https://www.scmp.com/rss/114189/feed Former king and leader of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk was crowned in 1941. He further consolidated his power in the 1950s before he was toppled by a US-backed coup in 1970 and was exiled to Beijing. He later returned and supported the Khmer Rouge but was eventually put under house arrest by the communist regime. Sihanouk regained the throne in 1993. In 2004, he abdicated due to illness and left the throne to his son. On October 15, 2012, Sihanouk died of a heart attack at age 89 in Beijing. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Dewey Sim Dewey Sim Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto had a last-minute change of plan when he travelled to Beijing to attend China’s military parade in Tiananmen Square, just hours before it began. Prabowo had earlier decided to cancel the trip because of widespread protests at home. But he showed up for the parade in a grey suit on the morning of September 3, taking a seat at the rostrum beside Russian leader Vladimir Putin, who was to the right of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Sources said the Indonesian... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3325969/how-southeast-asia-showed-its-support-china-and-sent-message-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3325969/how-southeast-asia-showed-its-support-china-and-sent-message-us?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Sep 2025 22:00:20 +0000 When French photojournalist Roland Neveu arrived in Phnom Penh in the summer of 1973, he had little inkling of the atrocities he would witness, or the scale of the suffering that would soon engulf the country and claim the lives of one in four Cambodians through murder, starvation or neglect. But over a two-year period, Neveu would experience a brutal civil war, and its grim climax as a victorious Khmer Rouge evicted the entire population of the Cambodian capital in pursuit of a deluded plan to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3306867/50-years-khmer-rouge-conquered-cambodia-photographer-recalls-descent-madness?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3306867/50-years-khmer-rouge-conquered-cambodia-photographer-recalls-descent-madness?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Apr 2025 04:39:35 +0000 Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida was in Cambodia for talks with his counterpart, Hun Sen, on Sunday to deepen relations with one of the Southeast Asia’s closest partners of both China and Japan. The two leaders were discussing cooperation covering trade and investment, education, infrastructure, defence and security, and the post-pandemic recovery, Cambodian officials said. Japan to invest US$42B in India to strengthen ties, Kishida says After China, Japan is Cambodia’s largest donor and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3171184/japans-pm-visits-cambodia-key-china-partners-meet-depth-talks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3171184/japans-pm-visits-cambodia-key-china-partners-meet-depth-talks?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 20 Mar 2022 13:03:12 +0000 Cambodia’s Prince Norodom Ranariddh, former prime minister and the son of the late King Norodom Sihanouk, died on Sunday in France, Information Minister Khieu Kanharith announced on his Facebook page. He was 77. Khieu Kanharith, who said he learned of the death from Um Daravuth, a minor member of Cambodia’s royal family, did not give the cause of death. Ranariddh had been in poor health since a car accident in Cambodia in 2018. An aide to Ranariddh, who spoke on condition of anonymity because... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3157694/cambodian-prince-and-politician-norodom-ranariddh-dies-77?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3157694/cambodian-prince-and-politician-norodom-ranariddh-dies-77?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 28 Nov 2021 17:57:11 +0000 When Queen Elizabeth voiced her support for LGBTQ+ people in 2003, the community erupted in happiness. It was a monumental milestone to gain the support of one of the world’s oldest monarchies. The British royal family, however, is not the only one that has been vocal in its support for queer lives. Here are seven royals from around the world who have made their belief in equality clear to all. STYLE LGBTQ+ Series: Queer voices King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden In summer 2000,... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3074894/lgbt-friendly-royal-families-norways-king-harald-swedens?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/style/celebrity/article/3074894/lgbt-friendly-royal-families-norways-king-harald-swedens?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Mar 2020 04:00:22 +0000 A New Sun Rises Over the Old Land: A Novel of Sihanouk’s Cambodia, by Suon Sorin (translated by Roger Nelson). Published by NUS Press. 