Friday, Oct. 30, 2009
Compiled from Staff report, Kyodo
The Japan Times
Fake birth certificate submitted for citizenship
A Filipino woman and a Japanese man were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of submitting a false birth certificate for her son to acquire Japanese citizenship, the Metropolitan Police Department said Thursday.
Marissa Floures Ito, 31, unemployed, and Michio Uchino, 55, a ramen shop owner, are suspected of conspiring to submit a birth certificate that wrongfully states that Uchino is the father of Ito's son to Ushiku City Hall, Ibaraki Prefecture, on April 21, the police said.
The arrest is the first of its kind since the Nationality Law was revised in January to allow children born out of wedlock to foreign women to obtain Japanese nationality if the Japanese father recognizes them as his.
Before the revision, only children whose Japanese father recognized them as his before birth were able to obtain Japanese nationality. The new law allows such recognition after birth.
The incident is certain to renew criticism from conservatives who had opposed the revision because of the possibility of fraud, as in this case.
Some lawmakers had argued a DNA test is necessary for father-child recognition. But in the end, the revised law did not include the obligation for such a test, partly to avoid the controversy of only requiring the test in cases involving foreigners.
The police allege Ito turned in a document asking the city to recognize her son as Uchino's on June 2. On June 16, she allegedly went to the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau and changed her residential status.
Her visa would have soon expired if she had not changed the status, the police said.
On Aug. 21, she is suspected of submitting an application for Japanese nationality for her son to the Mito Regional Legal Affairs Bureau in Ibaraki Prefecture.
She had become acquainted with Uchino via a mutual friend and gave him several hundred thousand yen as compensation, the police said. She had submitted a photo of Uchino, her son and herself to the legal bureau, they said.
The Nationality Law revision came after the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional last June a provision of the law that granted Japanese nationality to children born out of wedlock to a foreign mother only if the Japanese father recognized the children as theirs before birth.
Whether a DNA test should be applied to applicants was debated by lawmakers at length during the deliberations.
Ultimately, lawmakers decided that since the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to discriminate against children based on whether their parents are married, it would be further discrimination if the revised law required DNA tests.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Ibaraki turns matchmaker to curb population decline
Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009
By DAVID McNEILL and CHIE MATSUMOTO
Special to The Japan Times
NAMEGATA, Ibaraki Pref. — With fat black clouds hanging ominously overhead, a sludgy field of sweet potatoes in rural Japan might not seem the best place for a date with the woman of your dreams.
Planting seeds: Singles dig for potatoes, and partners, in a field in Namegata, Ibaraki Prefecture. DAVID MCNEILL
Still, bachelor Naoki Nakai, 33, hopes luck will strike before the rain comes.
"Yes, there could be someone for me here," he nods, glancing at a longhaired beauty in knee-high boots. "There are some nice people here."
But then his face darkens. "I think some of them are from the city."
In this remote corner of Ibaraki Prefecture, men and women tug at yams while engaging in a courtship ritual as old as time. Jokes fly and shy looks are exchanged across muddy buckets, but today's good-natured flirting disguises a serious purpose.
Japan has been hit hard by a demographic tsunami so severe it threatens to overwhelm the economy in the long run.
As millions shun marriage and delay parenthood, local governments are turning matchmaker to the nation's lonely hearts.
"It's harder than ever for people to find a partner they want to have a family with," explains Nobuki Manome, head of the Ibaraki Meeting Support Center, a matchmaking service that operates out of City Hall in Mito, the prefectural capital.
"We have decided to step in and give them a little help."
Manome hovers near today's group of hopefuls: 40 men and women, some who traveled two hours from Tokyo.
"There's a purposeful atmosphere here today. At least the city women aren't wearing high-heel shoes."
The deal is straightforward.
For ¥10,000, Ibaraki offers a three-year membership to its marriage club, which boasts about 2,800 people over 25.
Singles fill in a confidential application listing vital details: age, height and weight, health and wealth status, and preference for children.
A staff of 20 matches the hopefuls up during weekend camping and cycling outings, barbecues and cake parties.
Today's spud-themed expedition targets one of Ibaraki's most stubbornly single demographics: the rural eldest son.
"It's difficult," sighs Nakai, a heavyset, brooding man with a farmer's tan beneath his baseball cap.
"You can't tell a woman straight away that she will have to live with my mother and father at home. They won't understand."
In an effort to bridge the yawning rural-urban gap, the local agricultural union works with Ibaraki to run these unusual dates — in a few minutes everyone will jump back on a bus bound for a tomato greenhouse.
"Farmers have an especially hard time getting hitched," explains Fumio Nohara, a local government official. "They must stay at home so they don't have the time or chance to look for a wife."
Japan's dire fertility rate and shortage of children has rippled through every layer of society, but in rural areas like this one, where many young people leave for the cities, the impact is especially hard.
Last year, the national population fell by a record 51,317, but so far the government has shunned mass immigration as a solution.
Like most parts of the country, the ranks of the unmarried in Ibaraki are swelling: Since the 1970s, the percentage of women still single in their late 20s has more than tripled. Meanwhile the number of pensioners is expected to double by 2025.
For local authorities, the incentive to be marriage broker could hardly be stronger: without more children, already creaking welfare and pension systems will collapse under the weight of the elderly.
"This is such a huge problem, involving care of the old, social security and insurance, as the population decline lowers productivity," warns marriage counselor and researcher Yoko Itamoto.
She says that until recently local authorities subcontracted matchmaking out to private businesses, but as the problem worsens Ibaraki is part of a growing trend toward a bigger official role. "Governments at the prefectural level now need to get a move on."
Nohara agrees, adding: "Once people get to their 40s, it becomes much harder to match them up."
As the singles — aged 25 to 40 — at the Ibaraki event head back to the buses, he says he's pleased. "The atmosphere is good," he beams. "Do you see how people relax and talk when they're out in the open?"
But on the bus, there are worrying grumbles. "Honestly? The men are a bit lacking," moans Maki Sato, 35, who says she works as a fashion coordinator in Tokyo. "They're not really my type."
Her friend, 33-year-old Sanai Kumagai, is also unimpressed, but can't say why.
"I'm really not that fussy — the only thing I hate is stingy guys. But somehow it's not happening for me."
More than half a million Japanese are now registered with one of about 3,800 private matchmaking firms across the country, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. With most of the unmarried living at home, moms and dads, too, have become matchmakers.
According to sociologist Masahiro Yamada, who coined the buzzwords "kon-katsu" (marriage hunting) and "parasite single," 60 percent of single men and 80 percent of women are still stuck in the family nest and unmarried into their early 30s.
Some parents have begun attending large lonely hearts conventions, where they look for love and happiness for their offspring. The strategy sometimes backfires when children find out their lives are being planned for them.
"The children often know absolutely nothing about these meetings," explains Yasuko Kasai, president of the matchmaking firm Marriage Club Wish Yokoyama.
Even the Self-Defense Forces are doing their bit for the national crisis, cooperating with Ibaraki and other prefectures on single's parties targeting unmarried women.
"They're the most popular with women and are always very oversubscribed," says Manome. "The SDF is a secure job, and the men are considered masculine and attractive."
Husband-hunting Kumagai, however, has her doubts. "Aren't a lot of them gay, living with each other like that?"
The Hatoyama administration has launched perhaps the most concerted government-level bids to end the baby drought, proposing a monthly child allowance of ¥26,000 and appointing Mizuho Fukushima, one of the country's best-known feminists, state minister in charge of consumer affairs and the declining birthrate.
Fukushima wants more money for child care and fertility treatment, and laws protecting pregnant women from workplace discrimination.
Ibaraki's Manome wonders if she'll succeed.
"There have been so many social changes," he sighs. "Women are often financially independent now, so they don't need to get married."
And Japanese men, he says, need a revolution of the mind.
"Traditionally, they've been king of the roost, quite old-fashioned. They need to be kinder and more supportive."
As the singles wander around a greenhouse picking plump tomatoes, Keiko Ozaki nods in agreement.
Recently divorced and with two young children, she gives few points to her ex-husband for his homemaking skills. "Men don't do any housework and they hardly help at all with the kids."
Is she encouraged by today's outing?
"I don't see anyone here for me," she says, glancing around. "I just want to find some company, and maybe someone to help with the children. But most men are not interested in women with a family."
Still, for disbelievers in the aphrodisiacal power of country air, Manome pulls out his statistical trump card: In the three years since it was set up, the Ibaraki office has matched 350 couples — a success rate of better than one in 10.
And the number of club members has tripled since 2006.
Surveys conducted by Ibaraki show that 90 percent of locals want to get married — if they can find the right partner.
"I think we're doing something right," he says, adding that local governments in other parts of the country have come to his office on fact-finding trips.
Back on the bus, droplets of rain finally begin splashing against the windshield as it drives through darkening fields to the final leg of the collective date: a barbecue.
Farmer Nakai has struck out so far, but even if sparks don't fly over roasted yams and pork, he knows there will be other days. "If there's one thing we have in the countryside, its time."
By DAVID McNEILL and CHIE MATSUMOTO
Special to The Japan Times
NAMEGATA, Ibaraki Pref. — With fat black clouds hanging ominously overhead, a sludgy field of sweet potatoes in rural Japan might not seem the best place for a date with the woman of your dreams.
Planting seeds: Singles dig for potatoes, and partners, in a field in Namegata, Ibaraki Prefecture. DAVID MCNEILLStill, bachelor Naoki Nakai, 33, hopes luck will strike before the rain comes.
"Yes, there could be someone for me here," he nods, glancing at a longhaired beauty in knee-high boots. "There are some nice people here."
But then his face darkens. "I think some of them are from the city."
In this remote corner of Ibaraki Prefecture, men and women tug at yams while engaging in a courtship ritual as old as time. Jokes fly and shy looks are exchanged across muddy buckets, but today's good-natured flirting disguises a serious purpose.
