via Straight.com, 25 August 2022: A Taiwanese couple find themselves restoring heritage buildings in Semarang.
Taiwanese heritage advocate Eden Liu has a simple philosophy: do what you love and the money will follow. It has led him on a remarkable journey to the historic section of the port city of Semarang on the north coast of Java.
There, he and his wife, Jade, have overseen the restoration of the two-storey Soesmans Kantoor colonial building. It used to be the office of the Soesmans Emigration, Sale and Commission Office, which supplied labourers when the Dutch controlled Java and Sumatra.
Now the building is home to a social enterprise run by the Liu family, one that hosts cultural events as well as activities and employment for Indonesian women, including in Taiwanese-owned businesses.
