''Djawa Tengah'' (

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

: ''Central Java'', known in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

as 壟川中央爪哇日報 ''Lǒngchuān Zhōngyāng Zhǎowā Rìbào'') was a major Malay-language

peranakan Chinese The Peranakans () are an ethnic group defined by their genealogical descent from the first waves of Southern Chinese settlers to maritime Southeast Asia, known as Nanyang (), namely the British Colonial ruled ports in the Malay Peninsula, t ...

(

Chinese Indonesian Chinese Indonesians ( id, Orang Tionghoa Indonesia) and colloquially Chindo or just Tionghoa are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese people and their Indonesian descendants have ...

) daily newspaper in

Semarang Semarang ( jv, ꦏꦸꦛꦯꦼꦩꦫꦁ , Pegon: سماراڠ) is the capital and largest city of Central Java province in Indonesia. It was a major port during the Dutch colonial era, and is still an important regional center and port today. ...

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

from 1909 to 1938. It is said to have been the first Chinese newspaper in Semarang.

History

H. C. Goldman

''Djawa Tengah'' launched in late 1909 under the editorial direction of H.C. Goldman, who had previously been editor of another Malay-language paper, ''Bintang Pagi'' (Malay: Morning star) which had ceased publication only a month earlier. Its early issues were printed partly in Malay and partly in Chinese, although the Chinese content was soon eliminated. During the 1910s, like

Sin Po Sinbo () was a minister who served the kings in Gaya confederacy. Queen Mojong who was the second wife of Geodeung of Geumgwan Gaya was his daughter. He served as government officer of Gaya confederacy. In 48, when Heo Hwang-ok came over from In ...

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

, the paper developed an editorial line was moderately Chinese nationalist and critical of the Dutch

Chinese Officer Kapitan Cina, also spelled Kapitan China or Capitan China ( en, Captain of the Chinese; ; nl, Kapitein der Chinezen), was a high-ranking government position in the civil administration of colonial Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo and the ...

system. The paper also gave fair treatment in its coverage of the

Indonesian National Awakening The Indonesian National Awakening ( id, Kebangkitan Nasional Indonesia) is a term for the period in the first half of the 20th century, during which people from many parts of the archipelago of Indonesia first began to develop a national conscio ...

, often giving front page coverage to the details of Sarekat Islam meetings throughout the 1910s. By 1910 Goldman was already getting in trouble under the strict press censorship laws (

Persdelict Censorship in the Dutch East Indies was significantly stricter than in the Netherlands, as the freedom of the press guaranteed in the Constitution of the Netherlands did not apply in the country's overseas colonies. Before the twentieth century, o ...

), for printing materials which "defamed" the character of state employees. He was eventually sentenced to a month in prison.

Tan Thwan King

It is unclear when Goldman stepped down as editor in chief, but by 1914 the position was held by Tan Thwan King, a journalist from

Malang Malang (; ) is a landlocked List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city in the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of East Java. It has a history dating back to the age of Singhasari, Singhasari Kingdom. It is the second most popul ...

who also edited ''

Tjahaja Timoer ''Tjahaja Timoer'' (Indonesian: Light of the East, EYD: ''Cahaya Timur'') was a Malay-language Peranakan newspaper printed in Malang, Dutch East Indies, from 1907 to 1942. History was founded in January 1907 in Malang, at around the same time ...

'', ''Andalas'' and other newspapers during the wartime period. In 1914 Tan also became embroiled in a ''Persdelict'' case, for which he was also sentenced to a month in prison for insulting a

in print. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, when the Indies were cut off from most international wire services, ''Djawa Tengah'' hired Theo Tong Hai, who had previously been editor of

, as a travelling correspondent and sent him to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

try get more accurate reports about the state of things in Europe and Asia.

K. T. Kwee

After the war, Tan Thwan King apparently left his position, which was taken over by Kwee Kee Tie (usually known as K.T. Kwee), who held the position for the following decade. However, Tan continued to contribute, and wrote coverage of the

1918 Kudus riot The 1918 Kudus riot was an anti-Chinese riot that took place in the city of Kudus, Semarang Regency, Dutch East Indies, on October 31, 1918. In the riot, Javanese townspeople burned and looted the Chinese district, resulting in roughly 10 deaths ...

for the paper. That riot became an important cause for the paper, and editor Kwee joined Auw Yang Kee, the Chinese consul to the Indies, on a visit to the city of Kudus to survey the damage in the week after the riot, and for several months the paper helped organize fundraising efforts for the victims. Another editor who joined the paper around the end of the war was

Raden Mas Tjondrokoesoemo is a Japanese termRaden.