5/5 stars A rare and precious glimpse of pre-Khmer Rouge literature, Suon Sorin’s A New Sun Rises Over the Old Land, originally published in 1961, harks back to Cambodia’s late colonial and postcolonial eras under monarch-turned-politician Norodom Sihanouk. Apart from the conclusion and prologue, in which protagonist Sam, the driver of a cyclo three-wheel bicycle... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3047346/cambodia-khmer-rouge-glimpse-hope-and-hardship-decade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3047346/cambodia-khmer-rouge-glimpse-hope-and-hardship-decade?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Jan 2020 05:00:07 +0000 Friend identifies bus at Delhi gang-rape trial NEW DELHI - The companion of an Indian medical student who died after being gang-raped identified the bus on which the attack took place as he testified in the trial of five adults accused of her murder. The 28-year-old, confined to a wheelchair as a result of the attack, confirmed that a white bus was the vehicle on which the deadly assault took place on December 16, his father said. The proceedings are subject to a gagging order, but police... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1144017/briefs-february-6-2013?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1144017/briefs-february-6-2013?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians dressed in black and white gathered on Monday ahead of the cremation of revered former king Norodom Sihanouk, who steered the war-ravaged kingdom through six turbulent decades. The cremation is part of a week-long funeral for the mercurial ex-monarch, which started with a lavish procession through the streets of Phnom Penh on Friday and will see his ashes returned to the palace on Thursday. Mourners jostled to get to the front of the queue early on Monday to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1143120/cambodia-mourns-beloved-ex-king-sihanouk-cremated?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1143120/cambodia-mourns-beloved-ex-king-sihanouk-cremated?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Feb 2013 07:08:34 +0000 East Rail luggage limit falls from 33kg to 23kg The maximum weight limit for passengers' luggage on the MTR's East Rail Line drops from 33kg to 23kg today. This is one of the measures announced last week to crack down on mainlanders buying milk formula in Hong Kong, which has led to a shortage. The government has set up a 24-hour hotline for local parents to order formula. The government has proposed a ban on people leaving the city with more than two cans of formula, a measure that could go... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1142747/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1142747/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Feb 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Thousands of Cambodians paid their last respects to their beloved former king Norodom Sihanouk as his body lay in state on Saturday ahead of his cremation next week. The mourners were able to glimpse the late monarch’s gilded casket through doorways to the purpose-built crematorium where it was carried Friday in a lavish procession that brought Phnom Penh to a standstill. His body will be kept at the crematorium until Monday when his wife and his son, current King Norodom Sihamoni, will start... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1141942/cambodians-bid-farewell-ex-king-ahead-cremation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1141942/cambodians-bid-farewell-ex-king-ahead-cremation?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 02 Feb 2013 09:33:00 +0000 A sea of mourners filled the streets of the Cambodian capital on Friday for a lavish funeral for revered former king Norodom Sihanouk, who towered over six tumultuous decades in his nation’s history. Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians, dressed in black and white, began massing before dawn to pay their respects to the mercurial monarch, who died of a heart attack in Beijing in October, aged 89. The legions of mourners, many weeping and holding their hands together in a mark of respect, waited by... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1140905/huge-crowds-mourn-cambodias-beloved-former-king?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1140905/huge-crowds-mourn-cambodias-beloved-former-king?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Feb 2013 02:33:20 +0000 King's body makes final journey The body of Cambodia's revered former king Norodom Sihanouk, who died late last year, makes its final journey from the royal palace in Phnom Penh. The body will be taken to a nearby park ahead of cremation on Monday. More than a million mourners are expected to line the streets of the capital for the lavish funeral procession. Sihanouk abdicated in 2004 after six tumultuous decades and died in Beijing in October.   New personal data code goes into force Beijing's... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1140513/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1140513/talking-points?