Editing Peranakan Chinese (section)

===Political affinity===
[[File:StraitsChinese Pottery Phoenix.JPG|thumb|Multichrome Modern Chinese-made replica enamel porcelain tea tray with a traditional Peranakan "fenghuang".]]

Many Peranakan were active in trade and considered supportive of continued European rule in Malaysia and Indonesia.<ref name="google"/> Peranakans often played the role of middleman of the British and the Chinese, or the Chinese and Malays, because they were mostly English educated and spoke Malay more fluently than newer Chinese immigrants. {{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

By the middle of the twentieth century, most Peranakan were English or Dutch-educated at Western-style institutions. Peranakans readily embraced [[Western culture]] and education as a means to advance economically thus administrative and civil service posts were often filled by prominent Straits Chinese. Many in the community chose to convert to Christianity due to its perceived prestige and proximity to the preferred company of British and Dutch officials.<ref name="google"/>

The Peranakan community thereby became very influential in Malacca and [[Singapore]] and were known also as the '''King's Chinese''' due to their loyalty to the British Crown. Because of their interaction with different cultures and languages, most Peranakans were (and still are) trilingual, being able to converse in Chinese, Malay, and English. {{citation needed|date=November 2021}} Common vocations were as merchants, traders, and general intermediaries between China, Malaya and the West; the latter were especially valued by the British and Dutch. {{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

Things started to change in the first half of the 20th century, with some Peranakans starting to support Malaysian and Indonesian independence.
In Indonesia three Chinese communities started to merge and become active in the political scene. {{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

They were also among the pioneers of Indonesian newspapers. In their fledgling publishing companies, they published their own political ideas along with contributions from other Indonesian writers. In November 1928, the Chinese weekly Sin Po ({{zh|links=no|t= 新報|p= xīn bào}}) was the first paper to openly publish the text of the national anthem ''Indonesia Raya''. On occasion, those involved in such activities ran a concrete risk of imprisonment or even of their lives, as the Dutch colonial authorities banned nationalistic publications and activities. {{citation needed|date=November 2021}}

Chinese were active in supporting the independence movement during the 1940s Japanese occupation, when the all but the so-called "Overseas Chinese Association", or residents of Chinese ancestry ({{zh|links=no|t=華僑中會|p=Huáqiáo Zhōnghuì}}) were banned by the Japanese military authorities. Some notable pro-independence activists were [[Siauw Giok Tjhan]], [[Liem Koen Hian]], and [[Yap Tjwan Bing]], a member of ''[[Panitia Persiapan Kemerdekaan Indonesia]]'', who in the 1960s became a citizen of the United States.