● 钟喜甲

　　今年五月暴动使印尼华裔蒙受最严重的一次挫伤。在掠夺抢劫、
烧杀强暴后，国家经济源泉——华裔弃走他乡，投资者却步，导致民
不聊生。

　　半个世纪以前，日本军国主义在亚洲，德国法西斯在欧洲的残暴
行径，半个世纪以后竟然在一个非战争环境下的印尼重演。

　　本文作者追忆他的家族五代经验，向印尼总统哈比比陈情，掠夺
印尼资源的罪魁祸首并不是印尼华裔。作者建议哈比比该补挂勋章来
表彰华裔先贤对当地经济的伟绩。

　　本文乃取自网络，经作者同意下发表。

　　尊敬的印尼总统阁下：

　　我是在印尼生活了五代的华人后裔，现在在北京安度着幸福的晚
年。对于今年5月份在印尼发生的掠夺、抢劫、烧杀及强暴华人妇女
的事件深感震惊。三个月来心情很不安，沉重和愤怒。

　　半个世纪以前，日本军国主义在亚洲，德国法西斯在欧洲干着被
全世界人民痛恨的惨无人道的法西斯行径，半个世纪以后竟然在一个
非战争环境下的印尼重演这种悲剧，真令人痛心。

　　这一事件的发生不是勤劳、勇敢和善良的印尼人民的过错，更不
是为了印尼国家的繁荣昌盛而英勇拼搏、将自己的智慧和汗血、甚至
于生命，完完全全奉献出来的印尼华人应得的报应。

　　这是荷兰殖民主义，日本法西斯占领时期和你们印尼当权者历年
来的错误政策，以及只顾统治阶级利益的养痈成患的做法，产生的后
果。

　　我出生在邦加岛，离开印尼快50年了，离别和思念，使我永远忘
不了这个第二故乡。邦加和勿里洞两个盛产锡矿的岛屿，锡储存量极
为丰富。由荷兰殖民主义者驻巨港的东印度公司，分别于1710年和
1850年发现。

　　1823年荷兰总督V. D. Capellen发布了对锡矿开采和贸易的殖民
化命令，所有的锡矿变成了荷殖企业，从而长达几十年“用黑人奴隶
开矿的美国模式”的辩论终告结束，出台了“本地土人不适于重体力
劳动，应由中国劳工进行开矿”的不成文规定。

　　这规定加强了当时和美国贩卖黑奴同步增长的贩卖中国“猪崽”
（编按：南洋称之为卖猪仔）的活动。19世纪初，从闽粤沿岸受骗的
中国劳工源源不绝地被贩运到邦加和勿里洞。

　　我的老太公（我祖父的祖父）就是受骗从新加坡被装进荷兰船转
口到邦加去的。老祖宗和同伴们到了矿山受到非人的待遇，劳苦一辈
子也赎不起自己的人身自由。许多人跑到邦加的原始森林里躲起来。

　　岛上警察都有权开枪打死他们，这使“猪崽”的来源越来越紧张
，矿山劳力紧缺，使统治者恐慌。

　　1880年出笼惩罚条例(Poenale sanctie)，对劳工严加限制和虐
待。劳工们忍无可忍，于1903年爆发了震撼世界的“苦力暴动”
(Koeli schandalen)事件。

　　从19世纪下半叶，两个岛屿的锡产量已达世界产量的五分之一，
收入有八分之五进入荷兰皇家国库。

　　难怪1898年Wilhelmina女皇加冕时的舆论中也不得不承认，除了
巨港的石油外，邦加、勿里洞的采锡业是荷兰政府金库十分固定和非
常丰富的摇钱树：“锡盆子”(een vaste en rijke bate voor de 
schatkist: "tinpotje"）。这棵摇钱树是用数不清的中华劳工的血
肉浇灌出来的。

　　我含着眼泪来回忆以上的历史事实，就是要告诉总统阁下，邦加
这个美丽、迷人的原始小海岛，那里有着我祖先的辛酸泪、血汗史，
埋葬着我祖先的骸骨和忠魂，更有我祖先开天辟地所创立的丰碑。