Japan has been hit hard by a demographic tsunami so severe it threatens to overwhelm the economy in the long run.
As millions shun marriage and delay parenthood, local governments are turning matchmaker to the nation's lonely hearts.
"It's harder than ever for people to find a partner they want to have a family with," explains Nobuki Manome, head of the Ibaraki Meeting Support Center, a matchmaking service that operates out of City Hall in Mito, the prefectural capital.
"We have decided to step in and give them a little help."
Manome hovers near today's group of hopefuls: 40 men and women, some who traveled two hours from Tokyo.
"There's a purposeful atmosphere here today. At least the city women aren't wearing high-heel shoes."
The deal is straightforward.
For ¥10,000, Ibaraki offers a three-year membership to its marriage club, which boasts about 2,800 people over 25.
Singles fill in a confidential application listing vital details: age, height and weight, health and wealth status, and preference for children.
A staff of 20 matches the hopefuls up during weekend camping and cycling outings, barbecues and cake parties.
Today's spud-themed expedition targets one of Ibaraki's most stubbornly single demographics: the rural eldest son.
"It's difficult," sighs Nakai, a heavyset, brooding man with a farmer's tan beneath his baseball cap.
"You can't tell a woman straight away that she will have to live with my mother and father at home. They won't understand."
In an effort to bridge the yawning rural-urban gap, the local agricultural union works with Ibaraki to run these unusual dates — in a few minutes everyone will jump back on a bus bound for a tomato greenhouse.
"Farmers have an especially hard time getting hitched," explains Fumio Nohara, a local government official. "They must stay at home so they don't have the time or chance to look for a wife."
Japan's dire fertility rate and shortage of children has rippled through every layer of society, but in rural areas like this one, where many young people leave for the cities, the impact is especially hard.
Last year, the national population fell by a record 51,317, but so far the government has shunned mass immigration as a solution.
Like most parts of the country, the ranks of the unmarried in Ibaraki are swelling: Since the 1970s, the percentage of women still single in their late 20s has more than tripled. Meanwhile the number of pensioners is expected to double by 2025.
For local authorities, the incentive to be marriage broker could hardly be stronger: without more children, already creaking welfare and pension systems will collapse under the weight of the elderly.
"This is such a huge problem, involving care of the old, social security and insurance, as the population decline lowers productivity," warns marriage counselor and researcher Yoko Itamoto.
She says that until recently local authorities subcontracted matchmaking out to private businesses, but as the problem worsens Ibaraki is part of a growing trend toward a bigger official role. "Governments at the prefectural level now need to get a move on."
Nohara agrees, adding: "Once people get to their 40s, it becomes much harder to match them up."
As the singles — aged 25 to 40 — at the Ibaraki event head back to the buses, he says he's pleased. "The atmosphere is good," he beams. "Do you see how people relax and talk when they're out in the open?"
But on the bus, there are worrying grumbles. "Honestly? The men are a bit lacking," moans Maki Sato, 35, who says she works as a fashion coordinator in Tokyo. "They're not really my type."
Her friend, 33-year-old Sanai Kumagai, is also unimpressed, but can't say why.
"I'm really not that fussy — the only thing I hate is stingy guys. But somehow it's not happening for me."
More than half a million Japanese are now registered with one of about 3,800 private matchmaking firms across the country, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. With most of the unmarried living at home, moms and dads, too, have become matchmakers.
According to sociologist Masahiro Yamada, who coined the buzzwords "kon-katsu" (marriage hunting) and "parasite single," 60 percent of single men and 80 percent of women are still stuck in the family nest and unmarried into their early 30s.
Some parents have begun attending large lonely hearts conventions, where they look for love and happiness for their offspring. The strategy sometimes backfires when children find out their lives are being planned for them.
"The children often know absolutely nothing about these meetings," explains Yasuko Kasai, president of the matchmaking firm Marriage Club Wish Yokoyama.
Even the Self-Defense Forces are doing their bit for the national crisis, cooperating with Ibaraki and other prefectures on single's parties targeting unmarried women.
"They're the most popular with women and are always very oversubscribed," says Manome. "The SDF is a secure job, and the men are considered masculine and attractive."
Husband-hunting Kumagai, however, has her doubts. "Aren't a lot of them gay, living with each other like that?"
The Hatoyama administration has launched perhaps the most concerted government-level bids to end the baby drought, proposing a monthly child allowance of ¥26,000 and appointing Mizuho Fukushima, one of the country's best-known feminists, state minister in charge of consumer affairs and the declining birthrate.
Fukushima wants more money for child care and fertility treatment, and laws protecting pregnant women from workplace discrimination.
Ibaraki's Manome wonders if she'll succeed.
"There have been so many social changes," he sighs. "Women are often financially independent now, so they don't need to get married."
And Japanese men, he says, need a revolution of the mind.
"Traditionally, they've been king of the roost, quite old-fashioned. They need to be kinder and more supportive."
As the singles wander around a greenhouse picking plump tomatoes, Keiko Ozaki nods in agreement.
Recently divorced and with two young children, she gives few points to her ex-husband for his homemaking skills. "Men don't do any housework and they hardly help at all with the kids."
Is she encouraged by today's outing?
"I don't see anyone here for me," she says, glancing around. "I just want to find some company, and maybe someone to help with the children. But most men are not interested in women with a family."
Still, for disbelievers in the aphrodisiacal power of country air, Manome pulls out his statistical trump card: In the three years since it was set up, the Ibaraki office has matched 350 couples — a success rate of better than one in 10.
And the number of club members has tripled since 2006.
Surveys conducted by Ibaraki show that 90 percent of locals want to get married — if they can find the right partner.
"I think we're doing something right," he says, adding that local governments in other parts of the country have come to his office on fact-finding trips.
Back on the bus, droplets of rain finally begin splashing against the windshield as it drives through darkening fields to the final leg of the collective date: a barbecue.
Farmer Nakai has struck out so far, but even if sparks don't fly over roasted yams and pork, he knows there will be other days. "If there's one thing we have in the countryside, its time."
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Cambodia ranks next to last in Asia-Pacific on the 2009 Legatum Prosperity Index
Source: http://ki-media.blogspot.com and http://www.prosperity.com
Region Ranking
Asia-Pacific (out of a total of 104 countries)
06 Australia
10 New Zealand
16 Japan
18 Hong Kong
23 Singapore
24 Taiwan
26 South Korea
39 Malaysia
44 Thailand
45 India
50 Mongolia
55 Philippines
58 Sri Lanka
61 Indonesia
75 China
76 Kazakhstan
77 Vietnam
87 Bangladesh
90 Nepal
92 Uzbekistan
93 Cambodia
99 Pakistan
Index Comparisons (Rank / Number of countries)
* Legatum Institute Prosperity Index: 93rd / 104
* Average Life Satisfaction Ranking: 95th / 104
* Per Capita GDP Ranking: 93rd / 104
* WEF Global Competitiveness Index: 110th / 133
* UN Human Development Index: 136th / 179
* Heritage/WSJ Economic Freedom Index: 106th / 178
* TI Corruption Perceptions Index: 166th / 180
* Vision of Humanity Global Peace Index: 105th / 144
The Legatum Prosperity Index is the world's only global assessment of wealth and wellbeing; unlike other studies that rank countries by actual levels of wealth, life satisfaction or development, the Prosperity Index produces rankings based upon the very foundations of prosperity – those factors that help drive economic growth and produce happy citizens over the long term.
Economic Fundamentals - Ranked 65th
Cambodia is strong on trade, but low value exports and a weak domestic market are a dead weight on the economy
Unemployment is low at 4%, putting Cambodia in the top 15 countries on this variable of economic performance. The difference between banks’ borrowing and lending rates is low at 4.2 percentage points, indicating a moderately efficient banking sector. Cambodia receives a great deal of foreign direct investment, falling just outside the top 10. Cambodia has the least severe export dependency on raw materials of all countries and, with a strong ratio of export revenues to imports, its terms of trade remain within the top 15 countries. While the inflation rate is moderate at 6%, the domestic savings rate is just 13% of GDP, and capital stock per worker is particularly low, putting Cambodia in the bottom 20 on both variables. Household expenditure as a percentage of GDP is also low at 22%, suggesting a weak domestic market for Cambodian businesses.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation - Ranked 102nd
Cambodia lags behind in developing ICT facilities, and a failure to invest in R&D indicates little change is likely in the near future
Cambodia has a very low level of internet infrastructure and secure servers, placing it in the bottom eight countries with respect to both variables. Access to personal computers is the second lowest worldwide, with just three computers for every 1,000 citizens. Barriers to entry are average for the region, with 10 formal steps required to set up a company. High-tech and ICT exports are negligible, registering less than 0.07% of manufactured exports. R&D expenditure as a percentage of Cambodia’s GDP is very low at just 0.1%, placing the country 99th and indicating extremely poor commercialisation of innovation. Royalty payments are below average, indicating that the country is able to capitalise on its intellectual property to some extent.
Democratic Institutions - Ranked 88th
Cambodia has a parliamentary democracy, but its institutions and processes are not democratic in practice
Cambodia receives a very low rating for political rights and a low rating for civil liberties, placing 86th on both variables. The political system allows for the presence of rival parties in the legislative branch of government and there is open political competition among political parties for the office of the chief executive. However, Cambodia ranks low on institutionalised procedures for transferring power, indicating that elections are poorly regulated and subject to political interference. There are some checks and balances in the political system to guard against rash or arbitrary actions by the executive, but the country ranks 56th on this variable, meaning that checks and balances are ineffective and real power abides in the hands of the executive. Cambodia’s judiciary is not independent and there are insufficient safeguards against interference from other branches of government. Regime stability is relatively low in Cambodia, with the country having undergone a significant change in the political system less than 10 years ago.
