Chinese Gunboats Arrive at Ream, Rasmei Kampuchea Collapses, Debt Defaults to Soar
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, December 8, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
FINAL RUN: The venerable Rasmei Kampuchea newspaper is no more. The editor blamed money problems and a changing global media industry for the demise of the Khmer-language daily. It had reported the local news since 1993.
DARK LINES: It was more trouble for another longstanding media outlet — The Cambodia Daily — whose report on high-level kickbacks inside the Interior Ministry was officially dismissed as the “evil intentions” of “extremist groups.”
NET ZERO: Fish populations in the Tonle Sap are down nearly 90% since 2005 and without help, the primary protein for millions of Cambodians could be lost. Officials are racing to educate communities and collaborate with fellow Mekong nations.
THE LEDE
Wise Guys
China called — Beijing wants its gangsters back.
The demand puts Prime Minister Hun Manet in a tough spot, caught between the okhnas who support the Hun family’s grip on power and the Chinese government that’s bankrolling its future.
Cambodia’s billion-dollar cyber scam industry has long been linked to the political elite. China is fed up with the Kingdom’s pig-butchering syndicates that prey on its citizens — and with the world perhaps viewing it as in league with criminals. Insiders say a shakeup is coming.
The scam mills provide massive profits to unscrupulous tycoons, with many likely to complain if the money dries up. It might not matter: What China wants in the Kingdom, China typically gets.
Binding Ties
Two warships from the naval arm of the People’s Liberation Army made a surprise visit to Ream Naval Base — just as China’s top general held talks with Hun Manet, reigniting fresh fears of Beijing’s military expansion in the Kingdom.
The gunboats, officials said, were part of an unannounced training exercise. Washington, which has accused China of building a secret base at Ream, reiterated concerns over the base’s potential as a surveillance outpost and renewed its vociferous calls for geopolitical transparency.
Cambodia in June announced major plans for air-defense and radar facilities at nearby Ream National Park. China is not involved in the project, officials in the Kingdom insist, but that’s hard to square given the two countries’ deep — and expanding — military ties.
High Price
The Cambodia Daily remains a meddlesome bête noire for the ruling CPP and its notorious media clampdown.
The ruling party blasted the outlet’s recent report that “fees” of between $20,000 and $30,000 were expected of senior officials appointed to the party’s Central Committee.
A CPP spokesperson called the allegations “exaggerated,” “provocative” and a deliberate insult to the dignity of party members. The ministry said it was the work of “extremist groups” with “evil intentions.”
A Freedom House report this week accused the government of targeting overseas journalists, and The Daily editor, who lives in the U.S., was no exception.
TALKING POINTS
Small Talk
Hun Manet laid out an expansive plan to tackle the Kingdom’s endemic corruption. The five-point strategy looks more like a marketing campaign — for International Anti-Corruption Day on Saturday — than an honest attempt to reign in high-level graft. There’s talk of “professional ethics,” but not a single mention of enforcement, fines or penalties.
Time Served
Theary Seng, the imprisoned Cambodian-American lawyer and activist, returns to court Wednesday for an appeal hearing. The U.S. this week announced $24 million for local environmental projects — a move seen as an olive branch on the matter. The courts rarely overturn convictions, but it could rule for an early release or house arrest.
Spiral Down
Bad loans and high interest rates are eating away at bank profits, S&P Global reports. The rating giant expects the situation to deteriorate through 2024, predicting that 4% of commercial loans will default by the end of 2023, with that number rising to 4.7% next year.
Empty Nets
Tonle Sap fish populations are down nearly 90% over the last 17 years and further exploitation could wipe them out. Fish are the primary source of protein for millions of Cambodians, and environmental officials are scrambling to educate local communities about responsible fishing practices, while ramping up calls for greater coordination between Mekong nations.
Legacy Lost
Rasmei Kampuchea, the Khmer-language daily newspaper founded in 1993, ceased operations Dec. 1 due to financial difficulties. Once the largest newspaper in Cambodia, vanishing advertising revenue forced it to stop printing in 2019. Its 30 remaining employees, some of whom had worked for the paper since Day 1, were laid off.
OSHA Alert
Cambodia is a tough place for laborers. As many as 228 factory workers died on the job in the first 11 months of the year — and 13,191 were affected by occupational hazards, according to the Labor Ministry, which broke down that total as 7,192 transportation-related accidents and 5,999 in workplaces.
Street Scenes
Photo Phnom Penh, a nonprofit NGO dedicated to promoting photography skills, is transforming the capital into an urban art gallery. Its annual photo festival will display the works of 19 photographers on the city’s roaming tuk-tuks. The party starts this weekend, with exhibitions running through Feb. 7.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Police Say Rape of Girl Led to Revenge Rape
December 5, 2003
A man in Samraong district, Oddar Meanchey province, raped a woman on Nov 22 to avenge the violation of his underage daughter the previous day by his victim’s husband, provincial police Chief Ath Khem said Thursday.
UN Envoy Discusses Killings With Hun Sen
December 4, 2003
The UN’s human rights envoy to Cambodia, Peter Leuprecht, raised growing concerns with Prime Minister Hun Sen this week about recent violence and killings and critiqued development practices that benefit the rich more than the poor.
VN and Cambodia Under Fire for Abuse of Montagnards
December 3, 2003
Human Rights Watch urged international donors to pressure Vietnam to end its persecution of Montagnards, and accused Cambodia of denying asylum to fleeing Montagnards in a statement Tuesday.
Forest Monitor Faces Allegations of Corruption
December 3, 2003
The government’s choice of Swiss firm Societe Generale de Surveillance as its new forest monitor has encountered a multitude of criticisms from NGOs and the Alliance of Democrats since its announcement.
WEEKEND READING
Far-Reaching Threats a Worry for Cambodian-American Journalist
Paranoia has become something of a way of life for Sarada Taing, ever since the journalist received violent threats from a pro-government social media personality in Cambodia in June.
Photos: Pig butcher, public domain. Tonle Sap, by CEphoto, Uwe Aranas, WikiMedia.
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