　　有了千千万万华人“猪崽”的无私奉献，和当地人民一起努力，
印尼独立后才能从荷兰统治者手里接受过效益极佳，可以充实国库的
许多锡矿。

　　从以上事实可以清楚看出，掠夺当地资源的罪魁祸首不是华人而
是殖民主义者，印尼华人和印尼原族人都是他们剥削的对象。邦加的
椰树林子埋葬着我们数不清的当“猪崽”的先辈，他们静静地躺在异
国他乡土地下，野草丛生，默默无闻。

　　总统阁下，你们实在应给他们补挂勋章，来表彰他们对当地经济
的伟大功绩。

　　当“猪崽”的老太公死了才赎回了身子，我的阿太公开个小小的
亚弄店糊口。这时代，就是印尼的社会经济从自然经济走向市场经济
的时期。

　　荷兰的殖民地政策规定华人是印尼市场经济的网络细胞，本地人
拥有土地所有权，而印尼华人没有。

　　在这里我要说的是：印尼本族人和印尼华族人的社会分工早就在
本世纪前由荷兰总督van der Coen定下来的。印尼独立了50多年了，
哪一位印尼当权者对这种法规做过任何变动没有？

　　怎能怪罪印尼华人只会经商不会种地，当店主的大多数是华人，
怎么就该被抢、被杀、被烧、被强暴呢？

　　说到我祖父，他继承了这个亚弄店，去广州盘货，乘坐小帆船，
往返一次最快要半年到一年时间。日夜在海上飘泊。我祖父去了三个
来回，最后一次　　　　　　　　　　　　　回来途中，不慎落海。
为了求生，把身上衣服两头系紧大扣，吹满了气，在海面漂浮，终于
侥幸被救上船，死里逃生。

　　船到了邦加靠了岸，他第一个跳上岸，跪下来，面对大海磕了
108个响头，发誓以后不再上船。

　　祖父重重地答谢了船主后，把不易挣来的钱做本钱，几年后他成
功经营了橡胶、椰子、胡椒园、烧砖、瓷器等各种小厂，并鼓励大家
一起发展农业、商业、小工业和运输业。

　　我的祖父，一个老华人，为了振兴当地的经济，努力拼搏，舍身
忘死，他的作法，近代人称为筹集资金，投入工农业建设，怎能把这
样为本岛谋利的功臣叫做吸当地人血的吸血鬼呢？

　　祖父年纪大了，退到一香蕉园里度晚年，我父亲接受了全部产业
的经营权，并在当地开一家运输公司，把全岛的锡砂和大型货物运输
全包下来，当时从美国进口的福特卡车就达几十辆。

　　邦加岛的繁荣和发展，就是靠千千万万热爱居住国，有拼搏精神
的四五代华人血汗和生命的无私奉献和许多当地土著人民并肩战斗的
结果。

　　二战爆发，日寇占领印尼，华人的财产被没收，被抢光，汽车被
征用，工厂倒闭，田园荒废，无人管理。巨大损失得不到赔偿，父亲
也别无生计，携带全家陆续回中国，1980年在北京逝世，地无一垅、
房无一间。

　　总统阁下，我们五代人，共经历150-200个春秋，对当地作出了
巨大的贡献，我们别无所求，只求安安定定的生活，把印尼当作自己
的故乡。

　　我留学国外也有准备学成返回印尼参加建设。不料印尼执行了错
误的排华政策，把对印尼经济建设有用的自己人当作敌人。对世世代
代居住在印尼的华人后代，不给起码的人权，随意让流氓和不法分子
的烧杀、强暴，不加制止。

　　你们的错误政策究竟对印尼有什么好处？只能给全世界留下印尼
是个“野蛮”、“惨无人道”的国家的坏印象。华人被逼逃难，投资
者心有余悸。印尼的恐怖让人胆战心惊。

　　半个世纪以前，日本人的侵略，对印尼造成极大的破坏，华人损
失很大，但是当时印尼获得了独立，这次亚洲经济危机对印尼的经济
影响也很大，印尼华

人首当其冲，在经济上的损失，精神和肉体上伤害更是无法比喻，这
将在政治和国际形象上留下不可磨灭的伤痕。我还要告诉阁下，世界
上每个国家都有少数民族存在。中国有五十多个，印尼也有一百多个
，他们也拥有各种宗教信仰。

