The year 1906 marked a turning point in the history of the Chinese movement in Java, for at the beginning of this year Chinese Chambers of Commerce (Shang-hwee) began to be established in Java's urban centers under the guidance of the Ch'ing dynasty. The leaders of these Shang-hwee, most of whom were wealthy Chinese merchants, were suddenly brought into the officialdom of the Ch'ing dynasty, and gradually came to challenge the leadership and power of the Chinese officials sanctioned by the colonial authorities (Kong-koan)Around 1909, Java's major cities saw the establishment of “reading clubs” (Soe-po-sia) by anti-Ch'ing revolutionaries. These clubs were intended to raise funds for revolutionary activities and to spread revolutionary ideas among the Chinese in Java. Soe-po-sia members were generally immigrants (Totok), and included a large number of THHK school teachers.The more the Chinese movement in Java came to be directly influenced by the poitical climate in China, the more the influence and leadership of the China-oriented Totok increased. Nonetheless, as is indicated by the fact that the most influential person in the movement was Majoor Oei Tjong Ham of Semarang, the leadership of the movement remained in the hands of wealthy Peranakans, whose primary aim was to improve the status of the Chinese in Java. This was particularly true in the case of the leaders of THHK-Batavia, who carefully avoided becoming involved in the conflict between royalists and revolutionaries.When the Republic of China was established in 1911, there was a sudden upsurge of nationalistic feeling among the Chinese in Java. The Totok took this opportunity to express their contempt for the “half-caste” Peranakans and to denounce the Dutch-oriented Chinese officials. Nationalistic feeling was especially strong among the Hakka, who were the largest group in the Soc-po-sia. This put the latter on collision course with the members of Sarekat Islam, which was then just beginning to make an impact on Indonesian nationalism. In the end, the Kong-koan lost their leadership of the Chinese community, with many of them accepting the leadership of the Shang-hwee and Soe-po-sia.Thus, the heightening of a Chinese-consciousness among the Chinese immigrants, which had been the primary goal of the THHK leaders, resulted in, hostility and confrontation with the native population of Java. The passing of the leadership of the Chinese community from the hands of the Peranakans to those of the Totok also meant rejection of the European community. Thus, the Chinese community established itself as an independent entity, and gave rise to pluralistic society in Java. The Chinese, therefore, dicided not to send any representatives to take the seats allotted to them in the newaly constituted Volksraad in 1918. It soon became evident, however, that the Republic of China offered no advantages to the Chinese in Java while the colonial authorities were offering improvements in the status of the Peranakans This resulted in a gradual divergence of orientation between the Peranakans and the Totok.