As the Chinese in the Indies often acted as middlemen between the Indonesians and the Dutch, they were also vulnerable to attacks and bullying which were aimed at the colonial economy or social injustice.
[1] On the other hand, The Siauw Giap, who wrote a 1966 article on the Kudus riot, believed that there were systematic preconditions for anti-Chinese violence in Indonesian history which could spill over when conditions were right.
In this case he partly blamed the very recent economic competition in the kretek cigarette industry between Chinese and Indonesian owners for the breakdown in relations in Kudus.
[9] On the other hand, the Semarang newspaper Djawa Tengah said that the rioters suddenly turned and battled the police at around this time, with many wounded, including one who later died in the hospital.
[12] They denied their organization's involvement in the riot and accused the Dutch of targeting their Kudus membership for political reasons in the middle of the mass arrests.
Some early fundraising happened in Semarang as labor organizations and merchants coordinated housing and supplies for the displaced Kudus Chinese.
It took place at the courthouse (Landraad) in Semarang and was a front-page news story in many local newspapers on a daily basis from December 1919 to February 1920.