　　历史成功的国家领导人，首先把国内这两个基本问题（多民族、
宗教信仰）解决好，这样一来团结了全国人民和各种各样的政治力量
才能把国家建设好。

　　世世代代在印尼生活的印尼华人是建设和繁荣国家最可靠和忠实
的社会力量，千万不要再做那种使亲者痛仇者快的行为，我们希望印
尼各族人民，包括印尼族华人，团结一致，携手并肩，重建家园去迎
接更加辉煌的21世纪。

　　钟喜甲敬上


作者简介

　　作者是广东蕉岭人，现居北京。他早年在印尼万隆荷兰工科大学
肆业，遵循祖父的叮咛——“回唐山去摔打你的筋骨”，又看到解放
后的中国一片兴旺，感念于中国的召唤，立志于“建设祖国，振兴中
华”。

　　作者在大学毕业至退休期间完成了主要专业技术工作成果22项，
其中四项属重大发明创造。主要论文、著作、总结等33篇，其中英文
、荷文各一篇已存入荷兰德尔夫特大学资料室。荣获勋章、奖状18项。

An open letter to President Habibie

　The May riots this year was the worst calamity to have 
befallen the Chinese Indonesians in recent memory. After the
looting, burning and rapes, most of the Chinese, the 
mainstay of the national economy, fled the country. Foreign 
investors are also turning their backs. As a result, the 
Indonesian people are sinking deeper into dire 
circumstances.

　Half a century ago, Japanese militarists and German 
fascists commited all kinds of atrocities in Asia and 
Europe. Half a century later, the same tragedy was to occur 
in Indonesia, a country which was not at war.

　Recounting the history of his family over five 
generations, the writer pleads with Indonesian president, B.
J. Habibie, that Chinese Indonesians are not the main 
looters of Indonesian resources. He suggests that Habibie 
bestow posthumous awards upon the Chinese pioneers for their
contributions to the local economy.

　This open letter by Zhong Xijia is taken from the Internet
and is published here with the writer's permission.

Your Excellency, Mr B. J. Habibie, President of

Indonesia,

　I am a descendent of a Chinese Indonesian family which had
lived in Indonesia for the past five generations. I am now 
happily living out my twilight years in Beijing. The 
looting, robbing, burning and the rapes committed against 
ethnic Chinese women in Indonesia in May this year left me 
in a state of extreme shock. For the past three months, I 
have been feeling uneasy, heavy-hearted and furious.

　Half a century ago, Japanese militarists and German 
fascists committed inhuman atrocities in Asia and Europe, 
atrocities which people the world over deplore. How sad to 
see, half a century later, the same tragedy actually being 
replayed in Indonesia, a country which was not at war.

　This tragedy was not the fault of the industrious, brave 
and kind Indonesians. This tragedy is not the kind of reward
that the Chinese Indonesians, who have fought brave and 
hard, devoting their wisdom, blood, sweat, even their lives,
for the prosperity of Indonesia, deserve. This tragedy is 
the result of the wrong policies pursued by the Dutch 
colonialists, the Japanese occupiers and the Indonesian 
rulers themselves. It is also the result of the longstanding
and unchecked practice of accomodating only the interests of
the ruling class.

　I was born in the Indonesian island of Bangka. Although I 
have left Indonesia almost 50 years ago, the nolstagia for 
my birthplace has made it impossible for me to forget my 
second homeland. The two tin-rich islands of Bangka and 
Billiton were discovered in 1710 and 1850 by the Dutch East 
India Company based in Palembang. In 1823, the Dutch 
governor V. D. Capellen issued a colonial order under which 
all tin mines were turned into Dutch colonial enterprises. 
It also ended a debate which had lasted for several decades 
over whether or not to follow "the American model of using 
Negro slaves to excavate the tin mines."

