Jakarta riots of May 1998, why chinese government did nothing to protect their people?

Question

Please help me to understand why Chinese government did nothing to protect their people.

Answer 1

Like the others have said, Jakarta isn't China. It is none of China's business to be interfering with the affairs of another nation. It's something the Western world should learn to do, or they risk losing their leverage on an international scale. The Chinese culture dictates that if you put yourself in danger, it is your fault and you are responsible for being there. It is not the job of the rest of the 1.3 billion Chinese to come to your aid. There is far too much cutthroat competition between Chinese. Sounds very different from the Western way of thinking. It's not that they don't care about their people. But they don't exactly have carriers and ships with airlift capabilities floating all over the world for their citizens. It's not their priority to police the world or provide Chinese services where ever Chinese people are. You would be hard pressed to find many other nations that provide that kind of support for their citizens overseas anyway.

Answer 2

Maybe because Jakarta is not in China and it took too long to mobilize their forces.  Or maybe because China does not really care about individual Chinese citizens, particularly ones outside of the country.  

Answer 3

As "Mercer Devil" stated, Jakarta is not in China, but the capital of Indonesia.

The Chinese living in Indonesia are Indonesian citizens although they can always apply to either the People's Republic of China or to the Republic of China (Taiwan) for passports.

When I worked in Indonesia as a journalist and TV news cameraman I knew to ethnic Chinese sisters -- Tennis players. The older sister held Indonesian citizenship and lived in Indonesia and played for Indonesia. The younger sister held Taiwanese citizenship and played for, and lived in, Taiwan.