Prabowo Invited by Xi Jinping Amid Fiery Protests, What Is the Agenda?

August 30, 2025 | 09:44 pm

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto is scheduled to travel abroad in early September 2025, despite ongoing nationwide demonstrations that have erupted into riots in several cities.

Prabowo is set to deliver a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in the United States before traveling to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping. In Beijing, he is expected to attend a military parade marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

According to Al Jazeera, 26 world leaders, including North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have been invited to the event, which will feature thousands of spectators and showcase China’s latest military technology.

The guest list also includes Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

The parade coincides with September 3, 1945, the day the Japanese Empire formally surrendered to the Allied Forces in Tokyo. South Korea will be represented by Woo Won-shik, spokesperson for the National Assembly, while Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia, will be the only Western leader in attendance.

Former Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Dino Patti Djalal has called on President Prabowo to cancel the visit to China amid the unrest, suggesting that Foreign Minister Sugiono could represent Indonesia instead.

“Considering the current heated situation, the hearts of the suffering and restless people, I advise President @Prabowo to CANCEL his visit to China next week,” Dino wrote on social media platform X, as quoted by Antara. He added, “Going abroad at this time is not important,” emphasizing that a president’s presence is needed at home during national turmoil.

The protests intensified after the chaotic demonstrations at the House of Representatives and People’s Consultative Assembly building on Thursday night, August 28, 2025.

The unrest resulted in the death of 21-year-old online motorcycle taxi driver Affan Kurniawan, who was reportedly run over by an armored police vehicle on Pejompongan Street, Central Jakarta.

Affan’s death sparked renewed protests, particularly among student groups and fellow online motorcycle taxi drivers, in cities including Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, and Makassar.

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