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used to joke that the month leading up to the Chinese New Year is the '€œChinese appreciation month'€, because it was the only time Chinese-Indonesian people and culture were exposed in Indonesian media and Chinese-Indonesian issues were discussed. For the rest of the year, with the small exception of mid-May, Chinese-Indonesians would again be invisible to the public eye.

This is not the case anymore. When you go to a mall or store you will still see Chinese decorations, Chinese-related items (some of them perpetuating old-fashioned stereotypes) and a promise of lucky angpao (gift) for the minimum purchase of Rp 500,000 (US$36.8).

You have seen restaurants and hotels advertising Chinese New Year dinner sets. But as the media don'€™t run features on Chinese culture anymore, you might not be aware that the New Year is around the corner.

On the other hand, it is easy to find Chinese people in the media. There are actors and actresses, hosts and masters of ceremony, newsreaders and reporters, comedians and internet stars, political commentators and politicians.

Some of them are comfortable using the controversial '€œCina'€ word in casual conversation and sharing jokes about growing up in a Chinese family or going to China for the first time. It has been 13 years since the Chinese New Year became an official holiday in Indonesia on religious '€” instead of cultural '€” grounds. The way Chinese New Year is officially treated shows political gymnastics at work.

The word Imlek removes the inconvenience of putting the '€œChinese'€ label ('€œLunar New Year'€ is preferred for non-Chinese who celebrate the same holiday, such as Koreans and Vietnamese). The year 2560, counting from the supposed birth date of Confucius, is not used elsewhere.

In short, the inclusion of Chinese New Year as a national holiday, and consequently the acceptance of Chinese culture in Indonesia, had and still have to be justified for the general public and even for some worried Chinese-Indonesians.

The reason for the complication is easy. Like elsewhere in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, ethnic Chinese live awkwardly with other ethnic groups, mainly because of the economic disparity between the Chinese and the rest.

Of course, many ethnic Chinese struggle economically, but the richest men of every Southeast Asian country are ethnic Chinese who maintain close relations with their respective governments.

Chinese-Indonesians have tried to address the gap between Chinese and non-Chinese ways of life with different solutions. Some are active in social work to aid poor communities. Some believe that religious and nationalist ethics will fight the perception that Chinese people don'€™t care about Indonesia.

Some find more common ground with the non-Chinese whether in hobbies, political views or professional fields. Others embrace their Chinese identity and believe that China is a good role model for Indonesia.

My involvement in feminism over the last two years has changed my perception of being Chinese in Indonesia dramatically. I have learned to accept my biracial identity.

I have learned that Chinese-Indonesian activists can be critical of the popular Governor Basuki '€œAhok'€ Tjahaja Purnama, whose development plans might damage the lives of poor Jakartans.

It is very hard to find other ethnic Chinese in the field of feminism, just like in other social activism. This is not only in Indonesia, but in most countries, except perhaps in the US. After all, various Chinese political philosophies respect order and hierarchy over change and justice.

Many Asian countries put activists and dissidents under arrest and argue that human rights are harmful.

It is difficult for me to conclude if Chinese-Indonesians are comfortable with their so-called hyphen identity. On the one hand, we see more Chinese public figures than ever. On the other hand, it seems that urban Chinese-Indonesians live even further apart from other Indonesians '€” shopping in different malls, joining different social organizations and using different social media platforms.

The ugly racism is still there. On the internet, you still can find people who spew vicious racist messages against the president and the governor of Jakarta, along with the conspiracy theory that China will take over Indonesia.

On the other hand, some younger Chinese-Indonesians are uncomfortable with the everyday racism against Indonesians spoken by their family members and friends. Maybe things are relatively calm because the two parties don'€™t hear each other.

I hope in 2016, after a peaceful and joyful celebration of the coming of the Year of the Monkey, more Chinese-Indonesians would be more comfortable being

Chinese and being Indonesian. On the other hand, I hope more non-Chinese would have the opportunity to get to know Chinese people and appreciate their background and experience.

So many Indonesians enjoyed the Chinese-Indonesian biographical comedy Ngenest, even perhaps more than the Chinese-Indonesian audience did.

Political analysts expect Asian-Americans to be a considerable voting group in this year'€™s US presidential election, and Chinese-Indonesians have proven their importance during the 2014 presidential election in Indonesia.

Hopefully, we will see more political and social participation among Chinese-Indonesians from now on. A few hundred or thousand good men and women would be good for a start.