The not so rich Indonesian Chinese

The stereotypical image of Chinese Indonesians is that they are all rich. This is not so, of course. There are many poor Chinese some so poor that they are believed to sell off their daughters to Taiwanese and Korean men for marriage. There are many poor Chinese in Tangerang, commonly known as Cina Benteng and today’s eviction of one of their neighborhoods illustrates that like all other ethnic groups in Indonesia, while there are a few rich people there are also many poor ones. So enough already with the stereotype of the rich Chinese Indonesian.

Evictions delayed as residents fight

The Tangerang municipality administration delayed Tuesday the eviction of residential houses of a lower-income Chinese community living in three villages along the Cisadane riverbank, pending further agreement regarding compensation.

The delay began after a long-hour standoff between the public order officers and the residents in the morning.

However hundreds of officers bulldozed illegal factories, office buildings and resident-owned pigpens along the riverbank in the afternoon.

The standoff between about 1,000 residents of Tangga Asem, Kokun, and Sewan Lebak villages of Neglasari district, known as Cina Benteng, and the city administration has been ongoing since Monday.

The evictions of illegal buildings in the villages are related to the municipality’s project on the expansion of Cisadane River under a 2000 bylaw on sanitation, security and public order. (tsy)

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Source: The Jakarta Post