Education - Ranked 96th
Overall, there is a extremely low quality of education for most Cambodians, but workers have, on average, moderate years of secondary education, signifying some degree of human capital
At the primary education level, there are 51 schoolchildren per teacher and expenditure is just $91 per student, suggesting a very poor investment in education. Cambodia primary enrolment rates are the 70th lowest globally, and the country slides further down to 93rd place for secondary school enrolment rates, and to 94th place on tertiary education enrolment rates. There is also gender inequality in schools, with only 89 girls enrolled for every 100 boys, ranking the country 95th, globally. The average Cambodian worker has had 4.5 years of secondary schooling, a measurement associated with labour productivity, which in this case is close to the global average. However, the average level of tertiary education per worker is just 2.1 years, placing the country 99th out of 104 countries on this variable.
Health - Ranked 98th
Cambodia’s performance on the majority of health variables is consistently poor, with notably high levels of undernourishment and infant mortality
Cambodia’s severe underinvestment in health is an obstacle in addressing the high infant mortality rate of 67 deaths per 1,000 live births, widespread undernourishment affecting 33% of the population, and low life expectancy of just 48 years. Cambodia ranks consistently within the bottom 15 countries on objective health measures. There are only two doctors and one hospital bed per 10,000 capita. Only 28% of the population has access to improved sanitation facilities, ranking the country 100th, and only 61% claim that water quality is satisfactory.* Cambodians report the highest number of non-age-related health problems, with 29% reporting pain.* Despite this, 65% of respondents report feeling well rested.*
Safety and Security - Ranked 70th
Although significant internal security issues exist, most Cambodians report feeling safe
Cambodia has a significant presence of cross-border refugees and internally displaced persons, and there are serious problems related to group grievances. This insecurity encourages large voluntary emigration of skilled and professional workers to more secure nations. Political terror also poses a significant problem, with the country scoring poorly on variables that assess the degree to which the government uses violent methods against its own citizens. Despite high levels of insecurity, 60% of respondents said they felt safe walking alone at night, making Cambodia the 58th safest country, worldwide.* Reports of assault and muggings are low at 4%, and only one in five respondents reported theft of household property in 2008, placing Cambodia below the international average on this variable.*
Governance - Ranked 82ndCambodia ranks poorly on the enforcement of the rule of law, and corruption is perceived as widespread
Enforcement of the rule of law is very poor in Cambodia and the country ranks in the bottom 10, worldwide. Further, Cambodia ranks in the bottom 20 on both government effectiveness and regulation of economic and commercial activity. Over 85% of respondents believe local government and businesses are corrupt.* While citizens have the legal right to participate in political processes, this is limited to some degree.* Approval of the court and judicial system is higher, with 46% of respondents expressing confidence, while 72% declare confidence in the military.* Further, more than seven out of 10 of respondents said they were confident in the honesty of elections.*
Personal Freedom - Ranked 51st
Most Cambodians are satisfied with their freedoms of choice, but also acknowledge widespread intolerance for immigrants and ethnic minorities
Cambodians are reported to have unconstrained freedom to practice their religious beliefs, speak freely without fear of government censorship, and travel freely within and out of their own country. Nearly nine out of 10 citizens claimed to be satisfied with their freedom to choose what they do in their daily lives.* However, tolerance for ethnic minorities and immigrants is among the lowest, internationally, ranking the country in the bottom five on both variables.*
Social Capital - Ranked 67th
Cambodians are highly connected to religious networks but three out of 10 citizens are doubtful that friends and family would help them in times of need
Only 70% of Cambodians believe they can rely on friends and family in times of need, ranking the country 97th on this variable.* With just 17% of respondents saying they would help a stranger, Cambodia has the lowest rate, worldwide, on this variable.* Volunteering was also very low, with just 6% of respondents giving their time during the past month. However, 32% of the population had donated money, ranking the country in the top half on this variable.* Cambodians are highly religious - as assessed by their tendency to attend worship services, ranking the country 37th on the religiosity variable and suggesting widespread access to religious support networks.* No data was available on social trust, the importance of friendship, or membership of associations.
* Data taken from the Gallup World Poll
Region Ranking
Asia-Pacific (out of a total of 104 countries)
06 Australia
10 New Zealand
16 Japan
18 Hong Kong
23 Singapore
24 Taiwan
26 South Korea
39 Malaysia
44 Thailand
45 India
50 Mongolia
55 Philippines
58 Sri Lanka
61 Indonesia
75 China
76 Kazakhstan
77 Vietnam
87 Bangladesh
90 Nepal
92 Uzbekistan
93 Cambodia
99 Pakistan
Index Comparisons (Rank / Number of countries)
* Legatum Institute Prosperity Index: 93rd / 104
* Average Life Satisfaction Ranking: 95th / 104
* Per Capita GDP Ranking: 93rd / 104
* WEF Global Competitiveness Index: 110th / 133
* UN Human Development Index: 136th / 179
* Heritage/WSJ Economic Freedom Index: 106th / 178
* TI Corruption Perceptions Index: 166th / 180
* Vision of Humanity Global Peace Index: 105th / 144
The Legatum Prosperity Index is the world's only global assessment of wealth and wellbeing; unlike other studies that rank countries by actual levels of wealth, life satisfaction or development, the Prosperity Index produces rankings based upon the very foundations of prosperity – those factors that help drive economic growth and produce happy citizens over the long term.
Economic Fundamentals - Ranked 65th
Cambodia is strong on trade, but low value exports and a weak domestic market are a dead weight on the economy
Unemployment is low at 4%, putting Cambodia in the top 15 countries on this variable of economic performance. The difference between banks’ borrowing and lending rates is low at 4.2 percentage points, indicating a moderately efficient banking sector. Cambodia receives a great deal of foreign direct investment, falling just outside the top 10. Cambodia has the least severe export dependency on raw materials of all countries and, with a strong ratio of export revenues to imports, its terms of trade remain within the top 15 countries. While the inflation rate is moderate at 6%, the domestic savings rate is just 13% of GDP, and capital stock per worker is particularly low, putting Cambodia in the bottom 20 on both variables. Household expenditure as a percentage of GDP is also low at 22%, suggesting a weak domestic market for Cambodian businesses.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation - Ranked 102nd
Cambodia lags behind in developing ICT facilities, and a failure to invest in R&D indicates little change is likely in the near future
Cambodia has a very low level of internet infrastructure and secure servers, placing it in the bottom eight countries with respect to both variables. Access to personal computers is the second lowest worldwide, with just three computers for every 1,000 citizens. Barriers to entry are average for the region, with 10 formal steps required to set up a company. High-tech and ICT exports are negligible, registering less than 0.07% of manufactured exports. R&D expenditure as a percentage of Cambodia’s GDP is very low at just 0.1%, placing the country 99th and indicating extremely poor commercialisation of innovation. Royalty payments are below average, indicating that the country is able to capitalise on its intellectual property to some extent.
Democratic Institutions - Ranked 88th
Cambodia has a parliamentary democracy, but its institutions and processes are not democratic in practice
Cambodia receives a very low rating for political rights and a low rating for civil liberties, placing 86th on both variables. The political system allows for the presence of rival parties in the legislative branch of government and there is open political competition among political parties for the office of the chief executive. However, Cambodia ranks low on institutionalised procedures for transferring power, indicating that elections are poorly regulated and subject to political interference. There are some checks and balances in the political system to guard against rash or arbitrary actions by the executive, but the country ranks 56th on this variable, meaning that checks and balances are ineffective and real power abides in the hands of the executive. Cambodia’s judiciary is not independent and there are insufficient safeguards against interference from other branches of government. Regime stability is relatively low in Cambodia, with the country having undergone a significant change in the political system less than 10 years ago.
Education - Ranked 96th
Overall, there is a extremely low quality of education for most Cambodians, but workers have, on average, moderate years of secondary education, signifying some degree of human capital
At the primary education level, there are 51 schoolchildren per teacher and expenditure is just $91 per student, suggesting a very poor investment in education. Cambodia primary enrolment rates are the 70th lowest globally, and the country slides further down to 93rd place for secondary school enrolment rates, and to 94th place on tertiary education enrolment rates. There is also gender inequality in schools, with only 89 girls enrolled for every 100 boys, ranking the country 95th, globally. The average Cambodian worker has had 4.5 years of secondary schooling, a measurement associated with labour productivity, which in this case is close to the global average. However, the average level of tertiary education per worker is just 2.1 years, placing the country 99th out of 104 countries on this variable.
