Tag Archives: Indonesian Diplomacy

Kho Ping Hoo’s Books and Cultural Diplomacy

suling-emasFor Indonesian kung fu book fans, the name of Kho Ping Hoo or Sukawati Asmaraman is very familiar. He is an Indonesian prolific and legendary writer of Chinese origin. Inspired by Chinese kung fu books, he made a significant contribution to Indonesian daily literature. His kung fu stories original, distinctive, imaginative and load the big ideas with a background of life in China which is presented with a very alluring.

In his works, even he never visited China before, Kho Ping Hoo managed to tell the readers about the beauty of the scenic landscapes in the mountains and surrounding Thaysan with enough detail (now located in Shandong Province). He also tells many fictional characters who live in the world of martial turbulent times between the kingdoms in China at that time, both groups of black characters (antagonist) and the white group (protagonist). The characters are displayed well and gave a lot of inspiration to the readers and fans.

In the era where diplomatic relations between Indonesia and China are not harmonious, as a result of the attempted coup by Indonesian Communist Party in 1965, and New Order’s regime banned to teach Chinese language, history and culture, Kho Ping Hoo’s books have meant much for generations of Chinese Indonesians to learn more about their cultural identity

Today, the situation is certainly very different. Indonesia-China relation is in the peak and both countries agreed to become strategic partnership in 2005 and enhancing its relationship into comprehensive strategic partnership in 2013. Furthermore, we are now in the age of information and technology where someone can reach millions of people at the speed of thought and access much information.

Against this backdrop, books could become an interesting instrument of diplomacy, more typically known as “soft power”, to engage people-to-people contact and could be used as an instrument of cultural diplomacy to reach out the international communities.

Indonesia’s Environmental Diplomacy in the South China Sea

  Indonesia’s foreign policy is shaping by various factors such as the nation’s history, its geographic conditions, its demography and its security and national interest. These factors prompted Indonesia to adopt a foreign policy that is independent and active.

As we may aware, the issues on environment have a broad aspect, from the issues of our daily life to global economic and politics, from environment in our neighborhood to the issues of climate change. Talking about environmental issues, we can say that all of those issues connected to the Indonesia’s national interest. Combating environmental degradation should be a key strategic. In this regard, we could understand if Indonesia puts issues on environment on their foreign policy and promotes bilateral and multilateral cooperation actively.