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Taiwan or communism? The Chinese who fled Indonesia and had to choose
- Racial discrimination prompted ethnic Chinese to flee Indonesia in the 1950s and 1960s
- Many opted for Taiwan over communist-led mainland China – and not just because of politics
Reading Time:4 minutes
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Inside the premises of the Indonesia Overseas Chinese Association in New Taipei City, the Republic of China (ROC) flag and a portrait of its founding president Sun Yat-sen are hung against the wall.
They are a reminder of the Chinese civil war, which ended in 1949 with the creation of the People’s Republic of China. The seat of government of the ROC, Taiwan’s official name, was relocated to Taipei after the nationalists lost to the communists.
Around this time, anti-Chinese sentiment began building in Indonesia, prompting some pro-nationalist ethnic Chinese Indonesians to move to Taiwan in the 1950s and 1960s.
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One such “returnee” was Lee Hui Ying, 81, who left Indonesia in 1960 with four siblings due to the pai hua, or anti-Chinese sentiment, that swept the Southeast Asian nation following discriminatory rhetoric and policies by the government.
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Born in Cianjur in West Java, Lee attended the Zhongshan High School in Jakarta which had a strong pro-Taipei political affiliation. About two-fifths of its annual graduating class usually went to Taiwan to further their studies.
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