Thio Thiam Tjong (born on 4 April 1896 – died on 19 September 1969)[1] was an Indonesian politician, community leader and businessman whose public career spanned from the late colonial period to the early decades of independence.

[6][4] Through his mother, Thio was therefore a direct descendant of Tan Yok Sing, Kapitein der Chinezen of Semarang (1737–1800) under the Dutch East India Company (VOC).

[7][8] The influential group was later criticised by left-wing critics as the 'Packard Club', a supposed cipher for the interests of the colonial Chinese establishment, most notably the conglomerate Kian Gwan, owned by Thio's in-laws, the Oei family.

[2][3] After Japan's defeat in World War II, Sukarno and Hatta unilaterally declared Indonesian independence on 17 August 1945, which was not recognised by the Dutch authorities or the victorious Allies.

[13][9][10][3] PT, seen by many as a successor of the pre-war CHH, aimed to represent the political aspirations of the Chinese-Indonesian community at the conclusion of the revolution and the handover of power from NICA to the new Indonesian authorities.

[13][9][10] Liem Koen Hian, founder of the left-wing, pre-revolutionary Partai Tionghoa Indonesia, dismissed PT and PDTI – as he had CHH – as elitist and unable to deal with native Indonesians.