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Abstract

Chinese New Year (CNY) celebration is one of the biggest celebrations for the Chinese Indonesians in Pontianak. This celebration allows the Chinese ethnic groups to remember and maintain their traditional roots while living in the host country. However, the high interest from non-Chinese Indonesians in visiting and participating in the CNY celebration raises questions about whether this diasporic activity unintentionally strengthens the favourability of the Indonesian people towards China and is used as a means of China's soft power. This study will discuss the spread of culture from the CNY Festival in Pontianak, which can serve as an instrument of China's soft power. This study uses a quantitative method through a survey of 384 samples and simple linear regression analysis. The variables used in this study are the Love of Listening to Music (Y1) and the Desire to Learn Mandarin (Y2), with the X variable being the CNY Festival. The research shows that the CNY Festival that is hosted by the Chinese community actually attracts and gives a positive impression of Chinese music and Mandarin language to native Indonesians, hence creating interest in Chinese music and the will to learn Mandarin. If utilised well, the diaspora can become a new soft power instrument for China.

Bahasa Abstract

Perayaan Festival Imlek merupakan salah satu perayaan terbesar bagi diaspora Tionghoa di Pontianak. Perayaan ini diperuntukan menjadi sarana bagi etnis Tionghoa untuk mengingat dan memelihara tradisi mereka selama hidup di negara barunya, atau ‘host country.’ Namun, kegemaran etnis non-Tionghoa yang tinggi terhadap perayaan Imlek di Pontianak memunculkan pertanyaan mengenai apakah aktivitas diaspora ini secara tidak sengaja meningkatkan favorabilitas Tiongkok di Indonesia, dan maka dari itu, meningkatkan soft power Tiongkok. Penelitian ini akan membahas mengenai penyebaran budaya Festival Imlek di Pontianak yang bisa menjadi instrumen soft power Tiongkok. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kuantitatif melalui survei ke 384 sampel dan analisis regresi linear sederhana. Variabel yang digunakan di dalam penelitian ini adalah Kegemaran mendengar Musik (Y1) dan Keinginan Belajar Bahasa Mandarin (Y2) dengan variabel X diambil dari Aktivitas dalam Festival Imlek. Penelitian ini memperlihatkan korelasi positif antara Festival Imlek dan kedua variabel terikat. Festival Imlek dapat menarik perhatian para pengunjung dan memberikan impresi positif terhadap musik Tionghoa dan Bahasa Mandarin, membuat sebagian besar dari mereka lebih gemar mendengarkan musik Tionghoa dan ‘ingin’ Belajar Bahasa Mandarin. Hasil ini menunjukan adanya pengaruh yang tercipta dari diaspora Tionghoa di Indonesia dan, diaspora berpotensi menjadi instrumen soft power bagi pemerintah Tiongkok.

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