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Jan 2013 16:00:00 +0000 Factory managers expressed regret and dismissed a Chinese supervisor yesterday after angry Cambodian garment factory workers demanded that she be punished for tearing up a poster of their late former king. Police, who were called in to prevent a riot, escorted Wang Zia Cha, manager of the Top World factory, to a make-shift shrine honouring Norodom Sihanouk, where she lit incense and knelt down as employees looked on. "The workers were very angry with her. If we hadn't stepped in on time, the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1067604/cambodian-factory-fires-chinese-supervisor-sihanouk-faux-pas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1067604/cambodian-factory-fires-chinese-supervisor-sihanouk-faux-pas?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 1. China Daily Sihanouk will be remembered worldwide as a towering giant in modern Cambodian history. In the darkest days, were it domestic troubles or foreign aggression, it was China and its government that offered the most generous and reliable support for his fight for national unity, reconciliation and independence. He had family-like personal relations with late Chinese leaders; and he himself was more like a close relative to the ordinary Chinese. At the core of the outstanding legacies... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1066018/how-they-see-it-october-21-2012?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1066018/how-they-see-it-october-21-2012?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Cambodia has begun preparations to embalm former king Norodom Sihanouk, who will lie in state at the Royal Palace for three months ahead of a lavish funeral, a royal aide said. Chinese experts are helping with the process, which is expected to be similar to the one used to preserve the body of Mao Zedong in the 1970s, according to Sihanouk's assistant Prince Sisowath Thomico. "Now the doctors, the scientists are just preparing the body of the king to preserve it," Thomico said. Hundreds of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1064348/chinese-help-embalm-body-cambodian-king-norodom-sihanouk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1064348/chinese-help-embalm-body-cambodian-king-norodom-sihanouk?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Cambodia began preparations on Thursday to embalm its revered former king Norodom Sihanouk, who will lie in state at the palace for three months ahead of a lavish funeral, a royal aide said. Chinese experts are helping with the process, which is expected to be similar to the one used to preserve the body of late Chinese leader Mao Zedong in the 1970s, according to Sihanouk’s assistant Prince Sisowath Thomico. “Now the doctors, the scientists are just preparing the body of the king to preserve... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1064228/chinese-experts-help-embalm-cambodian-ex-king?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1064228/chinese-experts-help-embalm-cambodian-ex-king?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:34:10 +0000 Tens of thousands of mourners lined the streets of the Cambodian capital yesterday to pay their last respects to revered former king Norodom Sihanouk on his final journey home from China. The body of the mercurial ex-monarch, who steered his country through turbulent decades of war, genocide and finally peace, returned to Phnom Penh on a special flight from Beijing, where he died of a heart attack on Monday, aged 89. He was accompanied by his widow, Queen Monique, son King Norodom Sihamoni,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1063440/former-king-norodom-sihanouk-mourned?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1063440/former-king-norodom-sihanouk-mourned?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 A wise ruler, the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote, is selfless, hard working, honest, able to time when to act, fair in handling conflict and willing to empower others. Even if Norodom Sihanouk, Cambodia's former king who died in Beijing on Monday aged 89, had been hugely blessed with these traits, greatness would have eluded him and his people. Persistent foreign interference created circumstances that led to flawed decisions. The country now in mourning has been left poor, divided... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1063484/flawed-legacy-norodom-sihanouk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1063484/flawed-legacy-norodom-sihanouk?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Huge crowds of mourners lined the streets of the Cambodian capital on Wednesday waiting to pay their last respects to revered former king Norodom Sihanouk on his final journey home from China. The mercurial ex-monarch, who steered his country through turbulent decades of war, genocide and finally peace, died of a heart attack in Beijing on Monday aged 89. His coffin was transported through the Chinese capital earlier on Wednesday to the airport in a bus decorated with yellow ribbons and flowers,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1063214/mourners-mass-homecoming-cambodian-ex-king?