　An unwritten rule that "Chinese labourers should work the 
mines because local Indonesian natives were unsuited for 
heavy labour" was propagated. This unwritten rule resulted 
in the sharp increase in the trafficking of Chinese 
labourers during a time when slave-trafficking was also in 
full swing in the United States. In the early 19th century, 
countless numbers of Chinese along the coasts of Fujian and 
Guangdong provinces were shanghaied and shipped to Bangka 
and Billiton where they were sold as labourers.

　My great-great-grandfather was tricked in Singapore and 
was put on a Dutch steamship to Bangka. He and his fellow 
countrymen suffered inhuman conditions in the mines. They 
could not redeem their freedom even with the savings from a 
lifetime of hard labour. Many of them escaped into the 
primary jungles of Bangka.

　The police stationed on the island had the authority to 
shoot and kill the escaped labourers. This shrank the number
of Chinese labourers and the labour shortage in the mines 
became more acute. The rulers began to panic. In 1880, the 
Punitive Regulation (Poenale Sanctie) was promulgated which 
allowed for greater restrictions and torture of the 
labourers. It was beyond what the labourers could bear. 
Finally in 1903, the Coolie Revolt (Koeli Schandalen) broke 
out. It was an event that shook the world.

　From the later half of the 19th century, the tin produced 
on the two islands was one-fifth of the total world output, 
but five-eighths of the income went into the Royal Treasury 
of the Netherlands. No wonder at the coronation of Queen 
Wilhelmina in 1898, public opinion conceded that other than 
the oil in Palembang, the "tinpots" (tinpotje) of Bangka and
Billiton were a stable and abundant golden goose for the 
coffers of the Dutch government. This golden goose was in 
fact fed by the flesh and blood of innumerable Chinese 
coolies.

　The tearful account above serves to tell Your Excellency 
that the beautiful and enchanting island of Bangka was 
nourished by the blood and tears of my ancestor. His bones 
lie beneath the soil just as his spirit hovers over it. 
There lies the monument to my ancestor's pioneering efforts.

　The joint effort between thousands of self-sacrificing 
Chinese coolies and the local Indonesians ensured that 
post-independence Indonesia could take over from the Dutch 
colonialists, these highly profitable tin mines which were 
able to fill the coffers of this young nation.

　The facts above clearly show that the real plunderers of 
local resources were not the Chinese but the Dutch 
colonialists. Chinese Indonesians and the local natives were
both targets of their exploitation. Our innumerable coolie 
ancestors were buried beneath the palm trees of Bangka. 
There they lie silently in a distant land, with weeds 
growing above their graves, without a penny to their names. 
Your Excellency should confer upon them posthumous honours 
for the great contributions they had made to the local 
economy.

　Only in his death did my great-great-grandfather regained 
his freedom. My great-grandfather then ran a tiny warung (a 
shop that sells cooked food in Indonesia) to make a living. 
During his time, Indonesia was undergoing a transition from 
a natural economy to a market economy.

　The Dutch colonial policy stipulated that the Chinese 
should be the synapses of the economical network in 
Indonesia, while the local natives held the right to own 
land. The Chinese Indonesians were deprived of 
land-ownership rights. What I am saying is that the division
of labour between Indonesian natives and Chinese 
Indonesians had been set by Dutch governor van der Coen in 
the last century. In these 50 years since independence, has 
any Indonesian ruler sought to change this rule? How could 
the Chinese Indonesians be blamed for being businessmen and 
not farmers? Most Indonesian shopkeepers today are Chinese, 
does that mean that they should be robbed, killed, burnt or 
raped?

　My grandfather took over the warung from his father. He 
used to go to Canton (now known as Guangzhou) for supplies 
in a small sailboat. A round trip took at least six months 
to a year. On his third and last trip, he fell overboard on 
the way back to Indonesia. He tied up both ends of his 
shirt, blew it up as a life-jacket and drifted on the sea.

　Fortunately, a passing boat rescued him. When the boat 
reached Bangka, he was the first person to jump ashore. 
There, he knelt and made 108 kowtows to the sea, swearing 
that he would never set foot on a boat again.

