OPINION: The panda on our eyelids: How Indonesians view China
The Jakarta Post, 13 August 2011
The Pew Global Attitudes Survey released in mid-July reported on the views of a 1,000 Indonesians on China in comparison to the US.
To be clear, detailed datasets have not been released to the public. At the risk of oversimplifying things, let’s toy with the available information.
A majority of respondents in 15 of the 22 nations surveyed said China had either already replaced or would replace the US. However, only 8 percent of Indonesian respondents said that China replaced the US, 25 percent said China would do so and 46 percent said that China would never replace the US.
While most respondents viewed the US more favorably than China, Indonesian respondents answered differently. The US’ favorability in the eyes of Indonesian respondents went down slightly from last year from 59 percent to 54 percent, while the number of respondents with a favorable view of China increased from 58 percent to 67 percent.
More Indonesian respondents said an increase in the US’ military power and economy would be worse for Indonesia than a similar increase in China’s influence.
The survey said that 44 percent of respondents agreed that China’s growing military was good, 36 percent disagreed. Eleven percent said increasing US military power was good, while 79 percent said such an increase was negative.
On the economy, 62 percent of respondents agreed that China’s growing economy was good, while 25 percent disagreed, and 37 percent agreed that a growing US economy was good, while 53 percent disagreed.
Somewhat similar results were recorded by a 2008 survey on soft power conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (CCOGA). Basically, Indonesians were not in love with China. More respondents are worried about a potential US threat.
That 62 percent thought positively of China’s growing economy is astonishing, given generally threatening depictions of China and the ACFTA process in the media.
That 44 percent think favorably of China’s growing military might is also surprising, considering the long history of the New Order’s “triangular threat” of China, Chinese Indonesians and the Communist Party, which lingers as one of the most potent reasons behind the government’s ambiguous China policy.
In a CSIS Washington report on Indonesian assessments of US power, E.Z. Bower said that Indonesia felt caught and did not relish being asked to choose between the US and China. Indonesian elites also had a clear preference for America, viewed China as a competitor and were least likely to accommodate China.
Assuming that the reports can be used as a snapshot of Indonesian views of China from an urban or elite perspective, there appears to be a gap between the elite’s and the general public’s views of China.
Of course it would not be the first time such a gap was recorded. A relatively lower percentage of favorable views may be connected to the more prominent polemics surrounding the Tangguh gas project in West Papua, food/product safety issues and ACFTA — all of which are cases of our lack of readiness to face China.
That the favorable percentages are still above 50 percent may suggest that respondents still regard China less problematic than our own unpreparedness (government and non-government alike).
Perception is a dynamic phenomenon. The democratization process in Indonesia has allowed us to take a proactive part in shaping perceptions, instead of relying solely on one fabricated by those in power — such as the “triangular threat”.
The “New Order generation” comprises less than half of the current population. Though raised to be wary of a “triangular threat”, the current generation has a different and perhaps less prejudiced image of China than their parents.
At the end of the day, it’s not about creating a more “favorable” view of China. It’s about a more constructive and well-informed view of China.
Our ability to shape perceptions has suffered from several decades of knowledge deprivation, since the New Order castrated the three pillars of Chinese Indonesian identity (schools, media and associations) and controlled information access.
Singapore and Malaysia have been better equipped in dealing with and reaping the benefits of China’s rise — partly because they are more conversant in Mandarin and are better informed about China’s development.
An increasing number of Indonesian students have enrolled in China, mostly for short language courses. Few pursue degrees. Access of information through media will play a crucial role. We have a lot of catching up to do, lest we perpetuate the old adage: “We can see the ants across the oceans, but not the panda on our eyelids.”