Health - Ranked 98th
Cambodia’s performance on the majority of health variables is consistently poor, with notably high levels of undernourishment and infant mortality
Cambodia’s severe underinvestment in health is an obstacle in addressing the high infant mortality rate of 67 deaths per 1,000 live births, widespread undernourishment affecting 33% of the population, and low life expectancy of just 48 years. Cambodia ranks consistently within the bottom 15 countries on objective health measures. There are only two doctors and one hospital bed per 10,000 capita. Only 28% of the population has access to improved sanitation facilities, ranking the country 100th, and only 61% claim that water quality is satisfactory.* Cambodians report the highest number of non-age-related health problems, with 29% reporting pain.* Despite this, 65% of respondents report feeling well rested.*
Safety and Security - Ranked 70th
Although significant internal security issues exist, most Cambodians report feeling safe
Cambodia has a significant presence of cross-border refugees and internally displaced persons, and there are serious problems related to group grievances. This insecurity encourages large voluntary emigration of skilled and professional workers to more secure nations. Political terror also poses a significant problem, with the country scoring poorly on variables that assess the degree to which the government uses violent methods against its own citizens. Despite high levels of insecurity, 60% of respondents said they felt safe walking alone at night, making Cambodia the 58th safest country, worldwide.* Reports of assault and muggings are low at 4%, and only one in five respondents reported theft of household property in 2008, placing Cambodia below the international average on this variable.*
Governance - Ranked 82ndCambodia ranks poorly on the enforcement of the rule of law, and corruption is perceived as widespread
Enforcement of the rule of law is very poor in Cambodia and the country ranks in the bottom 10, worldwide. Further, Cambodia ranks in the bottom 20 on both government effectiveness and regulation of economic and commercial activity. Over 85% of respondents believe local government and businesses are corrupt.* While citizens have the legal right to participate in political processes, this is limited to some degree.* Approval of the court and judicial system is higher, with 46% of respondents expressing confidence, while 72% declare confidence in the military.* Further, more than seven out of 10 of respondents said they were confident in the honesty of elections.*
Personal Freedom - Ranked 51st
Most Cambodians are satisfied with their freedoms of choice, but also acknowledge widespread intolerance for immigrants and ethnic minorities
Cambodians are reported to have unconstrained freedom to practice their religious beliefs, speak freely without fear of government censorship, and travel freely within and out of their own country. Nearly nine out of 10 citizens claimed to be satisfied with their freedom to choose what they do in their daily lives.* However, tolerance for ethnic minorities and immigrants is among the lowest, internationally, ranking the country in the bottom five on both variables.*
Social Capital - Ranked 67th
Cambodians are highly connected to religious networks but three out of 10 citizens are doubtful that friends and family would help them in times of need
Only 70% of Cambodians believe they can rely on friends and family in times of need, ranking the country 97th on this variable.* With just 17% of respondents saying they would help a stranger, Cambodia has the lowest rate, worldwide, on this variable.* Volunteering was also very low, with just 6% of respondents giving their time during the past month. However, 32% of the population had donated money, ranking the country in the top half on this variable.* Cambodians are highly religious - as assessed by their tendency to attend worship services, ranking the country 37th on the religiosity variable and suggesting widespread access to religious support networks.* No data was available on social trust, the importance of friendship, or membership of associations.
* Data taken from the Gallup World Poll
Cambodian Journalist Wins International Award
PHNOM PENH, Oct 27 (Bernama) -- A Cambodian journalist has won an international media award for article touching on poverty impact that caused by global economic crisis, China's Xinhua news agency reported quoting a press release issued Tuesday by Economics Today magazine.
An Sithav, 25, a reporter for Economic Today Magazine, won a 2009 Developing Asia Journalism Award, on Oct 23 held in Tokyo, Japan.
He was awarded with the first prize in the poverty impact of the global financial crisis category.
Sithav said he was surprised to hear his story, "Not Working", the lead story of the June Issue 40 of Economics Today, was worthy of a place among the finalists.
"I was very pleased that I was selected as a finalist of 2009 Developing Asia Journalist Award, and then as a winner of poverty impact of the Global Financial Crisis among the journalists of Asia Pacific region," he said.
"I do not believe I could be recognized internationally with two years experience as journalist, but now I am a representative of Cambodia who won the first place," he added.
Sithav began working as a journalist in September 2007 and he reports mostly on development which he thinks is the current pressing issue.
Parista Yuthamanop of the Bangkok Post took the second place in the same category, with Yoke Heong Chee of Malaysia's Third World Network taking the third.
Published twice monthly, Economics Today covers economic and business, politics and society, international news, and provides snapshots of key economic and financial indicators.
An Sithav, 25, a reporter for Economic Today Magazine, won a 2009 Developing Asia Journalism Award, on Oct 23 held in Tokyo, Japan.
He was awarded with the first prize in the poverty impact of the global financial crisis category.
Sithav said he was surprised to hear his story, "Not Working", the lead story of the June Issue 40 of Economics Today, was worthy of a place among the finalists.
"I was very pleased that I was selected as a finalist of 2009 Developing Asia Journalist Award, and then as a winner of poverty impact of the Global Financial Crisis among the journalists of Asia Pacific region," he said.
"I do not believe I could be recognized internationally with two years experience as journalist, but now I am a representative of Cambodia who won the first place," he added.
Sithav began working as a journalist in September 2007 and he reports mostly on development which he thinks is the current pressing issue.
Parista Yuthamanop of the Bangkok Post took the second place in the same category, with Yoke Heong Chee of Malaysia's Third World Network taking the third.
Published twice monthly, Economics Today covers economic and business, politics and society, international news, and provides snapshots of key economic and financial indicators.
Friday, October 23, 2009
N.Y., London, Paris still beat Tokyo
The Japan Times
Friday, Oct. 23, 2009
By MARIKO KATO
Staff writer
Factoring together culture, environment, economy and accessibility, Tokyo ranks fourth out of 35 major cities worldwide and only, but still, lags behind leader New York, No. 2 London and third-place Paris, but it has the potential to go higher, a report released Thursday by an urban development research center says.
Prepared in Japan, the report ranks cities based on how attractive they are to businesses, researchers, artists, visitors and residents. Japanese and foreign experts assessed 69 indicators on the economy, culture, environment, accessibility, particularly in regards to airports, and living standards.
Like last year, when the rankings were first published, Tokyo, as a city, trailed New York, London and Paris.
"Tokyo's low pollution levels are particularly impressive, considering it's a major city, and its ratings will improve when Haneda airport is expanded and the new administration focuses on improving tourism," Hiroo Ichikawa, professor at Meiji University's Graduate School of Governance Studies, said, referring to the new Democratic Party of Japan-led government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
Ichikawa helped compile the report for the Institution for Urban Strategies, a nonprofit group run by the Mori Memorial Foundation.
Although Tokyo excels in its business environment and eco-friendliness, Paris tops it in cultural interaction and accessibility, the report says. Tokyo was also only the 19th-easiest city to live in, a category whose indicators include working hours, population density and quality of international schools.
If Tokyo wants to improve, it should match Singapore, which jumped to fifth from 11th this year, in its international airport infrastructure, the report says. Suggested initiatives include reducing the travel time from the center of the metropolis to 30 minutes and increasing direct international flights. Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture, roughly a 45-minute train ride from central Tokyo, is currently the major air hub.
But transport minister Seiji Maehara recently said he wanted to turn Haneda airport, which mainly handles domestic flights and virtually abuts the city center, into a hub for international flights. Haneda will open its fourth runway next October. Narita just has two.
Friday, Oct. 23, 2009
By MARIKO KATO
Staff writer
Factoring together culture, environment, economy and accessibility, Tokyo ranks fourth out of 35 major cities worldwide and only, but still, lags behind leader New York, No. 2 London and third-place Paris, but it has the potential to go higher, a report released Thursday by an urban development research center says.
Prepared in Japan, the report ranks cities based on how attractive they are to businesses, researchers, artists, visitors and residents. Japanese and foreign experts assessed 69 indicators on the economy, culture, environment, accessibility, particularly in regards to airports, and living standards.
Like last year, when the rankings were first published, Tokyo, as a city, trailed New York, London and Paris.
"Tokyo's low pollution levels are particularly impressive, considering it's a major city, and its ratings will improve when Haneda airport is expanded and the new administration focuses on improving tourism," Hiroo Ichikawa, professor at Meiji University's Graduate School of Governance Studies, said, referring to the new Democratic Party of Japan-led government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
Ichikawa helped compile the report for the Institution for Urban Strategies, a nonprofit group run by the Mori Memorial Foundation.
Although Tokyo excels in its business environment and eco-friendliness, Paris tops it in cultural interaction and accessibility, the report says. Tokyo was also only the 19th-easiest city to live in, a category whose indicators include working hours, population density and quality of international schools.
If Tokyo wants to improve, it should match Singapore, which jumped to fifth from 11th this year, in its international airport infrastructure, the report says. Suggested initiatives include reducing the travel time from the center of the metropolis to 30 minutes and increasing direct international flights. Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture, roughly a 45-minute train ride from central Tokyo, is currently the major air hub.
But transport minister Seiji Maehara recently said he wanted to turn Haneda airport, which mainly handles domestic flights and virtually abuts the city center, into a hub for international flights. Haneda will open its fourth runway next October. Narita just has two.
Q+A - What's behind Cambodia's offer to give Thaksin a home?
By Martin Petty
BANGKOK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has offered to give asylum to fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, his "eternal friend", a move likely to further strain ties between the two countries.
Hun Sen's offer will rile Thailand's shaky government as it hosts a summit this week of 16 Asia-Pacific leaders twice delayed due to political unrest that has plagued Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy for four years.
WHY HAS HUN SEN MADE THE OFFER TO THAKSIN?
The outspoken Cambodian premier has always got on well with Thaksin, an investor in his country's telecoms sector in the past and reported to be looking at new investments, including casinos.
He considers Thaksin to be a victim of a political vendetta and has made it clear he is not fond of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government.
Hun Sen is a wily politician who has often used the historical rivalry between the two countries to stoke nationalist fervour for his own gain. His offer to Thaksin will anger many Thais and thus score a few points for him at home.
A long dispute over the 11th century Preah Vihear temple has gained momentum under Abhisit's government and Hun Sen was not impressed when Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya reportedly called him a "gangster". Kasit denies saying that.
HOW HAS THAILAND RESPONDED?
Keen to save face among his peers, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who has called Hun Sen a friend, played down the asylum offer and said the Cambodian premier had misunderstood Thailand's political situation.
But the government and Thaksin's opponents in the Thai establishment and military will be seething at the prospect of the billionaire running a political campaign from a neighbouring country.
Should Thaksin move to Cambodia, Thailand would probably seek his extradition to serve a two-year prison sentence he was given for graft. However, Cambodia and Thailand have no extradition treaty.
HOW WILL A MOVE TO CAMBODIA HELP THAKSIN?
Thaksin's strategy to wrestle back power after being ousted in a 2006 coup centres on the ballot box. His latest political party, Puea Thai, would probably win most votes when another election takes place.
