On 14th October, Didi Dawis, President of Indonesian Federation of Fujian Associations, led a delegation to the Liem Sioe Liong Memorial Hall. They were accompanied by Fan Xueshuang, Deputy Secretary of the Fuqing Municipal Committee and Mayor of Fuqing City; He Yujin, Head of the United Front Work Department; and Lin Xi, Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of Fuqing City.

Didi Dawis, whose ancestral home is Limei Village, Haikou Town, Fuqing, was born in East Java, Indonesia. He previously served as the sixth president of the International Association of Fuqing Clansmen. He actively participates in Indonesian social welfare initiatives, having donated funds to build the country's first national cancer treatment center. Following the Aceh tsunami, he joined forces with 17 community organizations to establish a disaster relief center, providing support directly in the affected areas. In 2013, these 17 organizations formed the Indonesian Federation of Fujian Associations, and Didi Dawis was elected as its president.   

Didi Dawis is also deeply committed to public welfare in his hometown. He contributed HKD 1 million to the Rongqiao Foundation, and together with his brother Saiman Ernawan, donated RMB 4.15 million to the Minjiang River Diversion Project. He has funded the construction of school buildings and teaching blocks for Limei Primary School and Limei Middle School, installed water supply facilities for Limei Village, and donated funds for construction of a library for Fuqing No. 3 Middle School.

On that day, the autumn sky was clear and the breeze was gentle. President Didi Dawis and his delegation, having journeyed from afar, ascended the stone steps and entered the Memorial Hall, embarking on a journey to trace the historical memories of the hometown of overseas Chinese. 

At the entrance of Hall 1, upon seeing Mr. Liem Sioe Liong’s quote, “It is important to remember our roots,” Mrs. Didi Dawis immediately called her grandchildren to her side, had them read the quote carefully, and pointing to Mr. Liem Sioe Liong’s name, urged them to remember it. She then asked her grandchildren to take a photo of her with the quote as the background, preserving this reflection on “roots”.

During the tour, President Didi Dawis paused from time to time, using the displayed content to tell delegation members about the hardships of Mr. Liem Sioe Liong’s early entrepreneurial journey as he knew it.

The bronze statues of Mr. Liem Sioe Liong and his wife caught President Didi Dawis’s attention. Under the soft lighting, the statues’ clear lines and delicate features vividly portrayed the kind and benevolent appearance of the couple. President Didi Dawis specially invited his wife to take a photo in front of the statues.

Hall 3 documents the contributions of overseas compatriots from Fuqing, represented by Mr. Liem Sioe Liong, to the economic and social development of their hometown. President Didi Dawis is both a witness and a participant in this history. He occasionally shared stories from the past with his grandchildren, recounting memories of his personal involvement.

In front of the display panel titled “Homecoming Visits”, President Didi Dawis lingered for a long time. The panel recorded Mr. Liem Sioe Liong’s multiple visits leading delegations to his hometown for inspections and family visits between 1990 and 2009. It was precisely two invitations from Mr. Liem Sioe Liong that led President Didi Dawis to set foot on his ancestral land for the first time in 1994. Gazing at the old photos laden with memories, President Didi Dawis smiled knowingly, as if time had turned back to those passionate years when he followed Mr. Liem Sioe Liong in devoting efforts to the construction and development of their hometown.

Accompanying members also enthusiastically guided President Didi Dawis’s grandchildren to find their grandfather among the many old photos. The children leaned in for a closer look, always able to pick out their grandfather’s youthful figure from the yellowed photographs. When they reached the panel displaying President Didi Dawis’s personal deeds, his face beamed with pride, and he happily called his family members for a group photo there.

In front of the projection showing “Fuqing Overseas Chinese and Compatriots’ Donations for Hometown Construction (1979-2005)”, President Didi Dawis paused again. Upon learning that this exhibit aimed to commemorate the public welfare contributions of overseas compatriots with Fuqing origins, he praised the design as “building upon the past and paving the way for the future, holding profound significance”.           

On the display panel for the “International Association of Fuqing Clansmen” in Hall 4, a quote from President Didi Dawis, spoken during his term as the sixth president of the International Association of Fuqing Clansmen, was displayed. President Didi Dawis affectionately called his grandchildren over and had one of them read aloud in English his past evaluation of Mr. Liem Sioe Liong: “Mr. Liem was an influential patriarch in the Chinese community. He was kindhearted and generous with gentle demeanor and magnanimity. He earned respect with his good virtues in doing business as well as in the association. His passion and devotion for his homeland and folks are highly acclaimed.”

In that moment, teaching by personal example as well as verbal instruction, the impact was subtle yet profound. The young, earnest voice reading aloud had quietly planted the seeds of Mr. Liem Sioe Liong’s noble character in the young minds.

The one-and-a-half-hour tour concluded with a sense of lingering fascination. Before leaving the Memorial Hall, President Didi Dawis took a group photo with the delegation members, and again gathered his family for another photo in front of the seated statue of Mr. Liem Sioe Liong. Jauw Mo Jan, the eighth president of the International Association of Fuqing Clansmen, also participated in the visit with the delegation.

Text: Lan Zhenhua

Photograph: Hong Ning