==================================
印尼人看中国
雅加达-2011.08.19
最近皮尤全球态度调查展示了一份调查报告，这份采集自1000个印尼人的报告显示，较美国而言，印尼人普遍更喜欢中国。将这份报告与其他的评论相比，不难看出，大众和国家领导层对待中国的看法上还是有很大不同。总之，这份报告并不是为了展示出一个对于中国的新观点，而是展示了一个更具有建设性的更广博的看中国的观点。7月公布的这份报告是在对1000名印尼人的来比较中美两国的观点进行调查基础上得出的。
当然，详细的数据并没有被公开。让我们冒着过于片面的风险来粗略分析一下这些可用的信息。
来自22个国家中受访者里，有15个国家的受访者认为出中国已经取代美国，或者认为中国有即将取代美国的趋势。然而，这份报告中，事实上这1000人中，只有8%的人认为中国已经取代了美国，25%的认为中国可能会取代美国，另外46%的参与者认为中国将永远不会超过美国。
与绝大多数的观点相反，印尼人反倒更喜欢中国。在印尼人心中，美国的受欢迎程度已经从59%下滑到54%，而中国的程度却从58%上涨到67%。
受访的印尼人中，多数认为，美国军事力量和经济的增长对印尼的负面影响要远远大于中国军事力量和经济略微增长的作用。
调查表明，44%的人认为中国的军事增长是有利的，36%持反对意见。11%的人认为美国军事力量的增长有益于印尼，而79%对此持反对意见。
在经济方面，问卷表明，62%的人认为中国的经济增长于印尼有益，25%反对；37%的人认为美国经济增长对印尼更有好处，而53%的人持反对意见。
由国际芝加哥国际公共关系委员会（CCOGA）发布的2008年对软实力的调查记录也表现出了一些相似的结果。 基本上，印尼人对中国没有那么强烈的好感。更多的参与者表现出对美国潜在威胁的担忧。
受到媒体对中国和其ACFTA进展的威胁论影响，62%的参与者认为中国经济的繁荣增长是惊人的，44%认为中国军事增长有益的参与者也认为这一增长很意外，联想到中国的新秩序的“三角威胁”的悠久历史，中印共和党是在政府对中国模棱两可的政策背后的主控因素。
在CSIS华盛顿对印尼对美国观点的评估报告中，E.Z Bower说，印尼人大多感觉受到鱼池之殃及并且不喜欢被询问在中美之前做选择。印尼政府高层也对美国的态度很明确，认为中国是一个竞争者，印尼是不会站在中国一边的。
假设这些报告可以映射出印尼群众或者高层对中国的观点，那么显而易见的是，政府高层和民众对中国的观点是大相径庭的。
当然，这已经不是第一次在记录中出现这样的差别。对中国好感相对低可能是因为受到了围绕在西Pahua的Tangguh汽油项目的激烈争议影响，食品/产品安全问题和ACFTA这些--都还缺乏面对中国的准备。
对中国持有好感的人数百分比始终持续在50%以上，这表明参与者仍然认为与我们自己的未就绪状态（的政府和非政府）相比，中国的问题相对较少。
感知是一种动态现象。印尼的民主化进程使我们得以积极的态度来形成我们的观点，而不是单一依赖于当权者的观点--比如那个“三角威胁”。
“新秩序的一代”包含着现有人口的一小半。尽管要提出对“三角威胁”的警惕，这一代对中国的印象却可能不同于父辈的那种偏见。
在今后的日子，并不是为了创造更多的对中国的“亲善”观点，而是要以更具建设性的广泛眼光去看中国。
自从新秩序阉割了中印三大支柱体系（学校，媒体和协会）并且控制了信息走向，我们形成感知的能力受到了几十年知识匮乏而带来的影响。
新加坡和马来西亚对如何对待中国的崛起并如何从中获益这方面做的更好些--部分原因可能是他们更熟悉普通话并且对中国的发展更为了解。大量的印尼留学生已经涌入中国，多数是为了研修短期语言课程，少数是为了获取学位。媒体信息的开放性将会起到关键作用。 我们有很多后续工作要做，至少，我们应该袭承那句古老的谚语：“我们应该看到远处穿过海洋的蚂蚁，而不是只看到眼前的熊猫。”
The Pew Global Attitudes Survey released in mid-July reported on the views of a 1,000 Indonesians on China in comparison to the US.
