Indonesia’s Chinese Minority Reclaim Cultural Heritage

They also celebrated the New Year in public. This may not seem like a big deal, but until the year 2000 that was strictly against the law for them. During the Suharto dictatorship, ethnic Chinese in Indonesia faced all kinds of discrimination: they were not allowed to study the Chinese language, they had to adopt Indonesian names, and they weren't allowed to enter many professions. At times the prejudice turned violent: ten years ago, more than a thousand people died in anti-Chinese riots, following the fall of Suharto. But now young Chinese-Indonesians are reclaiming their cultural heritage and making it cool to be Chinese. For their parents -- who lived through years of oppression -- it is amazing, yet frightening, to see.

Reporter: Rebecca Henschke