Indonesian Chinese Relations with Their Ancestral Country and National Integration:History and Reality

Most of the Overseas Chinese in Indonesia have adopted the Indonesian nationality and become Indonesian Chinese since the end of WWII.The real national integration,nevertheless,has a long way to go.This article analyzes the nature of two different relationships,i.e.relations between China and Overseas Chinese and relations between China and ethnic Chinese in the country while examining its changes.In order to better understand the nature,characteristics of Indonesian Chinese nationalism and how to promote the national integration in Indonesia,the author proposed four suggestions as follows:Ⅰ) While maintaining their cultural traditions,ethnic Chinese need to facilitate the process of national assimilation and integration in the country;Ⅱ) The interests of ethnic Chinese are consistent with Indonesian national interests,and the so-called Re-Sinicization would not happen to the Chinese community;Ⅲ) The so-called Ethnic Chinese Problem is an internal issue in Indonesia and should not confuse it with the diplomatic relations between China and Indonesia;Ⅳ) There is a watershed between China's policies towards Overseas Chinese and those towards ethnic Chinese,which needs to be carefully differentiated.The relationship between China and ethnic Chinese of Indonesia is based on the shared ethnic sentiment and cultural traditions,and we'd better not to classify the subgroups of the Chinese community in line with the political ideology.