Thaksin has mobilised his supporters in Puea Thai, which has mass rural support, and in an extra-parliamentary movement that is stepping up street protests to bring down Abhisit's government.
A base in Cambodia would let him use his vast wealth and mass support to coordinate his political campaign, making meetings with his henchmen easier and allowing him to stage public relations stunts in the vote-rich northeast bordering Cambodia.
HOW WOULD THIS AFFECT THAILAND'S POLITICAL CRISIS?
It could intensify the standoff, and the prospect of a pro-Thaksin party returning to power would prompt outrage among his opponents who have fought hard to keep him at bay.
Mass street protests and legal challenges against Thaksin and his allies would resume, further polarising the country, spooking investors and tourists and plunging Thailand into deeper uncertainty. Credit ratings could be downgraded.
WILL HUN SEN'S OFFER OVERSHADOW THE SUMMIT?
Hun Sen previously threatened boycotts over the temple dispute and has said he would arrive late in Hua Hin for the gathering of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
It is likely to take centre stage and further embarrass Thailand, whose presidency of the grouping has been fraught with problems. Diplomatic spats are common in ASEAN and the move could derail attempts to seek consensus on a number of issues.
(Editing by Alan Raybould and Sanjeev Miglani)
BANGKOK, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has offered to give asylum to fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra, his "eternal friend", a move likely to further strain ties between the two countries.
Hun Sen's offer will rile Thailand's shaky government as it hosts a summit this week of 16 Asia-Pacific leaders twice delayed due to political unrest that has plagued Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy for four years.
WHY HAS HUN SEN MADE THE OFFER TO THAKSIN?
The outspoken Cambodian premier has always got on well with Thaksin, an investor in his country's telecoms sector in the past and reported to be looking at new investments, including casinos.
He considers Thaksin to be a victim of a political vendetta and has made it clear he is not fond of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's government.
Hun Sen is a wily politician who has often used the historical rivalry between the two countries to stoke nationalist fervour for his own gain. His offer to Thaksin will anger many Thais and thus score a few points for him at home.
A long dispute over the 11th century Preah Vihear temple has gained momentum under Abhisit's government and Hun Sen was not impressed when Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya reportedly called him a "gangster". Kasit denies saying that.
HOW HAS THAILAND RESPONDED?
Keen to save face among his peers, Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who has called Hun Sen a friend, played down the asylum offer and said the Cambodian premier had misunderstood Thailand's political situation.
But the government and Thaksin's opponents in the Thai establishment and military will be seething at the prospect of the billionaire running a political campaign from a neighbouring country.
Should Thaksin move to Cambodia, Thailand would probably seek his extradition to serve a two-year prison sentence he was given for graft. However, Cambodia and Thailand have no extradition treaty.
HOW WILL A MOVE TO CAMBODIA HELP THAKSIN?
Thaksin's strategy to wrestle back power after being ousted in a 2006 coup centres on the ballot box. His latest political party, Puea Thai, would probably win most votes when another election takes place.
Thaksin has mobilised his supporters in Puea Thai, which has mass rural support, and in an extra-parliamentary movement that is stepping up street protests to bring down Abhisit's government.
A base in Cambodia would let him use his vast wealth and mass support to coordinate his political campaign, making meetings with his henchmen easier and allowing him to stage public relations stunts in the vote-rich northeast bordering Cambodia.
HOW WOULD THIS AFFECT THAILAND'S POLITICAL CRISIS?
It could intensify the standoff, and the prospect of a pro-Thaksin party returning to power would prompt outrage among his opponents who have fought hard to keep him at bay.
Mass street protests and legal challenges against Thaksin and his allies would resume, further polarising the country, spooking investors and tourists and plunging Thailand into deeper uncertainty. Credit ratings could be downgraded.
WILL HUN SEN'S OFFER OVERSHADOW THE SUMMIT?
Hun Sen previously threatened boycotts over the temple dispute and has said he would arrive late in Hua Hin for the gathering of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
It is likely to take centre stage and further embarrass Thailand, whose presidency of the grouping has been fraught with problems. Diplomatic spats are common in ASEAN and the move could derail attempts to seek consensus on a number of issues.
(Editing by Alan Raybould and Sanjeev Miglani)
Thursday, October 22, 2009
S. Korean president begins visit to Cambodia
PHNOM PENH, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak began a two-day trip to Cambodia with a visit to Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni shortly after his arrival here Thursday.
Lee was set for a bilateral summit with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen later in the day.
"President Lee and King Sihamoni discussed ways to expand cooperation between their countries in various areas, including the agricultural and cultural sectors, while the president noted the development of their relationship since the normalization of their ties in 1997," Lee's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
Lee's trip here comes as part of a three-nation tour that earlier took him to Vietnam. He will head to Thailand on Friday for a regional summit hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that will also involve the leaders of Japan and China.
The trip was expected to help significantly improve Seoul's relations with Phnom Penh as the sides were set to sign an extradition treaty and a revision to the basic agreement on South Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).
Seoul agreed in June to provide US$60 million in loans from its development fund in a summit between Lee and the Cambodian prime minister held in Seoul.
The revision to the EDCF agreement, to be signed on the sidelines of the Lee-Hun Sen summit, will lead to the provision of an additional $140 million by 2012, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye.
"As we face a great opportunity to further improve our countries' relationship this year through an exchange of visits with Prime Minister Hun Sen, I hope the countries will hold discussions on various measures for their joint development during my visit this time," Lee said in an interview with Cambodia's largest-circulation daily Rasmei Campuchea published Thursday.
South Korean investment in Cambodia increased 75 times to nearly $2.5 billion last year since their diplomatic normalization in 1997. Seoul had severed its ties with Cambodia in 1975 when the communist Khmer Rouge government took control.
Seoul has agreed to launch a joint development project for Phnom Penh, through which it will help set up "master plans" for the development of Cambodia while sharing its own development experience with the country, according to the Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman.
An agreement will also be signed later Thursday on Cambodia's provision of 200,000 hectares of land, over 10 times the size of Washington D.C., for forest plantation by South Korea.
"Considering the complementary nature of their economies and the enactment of a free trade agreement between South Korea and ASEAN, as well as Cambodia's rapid economic growth, the cooperation between the countries will continue to show remarkable growth," Lee said in the interview with Rasmei Campuchea, held in Seoul before starting his trip.
The signing of the extradition treaty, to apply to those suspected of crimes punishable by two or more years of imprisonment, will help improve South Korea's image here, spokeswoman Kim said.
"It will also help protect the citizens and South Korean residents in Cambodia by making sure that Southeast Asia will no longer be the safe haven of criminals," she said.
Lee was set for a bilateral summit with Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen later in the day.
"President Lee and King Sihamoni discussed ways to expand cooperation between their countries in various areas, including the agricultural and cultural sectors, while the president noted the development of their relationship since the normalization of their ties in 1997," Lee's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release.
Lee's trip here comes as part of a three-nation tour that earlier took him to Vietnam. He will head to Thailand on Friday for a regional summit hosted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) that will also involve the leaders of Japan and China.
The trip was expected to help significantly improve Seoul's relations with Phnom Penh as the sides were set to sign an extradition treaty and a revision to the basic agreement on South Korea's Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).
Seoul agreed in June to provide US$60 million in loans from its development fund in a summit between Lee and the Cambodian prime minister held in Seoul.
The revision to the EDCF agreement, to be signed on the sidelines of the Lee-Hun Sen summit, will lead to the provision of an additional $140 million by 2012, according to Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman Kim Eun-hye.
"As we face a great opportunity to further improve our countries' relationship this year through an exchange of visits with Prime Minister Hun Sen, I hope the countries will hold discussions on various measures for their joint development during my visit this time," Lee said in an interview with Cambodia's largest-circulation daily Rasmei Campuchea published Thursday.
South Korean investment in Cambodia increased 75 times to nearly $2.5 billion last year since their diplomatic normalization in 1997. Seoul had severed its ties with Cambodia in 1975 when the communist Khmer Rouge government took control.
Seoul has agreed to launch a joint development project for Phnom Penh, through which it will help set up "master plans" for the development of Cambodia while sharing its own development experience with the country, according to the Cheong Wa Dae spokeswoman.
An agreement will also be signed later Thursday on Cambodia's provision of 200,000 hectares of land, over 10 times the size of Washington D.C., for forest plantation by South Korea.
"Considering the complementary nature of their economies and the enactment of a free trade agreement between South Korea and ASEAN, as well as Cambodia's rapid economic growth, the cooperation between the countries will continue to show remarkable growth," Lee said in the interview with Rasmei Campuchea, held in Seoul before starting his trip.
The signing of the extradition treaty, to apply to those suspected of crimes punishable by two or more years of imprisonment, will help improve South Korea's image here, spokeswoman Kim said.
"It will also help protect the citizens and South Korean residents in Cambodia by making sure that Southeast Asia will no longer be the safe haven of criminals," she said.
S. Korean president says Cambodia a 'valuable' partner for growth
By Byun Duk-kun
PHNOM PENH, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak expressed hope to significantly improve his country's relations with Cambodia Thursday, saying cooperation between the two will provide new opportunities for growth for both of them.
"Cooperation between the two countries is being actively made in various fields and considering the complementary nature of their economies and the enactment of a free trade agreement between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as Cambodia's rapid economic growth, the cooperation will continue to show remarkable growth," Lee said in an interview with Cambodia's largest daily Rasmei Campuchea, published Thursday.
The transcript of the interview, held in Seoul before Lee's departure on his ongoing three-nation Southeast Asian tour, was released by his presidential office Cheong Wa Dae as Lee was en route to the Cambodian capital from Vietnam.
Both Vietnam and Cambodia are members of the 10-nation ASEAN, which will meet in Thailand on Saturday.