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1063214/mourners-mass-homecoming-cambodian-ex-king?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Oct 2012 07:17:56 +0000 Tens of thousands of mourners lined the streets of the Cambodian capital on Wednesday to pay their last respects to revered former king Norodom Sihanouk on his final journey home. The body of the mercurial ex-monarch, who steered his country through turbulent decades of war, genocide and finally peace, returned on a special flight from Beijing, where he died of a heart attack on Monday aged 89. Draped with flowers and a royal blue flag, his coffin was borne through the streets of Phnom Penh on a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1063098/cambodian-king-returns-home-sea-mourners?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1063098/cambodian-king-returns-home-sea-mourners?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Oct 2012 03:30:23 +0000 Tearful Cambodians wore black ribbons and flags flew at half-mast on Tuesday as the nation mourned the death of revered ex-king Norodom Sihanouk and prepared for the return of his body from China. Sihanouk, who steered his country through decades of painful political and social upheavals, from independence to war, the Khmer Rouge terror and finally peace, died after suffering a heart attack in Beijing on Monday. He was 89. His body is set to be brought back to his homeland on Wednesday where it... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1062376/cambodia-mourns-beloved-ex-king-sihanouk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1062376/cambodia-mourns-beloved-ex-king-sihanouk?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 Oct 2012 05:53:59 +0000 Chinese leaders lauded former Cambodian king Norodom Sihanouk as a "great friend of the Chinese people" as they expressed sadness over his death in Beijing yesterday. Vice President Xi Jinping visited Sihanouk's widow, former queen Monineath, in the capital to give his "deep condolences and sincere sympathy" to the Cambodian people. "I was shocked and grief-stricken to learn His Majesty King Sihanouk died of an illness in Beijing early this morning," Xi said. "King Sihanouk is an old friend of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1062009/xi-jinping-mourns-chinas-great-friend-sihanouk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1062009/xi-jinping-mourns-chinas-great-friend-sihanouk?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Oct 2012 16:00:00 +0000 Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen arrived in Beijing to bring home the body of former king Norodom Sihanouk who died earlier on Monday, Chinese state television reported. Their entourage, which included three Buddhist monks, planned to visit Sihanouk’s central Beijing residence and then the hospital where the former king died, China Central Television reported. No other details about the arrangements to bring Sihanouk’s body back to Cambodia were released. Phone calls to... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1061671/cambodian-king-beijing-bring-back-sihanouk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1061671/cambodian-king-beijing-bring-back-sihanouk?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Oct 2012 08:32:00 +0000 China’s Vice-President Xi Jinping expressed sadness at the death of former Cambodian king Norodom Sihanouk in Beijing on Monday, paying tribute to an “old friend of the Chinese people”, the foreign ministry said. “I was shocked to learn that His Majesty King Sihanouk died of an illness in Beijing early this morning,” Xi told Sihanouk’s wife Queen Monique in Beijing, according to a statement posted on the ministry’s website. “We are deeply shocked and grief-stricken,” Xi said, adding that he... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1061570/xi-jinping-offers-condolences-old-friend-sihanouk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1061570/xi-jinping-offers-condolences-old-friend-sihanouk?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Oct 2012 04:40:49 +0000 Cambodia’s former king Norodom Sihanouk, whose life mirrored the turbulent history of his nation where he remained a revered figure, died in Beijing on Monday at the age of 89. Sihanouk, who had been a frequent visitor to China where he received most of his medical treatment, died of a heart attack, according to his longtime personal assistant Prince Sisowath Thomico. “He was brought to hospital and died shortly after,” he said of the former monarch who abruptly quit the throne in October 2004... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1061473/cambodias-ex-king-norodom-sihanouk-dies-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/1061473/cambodias-ex-king-norodom-sihanouk-dies-beijing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Oct 2012 00:31:25 +0000 There are serious social problems waiting for solutions; those are more important than political gossip Henry Tang Ying-yen, when asked why he was not saying more about his marital infidelity We have decided not to leave the country, but will stay with our compatriots in Cambodia forever Former Cambodian king Norodom Sihanouk, after his return from Beijing Although there are problems in relations beween China and the US, the US-China relationship is the most important relationship in the... https://www.scmp.com/article/983448/who-said-it?