Although Timor-Leste has a population of only one million, the area is only 150,000 square kilometers, ignored by the international community and with little influence, but in the hundreds of years since the Great Geographical Discovery, it has been suppressed by foreign forces, and the aborigines have never had a glorious moment of independence.
In 2002, Timor-Leste, which had been oppressed by Indonesia for a long time, finally ushered in the dawn of independence and officially became a new country in Asia. Dili, a beautiful city located in the capital of East Timor, is bathed in the sunshine of freedom and independence, radiating a dazzling light.
Here, you can enjoy the breathtaking scenery and feel the unique charm of this young country. Whether it's the beach, the mountains, or the cityscape, it's all unforgettable.
Come here and you will witness the history of a country coming out of suffering and feel the infinite expectations of this young country for the future. Let's step into this hopeful country and experience its unique scenery and culture.
Despite Timor-Leste's strategic location, abundant sunshine and abundant oil and gas resources, and even more affluent than other small countries such as Brunei, the country still faces many challenges two decades after independence, including the fact that many people are struggling to make ends meet.
In the early 16th century, during the Age of Discovery, the Kingdom of Portugal became one of the first countries to rise, setting its sights on the island of Timor in the process of colonial expansion, thus beginning a 400-year history of colonial rule over East Timor.
In the process, Timor-Leste also experienced occupation and domination by the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia.
In 1975, Indonesia invaded Timor-Leste, and Portugal had completed the Carnation Revolution and entered the process of decolonization. East Timor was kept away from Portugal, so it fell under the category of decolonization.
In the same year, Portugal agreed to the national self-determination of East Timor, with a referendum to determine its own future. There are three forces within Timor-Leste, each with different demands.
However, just a week after they declared independence, Indonesia launched a large-scale military campaign with the intention of encroaching on the land. In the mid-to-late 20th century, Indonesia's aggression was opposed by other countries.
From the moment Indonesia sent troops to occupy East Timor, the United Nations passed a resolution demanding that Indonesia withdraw its troops. The East Timorese paid a huge price to resist Indonesian aggression, with 180,000 people killed before and after, and the process of resistance was extremely heroic.
Indonesia under Suharto's rule ignored UN resolutions and international opposition, and Europe and the United States attached great importance to relations with Indonesia. In 1998, the Asian financial crisis broke out, Indonesia's economy was hit hard, prices soared, food shortages, and rare famine, and the people were extremely dissatisfied with the military.
Under the domestic and foreign difficulties, Suharto ended his 32-year reign, and the new Habibie gradually brought Indonesia's political situation back on track.
Habibie, an East Timorese woman under the Indonesian occupation, came to power and began to take a stand on the long-standing East Timor issue in order to win the support of the international community. Australia, in particular, has directly expressed its support for the autonomy of East Timor.
Although Habibie relented, the pro-Indonesian militias were not satisfied. On 30 August 1999, when East Timor's desire for independence received overwhelming support, a number of pro-independence pro-Indonesian militias began to incite violence, resulting in the death of a large number of East Timorese and the displacement of some 500,000**.
The violent clashes in Timor-Leste have caused outrage in countries such as Australia and Portugal, and activists in some countries have begun to put pressure on Indonesia and are even preparing to send troops to Australia.
Eventually, the Australian-led multinational force was stationed in Timor-Leste, including the first Chinese peacekeepers, and while the peacekeepers did not clash with Indonesia in serious ways, there were some minor clashes.
After an arduous transition period, in July 2000, East Timor finally welcomed its first Transitional Cabinet, which meant that it was beginning to move towards the goal of independence.
The proclamation of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on 20 May 2002 was a moment of great historical significance for the people of Timor-Leste, marking their liberation from Indonesian rule and their emergence as the first new country in Asia in the 21st century.
Although East Timor has only been independent for two hours, it must be admitted that, apart from China, the greatest contributor to East Timor's independence is actually Australia. In fact, in the early years, Australia recognized Indonesia's occupation of Timor-Leste, and even cooperated with Australia on the rich oil resources in Timor-Leste's waters.
After the end of the Cold War, Indonesia's importance to the United States gradually decreased, and Australia stopped supporting Indonesia. As Australia's neighbor, Indonesia has a large population that is unsettling to Australia, especially since Indonesia's brutal repression of East Timorese clergy has put humanitarian pressure on Australia.
In this context, Australia has taken the lead in supporting the independence of East Timor.
Timor-Leste did not enjoy a prosperous life after independence, and tensions with Indonesia prevented it from developing its economy until 2008, when relations between the two sides began to ease and stabilize.
So, to what extent has East Timor developed after independence? The answer is obvious: it is full of devastated poverty and backwardness, and its long colonial history has made it a poor and backward country at the time of its founding, and its infrastructure construction is far from keeping up with the pace of development of the times.
Coffee: Timor-Leste's second treasure. Despite its remote location, God has not forgotten this place, leaving behind an incomparably precious treasure - rich oil and gas resources.
Timor-Leste has more oil and gas reserves than Brunei.
Timor-Leste's inadequacy in the capital's airports and domestic infrastructure has left its economy largely dependent on agriculture and services. For a long time, due to the backward level of economic development, Timor-Leste has had to rely on external economic assistance, let alone develop its rich oil and gas resources, and the leading power of oil and gas development is basically in the hands of foreign enterprises.
In 2018, Brunei's oil and gas resource output reached 73$4.8 billion, while Timor-Leste has only $13$5.6 billion, there is a considerable gap between the two.
Although the East Timorese are a people with a bloody and resilient spirit who have fought for their independence, there are also uncivilized and brutal aspects in practice, such as the smashing of construction sites when there is a slight delay in the payment of wages, or the need for supervision to carry out work.
Especially for the attitude of the Chinese, it may be different from what you see on Douyin.
Although there are many Chinese diasporas settled on the island of Timor-Leste, whose history dates back to the Hakka people during the Ming Dynasty, the local people do not have a friendly view of the Chinese.
Their attitude towards the Chinese is somewhere between curiosity and disgust, mainly because of the East Timorese themselves, who are lazy and rarely have serious jobs. They mainly rely on state subsidies or selling small things to make ends meet, while the island of Timor-Leste has oil resources to sell, so the state will provide rice subsidies to ensure their basic livelihood.
However, petty theft is also quite common, and even parents will bring their children to steal with them. Although the police were called, the local police may not be able to catch them, which is also the real impression of the local Chinese on Timor-Leste.
The bazaar in Los Galos is an important market in Timor-Leste's third largest city, but the catering and business sector is dominated by Chinese and Australians, resulting in limited employment opportunities for locals.
In addition, the local people are not highly educated, so they think that the Chinese have taken away their jobs, so there is a certain degree of antipathy towards the Chinese.
The scenery of Timor-Leste is indeed charming, but unfortunately, some people do not seem to know how to be grateful. They take the help provided by China for granted, as if the benefits were God-given, and it would be wrong for China to stop helping.
Disturbingly, some even believe that violence can be used to regain this "deserved help". This is how some East Timorese feel about China's aid.
Why don't Australians have an aversion to ordinary markets? The reason is simple, a large amount of East Timor's supplies are in Australia, and the two countries are geographically close.
If there is tension with Australia, it will be possible to import supplies from elsewhere, but it will be a bit more troublesome in comparison. What's more, many medicines are also imported from Australia, so Australians have a friendly attitude towards ordinary bazaars.