Lee said the countries' relations improved at an unprecedented pace since they normalized diplomatic ties in 1997, during which direct investment by South Korean firms in Cambodia jumped 75 times to nearly US$2.5 billion.
"As we face a great opportunity to further improve our countries' relationship this year through exchange of visits with Prime Minister Hun Sen, I hope the countries will hold discussions on various measures for their joint development during my visit this time," he said.
Lee and Hun Sen had held a bilateral summit in June when the Cambodian prime minister visited South Korea for a special Korea-ASEAN summit, at which South Korea agreed to provide $60 million to Cambodia in loans from its Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).
Lee and the Cambodian prime minister were set to hold a bilateral summit here later in the day, at which the sides will sign a revision to their basic agreement on the EDCF that will lead to Seoul's provision of $200 million from 2009-2012, he said.
The South Korean leader also called for efforts to build a regional community in East Asia as his trip largely aims to improve Korea's relations with ASEAN countries under its "New Asia Initiative."
"The efforts to strengthen regional cooperation and integration in the East Asian region must first focus on areas where cooperation is readily possible. And during that process, we must seek to build an open and inclusive community, rather than a closed and exclusive group of countries," he said.
Lee also sought to win Cambodia's support for his country's efforts to denuclearize North Korea, explaining in detail his recent proposal for a "grand bargain" denuclearization of the communist North.
"This (proposal) seeks to fundamentally resolve the North Korean nuclear issue by completely removing the key elements of the North's nuclear programs from the very start," he said.
The president said his country will also work to promote Cambodia and other ASEAN nations' interests in the international community.
South Korea is set to host a G-20 summit in November 2010 while it is also set to take the chair of the economic conference for the year.
PHNOM PENH, Oct. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak expressed hope to significantly improve his country's relations with Cambodia Thursday, saying cooperation between the two will provide new opportunities for growth for both of them.
"Cooperation between the two countries is being actively made in various fields and considering the complementary nature of their economies and the enactment of a free trade agreement between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as well as Cambodia's rapid economic growth, the cooperation will continue to show remarkable growth," Lee said in an interview with Cambodia's largest daily Rasmei Campuchea, published Thursday.
The transcript of the interview, held in Seoul before Lee's departure on his ongoing three-nation Southeast Asian tour, was released by his presidential office Cheong Wa Dae as Lee was en route to the Cambodian capital from Vietnam.
Both Vietnam and Cambodia are members of the 10-nation ASEAN, which will meet in Thailand on Saturday.
Lee said the countries' relations improved at an unprecedented pace since they normalized diplomatic ties in 1997, during which direct investment by South Korean firms in Cambodia jumped 75 times to nearly US$2.5 billion.
"As we face a great opportunity to further improve our countries' relationship this year through exchange of visits with Prime Minister Hun Sen, I hope the countries will hold discussions on various measures for their joint development during my visit this time," he said.
Lee and Hun Sen had held a bilateral summit in June when the Cambodian prime minister visited South Korea for a special Korea-ASEAN summit, at which South Korea agreed to provide $60 million to Cambodia in loans from its Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF).
Lee and the Cambodian prime minister were set to hold a bilateral summit here later in the day, at which the sides will sign a revision to their basic agreement on the EDCF that will lead to Seoul's provision of $200 million from 2009-2012, he said.
The South Korean leader also called for efforts to build a regional community in East Asia as his trip largely aims to improve Korea's relations with ASEAN countries under its "New Asia Initiative."
"The efforts to strengthen regional cooperation and integration in the East Asian region must first focus on areas where cooperation is readily possible. And during that process, we must seek to build an open and inclusive community, rather than a closed and exclusive group of countries," he said.
Lee also sought to win Cambodia's support for his country's efforts to denuclearize North Korea, explaining in detail his recent proposal for a "grand bargain" denuclearization of the communist North.
"This (proposal) seeks to fundamentally resolve the North Korean nuclear issue by completely removing the key elements of the North's nuclear programs from the very start," he said.
The president said his country will also work to promote Cambodia and other ASEAN nations' interests in the international community.
South Korea is set to host a G-20 summit in November 2010 while it is also set to take the chair of the economic conference for the year.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Cambodia balances East and West
Asia Times
Oct 20, 2009
By Sebastian Strangio
PHNOM PENH - At a ceremony last month marking the construction of the US$128 million Cambodia-China Prek Kdam Friendship Bridge in Kandal province, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the growth in aid and investment from China was boosting economic development and strengthening his country's "political independence".
"China respects the political decisions of Cambodia," he told his audience. "They are quiet, but at the same time they build bridges and roads and there are no complicated conditions." It was a thinly veiled reference to the strings attached to Western aid, including calls for progress on anti-corruption reforms, and underscored China's growing role in Cambodia's developing economy.
With a still booming economy amid the global economic downturn, China has maintained the momentum behind its strong commercial diplomacy towards Southeast Asia. Cambodia - a small but important corner of Beijing's emerging regional economic sphere of influence - has been one of the key beneficiaries of the loans, aid and investment largesse.
Official "friendship" delegations between the Chinese Communist Party and Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party have proceeded apace throughout the crisis. During a three-day visit to China's Sichuan province that concluded over the weekend, Hun Sen and Chinese officials announced $853 million worth of new Chinese loans and grants for various infrastructure projects in Cambodia.
The funds will be dedicated to hydropower projects, two bridges and the rehabilitation of the highway linking the country's Kratie and Mondulkiri provinces. The announcement comes on top of the $880 million in loans and grants Cambodia has received from Beijing since 2006, including finance for the $280 million Kamchay hydropower dam in Kampot province and the recently completed $30 million Council of Ministers building in the capital Phnom Penh - presented as a gift from the government in Beijing.
Chinese Embassy spokesman Qian Hai said Chinese investments in Cambodia as of 2009 totalled $4.5 billion, a commercial success he credits in part to a policy of respecting Cambodia's sovereignty. "We do not interfere in the internal affairs of Cambodia," he said. Phnom Penh has traditionally reciprocated by recognizing Beijing's One-China policy, advocating "peaceful reunification" between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland, Qian Hai added.
China's global sales pitch to developing countries, essentially aid and investment decoupled from prickly issues of human rights or democratic reforms, has in recent years scored diplomatic points in Phnom Penh. But like most Southeast Asian countries, Cambodia has had a complicated and sometimes stormy historical relationship with Beijing.
The 1950s and 1960s were marked by close relations, cemented by the close personal friendship between Cambodia's mercurial Prince Norodom Sihanouk and Chinese leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, who offered the beleaguered Sihanouk asylum - including a residence and official stipend - after he was overthrown by the US-backed General Lon Nol in 1970.
China's support from 1975-79 for the radical Khmer Rouge regime - as a counterweight to the assertiveness of the recently reunited socialist Vietnam - led Hun Sen to refer to China as "the root of everything that was evil" in Cambodia in a 1988 essay. As memories of Cambodia's long civil war have faded and Hun Sen has consolidated his power, historical grievances have yielded to more practical concerns. (After Hun Sen ousted then-first prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh in a bloody factional coup in 1997, it is notable that China was the first country to recognize his rule.)
China's commercial growing economic ties to Cambodia are only one aspect of its re-engagement with Southeast Asia. Joshua Kurlantzick, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington and the author of Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power is Transforming the World, said that around the time of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, China began to assert itself in the region through greater aid disbursements, new trade arrangements, cultural diplomacy and military ties.
"China ... saw broader China-ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] relations as a way of reassuring countries in the region that China would be a peaceful and non-interfering type of power - that China could work well with ASEAN and thus demonstrate it could play the game of soft, multilateral diplomacy," he told Asia Times Online.
Countervailing aid
Chinese aid is in some measure weaning Cambodia off its dependence on the West, which still contributes nearly half of the country's annual budget.
On October 16, the National Assembly debated a new trade treaty with China with lawmakers from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) arguing that Chinese-funded projects have had adverse effects on the environment and local people. SRP parliamentarian Mu Sochua singled out a 199,000-hectare agricultural concession granted to Chinese firm Wuzhishan in the country's northeast Mondulkiri province, which she said has illegally stripped large tracts of land from ethnic minority Phnong villagers.
Carlyle Thayer, a professor of political science based at the Australian Defense Force Academy in Sydney, said China's strategy of "non-interference", enshrined also in the ASEAN Charter, has been a major selling point for Beijing in Southeast Asia, where in some countries it is viewed as a shield against pressure from the United States and other Western countries. "Chinese aid offers an escape hatch for countries under pressure from the West [that] promote human rights and democratic reform," Thayer said.
Kurlantzick said that Chinese aid was likely to have a "corrosive" effect on good governance and human rights in Asia. "Hun Sen knows how to play China off of the Western donor groups and China's aid - even if not necessarily linked to any downgrading of human rights - could have the effect of a kind of race to the bottom on human rights," he said.
Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at the US-based Human Rights Watch, agreed that unconditional Chinese aid to Cambodia could act as a "financial lifeline" that might otherwise be cut by Western donors. She said, however, that since Western nations often failed to work together effectively to set and enforce aid conditions in Cambodia, China's growing presence may end up having little distinct impact on human rights.
"The most important point - and key problem - is that the government in Phnom Penh ... seems determined to be extraordinarily abusive, regardless of whoever's money is on offer," she said.
Despite the recent influx of Chinese capital, there is no indication Hun Sen's government is ready to abandon ties to the West. Chea Vannath, an independent political analyst based in Phnom Penh, said that growing Chinese influence would likely be used to counterbalance the influence of Western countries - a vital strategy for a country of Cambodia's small size and redolent of Prince Sihanouk's balancing act during the periods of the Cold War that he ruled the country as prime minister, from 1955 to 1970.
"I think that what the government is trying to do is to diversify its aid ... It is eager to strike a balance," she said. "As a sovereign government, Cambodia needs aid from both sources."
