Oei Tjoe Tat's Role in Chinese Organizations and Political Parties

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August 21, 2026 | 11:01 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A boarding house on Jalan Palmenlaan West in Semarang, Central Java, marked the beginning of Oei Tjoe Tat's journey into activism. It was in that house, now located in Semarang Tengah subdistrict, that Oei first became acquainted with Siauw Giok Tjhan, then a journalist for the daily Matahari and a leading figure in the Overseas Chinese Youth Organization, or Hua Chiao Tsing Nien Hui.

Oei was still a student at Semarang's Hoogere Burgerschool when he moved into the boarding house in 1935. Siauw Giok Tjhan, who would later become
one of the founders of the Indonesian Citizenship Consultative Body (Baperki), was one of the its residents.

Outgoing and personable, Siauw naturally drew the younger tenants into his orbit. "Father influenced the political activities of those young men, including Oei," Siauw's son, Siauw Tiong Djin, said in a video interview on Wednesday, July 22, 2026.

Although Oei began studying politics in his teenage years, he was more deeply involved in social organizations throughout college and early adulthood. He entered practical politics only in 1948, when he helped establish the Chinese Unity Party (PPT). The Surakarta born Oei was 26 years old at the time.

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