SMU Assistant Professor of Asian Studies Dr Hoon Chang Yau, author of the monograph “Chinese Identity in Post-Suharto Indonesia: Culture, Media and Politics” specialises in the study of diasporic Chinese in Indonesia and the interactions between the different religions of the country. A Malaysia-born Chinese who grew up in Brunei, who later went on to study and live in Australia, Dr Hoon was able to study the issue of socio-cultural identification of Chinese Indonesians from an “outsider's” perspective. At the same time, his “Oriental” look and demeanour, coupled with his fluency in Bahasa, Mandarin and other Chinese dialects, allowed him to integrate with the Chinese diaspora in Jakarta to observe as an “insider”. This gave him a rare advantage over other academics and researchers.
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Lianhe Zaobao
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