Thayer agreed that rumors of a drop in Western - particularly American - influence were exaggerated. In 2007 US-Cambodia relations warmed when Washington lifted restrictions on the provision of aid to the central government, imposed following the coup of 1997. The US was already the top destination for Cambodia-made garments and textiles, one of the country's top exports.
In June, US President Barack Obama signalled his intention to boost trade further by removing Cambodia and Laos from a Cold War-era US trade blacklist, opening the way for American businesses to access US government-backed loans and credit guarantees for trade and investment between the two countries.
"All the countries of Southeast Asia, to varying extent, have long adjusted to China's rise and political influence," said Thayer. "They do not want to be put in a position of having to choose between China and the United States."
Sebastian Strangio is a reporter for the Phnom Penh Post in Cambodia.
(Copyright 2009 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
Oct 20, 2009
By Sebastian Strangio
PHNOM PENH - At a ceremony last month marking the construction of the US$128 million Cambodia-China Prek Kdam Friendship Bridge in Kandal province, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said the growth in aid and investment from China was boosting economic development and strengthening his country's "political independence".
"China respects the political decisions of Cambodia," he told his audience. "They are quiet, but at the same time they build bridges and roads and there are no complicated conditions." It was a thinly veiled reference to the strings attached to Western aid, including calls for progress on anti-corruption reforms, and underscored China's growing role in Cambodia's developing economy.
With a still booming economy amid the global economic downturn, China has maintained the momentum behind its strong commercial diplomacy towards Southeast Asia. Cambodia - a small but important corner of Beijing's emerging regional economic sphere of influence - has been one of the key beneficiaries of the loans, aid and investment largesse.
Official "friendship" delegations between the Chinese Communist Party and Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party have proceeded apace throughout the crisis. During a three-day visit to China's Sichuan province that concluded over the weekend, Hun Sen and Chinese officials announced $853 million worth of new Chinese loans and grants for various infrastructure projects in Cambodia.
The funds will be dedicated to hydropower projects, two bridges and the rehabilitation of the highway linking the country's Kratie and Mondulkiri provinces. The announcement comes on top of the $880 million in loans and grants Cambodia has received from Beijing since 2006, including finance for the $280 million Kamchay hydropower dam in Kampot province and the recently completed $30 million Council of Ministers building in the capital Phnom Penh - presented as a gift from the government in Beijing.
Chinese Embassy spokesman Qian Hai said Chinese investments in Cambodia as of 2009 totalled $4.5 billion, a commercial success he credits in part to a policy of respecting Cambodia's sovereignty. "We do not interfere in the internal affairs of Cambodia," he said. Phnom Penh has traditionally reciprocated by recognizing Beijing's One-China policy, advocating "peaceful reunification" between Taiwan and the Chinese mainland, Qian Hai added.
China's global sales pitch to developing countries, essentially aid and investment decoupled from prickly issues of human rights or democratic reforms, has in recent years scored diplomatic points in Phnom Penh. But like most Southeast Asian countries, Cambodia has had a complicated and sometimes stormy historical relationship with Beijing.
The 1950s and 1960s were marked by close relations, cemented by the close personal friendship between Cambodia's mercurial Prince Norodom Sihanouk and Chinese leaders Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai, who offered the beleaguered Sihanouk asylum - including a residence and official stipend - after he was overthrown by the US-backed General Lon Nol in 1970.
China's support from 1975-79 for the radical Khmer Rouge regime - as a counterweight to the assertiveness of the recently reunited socialist Vietnam - led Hun Sen to refer to China as "the root of everything that was evil" in Cambodia in a 1988 essay. As memories of Cambodia's long civil war have faded and Hun Sen has consolidated his power, historical grievances have yielded to more practical concerns. (After Hun Sen ousted then-first prime minister Prince Norodom Ranariddh in a bloody factional coup in 1997, it is notable that China was the first country to recognize his rule.)
China's commercial growing economic ties to Cambodia are only one aspect of its re-engagement with Southeast Asia. Joshua Kurlantzick, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington and the author of Charm Offensive: How China's Soft Power is Transforming the World, said that around the time of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, China began to assert itself in the region through greater aid disbursements, new trade arrangements, cultural diplomacy and military ties.
"China ... saw broader China-ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] relations as a way of reassuring countries in the region that China would be a peaceful and non-interfering type of power - that China could work well with ASEAN and thus demonstrate it could play the game of soft, multilateral diplomacy," he told Asia Times Online.
Countervailing aid
Chinese aid is in some measure weaning Cambodia off its dependence on the West, which still contributes nearly half of the country's annual budget.
On October 16, the National Assembly debated a new trade treaty with China with lawmakers from the opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) arguing that Chinese-funded projects have had adverse effects on the environment and local people. SRP parliamentarian Mu Sochua singled out a 199,000-hectare agricultural concession granted to Chinese firm Wuzhishan in the country's northeast Mondulkiri province, which she said has illegally stripped large tracts of land from ethnic minority Phnong villagers.
Carlyle Thayer, a professor of political science based at the Australian Defense Force Academy in Sydney, said China's strategy of "non-interference", enshrined also in the ASEAN Charter, has been a major selling point for Beijing in Southeast Asia, where in some countries it is viewed as a shield against pressure from the United States and other Western countries. "Chinese aid offers an escape hatch for countries under pressure from the West [that] promote human rights and democratic reform," Thayer said.
Kurlantzick said that Chinese aid was likely to have a "corrosive" effect on good governance and human rights in Asia. "Hun Sen knows how to play China off of the Western donor groups and China's aid - even if not necessarily linked to any downgrading of human rights - could have the effect of a kind of race to the bottom on human rights," he said.
Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at the US-based Human Rights Watch, agreed that unconditional Chinese aid to Cambodia could act as a "financial lifeline" that might otherwise be cut by Western donors. She said, however, that since Western nations often failed to work together effectively to set and enforce aid conditions in Cambodia, China's growing presence may end up having little distinct impact on human rights.
"The most important point - and key problem - is that the government in Phnom Penh ... seems determined to be extraordinarily abusive, regardless of whoever's money is on offer," she said.
Despite the recent influx of Chinese capital, there is no indication Hun Sen's government is ready to abandon ties to the West. Chea Vannath, an independent political analyst based in Phnom Penh, said that growing Chinese influence would likely be used to counterbalance the influence of Western countries - a vital strategy for a country of Cambodia's small size and redolent of Prince Sihanouk's balancing act during the periods of the Cold War that he ruled the country as prime minister, from 1955 to 1970.
"I think that what the government is trying to do is to diversify its aid ... It is eager to strike a balance," she said. "As a sovereign government, Cambodia needs aid from both sources."
Thayer agreed that rumors of a drop in Western - particularly American - influence were exaggerated. In 2007 US-Cambodia relations warmed when Washington lifted restrictions on the provision of aid to the central government, imposed following the coup of 1997. The US was already the top destination for Cambodia-made garments and textiles, one of the country's top exports.
In June, US President Barack Obama signalled his intention to boost trade further by removing Cambodia and Laos from a Cold War-era US trade blacklist, opening the way for American businesses to access US government-backed loans and credit guarantees for trade and investment between the two countries.
"All the countries of Southeast Asia, to varying extent, have long adjusted to China's rise and political influence," said Thayer. "They do not want to be put in a position of having to choose between China and the United States."
Sebastian Strangio is a reporter for the Phnom Penh Post in Cambodia.
(Copyright 2009 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Japan's labour unions eye resurgence
by Miwa Suzuki Miwa Suzuki – Sat Oct 17, 11:45 pm ET
TOKYO (AFP) – After decades of decline, Japan's labour unions are looking to flex their new-found muscle in the wake of a historic power shift that handed them unprecedented close ties with the government.
The unions were a crucial support base for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, whose centre-left Democratic Party took power last month, ending more than half a century of almost unbroken rule by the business friendly conservatives.
"We are mates, comrades. We have the same thinking," said Tsuyoshi Takagi, who recently finished a four-year term as head of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation -- better known as Rengo -- which represents 6.8 million workers.
"The issue of employment is the most urgent problem we are now facing in Japan," he said in an interview with AFP before stepping down.
Hatoyama has pledged to create a more "fraternal society" and has attacked what he sees as the excesses of US-style capitalism.
His cabinet includes former labour chiefs and vocal opponents of free-market reforms that were stepped up during Junichiro Koizumi's 2001-2006 premiership and put another nail in the coffin of Japan's traditional job-for-life culture.
The recently ousted Liberal Democratic Party was close to big business so the current situation "is very new," said Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a politics professor at Tokyo's Aoyama Gakuin University.
"But we still don't know how far trade unionists can influence policies that were not in the party's manifesto," Yamamoto said.
Hatoyama's Democrats aim to hike the minimum wage to a national average of 1,000 yen (11 dollars) an hour, up from the current 713 yen, and ban the use of dispatch workers, or temporary workers, at manufacturing firms.
Such employees are easier to fire than regular workers and bore the brunt of a recent wave of layoffs.
Dispatch workers "have a lot of trouble" with companies where they work, said Takagi.
"We should prohibit those dispatches to the manufacturing factories," he said.
Economists, however, warn such a ban could burden companies and ultimately lead to fewer jobs.
Some firms may just reduce their workforce to lower labour costs, said Hiroshi Watanabe, an economist at the Daiwa Institute of Research.
"This could jeopardise jobs for 'the working poor,' making them just 'the poor,'" he warned.
As in many other countries, Japan's labour unions have endured decades of decline as its economy matured.
Only 18 percent of workers were union members in 2008, sharply down from a peak of 56 percent in 1949 and matching a record low seen in 2007, according to the government.
Labour market deregulation has caused the number of dispatch workers in Japan to more than triple to 1.4 million in 2008, from 430,000 in 2002.
Rengo's members are mostly regular workers at big companies who generally earn more and are granted many fringe benefits, said Tetsuro Kato, a politics professor at Hitotsubashi University.