　After thanking the owner of the boat which rescued him, my
grandfather used his hard-earned money to set up a business.
After a few years, he acquired rubber, coconut and pepper 
plantations. He also set up small brick and porcelain 
factories. At the same time, he encouraged his relatives and
friends to venture into other businesses like plantation, 
finance, shipping and other small enterprises with him. My 
grandfather, an old Chinese man, devoted his whole life into
developing the local economy. In modern terms, his life's 
work is the accumulation of capital for the development of 
local industry and agriculture. How could a person who had 
worked so hard for the prosperity of the island be labelled 
a bloodsucker of the local people?

　My grandfather retired to a banana plantation in his old 
age and my father took over the reins of the business. He 
set up a shipping company which took over most of the 
shipping of tin, sand and bulky cargo on the island. At that
time, he even imported scores of Ford trucks from the United
States.

　The development and the prosperity of Bangka is the result
of the Indonesian natives working side by side with the 
hardworking Chinese Indonesians who had shed blood and tears
over four or five generations on their beloved adopted 
country.

　During the Second World War, the Japanese invaders 
occupied Indonesia. The properties of the Chinese 
Indonesians were either confiscated or robbed. Their cars 
were requisitioned, their factories closed down and their 
plantations were deserted. No compensation has ever been 
made for this huge loss. Without any means to make a living,
my father was forced to take his family back to China. He 
died in Beijing in 1980, leaving behind neither land nor a 
house.

　Your Excellency, the five generations of my family have 
made tremendous contributions to the development of 
Indonesia over the past 150 to 200 years. We ask for nothing
but a peaceful life where we can regard Indonesia as our 
homeland. When I was studying abroad, I had wanted to return
to help build Indonesia. But the Indonesian government took 
a wrong turn and carried out its anti-Chinese policies, 
treating as its enemy those who would have been useful to 
its national development.

　The Chinese Indonesians who have lived for generations in 
Indonesia are deprived of basic human rights. The government
did not do anything to stop the burning, killing and raping 
of Chinese Indonesians by the mob. How has Indonesia 
benefited from these wrong policies? Nothing but the 
impression that Indonesia is a ''barbaric'' and ''inhuman'' 
country.

　The Chinese Indonesians are now forced to flee to country 
and the investors are afraid. The terror that is reigning 
across Indonesia is making everyone fearful.

　Half a century ago, when the Japanese invasion inflicted 
severe damages in Indonesia, the Chinese Indonesians took 
the major brunt of it. But at the end of that invasion, 
Indonesia gained its independence. The current Asian 
economic crisis is also affecting Indonesia in a big way. 
Again the Chinese Indonesians are suffering the most 
economically and, especially, spiritually and physically. 
These sufferings of the Chinese Indonesians will leave an 
indelible mark on Indonesia's politics and international 
reputation for years to come.

　I wish to add, Your Excellency, that there are minorities 
in all countries. China itself has more than 50 ethnic 
minorities while Indonesia has more than a hundred, each 
with its own religious beliefs. Those leaders who had 
succeeded would have first settled the two most fundamental 
issues of multi-ethnicity and religion. The proper 
management of these two problems could unify the people and 
the various political forces to work together for the 
ultimate good of that country.

　The Chinese Indonesians who have lived in Indonesia for 
generations are the most reliable and loyal people who can 
aid in the development and prosperity of the country. Please
prevent these persecutions from ever happening again. We 
hope that all the different peoples of Indonesia, including 
the Chinese Indonesians, will stand together as one and 
rebuild their homeland hand in hand to meet a brighter 21st 
century.

　

About the writer



　The writer, whose ancestry can be traced to Jiaoling 
County of Guangdong province, now resides in Beijing. He was
enrolled in Fakultas Teknik Bandung, Indonesia, but he was 
not able to complete his studies. He followed his 
grandfather's advice to "go back to China to toughen his 
bones". There, he witnessed China's euphoria after 1949 and 
decided to heed its call to "build up and strengthen the 
Chinese nation".

　　After he graduated from the university, he completed 22 
technological projects until his retirement, four of which 
were considered significant inventions. He has written 33 
pieces of scholarly works including dissertations, books and
summaries. One work in English and another in Dutch are kept
in the Technische Hogeschool Delft library in the 
Netherlands. He has received 18 awards and decorations. 

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