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A video has been viewed hundreds of times in social media posts falsely claiming it shows Indonesian President Joko Widodo inaugurating “China’s hospital” in the capital Jakarta. The footage in fact shows a hospital run by a Buddhist foundation, which is the Indonesian arm of a Taiwan-based charity group.
“WHAT’S BEHIND THE HEALTH LAW THAT THE REGIME IS DETERMINED TO PASS?” reads an Indonesian-language post on X, formerly known as Twitter, dated July 17, 2023.
“The law was passed on July 11. On July 16, China’s grandiose hospital emerged in Jakarta. Do you see what’s happening?”
The post also shared a video that shows President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo inaugurating the Tzu Chi Hospital in Jakarta (archived link).
At the start of the video, Indonesian-language text appears on screen, saying: “President Joko Widodo: No Need to Go Abroad for Health Treatment, Just Visit the Tzu Chi Hospital.”
The post was uploaded days after the Indonesian parliament passed sweeping changes to the country’s health law, which included reforms such as allowing foreign doctors to open practices in the country (archived link).
Lawmakers argued the controversial law — which sparked protests from doctors and nurses — would rebuild the healthcare sector following the pandemic (archived link).
China is Indonesia’s top trading partner and has invested in numerous projects in the Southeast Asian nation, from a high-speed train line to mining plants (archived links here and here).
But Jokowi’s administration is often seen as being too friendly to Beijing as many Indonesians distrust China, partly due to the intrusion of Chinese coast guard and fishing vessels into Indonesian waters and the employment of foreign Chinese workers (archived links here and here).
The video has been viewed more than 350 times after it was shared in similar posts here and here on X, as well as here and here on Facebook.
However, the claim is false.
The video features the logo of Buddhist broadcaster DAAI TV Indonesia.
A reverse image search using keyframes from the video found it was taken from a clip posted on the Buddhist broadcaster’s Instagram account on June 14, 2023, which tagged the Tzu Chi Hospital’s account as a collaborator (archived link).
“President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) inaugurated Tzu Chi Hospital at Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta, Wednesday, June 14,” the caption reads.
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Below is a screenshot comparison between the video in the false post (left) and the genuine DAAI TV video (right):
The official Indonesian presidential website published a report on the hospital inauguration on the same day (archived link).
The hospital is managed by the Buddha Tzu Chi Indonesia Foundation, the Indonesian arm of charity group Tzu Chi Foundation — which is based in Hualien, Taiwan (archived links here and here).
The Tzu Chi Foundation, which was founded by Taiwanese Buddhist nun Cheng Yen, has branches across the world (archived links here and here). Its work includes providing disaster relief, medical care and education to those in need.
The Buddha Tzu Chi Indonesia Foundation published a press release about the hospital’s inauguration in which it said it manages the institution (archived link).
“The hospital, which is under the auspices of the Buddha Tzu Chi Indonesia Foundation, is a facility that uses the concepts of High Tech (high technology) and High Touch (humanistic touch),” the press release says.
