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Let’s be honest about Indonesia's 'nationalism'
Like her, many other Chinese also possess different identities. Nonetheless, in general, everybody is equally Chinese.
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National interest: The country’s national emblem, the Garuda Pancasila, carries the Sanskrit motto “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” (Unity in Diversity).
(JP/Maksum Nur Fauzan)
T
he song “Tian Mi Mi” was playing in the background as a friend and I tried to decide on our lunch menu. My mainland-Chinese friend said according to her father, this famous song used to be banned in China because it was about romance, instead of the nationalism that the new government was trying to instill in the population at the time.
Curious, I sought more information. Indeed, its original singer, Teresa Teng — who was also popular in Indonesia from the 1960s to the 1990s — and other singers from Taiwan and Hong Kong were banned for several years in mainland China, since their songs were considered too “bourgeois”. Nevertheless, Teng’s songs remained popular and have become memorable pop classics.
I told my friend that Teng would be laughing in her grave to know that the propaganda that banned her and her songs had faded, and although its initial proponents died long ago, her songs persisted until today. Indeed, vita brevis, ars longa: Art is long, life is short. Even so, the impacts of China’s nationalist propaganda have persisted too.
Negative examples, as many may perceive, include the forced unity, unquestionable adherence to the government and absolute state authority. However, a positive impact is the fervent sense of oneness among the general Chinese population. Later, I told my friend that Chinese today generally had a stronger sense of nationalism than Indonesians.
