https://www.scmp.com/rss/327295/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Last month, two members of Cambodia’s forcibly dissolved opposition party – the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) – were arrested and charged with incitement, defama­tion and violating a Supreme Court order. When Sun Bunthon and Nou Phoeun were brought in by police, they were surprised to hear officers read out a transcript of a private phone call, in which the arrestees had encouraged the return of the party’s exiled co-founder, Sam Rainsy, who has been charged with treason and a host of... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3033508/cambodias-digital-surveillance-serves-silence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/3033508/cambodias-digital-surveillance-serves-silence?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Oct 2019 03:50:11 +0000 In recent years, Chinese developers have built more than 100 ­casinos and dozens of hotels and resorts in the once sleepy province of Sihanoukville on Cambodia’s southwestern coast. Supporters of the projects say they will bring jobs and economic benefits to the Southeast Asian nation of 16 million people, which is one of the world’s poorest. Critics, however, have cited environmental damage, skyrocketing property costs leading to illegal evictions and land disputes – and rising crime. In... https://www.scmp.com/society/chinese-cambodia-video-threat-seize-sihanoukville-exposes-tensions/article/3010262?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/chinese-cambodia-video-threat-seize-sihanoukville-exposes-tensions/article/3010262?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 15 May 2019 09:42:23 +0000 The Chinese embassy in Cambodia is investigating a video of a gang, supposedly from Chongqing, threatening to seize control of the city of Preah Sihanouk, the capital of Sihanoukville province. In recent years, Chinese developers have built more than 100 casinos and dozens of hotels and resorts in the province, situated on Cambodia’s southwestern coast. In a video circulated on Facebook, a Chinese man speaks to the camera while surrounded by about 20 other Chinese men, some of them sporting... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3010138/chinese-gang-threatens-chaos-cambodian-province-rift?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3010138/chinese-gang-threatens-chaos-cambodian-province-rift?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2019 06:17:10 +0000 Beijing’s pledge of US$90 million in support of Cambodia’s defence sector was among at least nine deals the Southeast Asian nation signed with China last week during the second Belt and Road Forum. The deals reaffirmed Phnom Penh’s close ties with the superpower, moving it further away from its major development partner, the European Union. Besides the defence funding, China agreed to up its imports of rice from 300,000 tonnes to 400,000 tonnes, and announced plans to launch a second phase of... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3008451/chinese-investment-cambodia-bringing-phnom-penh-closer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3008451/chinese-investment-cambodia-bringing-phnom-penh-closer?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 May 2019 10:16:56 +0000 Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi made her first diplomatic visit to Cambodia this week, underscoring the similarities between two countries that find themselves increasingly isolated from the international community. According to the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Suu Kyi arrived in Cambodia on April 29, flying from Beijing where she and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen attended the second Belt and Road Forum. While the statement claimed the visit would strengthen cooperation... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/diplomacy/article/3008163/chinas-relationship-asean-under-scrutiny-myanmars-aung-san-suu?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/diplomacy/article/3008163/chinas-relationship-asean-under-scrutiny-myanmars-aung-san-suu?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Apr 2019 00:15:13 +0000 An iconic Phnom Penh housing site known as the White Building is being turned into a multibillion-dollar casino development, as Cambodia woos Chinese tourists by catering to their penchant for gambling. Hong Kong-listed developer NagaCorp, controlled by Malaysian billionaire Chen Lip Keong, estimates it will spend US$3.8-US$4 billion on the Naga3 project, its third casino in the country, which will have hotels, condominium facilities and a 12-floor entertainment centre and outlet... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3005434/chinese-tourists-win-poor-cambodians-lose-us4-billion-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3005434/chinese-tourists-win-poor-cambodians-lose-us4-billion-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 10 Apr 2019 01:00:08 +0000 It’s only natural that Beijing might show an interest in a tourism development that aims to lure big-spending Chinese tourists to the shores of Cambodia with the promise of casinos, golf courses and luxury resorts. After all, Cambodia granted 45,000 hectares of its prime real estate in Koh Kong province – and 20 per cent of its coastline – to private Chinese company Union Development Group, just so it could build this supposed tourism Mecca, and all for a peppercorn rent that will start at just... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2188558/cambodias-koh-kong-project-chinese-tourists-or-chinas-military?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2188558/cambodias-koh-kong-project-chinese-tourists-or-chinas-military?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Mar 2019 23:03:50 +0000 Fresh from celebrating four decades since the downfall of the former Khmer Rouge rulers, Cambodia welcomed several Chinese warships. Just days after last week’s anniversary, the vessels docked in the resort city of Sihanoukville, reviving concerns about the implications of close military ties between the two countries and the possibility China is planning a naval base in the kingdom. Cambodia’s leader Hun Sen swatted away similar rumours about Beijing’s intentions last November, after receiving... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2181893/base-instinct-how-chinese-visit-cambodia-reignited-rumour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2181893/base-instinct-how-chinese-visit-cambodia-reignited-rumour?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 13 Jan 2019 11:45:00 +0000 With his own son leading an “election monitoring group” that is strong-arming villagers to vote for him, it’s clear Prime Minister Hun Sen now owns a rigged election – a pyrrhic victory in the making – unless he can somehow claim legitimacy through a healthy-looking turnout at the polls. Radio Free Asia has reported that members of the Union of Youth Federation of Cambodia (UYFC), chaired by Hun Sen’s son Hun Many, threatened villagers in the rural Mondulkiri province, claiming that government... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2157046/cambodias-election-against-hun-sen-only-way-win-not-vote?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2157046/cambodias-election-against-hun-sen-only-way-win-not-vote?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jul 2018 05:15:30 +0000 After surviving a car accident that killed his wife just weeks before a national election, Cambodia’s former leader and current candidate for prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh seems to be in much poorer health than publicly acknowledged. His impaired condition puts even the semblance of an open democratic process – designed to make Prime Minister Hun Sen’s re-election look like it was part of a fair fight – in peril. Welcome to Asia’s newest one-party state The Funcinpec Party’s... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2155937/mahathir-figure-car-crash-and-cambodias-election?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2155937/mahathir-figure-car-crash-and-cambodias-election?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Jul 2018 04:30:45 +0000 In a return to roots of sorts, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen is using the armed forces to solidify his one-party rule while systematically destroying all nascent democratic institutions. In the past year, his son Hun Manet has continued his rapid rise through the military ranks, the highest-ranking generals are slated to run for office, and the premier has threatened to personally order the army to attack his political rivals. A detailed human rights report this week sheds light on this... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2153141/cambodias-dirty-dozen-hun-sen-rules-army-usual-suspects?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2153141/cambodias-dirty-dozen-hun-sen-rules-army-usual-suspects?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 01 Jul 2018 04:45:14 +0000 Japan has adopted a curious strategy to limit Chinese power in Cambodia: imitate China. But standing behind Cambodia even as its democracy crumbles is winning Tokyo neither influence nor friends. In the past year, members of the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) – the only viable opposition party – have been arrested, exiled, and banned from the political arena. And in the lead up to July’s national election, the CNRP in its entirety was forcibly dissolved. Coinciding with this political... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2149397/japan-plays-chinas-game-cambodia-hun-sen-wins?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2149397/japan-plays-chinas-game-cambodia-hun-sen-wins?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 09 Jun 2018 04:45:45 +0000