Phoa Liong Gie Sia (: born in

Bandung Bandung ( su, ᮘᮔ᮪ᮓᮥᮀ, Bandung, ; ) is the capital city of the Indonesian province of West Java. It has a population of 2,452,943 within its city limits according to the official estimates as at mid 2021, making it the fourth most ...

on June 4, 1905 – died on January 14, 1983 in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

) was an Indonesian-born Swiss jurist, politician and newspaper owner of the late colonial era in the

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 ...

Background and education

He was born in 1905 into a prominent family of

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 ...

roots, part of the ''

Cabang Atas The Cabang Atas (''Van Ophuijsen Spelling System'': Tjabang Atas) — literally 'highest branch' in Indonesian language, Indonesian — was the traditional Chinese establishment or gentry of Dutch East Indies, colonial Indonesia. They were the fa ...

'' or the Chinese gentry of colonial Indonesia. His great-grandfather, Phoa Tjeng Tjoan, served as ''Kapitein der Chinezen'' of Buitenzorg (now

Bogor Bogor ( su, , nl, Buitenzorg) is a city in the West Java province, Indonesia. Located around south of the national capital of Jakarta, Bogor is the 6th largest city in the Jakarta metropolitan area and the 14th overall nationwide.'Sia' from birth as the descendant of a Chinese officer. Phoa was also a great-nephew of the prominent community leader and landlord, Phoa Keng Hek ''Sia''. The younger Phoa was educated at the ''Europeesche Lagere School'' (European lower school) in Garut, and at the '' Hogere Burgerschool'' (higher civic school) in Batavia. Both institutions admitted only the children of elite Europeans and a small number of select non-Europeans. Phoa subsequently studied at the ''Rechtshoogeschool'' (law school) in Batavia before continuing his education at

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He graduated as a ''Meester in de rechten'' (‘Master of Laws’) in 1925.

Legal and political career

Upon returning to Bandung in 1927, Phoa joined the legal practice of the leading Dutch lawyer C. W. Wormser. A year later in 1928, Phoa moved to

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 ...

in order to open his own law firm. Following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather and great-uncle, Phoa also went into politics. He was a vocal leader of the younger faction of

Chung Hwa Hui Chung Hwa Hui (1928–1942; the 'Chinese Association'), also known as CHH, was a conservative, largely pro-Dutch political organisation and party in the Dutch East Indies (today Indonesia), often criticised as a mouthpiece of the Cabang Atas, col ...

(CHH), a centre-right political party seen by many as a mouthpiece of the Chinese establishment in colonial Indonesia. Phoa came into conflict with some of the policies of the older party leadership, represented by the senior parliamentarians

H. H. Kan Kan Hok Hoei Sia (; 6 January 1881 - 1 March 1951), generally known as Hok Hoei Kan or in short H. H. Kan, was a prominent public figure, statesman and patrician landowner of Peranakan Chinese descent in the Dutch East Indies (today known as Indon ...

and

Loa Sek Hie Loa Sek Hie Sia (born in Batavia in 1898 - died in The Hague in 1965) was a colonial Indonesian politician, parliamentarian and the founding ''Voorzitter'' or chairman of the controversial, ethnic-Chinese self-defense force Pao An Tui (1946 - 19 ...

. Phoa resented his party leaders’ pro-Dutch sympathies, and advocated Chinese neutrality in the Indonesian struggle for independence. Phoa even indicated his willingness to support

Indonesian nationalism Indonesian nationalism is an ideology that arose during the Dutch Empire, Dutch colonial era in the Dutch East Indies which called for the colony's independence and unification as an independent and sovereign nation. This period of nationalist de ...

in the right set of circumstances. Following an open conflict in 1934 with H. H. Kan, over the latter's supposed dominance over CHH, Phoa resigned his membership of the party. He maintained, however, his political involvement. On May 8, 1939, Phoa was appointed by the Dutch authorities to the ‘Volksraad’ (the colonial parliament of Indonesia), and took his seat as an independent member. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, between 1946 and 1948, Phoa acted as a legal advisor and delegate of the

at the Economic and Social Council of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Newspaper proprietor

