Indonesian president Prabowo Subianto cancels China visit amid growing protests

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has cancelled a planned visit to China, where he was due to attend a "Victory Parade" commemorating the end of World War II and Japan's formal surrender on September 3. The ceremony in Beijing will be hosted by President Xi Jinping, who has invited several foreign leaders, including the guest of honour, Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Subianto's office has publicly announced his absence.

"The president wants to continue monitoring (the situation in Indonesia) directly...and seek the best solutions," presidential spokesperson Prasetyo Hadi said in a video statement on Saturday.

"Therefore, the president apologises to the Chinese government that he could not attend the invitation."

Protests across the country

Demonstrations that began in Jakarta on Friday have since spread to other cities. Their immediate cause was the death of the driver of a shared motorbike, hit by a police car near parliament on Thursday. Violent clashes erupted there between police and demonstrators who were demanding pay rises for parliamentarians and increased spending on education.

This is the first major challenge to the Subianto government, which has been in power for less than a year.

On Saturday, protesters set fire to regional parliament buildings in three provinces: in West Nusa Tenggara, Pekalongan town in Central Java and Cirebon in West Java, according to local media.

A day earlier, three people were killed in a fire at the parliament building in Makasar, the disaster management agency reported.

Tear gas was also used against demonstrators in Bali, a popular destination for foreign tourists.

The role of social media

According to the government, anti-government sentiment has been fuelled by disinformation spread on social media, including TikTok. The authorities have called on representatives of the platforms, including TikTok and Meta, to increase content moderation and disable the live streaming feature, which allows real-time coverage of events.