On October 13, when Indonesian President Prabowo attended the Gaza Peace Summit, he privately expressed to US President Trump that he hoped to meet with his son Eric. Since a microphone on the podium was still on at the time, the conversation between the two leaked.

Prabowo's meeting with Trump

Prabowo told Trump that a place was "unsafe" and asked Trump: "Can I meet Eric?" Eric is Trump's second son.

Trump replied, ¡°I¡¯ll have Eric call you, okay? he¡¯s a very nice kid.

Prabhupada continued, ¡°We can choose a better place,¡± and Trump said, ¡°I have Eric calling you.¡±

Prabowo asked: "Eric or Donald Jr.?" Donald Jr. is Trump's eldest son.

It is currently unclear whether the two are discussing the Trump Group or any business transaction involving Trump and his family. Eric and Little Donald are both executive vice presidents of the Trump Group, and the Trump Group¡¯s business includes real estate, hotels, and blockchain projects.

Trump Group website information shows that the Trump Group owns a golf club in the outskirts of the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Golf clubs and resorts located in Bali are ¡°in the process of opening up.¡±

Extended reading

Media: Indonesian protests may be subsided, some people worry that the anti-Chinese scenes of that year will be reproduced

On August 28, a young motorcycle driver was killed by a police armored car in the conflict, and the video spread widely on social media sparked national outrage, leading to protests rapidly escalating into violent conflict, and spread to many major cities, such as Hangzhou, Wuhan. Protesters stormed parliamentary buildings, burned police stations and public facilities, and even robbed the houses of senior government officials such as ministers of finance.

So far, Indonesian President Prabhupada has pledged to re-adjust the parliamentary allowance system and launch an investigation into the police involved.

Therefore, the riot is one of the largest social unrest in Indonesia since 1998, many commenters worry that the subsequent reappearance of the Chinese scene, what is the actual situation? observer network on the related issues, linked China Academy of Social Sciences Asia-Pacific with Global Strategy Research Institute researchers, South-East Asia Research Center director Chu Liping.

Observer Network: The fuse of this riot in Indonesia is the monthly housing allowance of 50 million rupiah (about 21,600 RMB) for members of parliament, which is almost 10 times the minimum wage in Jakarta. Is this treatment the norm in Indonesian politics?

Lu Liping: The treatment of Indonesian civil servants is generally different from that of primary and senior civil servants, especially in the case of benefits. For senior civil servants such as congressmen, there are various benefits that are often adjusted to ensure that they can live a relatively decent life, but this information is rarely public.

The spark of the riot was Congressional housing allowance, which lasted only a year and ended in October this year, with several Congressional members lacking political experience disclosing the amount of the allowance, and Congressional Deputy Speaker Suvmi further explaining, which further fermented the event. Therefore, all relevant members of Parliament, including Suvmi, were dismissed. This also demonstrates that these politicians are less aware of the psychology of the people and lack of experience in dealing with people's emotions.

Protesters set fire to buildings.

Observer Network: What deep-seated structural problems in Indonesia did this riot reflect? Many people attribute this incident to the huge gap between rich and poor. In your opinion, are there other inducements besides this?

The situation of Indonesian poor and wealthy is indeed more serious. Indonesia, as the "nation of thousands of islands", is a big difference between the islands, regional differences and class differences are very obvious, and the vast majority of the people live in a comparative situation.

In addition, the event was also influenced by factors such as trade unions. Among the organizing forces of the demonstration, trade unions and university students were the two main forces. In the Indonesian protests, university students played a very important role, especially in the face of social injustice, political corruption and corruption, university students are usually in the forefront, they are one of the main drivers of the demonstration. The other main driver is the trade union, the union uses the opportunity to fight for more workers' rights, such as the outsourcing system involving employment, the increase of the minimum wage, etc., while also trying to use this to further demonstrate their strength.

The participants were mainly Prabhupada's supporters, and for the time being no political parties were seen behind the push, but the role of social organizations was obvious.

Observer Network: Prabowo has repeatedly accused foreign-funded NGOs of inciting provocation and division in Indonesia. Some analysts believe that behind this protest, the possibility of western countries fueling the flames is not ruled out. Do you think this is possible?

Xu Liping: At present, I have not seen clear evidence that foreign organizations are planning and promoting relevant incidents; however, I cannot rule out the possibility that some foreign forces will take this opportunity to stir up trouble. The main time chosen this time is a bit thought-provoking.

Observers: Prabhupada has announced measures such as cuts in parliamentary allowances, and do you estimate that these measures are sufficient to calm the public¡¯s anger?

Xu Liping: I personally think that the frequency and intensity of the next demonstrations will be eased. This is because the trigger for the demonstrations was the housing allowance for parliamentarians, which has now been announced to be cancelled; many of the people's other demands cannot be resolved in a short period of time and require long-term adjustments at the institutional level. Therefore, it actually doesn't make much sense to continue making trouble.

Moreover, any ongoing or large-scale demonstrations and social movements often require financial support. In Indonesia, people spontaneously go to the streets or demonstrate is not common, more driven by social forces or social organizations. In the current situation, I think these forces are not enough to sustain continued riots.

Demonstrators hold flags of the anime "One Piece" to protest against the government. Photo from AFP

Observers: This riot is considered to be one of Indonesia's largest social riots since 1998, and has naturally reminded many people of the Chinese riot of that year.

Xu Liping: I think that Indonesia currently does not have the social basis for incidents like 1998. From an institutional perspective, Indonesia has long since repealed all Chinese exclusion laws and changed its discriminatory terms for Chinese. More importantly, compared with China's global economic status in 1998, China has now emerged as the world's second largest economy, and its international influence has been greatly enhanced. This has become an important guarantee for overseas Chinese. In addition, the investment of China companies in Indonesia has created a large number of job opportunities and brought tangible social benefits, which is completely different from the situation in the past.

Although there are indeed individual media inciting anti-China remarks on social media such as Twitter, Facebook, etc., this is only a few phenomena, and it is difficult to form a climate. I think that we Chinese should calmly analyze this matter, do not relentlessly link the riots of the other society to themselves, and try to keep the normal mind as possible. In addition, it also reminds Chinese enterprises that operate in countries such as Indonesia, while operating legally, can properly keep low.

Observers: The U.S. and Indonesian tariff negotiations recently also had a preliminary outcome, namely that the U.S. would impose tariffs of 19% on all Indonesian goods imported, while U.S. exports to Indonesia would enjoy tariff-free and non-tariff barrier treatment.

Xu Liping: Indonesia is different from Vietnam. It is an economy mainly driven by domestic consumption. Its dependence on foreign countries is not as high as Vietnam. In particular, exports to the United States only account for about 7%-10% of its total exports. Indonesia's commitment to buy 50 Boeing aircraft and $15 billion in U.S. energy products during the negotiations undoubtedly put some pressure on Indonesia. Even if Indonesia loses the US market, I personally think the impact on Indonesia's economy is not as great as imagined.

However, this could have some impact on us if the U.S. demands priority purchasing rights for some of Indonesia¡¯s key minerals, but at the moment we don¡¯t see a concrete deal, and how these agreements will be implemented in the future, remains to be seen.