Dr. Frans Tshai, a Chinese Indonesian, was born in
1942 in Singkawang, Borneo. He studied medicine at the University of Freiburg
(Germany) and Zurich (Switzerland), worked at the Kreisspital Buelach
(Switzerland) then went back to Indonesia in 1971.
He spends most of his
time working for large pharmaceutical companies such as Ciba Geigy as Medical
Director and Director of Corporate Issues Management, President Director of PT.
Qualitama Sejati, Executive Director of The Indonesian Federation of
Pharmaceutical Companies. At the present moment he is President Director of PT.
ALS Indonesia, a Canadian company that received an award from Indonesia Canada
Chamber of Commerce for its outstanding business operations in
Indonesia.
Dr. Frans Tshai‘s political carreer started in 1998 when he joined the PDI
party of Megawati Sukarnoputri now president of Indonesia. He hoped that if he
got elected, he would have a political voice and the chance to tackle the
discrimination against Chinese Indonesians that has been there for decades. In
1999 he won the election in his home town Kodya Bogor (West Java) but his name
never made it to the final list of representatives. Bogor’s parliamentary seat
was given to a non Chinese from a different part of the country.
In 2002 he became Chairman of “Struggling Indonesian Unity in Diversity
Party” (Partai Perjuangan Bhinneka Tunggal Ika) which was declared as a
political party on January 15, 2003 in Jakarta. The past 3 years together with
Tan You Hok, Frans Hendra Winata, Ester Jusuf, Tan Swie Ling and some other
friends, Dr. Frans Tshai has been fighting for the abolishment of discriminatory
laws against the Chinese Indonesians. Dr. Frans Tshai is also very much involved
in many organizations such as the Lions Club Indonesia where he was Chairman of
the Board of Governors. He is also a board member of Indonesia–China Business
Council, a Board Member of Indonesia Canada Chamber of Commerce.
During his spare time, he goes fishing, plants orchids, listens to
classical music and practices Chikung, writes articles about Chikung as an
alternative to cure illness. He writes articles in magazines and newspapers
with regards to pharmacy and living environment, hosts political discussions
through seminars and electronic media.
This biography was translated and prepared by Canadians Concerned about
Ethnic Violence in Indonesia (CCEVI)
06/03
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