CPP Weaponizes Social Media, Sihanoukville Seethes With Crime, Tourism Tanks
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, September 3, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
TERROR TOWN: Chinese human traffickers kidnap and beat victims, seeking exorbitant ransoms from family members. The numbers are shocking.
SPEECH CRIMES: Rumors of a rendezvous in Paris between Sar Kheng and Sam Rainsy unleashed fierce CPP backlash — and criminal charges.
GAS SCAMS: Think you’re buying the good gas? A government crackdown found 40% of gas vendors were falsely labeling “regular” as “premium.”
THE LEDE
Bankruptcy Tsunami
Without help from the government, experts fear another tidal wave of bankruptcies as Covid-19 decimates Cambodia’s tourism sector. The pandemic has already forced nearly 50% of all tourism-related businesses to close.
The government has bet big on vaccinations. There is even talk of reopening tourism to vaccinated travellers. But industry insiders, and observers like the Asia Foundation, say a full recovery is years away.
The future of Cambodian tourism, one of the pillars of the economy, is very much in doubt.
House Rules
The government relies on social media to manage state business, insulate itself from criticism and, some say, to identify those seeking to spread dissent.
The Ministry of Public Works held a Facebook-live forum that allowed questions from the public. The Ministry of Interior said it would provide updates on projects through its Facebook page. Several government bodies host Telegram channels that buzz with official pronouncements.
Critics say the turn to social media makes the government less responsive, not more. And no amount of Telegram chats can hide the fact that dozens of government critics remain imprisoned, many for the social-media comments the government claims to encourage.
Two-way Traffic
Gangs of Chinese thugs are entrenched along Cambodia’s southern coast, where they operate illegal casinos and run kidnapping and extortion rings.
Reports from Sihanoukville are horrifying. Gangs kidnap and beat people, then send videos of the assaults to the victim’s family members to demand hefty ransoms.
The trafficking runs both ways. Authorities recently rescued 12 Cambodian women from alleged captivity in Chongqing, China. Officials have rescued 231 Cambodians in the first half of 2021, up from 82 in all of 2020.
TALKING POINTS
Frontline Casualty
Cambodia reported its first death of a frontline health worker from Covid-19. Im Srey Ni, a midwife who volunteered at the Preah Sihanouk Province Referral Hospital, died last week. She was 28.
Logging Preah Rokar
The Prey Lang Community Network documented 101 cases of illegal logging during a three-day survey of Preah Rokar Wildlife Sanctuary. The president of the Royal Academy of Cambodia blamed deforestation on the country’s rich and powerful, who lured impoverished locals into doing their dirty work.
Unauthorized Chaos
Authorities were hot in pursuit of a spreader of fake news. Facebook user Tharith Bun shared an old photo of two well-known politicians suggesting the pair met recently in Paris to discuss political reconciliation. The government accused him of criminal incitement of social chaos.
Gas Bust
A Ministry of Commerce crackdown found that 40% of the petrol sellers they checked were mislabeling gasoline. Of the 447 sellers checked nationwide, 197 were caught selling regular fuel under the “premium” label and premium prices.
Back to School
Schools in low-risk areas were set to reopen after the prime minister called for a rapid return to the classroom. Online learning has been a huge challenge for many students, especially the young and those in rural areas with little access to the internet or smartphones.
Coming Around
Svay Rieng families in a standoff with provincial officials over land are starting to see things the government’s way. Authorities arrested two family representatives and quarantined 60 families after they protested low-ball offers from the state, which has claimed their land for an irrigation project. Families began settling soon after.
Online Freedom
The CPP has weaponized the legal system to silence online dissent, according to a new report from the Asia Center. The report outlined a raft of measures, including anti-defamation and national security laws, that allowed for intrusive monitoring of online conversations and robbed Cambodian’s of their right to free speech.
Covid-19 Watch
Good: Deaths and daily infections continued to trend downward. The number of vaccinated continued to trend upward.
Bad: Provincial reporting remained sporadic to non-existent, making it impossible to draw a complete picture of the Covid-19 situation.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
UN Official: Media Improving
August 28, 2001
Cambodia’s print media has made significant progress in the past few years, writing more balanced stories and limiting sexy stories and profanity.
Gov’t Attacks Critics With Ministry Letter
August 30, 2001
A war of words that erupted last week when the US ambassador blasted Cambodia for tolerating corruption has now escalated, as the Foreign Ministry sent diplomats a letter telling them to be careful of what they say.
Singer Worries About Future After Shooting
August 28, 2001
A week after being shot in the face by an unknown assailant, nightclub singer Huot Lakhena lies in a Calmette Hospital bed, wondering if she still has a career.