Around the time of his move to Batavia in 1928, Phoa also became active in the burgeoning news media and public discourse of colonial Indonesia. In 1930, he acquired a daily newspaper, Perniagaan, whose name he changed to ''Siang Po''. This was the beginning of Siang Po Printing Press, which would acquire or create more publications in due course. A year later, in 1931, Phoa's company bought another daily, ''Panorama'', which had been founded by the writer and journalist

Kwee Tek Hoay Kwee Tek Hoay (; 31 July 1886 – 4 July 1951) was a Chinese Indonesian Malay-language writer of novels and drama, and a journalist. Biography Kwee Tek Hoay, the youngest son of Tjiam Kwee Hong and Tan Ay Nio, often played truant during his ...

. After Phoa resigned from the CHH in 1934, his newspapers assumed an increasingly sympathetic tone towards the Indonesian nationalist movement. The editorial board of ''Panorama'' included such leading nationalists as

Sanusi Pane Sanusi Pane (14 November 1905 – 2 January 1968) was an Indonesian writer, journalist, and historian. He was highly active in literary media, sitting on the editorial boards of several publications. He has also been described as the most import ...

Amir Sjarifuddin Amir Sjarifuddin Harahap ( EVO: Amir Sjarifoeddin Harahap; 27 April 1907 – 19 December 1948) was an Indonesian politician and journalist who served as the second prime minister of Indonesia from 1947 until 1948. A major leader of the lef ...

and

Mohammad Yamin Mohammad Yamin (24 August 1903 – 17 October 1962) was an Indonesians, Indonesian poet, politician and National Hero of Indonesia, national hero who played a key role in the writing of the draft preamble to the Constitution of Indonesia, 1945 c ...

, with the prominent journalist,

Liem Koen Hian Liem Koen Hian (3 November 1897 – 4 November 1952) was an Indonesian journalist and politician. He was born in Banjarmasin, the son of a local peranakan Chinese business owner, Liem Ke An. He attended the Hollands-Chineesche School to class 6, ...

, as chief editor. Liem, as well as

Saeroen Saeroen ( Perfected Spelling: Saerun; fl. 1920s–1962) was an Indonesian journalist and screenwriter. Born in Yogyakarta, he became a journalist after a time working at a railway station. By the mid-1930s he had established the daily ''Pemandang ...

, also contributed to ''Siang Po''. In mid-1936, Liem, Pane, Sjarifuddin and Yamin founded yet another daily, ''Kebangoenan'', which Siang Po Printing Press likewise printed. Phoa was also the owner of two further publications, the magazines ''Si Pao'' and ''Kong Hwa Po'', the last of which was similarly under Liem's editorial oversight.

Personal life

Phoa was married Laura Charlotte Ongkiehong, daughter of the

Ambon Ambon may refer to: Places * Ambon Island, an island in Indonesia ** Ambon, Maluku, a city on Ambon Island, the capital of Maluku province ** Governorate of Ambon, a colony of the Dutch East India Company from 1605 to 1796 * Ambon, Morbihan, a c ...

-based newspaper owner and magnate, Ong Kie Hong, and granddaughter of Njio Tek Liem, ''Luitenant der Chinezen'' of Ambon ('Lieutenant of the Chinese'). Together with his family, Phoa later moved to

, where he spent the remainder of his life.

Major works

*''De rechtstoestand der Chineezen in Indonesië'' (in Dutch) nglish: 'The Legal Position of the Chinese in Indonesia' Chung Hwa Hui Tsa Chih, jaargang V, October–November (1926): 56-60. *''Aliran-Aliran dalam Siahwee Tionghoa (Lezing dari Mr. Phoa Liong Gie dalem Pauze dari Soiree Musicale Chung Hwa Hui Afd. Batavia'' (in Malay) nglish: 'Various Streams within the Chinese Community (Speech by Mr. Phoa Liong Gie during the Interval of a Musical Soiree of Chung Hua Hui, Batavia Branch' Batavia: Drukkerij Siang Po (1932): no page number. *''De Economische Positie der Chineezen in Nederlandsch-Indië'' (In Dutch) nglish: 'The changing economic position of the Chinese in Netherlands India' Koloniale Studiën 5:6 (1936): 97–119.

References