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/983448/who-said-it?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:00:00 +0000 'An article entitled 'Search for one who would be king' (South China Morning Post, July 1, 2000) wrongly suggested that Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk is not the father of Prince Norodom Sihamoni. The Post confirms that this statement is untrue. The Post apologises unreservedly to His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia, to Her Majesty Queen Norodom Monineath Sihanouk of Cambodia and to their son his Royal Highness Prince Norodom Sihamoni. The Post would like to assaure Their Majesties... https://www.scmp.com/article/337708/apology?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/337708/apology?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Jan 2001 16:00:00 +0000 As if enough blood had not been shed in that tormented country, Cambodia is once more poised on the brink of civil war. Far from laying an evil ghost to rest, the break-up of the Khmer Rouge and the fall from power of its tyrannical leader Pol Pot, has plunged the country back into chaos. Unless King Norodom Sihanouk can persuade the warring prime ministers to accept his call for peace talks, or the major powers can exert influence, Cambodia will again be locked in an internal conflict. For... https://www.scmp.com/article/202966/pol-pots-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/202966/pol-pots-legacy?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Jul 1997 16:00:00 +0000 The admission by Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk that he was personally opposed to the amnesty given to Ieng Sary of the Khmer Rouge may strengthen calls that the guerilla leader should not escape unpunished. Few believe his protestations of innocence in the massacre of millions of Cambodians during his brother-in-law's reign of terror during the 1970s. Surviving witnesses who came to his personal attention tell a very different story. The killing fields of the Pol Pot regime virtually wiped... https://www.scmp.com/article/177393/wiping-out-history?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/177393/wiping-out-history?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Oct 1996 16:00:00 +0000 PHNOM PENH: King Norodom Sihanouk is suffering from diabetes which he described as 'a new and grave illness'. The 73-year-old monarch has already been undergoing intensive treatment for cancer in China and had cataracts in his eyes. He also has a heart condition. https://www.scmp.com/article/141765/sihanouk-ill?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/141765/sihanouk-ill?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 05 Dec 1995 16:00:00 +0000 SENIOR Vietnamese officials are warning of a 'growing atmosphere of fear' among Vietnamese settlers in Cambodia as provincial officials attempt to force them from the country. Reports from Hanoi suggest provincial officials in outlying areas have, since the passing of a controversial immigration bill, ordered Vietnamese settlers to re-register and sell their properties. Some have been told they would be leaving soon and would not be needing them. The properties were being sold cheaply... https://www.scmp.com/article/93321/officials-fear-settlers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/93321/officials-fear-settlers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Oct 1994 16:00:00 +0000 KING Norodom Sihanouk is the most popular figure in Cambodia, followed by a singer killed by the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s, according to a poll of 600 Cambodians. The International Management and Investment Consultants Ltd poll ranked King Sihanouk ahead of singer Sin Sisamouth. Third was the king's son, First Prime Minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh, followed closely by Second Prime Minister Hun Sen. https://www.scmp.com/article/78653/king-norodom-sihanouk?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/78653/king-norodom-sihanouk?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Jun 1994 16:00:00 +0000 I REFER to the Analysis piece ''Sihanouk's Very Cambodian Coup Fails'' (South China Morning Post, June 5). Anybody who is familiar with the events in Cambodia over the past 25 years should not be surprised by the continued ineptitude of Sihanouk. You only need to look at his track record. He allowed his country to be dragged into the Vietnam war by permitting the Ho Chi Minh Trail to pass unabated through his country. He believed the Khmer Rouge when they told him they would make him... https://www.scmp.com/article/32568/sihanouk-springs-no-surprises?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/article/32568/sihanouk-springs-no-surprises?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 07 Jun 1993 16:00:00 +0000