Javanese who may have helped contribute to the paper's good coverage of the Sarekat Islam and other Indonesian organizations. Tjondrokoesoemo left ''Djawa Tengah'' for its competitor ''

Warna Warta Warna may refer to: * Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria * ''Warna'', a music album by Joey Alexander * Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988, or WARNA, a US law See also * * Warana, Maharashtra * Warna Warta, a newspaper * ...

'' in 1921 over a dispute about his editorial independence. Another was

Kwik King Hien Kwik (german: Quicka) is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Pisz, within Pisz County, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, in northern Poland. It lies approximately north of Pisz and east of the regional capital Olsztyn. It is located ...

, a writer of Malay-language novels. Most of his novels appeared in serialized form in ''Djawa Tengah'' before being published as books. In 1922 several employees of ''Djawa Tengah'' were involved in the foundation of Chinese journalists' association, the ''Tjoe Piet Hwee''. Although the founding meeting received delegates from other cities, almost all of the board were made up of people from

, including the chairman

Lauw Koug Huy / ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text ...

, editor of competing paper

, vice-chairman

Yap Kong Hwat Yap ( yap, Waqaab) traditionally refers to an island group located in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean, a part of Yap State. The name "Yap" in recent years has come to also refer to the state within the Federated States of Micr ...

, a ''Djawa Tengah'' editor, and with ''Djawa Tengahs editor in chief Kwee as treasurer. The organization set out to defend the interests of the Indonesian Chinese and their newspapers and did not allow native Indonesians as members.

Chan Kok Cheng

In 1927, Kwee left and an English-educated economist Chan Kok Cheng, sometimes known as K. C. Chan, became the new editor-in-chief. He was very well-connected, being a close friend of

Kwee Kek Beng Kwee Kek Beng ( zh, 郭克明, 1900–1975) was a Chinese Indonesian journalist and writer, best known for being editor-in-chief of the popular Malay language newspaper ''Sin Po (newspaper), Sin Po'' from 1925 to 1947. Biography Early life Kwee w ...

and Liem Khoen Hien. In July of the same year Tio Tjin Boen, former editor-in-chief of '' Perniagaan'' and former ''Djawa Tengah'' editor Tjondrokoesoemo launched a competing daily called ''Asia''. A noteworthy feature of his tenure at the paper were his articles about

birth control Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...

, almost unheard of in the Malay press at the time, and which he later published as a book. Chan was also active in the Partai Tionghoa Indonesia, a political party, and founded its Semarang chapter in 1932. Around 1930 the journalist and historian

Liem Thian Joe Liem Thian Joe (1895–1962) was a late colonial Indonesian historian, newspaper editor, journalist and writer of ''Peranakan'' Chinese background. He is best known today for his seminal ''Riwajat Semarang, 1416–1931'', a historical overview of ...

, who had previously been editor of ''Warna Warta'' and '' Perniagaan'', joined the editorial staff of the paper of ''Djawa Tengah''. He published a serialized version of his history of

, ''Riwajat Semarang 1416–1931'' in ''Djawa Tengah Review'', the paper's newly launched monthly magazine, between March 1931 and July 1933.

Pouw Kioe An

In 1936 Chan Kok Cheng announced he was leaving ''Djawa Tengah'' to become editor-in-chief of a competing paper, ''Soeara Semarang'' (Malay: voice of Semarang). Although some business listings still listed him as the editor-in-chief of ''Djawa Tengah'' until late 1937, it appears that his duties were taken over by another editor called Pouw Kioe An. Pouw had been editor of other Semarang newspapers dating back to at least the mid-1920s, including ''Kamadjoean'' and ''Pewarta'', with a special focus in sports journalism. It is unclear exactly when ''Djawa Tengah'' ceased publication and why. Due to it no longer being mentioned by 1938 it may have closed by then.

References

{{reflist

External links

Djawa Tengah issues
from 1913 to 1938 digitized by the Center for Research Libraries Malay-language newspapers published in the Dutch East Indies Defunct newspapers published in Semarang 1909 establishments in the Dutch East Indies 1930s disestablishments in the Dutch East Indies 1938 disestablishments Defunct overseas Chinese newspapers