Some Chinese characters were written on the pillars under the viasuct

Chinese characters written on pillars — Pillars with Chinese characters written on them

A viaduct stretched overhead as I passed through an alleyway that had been turned into a local small market. It was probably the main road. The space beneath the viaduct was also wide and dim as if the atmosphere under the viaduct was similar in any country. It was the kind of atmosphere you want to avoid if at all possible, even in the middle of the day.

It's the same in other countries where people are in places where they can avoid the rain. There were glimpses of people in the dim light. They would lie down by the side of a pillar or chat with friends. A few three-wheeled taxis called Bajaj have stopped nearby, so this might be a hangout for idle taxi drivers.

Sideways at the figures visible in the dim light, I moved toward the other side of the viaduct. I could see the Chinese characters written on the pillars. There are also many overseas Chinese in Jakarta. According to one account, about 5% of Indonesia's population is overseas Chinese, and even with 5%, Indonesia's population is twice as large as Japan's, with 264 million people, so there are 13 million overseas Chinese. There are about the same number of overseas Chinese as the population of Tokyo.

What's surprising is that the overseas Chinese, who account for only about 5% of the total, are said to hold about 90% of the Indonesian economy. Indeed, a look at Forbes magazine's Top Ten Richest People in Indonesia for 2018 shows that three out of 10 people are overseas Chinese, with Eka Tjipta Wijaya leading the Sinar Mas Group in second place, Anthony Salim leading the Salim Group in fourth place, and the Tahir Family leading the Mayapada Group in eighth place.

Comment via

日本語