it h ap p e n s to C h in e se . 4 8