some Burmese who feared it might attract Japanese reprisals, or
encourage an accelerated influx of Chinese into northern Burma.
It was along the Burma Road that Chinese forces were to enter
Burma in March 1942, three months after the Japanese invasion. By
then British troops were in full retreat, and the Chinese, after initial
resistance, could do little but retreat as well. When a Japanese flank-
ing movement into Shan state threatened to close the Burma Road,
the Chinese withdrawal became a rout. Rather than pursuing the
retreating Chinese, however, the Japanese turned their attention to
India. Not until 1945 was the Burma Road reopened, too late to make
any difference to the war effort in China.
In Indonesia, Dutch policy deliberately created a divide between
Chinese and Indonesians. Until 1900, Chinese could only live in the
Chinese quarter of a city, and were not allowed to own land. They did,
however, enjoy certain economic advantages that they made the most
of. Most Chinese in Indonesia were very much aware of their identity
as Chinese, and eagerly welcomed the Revolution of 1911. When the
Dutch took exception to the hoisting of the Republican flag, riots
ensued which were forcibly suppressed, for although political activity
was less restricted than in Indochina, the Dutch were determined not
to permit China to gain undue influence over the Indonesian Chinese
community.
Dutch attempts to win the loyalty of Indonesian Chinese by
giving them separate representation on the advisory Volksraad, or
parliament, set up in 1918, failed, however, to weaken Chinese
nationalist sentiment. Guomindang representatives paid frequent
visits to Indonesia, while Chinese consuls arrived to register all
Chinese born in China. (At the time, annual Chinese immigration
into Indonesia rose as high as 43 000 in 1921 for an interwar average
of over 28 000.)^3 Chinese in Indonesia were incensed by the aggres-
sion of Japan after 1931. Boycotts against Japanese goods were
organised, as in Malaya, and large amounts were contributed to
Chinese relief funds and through purchase of Government of China
A Short History of China and Southeast Asia