To be clear, detailed datasets have not been released to the public. At the risk of oversimplifying things, let’s toy with the available information.
A majority of respondents in 15 of the 22 nations surveyed said China had either already replaced or would replace the US. However, only 8 percent of Indonesian respondents said that China replaced the US, 25 percent said China would do so and 46 percent said that China would never replace the US.
While most respondents viewed the US more favorably than China, Indonesian respondents answered differently. The US’ favorability in the eyes of Indonesian respondents went down slightly from last year from 59 percent to 54 percent, while the number of respondents with a favorable view of China increased from 58 percent to 67 percent.
More Indonesian respondents said an increase in the US’ military power and economy would be worse for Indonesia than a similar increase in China’s influence.
The survey said that 44 percent of respondents agreed that China’s growing military was good, 36 percent disagreed. Eleven percent said increasing US military power was good, while 79 percent said such an increase was negative.
On the economy, 62 percent of respondents agreed that China’s growing economy was good, while 25 percent disagreed, and 37 percent agreed that a growing US economy was good, while 53 percent disagreed.
Somewhat similar results were recorded by a 2008 survey on soft power conducted by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs (CCOGA). Basically, Indonesians were not in love with China. More respondents are worried about a potential US threat.
That 62 percent thought positively of China’s growing economy is astonishing, given generally threatening depictions of China and the ACFTA process in the media.
That 44 percent think favorably of China’s growing military might is also surprising, considering the long history of the New Order’s “triangular threat” of China, Chinese Indonesians and the Communist Party, which lingers as one of the most potent reasons behind the government’s ambiguous China policy.
In a CSIS Washington report on Indonesian assessments of US power, E.Z. Bower said that Indonesia felt caught and did not relish being asked to choose between the US and China. Indonesian elites also had a clear preference for America, viewed China as a competitor and were least likely to accommodate China.
Assuming that the reports can be used as a snapshot of Indonesian views of China from an urban or elite perspective, there appears to be a gap between the elite’s and the general public’s views of China.
Of course it would not be the first time such a gap was recorded. A relatively lower percentage of favorable views may be connected to the more prominent polemics surrounding the Tangguh gas project in West Papua, food/product safety issues and ACFTA — all of which are cases of our lack of readiness to face China.
That the favorable percentages are still above 50 percent may suggest that respondents still regard China less problematic than our own unpreparedness (government and non-government alike).
Perception is a dynamic phenomenon. The democratization process in Indonesia has allowed us to take a proactive part in shaping perceptions, instead of relying solely on one fabricated by those in power — such as the “triangular threat”.
The “New Order generation” comprises less than half of the current population. Though raised to be wary of a “triangular threat”, the current generation has a different and perhaps less prejudiced image of China than their parents.
At the end of the day, it’s not about creating a more “favorable” view of China. It’s about a more constructive and well-informed view of China.
Our ability to shape perceptions has suffered from several decades of knowledge deprivation, since the New Order castrated the three pillars of Chinese Indonesian identity (schools, media and associations) and controlled information access.
Singapore and Malaysia have been better equipped in dealing with and reaping the benefits of China’s rise — partly because they are more conversant in Mandarin and are better informed about China’s development.
An increasing number of Indonesian students have enrolled in China, mostly for short language courses. Few pursue degrees. Access of information through media will play a crucial role. We have a lot of catching up to do, lest we perpetuate the old adage: “We can see the ants across the oceans, but not the panda on our eyelids.”
