Author: Antonia Timmerman
Antonia Timmerman is a Jakarta-based journalist with over 10 years of experience reporting in Southeast Asia. Starting out as a business reporter, Antonia developed a specialization in technology and labor issues. Her articles have been published in Rest of World, South China Morning Post, VICE, Nikkei Asia, and more.
Antonia has won multiple awards for her journalism, including two SOPA 2023 Awards for her coverage of nickel and electric vehicle development in Indonesia, and a SABEW 2022 Best in Business Award.
Related Posts
Chinese EV Brands’ Push In Indonesia Intensifies. Can They Help Boost Slow Adoption?
The roads in Jakarta are looking a little different lately. At times, in the sea of black SUVs stuck in traffic, one can spot one or two tiny electric cars developed by Chinese electric vehicle maker Wuling. When one hops into a Blue Bird — the country’s ...
Indonesia 2024 Presidential Election: Forecasting Future Proximity With China
Indonesia will hold a presidential election next year that will potentially see three candidates battling for office: Anies Baswedan, Ganjar Pranowo, and Prabowo Subianto. Since declaring their presidential bids, the three candidates have talked about various issues, ranging from improving education, boosting employment, healthcare, ...
Q&A: Untapped Opportunities In Indonesia’s Impact Tech Startups For Chinese Investors
Conversations around the China-Indonesia cooperation usually revolve around the big, flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects like the high-speed rail, the industrial parks, or nickel processing in Morowali and Weda Bay. But, development and sustainability can be driven by a ...
Q&A: China’s Transsion’s Little-Known Phone Repair Business Thrives in Global South, Offers Clues To Sustainable Hardware Services
Carlcare, a post-sales repair service provider, is a little-known unit of Transsion Holdings, a Chinese maker of mobile phones beloved across Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. Like its parent company, Carlcare’s business is thriving in developing countries thanks to its adept localizing; in this case, tapping into ...
How to Talk About China in the Global South: Key Lessons From the Digital Asia Hub 2023 Conference
Academics from dozens of top universities around the globe gathered last week in Chiang Mai, Thailand, for the 20th Chinese Internet Research Conference (CIRC). Hailing from Peking University, Nanyang Technological University, Warwick University, and more, the researchers presented their latest research on the Chinese Internet’s flows and ...
Southeast Asia Inches Closer to China to Survive Harsh Heat Waves
Extreme high temperatures — a ‘once-in-200-years heat wave’ — have been hitting many Asian countries in recent weeks, including those in Southeast Asia. Experts said that it is only the beginning of an era that will see more frequent heat waves and other erratic weather.
Searching for Climate Solutions In a Haze of Geopolitics
In the afternoons when I would reach for the air conditioner’s remote control, unable to go on without turning on the cooling machine, I grieve a little. I know it didn’t used to be this hot. I remember playing outside as a child at this hour. The ...
Southeast Asia’s Climate Goals Are Ultimately Economic Goals: U.S. Vows to Help, But China Delivers
Two weeks ago, Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and his ministers received a visit from the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council (U.S.-ABC). Green industries — particularly electric vehicles — were at the top of Indonesia’s talking points. “How can Indonesia get facilities to ...
TRANSLATION: Deaths, Work Accidents, Busting Unions, Criminalization: The Fate of Indonesian and Chinese Workers in the Gunbuster Nickel Industry
The following is a summary translation of an article on Project Multatuli, written by journalist Permata Adinda, on the plights of nickel workers at Chinese-owned nickel firm Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI) in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. At about ten in the evening ...
Q&A: Indonesian, Chinese Nickel Workers Struggle With Racial Tension, But Must Tread Path to Solidarity
This year opened with a clash that erupted between Indonesian and Chinese workers at Gunbuster Nickel Industry (GNI), a Chinese-owned nickel processing plant in Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, claiming lives from each side. It’s tempting to count the clash as evidence ...
Why Many Indonesians Think Jokowi Fumbled Chinese High-Speed Rail Diplomacy, Even As It Nears Completion
The China-backed high-speed train that runs from Jakarta to Bandung, two main cities in Indonesia, is nearing completion, and is slated to begin serving the public in August this year. But after about a decade of planning and construction, the excitement just isn’t there. Not anymore.
Q&A: Chinese-Dominated EV Supply Chains in Southeast Asia Grapple With Abuses
Since the 2010s, China has moved swiftly to secure mineral resources around the world to feed its gigantic electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing industry. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, China was reported to own 15 of the 17 cobalt operations in the country, producing ...