Mech Dara Makes Bail, Filipinas Nabbed in Surrogacy Scam, New Tourism Chief Targets China

Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, October 25, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.

• CUT DOWN: Rampant logging inside Botum Sakor National Park has for years served as evidence of corruption by the very authorities tasked with “protecting” the forests. New images show trees are now disappearing faster than ever.

• BIRTH CONTROL: Philippine diplomats are defending a group of pregnant Filipinas detained in a commercial surrogacy scheme and accused of plotting to sell their babies. Their embassy says the women are not criminals, but victims.

• BOX OFFICE: Asian audiences have been transfixed by “No More Bets,” a Chinese thriller about youngsters trafficked into slavery at a cyber scam center. The flick was banned by Cambodia, where the plot hit too close to home.

THE LEDE

Free Press

Mech Dara, the prominent Cambodian journalist jailed for incitement last month, was released on bail after making a public apology to the Strongman and Prime Minister Hun Manet.

The pre-recorded message carried the hallmarks of a forced confession. The 36-year-old reporter, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit and holding his hands high in a sampeah, admitted to sharing false information on social media and pleaded for the leaders’ forgiveness.

The arrest has been a public relations disaster for the government, which is counting on his release to quiet the storm of bad press — if not the relentless intimidation of journalists and dissidents.

Tour Guide

Huot Hak, the new minister of tourism, is on the hot seat with the busy season set to begin.  

The 51-year-old was appointed weeks ago in Prime Minister Hun Manet's first Cabinet reshuffle. All he has to do is revive the Kingdom's tourist industry, still suffering a post-covid slump and a steady stream of bad press. 

His first move: Reach out to China. His first campaign: "The Cambodia-China Year of People-to-People Exchanges." His eventual goal is "two or three million" Chinese tourists per year. (The record was 2.36 million in 2019.)  

There’s more on the table: Tax cuts to help Siem Reap, more flights from China and a proposed six-nation regional visa. Hout Hak’s journey has started; where he ends up remains to be seen. 

Dead Wood 

What do you call a protected area that's not actually protected at all?

That's the question for Botum Sakor National Park, once an untouched, biologically diverse wonderland and the Kingdom's largest "protected" area — but now a sliver of the wide swath it was when established in 1993. 

The old growth forest and unique wildlife — elephants, gibbons, fishing cats and clouded leopards — have been vanishing for years. A watchdog group claims Botum Sakor has lost 30% of its primary jungle since 2003.

Recent satellite images now show deforestation to be accelerating, replaced by land concessions handed out by the government to unscrupulous, CPP-linked tycoons. Botum Sakor offers this lesson: In Cambodia, it can be hard to see the forest for the thieves. 

TALKING POINTS

Jail Bait

In a stunning political turn, Hay Vanna, the Japan-based dissident who led international protests against the Cambodia-Laos-Vietnam development project, defected to the ruling CPP. The move came as part of an apparent trade for the release of his brother, who was jailed two months ago for incitement — charges widely viewed as political payback for his activism.

Peer Pressure

A coalition of 163 NGOs is urging the World Bank to condemn Cambodia’s attacks on civil society and human rights defenders. The group, which includes backers from the U.S., U.K., Europe and Asia, is pressing the bank to enforce its own policies against harassment and retaliation, which it says the CPP government has repeatedly violated.

Boxed In

The National Election Committee has updated the Kingdom's voting list, registering a total of 9,992,421 voters, including 5,304,855 women, out of the population of 17.7 million. The NEC reported that 80% of this year's newly qualified citizens had been added to the electoral roll. Cambodia's election process is routinely criticized by rights groups. 

Blurry Lines

Thirteen pregnant Philippine women are being held at a police hospital, charged with human trafficking and sexual exploitation for their role in a surrogacy scheme. The women, says the Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh, should be treated as victims, not criminals, and officials are pleading with Cambodia for leniency.

Hot Spot

A U.S. inquiry into Cambodian solar panel exports threatens to short circuit a booming local industry. Two leading manufacturers are refusing to cooperate with the probe, which is investigating allegations of unfair pricing. A negative finding could lead to tariffs of 100% or more.

Piled Up

It's been a big year for drug busts, with authorities seizing more than 7 metric tons of narcotics and making over 25,000 arrests. The campaign also caught 94 government officials, who were sacked after failing drug tests. Nearly 70 properties have been confiscated and 118 bank accounts frozen, equaling roughly $10 million. 

Horror Show

The Chinese blockbuster “No More Bets” is topping Netflix charts across the region. The film, banned in Cambodia, tells the story of two young job seekers duped by a gang of human traffickers and forced to work in a cyber scam mill. The movie is ranked No. 1 in Vietnam — and it has made several recent Top 10 appearances in the Philippines, Thailand and Singapore.

BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault

1 Year Later, Shootings Remain Unsolved

October 22, 2004
One year ago on Thursday, popular singer Touch Srey Nich was leaving a flower shop in Phnom Penh when she was shot three times in the face and neck. Her mother was killed trying to shield her daughter from the hit men’s bullets.

City Cheers The Arrival Of New King

October 21, 2004
King Norodom Sihamoni and his parents, retired King Noro­dom Sihanouk and Queen Norodom Monineath, arrived in Phnom Penh from Beijing Wednesday, welcomed by throngs of well-wishers.

Enigmatic Pen Pal of Retired King Returns to Chastise Media

October 21, 2004
Resurfacing after more than a year of silence, Ruom Ritt, the controversial pen pal of retired King Norodom Sihanouk, issued a letter to his longtime friend on the occasion of his abdication.

WEEKEND READING

SCAM: Inside Asia’s Scam Centers

"I was taught how to hit on them for about three or four days. After being friends for about a week, you go in for the 'kill'."

Cambodian logging syndicate tied to major U.S. wood flooring supply chains

Cambodian companies producing engineered hardwood flooring for the U.S. market are getting their timber from a company described as a cartel that’s been repeatedly accused of illegally logging inside protected areas.

Photos: Mech Dara, Licadho. No More Bets.
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