Taylor Swift’s ‘Timeless’ Ties, Bad Cops Scolded, 500 Nabbed in Sihanoukville
Good morning, Cambodia. It's Friday, March 15, and this is your Weekly Dispatch.
BOAT LOAD: Hun Manet is taking heat for a $1.7 billion canal that will stretch from the capital to the coast. He fired back in familiar — even familial — tones, blaming the uproar on lies told by foreign media.
SWIFT NEST: Could this be the start of Taylor Swift tourism? One of her videos shows Angkor Wat in the 1960s and the government gushed, calling the song a “classic story” and posting it to social media.
BAD LOOK: The parking lots of casinos, discos and karaoke joints are too often filled with cars bearing police plates, the Interior Ministry declared. Official vehicles are now banned at “inappropriate destinations.”
THE LEDE
No Gains
There’s no easy fix for the rocky U.S.–Cambodia relationship.
The topics Phnom Penh preferred to ignore unfortunately ranked high when Hun Manet sat down with Daniel Kritenbrink, the State Department’s assistant secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs. The list included human rights, people trafficking, independent media and Ream Naval Base.
Without warmer ties with Washington, the optimism that surrounded last year’s transfer of power will soon vanish, experts believe — and the Kingdom is likely to remain cut off from top-level foreign investment, a key goal of the Hun Manet administration.
Bar Low
Authorities arrested nearly 500 suspects in raids at two illegal Sihanoukville casinos, suggesting renewed efforts to tackle the Kingdom's billion-dollar cyber scam industry.
Even so, the situation appears as bad as ever. Crime compounds that went dark after a 2022 clampdown are again thriving, this time with significantly more local workers. The U.N. estimates Cambodia’s pig-butchering scams earn at least $12 billion each year — a lot of money to pay off corrupt officials. Any attempts to get tough on the criminal networks, meanwhile, will remain half-hearted until there is a higher price to pay.
Apparently, being viewed around the world as a rogue nation in bed with Chinese triads is not high enough.
Digging In
Hun Manet renewed support for the $1.7 billion Funan Techo Canal, saying the project will directly benefit 1.6 million Cambodians and contribute to national development.
The 180km waterway has drawn sharp criticism, reportedly even from inside his administration. The prime minister, in fiery tones similar to his father, dismissed such reports as anti-government lies told by foreign media.
Hun Manet is banking on strong economic growth to satisfy a rapidly urbanizing and upwardly mobile population. Massive Chinese-funded infrastructure projects are expected to play a huge role in his plans.
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TALKING POINTS
No Clue
Police ended a 4-year-old probe into the disappearance of Wanchalearm Satsaksit, the Thai democracy activist allegedly abducted from Phnom Penh in 2022. Authorities said they were unable to confirm the details of his disappearance, despite numerous witness accounts. The U.N. called the inquiry a failure, and urged Cambodia to mount a thorough investigation.
End Game
The governor of Preah Vihear, in a move to end a decade-old land dispute, promised 1,000 hectares of land to families who lost their homes last week in a violent forced eviction. Nearly 30 residents face years in prison after clashing with police and the community wants any settlement to include the dropping of charges.
Star Power
Cambodia is the newest “ride or die” fan of Taylor Swift. The Ministry of Tourism discovered that two of her videos — “Marjorie” and “Timeless” — included scenes from 1960s-era Angkor Wat, and now it can’t stop talking about her — or waiting for her to visit.
Road Map
Cambodia will spend $36 billion upgrading transportation infrastructure in a bid to lure foreign investors. Priorities include modernizing the highway system, improving regional overland links, and expanding shipping lanes.
Clocked Out
Police are searching for the Chinese owner of a Phnom Penh garment factory who disappeared without paying nearly 5,000 workers. Moving with rare speed, labor authorities slapped Y&W Garment Co. with a $3.3 million fine while the court issued an arrest warrant for the boss. Officials said employees would receive fair pay and benefits. Many workers are doubtful.
Off Duty
Vehicles with police license plates keep appearing outside casinos and karaoke joints, giving the authorities a black eye, says the Ministry of Interior, which has ordered officers to stop using official cars for unofficial business. Banned locations include gaming halls, entertainment clubs, karaoke venues or other “inappropriate destinations.”
Stars Align
The story of Ros Sereysothea, a shining star of Golden Era music, will hit theater stages in late summer. The musical is based on “The Golden Voice,” a graphic novel from Gregory Cahill, an American writer. Him Sophy, the acclaimed composer behind “Where Elephants Weep,” is writing the score, and the stage show will be produced by Sok Visal of 802 films.
BACKPAGES: From The Cambodia Daily Vault
Governor’s Convoy Accused of Opening Fire
March 13, 2004
Police and military police traveling with a Phnom Penh Municipality delegation, led by Governor Kep Chuktema, have been accused of opening fire Thursday on police and forestry officials in Kompong Cham province who tried to inspect a truck suspected of transporting illegal timber.
Poor Cambodians Continue to Sell Babies
March 11, 2004
When Chea Kim learned that an orphanage catering to international adoptions was looking for newborns — and would pay up to $100 for each baby she brought in—she gave up her own 3-day-old daughter.
Rewriting History
March 10, 2004
After nearly 80 years, the span of her entire life, Buth Phorn still carries a deep-seated resentment of the French colonialists who imprisoned her father for what she, and many others, believe was an act of heroism.
Mob Burns Suspected Moto Thief to Death
March 9, 2004
A mob of Banteay Meanchey province motorbike drivers ran down and burned alive a suspected motorcycle thief on Saturday, according to the provincial police chief.
WEEKEND READING
An ex-diplomat and king’s head: Inside the secret global trade of Asian art
The tale of the small, gold Buddha begins more than 200 years ago, when a goldsmith crafts it for the court of the Cambodian king. It ends — as far as it’s possible to tell — in 2018, when István Zelnik, a Hungarian former diplomat with a penchant for antiques, puts it up for sale on an online auction site.
How Angkor Wat alternative Koh Ker, with its tiered temples and ‘magnificent’ artefacts, gives a window into the Khmer Empire without the crowds – for now
For many visitors to Siem Reap, Cambodia, Angkor Wat is the go-to Khmer temple site, but two hours’ drive from the city is Unesco World Heritage listed Koh Ker. The huge complex features tiered temples and statues said to be ‘more dynamic’ than at other Khmer sites. The best part is that word’s not out yet about Koh Ker.
‘It’s a lose-lose situation’: Carbon ‘offset’ project in Cambodia accused of human rights violations
Companies around the world try to make up for their carbon emission by purchasing "offsets," financing projects intended to preserve forests or otherwise compensate for their emissions. In Cambodia, Human Rights Watch recently issued a report about violations against Indigenous people in a carbon offset program in the Cardamom mountains.
Photos: Hun Manet, Facebook. Taylor Swift, public domain.
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