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BBC Chinese: How Many Chinese Are Working in Indonesia?

BBC Chinese recently published a report on the ever-growing fear in Indonesia of the Chinese workers’ “invasion” into the Indonesian labor market. The number of Chinese workers in Indonesia has been a debate topic for many years. Some even said this number is around ten million. However, the Indonesia’s Ministry of Labour and Employment showed that the total of Chinese workers is 21,271. At least this is the number of Chinese workers with valid visas. Some Indonesian congressmen are planning to issue official inquiries to the government to find out whether Chinese visitors with tourist visas are working in the country or not. Congressman Muslim Ayub said he visited many cities and found a large number of Chinese workers. He doesn’t believe the Chinese workers have a headcount of ten million, but he is quite confident that the number will be much larger than 21,271. Ayub estimated that there are potentially up to one million Chinese workers in Indonesia. Some research studies showed that the government lacks an effective way to manage work permits for foreigners.

Source: BBC Chinese, December 23, 2016
http://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world-38412851