==================================
印尼人看中国
雅加达-2011.08.19
最近皮尤全球态度调查展示了一份调查报告，这份采集自1000个印尼人的报告显示，较美国而言，印尼人普遍更喜欢中国。将这份报告与其他的评论相比，不难看出，大众和国家领导层对待中国的看法上还是有很大不同。总之，这份报告并不是为了展示出一个对于中国的新观点，而是展示了一个更具有建设性的更广博的看中国的观点。7月公布的这份报告是在对1000名印尼人的来比较中美两国的观点进行调查基础上得出的。
当然，详细的数据并没有被公开。让我们冒着过于片面的风险来粗略分析一下这些可用的信息。
来自22个国家中受访者里，有15个国家的受访者认为出中国已经取代美国，或者认为中国有即将取代美国的趋势。然而，这份报告中，事实上这1000人中，只有8%的人认为中国已经取代了美国，25%的认为中国可能会取代美国，另外46%的参与者认为中国将永远不会超过美国。
与绝大多数的观点相反，印尼人反倒更喜欢中国。在印尼人心中，美国的受欢迎程度已经从59%下滑到54%，而中国的程度却从58%上涨到67%。
受访的印尼人中，多数认为，美国军事力量和经济的增长对印尼的负面影响要远远大于中国军事力量和经济略微增长的作用。
调查表明，44%的人认为中国的军事增长是有利的，36%持反对意见。11%的人认为美国军事力量的增长有益于印尼，而79%对此持反对意见。
在经济方面，问卷表明，62%的人认为中国的经济增长于印尼有益，25%反对；37%的人认为美国经济增长对印尼更有好处，而53%的人持反对意见。
由国际芝加哥国际公共关系委员会（CCOGA）发布的2008年对软实力的调查记录也表现出了一些相似的结果。 基本上，印尼人对中国没有那么强烈的好感。更多的参与者表现出对美国潜在威胁的担忧。
受到媒体对中国和其ACFTA进展的威胁论影响，62%的参与者认为中国经济的繁荣增长是惊人的，44%认为中国军事增长有益的参与者也认为这一增长很意外，联想到中国的新秩序的“三角威胁”的悠久历史，中印共和党是在政府对中国模棱两可的政策背后的主控因素。
在CSIS华盛顿对印尼对美国观点的评估报告中，E.Z Bower说，印尼人大多感觉受到鱼池之殃及并且不喜欢被询问在中美之前做选择。印尼政府高层也对美国的态度很明确，认为中国是一个竞争者，印尼是不会站在中国一边的。
假设这些报告可以映射出印尼群众或者高层对中国的观点，那么显而易见的是，政府高层和民众对中国的观点是大相径庭的。
当然，这已经不是第一次在记录中出现这样的差别。对中国好感相对低可能是因为受到了围绕在西Pahua的Tangguh汽油项目的激烈争议影响，食品/产品安全问题和ACFTA这些--都还缺乏面对中国的准备。
对中国持有好感的人数百分比始终持续在50%以上，这表明参与者仍然认为与我们自己的未就绪状态（的政府和非政府）相比，中国的问题相对较少。
感知是一种动态现象。印尼的民主化进程使我们得以积极的态度来形成我们的观点，而不是单一依赖于当权者的观点--比如那个“三角威胁”。
“新秩序的一代”包含着现有人口的一小半。尽管要提出对“三角威胁”的警惕，这一代对中国的印象却可能不同于父辈的那种偏见。
在今后的日子，并不是为了创造更多的对中国的“亲善”观点，而是要以更具建设性的广泛眼光去看中国。
自从新秩序阉割了中印三大支柱体系（学校，媒体和协会）并且控制了信息走向，我们形成感知的能力受到了几十年知识匮乏而带来的影响。
新加坡和马来西亚对如何对待中国的崛起并如何从中获益这方面做的更好些--部分原因可能是他们更熟悉普通话并且对中国的发展更为了解。大量的印尼留学生已经涌入中国，多数是为了研修短期语言课程，少数是为了获取学位。媒体信息的开放性将会起到关键作用。 我们有很多后续工作要做，至少，我们应该袭承那句古老的谚语：“我们应该看到远处穿过海洋的蚂蚁，而不是只看到眼前的熊猫。”
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