If the new government becomes serious about addressing the problems of dispatch workers on insecure job contracts, at the expense of regular workers' welfare, it might cause "friction" with Rengo, Kato said.
Workers at Japan's biggest companies won an average wage hike of just 1.8 percent in the spring wage offensive this year, according to the business lobby Keidanren, down from 1.95 percent in 2007 -- the first decline in five years.
But the unions' close ties with the government do not mean they will secure a good wage rise next year in their annual bargaining with companies, said Hideyuki Araki, an economist at Resona Research Institute.
"It's a separate issue because what companies are watching is how government policies would affect their earnings," he said.
TOKYO (AFP) – After decades of decline, Japan's labour unions are looking to flex their new-found muscle in the wake of a historic power shift that handed them unprecedented close ties with the government.
The unions were a crucial support base for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, whose centre-left Democratic Party took power last month, ending more than half a century of almost unbroken rule by the business friendly conservatives.
"We are mates, comrades. We have the same thinking," said Tsuyoshi Takagi, who recently finished a four-year term as head of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation -- better known as Rengo -- which represents 6.8 million workers.
"The issue of employment is the most urgent problem we are now facing in Japan," he said in an interview with AFP before stepping down.
Hatoyama has pledged to create a more "fraternal society" and has attacked what he sees as the excesses of US-style capitalism.
His cabinet includes former labour chiefs and vocal opponents of free-market reforms that were stepped up during Junichiro Koizumi's 2001-2006 premiership and put another nail in the coffin of Japan's traditional job-for-life culture.
The recently ousted Liberal Democratic Party was close to big business so the current situation "is very new," said Yoshinobu Yamamoto, a politics professor at Tokyo's Aoyama Gakuin University.
"But we still don't know how far trade unionists can influence policies that were not in the party's manifesto," Yamamoto said.
Hatoyama's Democrats aim to hike the minimum wage to a national average of 1,000 yen (11 dollars) an hour, up from the current 713 yen, and ban the use of dispatch workers, or temporary workers, at manufacturing firms.
Such employees are easier to fire than regular workers and bore the brunt of a recent wave of layoffs.
Dispatch workers "have a lot of trouble" with companies where they work, said Takagi.
"We should prohibit those dispatches to the manufacturing factories," he said.
Economists, however, warn such a ban could burden companies and ultimately lead to fewer jobs.
Some firms may just reduce their workforce to lower labour costs, said Hiroshi Watanabe, an economist at the Daiwa Institute of Research.
"This could jeopardise jobs for 'the working poor,' making them just 'the poor,'" he warned.
As in many other countries, Japan's labour unions have endured decades of decline as its economy matured.
Only 18 percent of workers were union members in 2008, sharply down from a peak of 56 percent in 1949 and matching a record low seen in 2007, according to the government.
Labour market deregulation has caused the number of dispatch workers in Japan to more than triple to 1.4 million in 2008, from 430,000 in 2002.
Rengo's members are mostly regular workers at big companies who generally earn more and are granted many fringe benefits, said Tetsuro Kato, a politics professor at Hitotsubashi University.
If the new government becomes serious about addressing the problems of dispatch workers on insecure job contracts, at the expense of regular workers' welfare, it might cause "friction" with Rengo, Kato said.
Workers at Japan's biggest companies won an average wage hike of just 1.8 percent in the spring wage offensive this year, according to the business lobby Keidanren, down from 1.95 percent in 2007 -- the first decline in five years.
But the unions' close ties with the government do not mean they will secure a good wage rise next year in their annual bargaining with companies, said Hideyuki Araki, an economist at Resona Research Institute.
"It's a separate issue because what companies are watching is how government policies would affect their earnings," he said.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Cambodia Has to Cope With its Global Connection
Once the poster child for the benefits of globalization, Cambodia is now being asked to cope with its darker side in the aftermath of the financial crisis. The four pillars of the country’s economy – tourism, garment-making, construction, and agriculture – are feeling the global pinch in their various ways, writes journalist Anne-Laure Porée. Tourism is down thanks to the global stay-at-home vacation trend. Garment-making has collapsed due to lower US demand and choosey shoppers. Construction, like the rest of the world, plummeted with knock-on effects in consumer banking as rising unemployment led to greater personal loan defaults. Even agriculture, which could still provide positive growth in 2009, faces the uncertainty of weather and the challenges of foreign investment choking off local farmers. Perhaps the only ray of light is the natural resource industry – a sector that has long promised to provide limited value-added components to the economy. The sad part of this story is that the government seems content to wait for a rebound in the global economy, hoping the rising tide abroad will lift Cambodia’s boat. But as Porée notes, to integrate fully into the world economy, Cambodia has to learn how to be more than a supplier of garments based on cheap labor. – YaleGlobal
Waiting for a rebound, Cambodia needs to be more than dressmaker to the world
Anne-Laure Porée
YaleGlobal , 11 August 2009
PHNOM PENH: Defying the gloom descending on the tourism sector brought about by the global crisis, the capital’s airport recently launched a hopeful initiative: a new airline. Cambodia Angkor Air was launched to boost tourism between the capital and Siem Reap near the famed ruins of Angkor Wat. With tourist arrivals falling sharply since late last year, this may signal a triumph of hope over reality. If anything, the hopes and fears surrounding Cambodia’s tourist revenue and garment trade underline how the fortune of the country has become intertwined with the larger world.
Global misery: Cambodian women workers, who once benefited from foreign orders for garments, are now facing unemployment. (Photo: Anne-Laure Porée)
Since peace came to Cambodia in the last years of the last century, the country has emerged as a poster child of globalization in Southeast Asia. In the middle of this decade, Cambodia enjoyed double digit growth and even hoisted itself up to 6th place in the rank of the fastest growing economies for the 1998-2007 period.
And now the country is experiencing the downside of dependence on the world. The sectors most affected by the crisis – tourism and garment export – are the ones that have seen the most development thanks to the integration of Cambodia into the global economy a decade ago, after peace was restored in the country. At this time, the economy was opened to foreign investors, who poured money into the garment industry, taking advantage of supports granted to Cambodia such as the Most Favored Nation (MFN) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). This status provided access to the American market and it enabled other Asian investors – Chinese in particular – to get round their own quotas or the Least Developed Country status conferred upon them by the United Nations.
But the happy days are now threatened by the shrinking world market. Of the four major pillars of Cambodian economy – the garment industry, tourism, construction and agriculture – three are seriously impaired by the global crisis. With 70 percent of Cambodia’s garment production going to the US, the declining American economy, choosey shoppers and stay-at-home tourists have led to job losses in Cambodia.
The figures released in late July by the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) showed a worse than anticipated loss: exports dropped almost 30 percent and one garment worker in 6 lost her job in the first six months of 2009. Most of these workers are women who transfer a substantial part of their earnings to their family living in rural areas in order to supplement farming-based incomes. In some villages, every family has one or several members working in the garment factories based in the Phnom Penh suburbs. Some go for unpaid leaves or part time jobs, some enter prostitution, but most decide to go back to their village in order to work in the rice fields.
According to Van Sou Ieng, GMAC president, Cambodia is much more severely affected by the crisis than other Asian countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh or China because the industry sector in Cambodia is less competitive. “We need more time to produce than China or Vietnam,” he says. Though the government helps with profit tax exemptions or export charge reductions, there’s no miracle cure for Ieng.
Tourism – the second pillar of the economy – has suffered from the economic crisis, and the fallout from the swine flu. In Siem Reap, located next to the famed Angkor temples, a spot visited by more than 1 million tourists in 2008, the situation is described as “catastrophic” by hotel managers. The hotels’ occupancy rate has fallen 25 percent compared to the same period in 2008. Several three or four star hotels have definitely closed their doors, and the mid-range hotels have been multiplying promotional offers for months.
The drop in Western tourists’ arrivals (down 14 percent during the four first months of 2009 according to the Minister of Tourism) has a direct impact on tourism generated incomes – foreigners spent 1.6 billion dollars in 2008. The Ministry of Economy and Finance expects a drop in tourism growth of 7 to 8 percent this year.
The construction sector is also affected: many foreign investors have delayed, reduced or slowed their projects. The capital Phnom Penh started to change face in 2008 with the building of huge towers, business centers and shopping malls but activity slid in the second half of 2008, leaving workers without employment. Such trends have had significant consequences, particularly among the banking sector. The Acleda bank, which has the largest branch network in all provinces, reported a fall in profits in the second quarter of 2009 because of late payments and less lending. The Cambodians, who speculated on land as investment, are now facing difficulties because the prices of land and real estate have plunged and they can’t sell and get cash.
The hardest hit, of course, are the poorest of the poor who count each riel. For them, any drop in income, as well as any unexpected crisis, immediately results in cutting down the number of meals per day.
Agriculture, the fourth pillar of the Cambodian economy and the least exposed to global currents, could bolster the country’s 2009 growth, which is forecast at 2.1 percent. The agricultural sector (with 4.3 percent growth expected in 2009 depending on weather conditions) is essentially based on rice farming and fishing.
But the part of agriculture that has drawn foreign interest proves to be a mixed blessing.
In northeastern Mondolkiri province, plans by a French company to set up a rubber plantation have created a conflict that symbolizes the double edged sword of globalization. For several months, Bunong, a Montagnards ethnic group, has been fighting against the project – as their farmland gets swallowed up by the rubber company that has an agreement with the Cambodian government. The company is expected to make huge profits, a part of which could return to the community via the salaries of the plantation workers and the development of a new city.
The crisis has forced the government to pay attention to those left behind by globalization. “We thought that the private sector could solve every problem but we have to reconsider the role to be played by the State in order to palliate the deficiencies of the market,” says Hang Chuon Naron, Secretary General of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The crisis has also led the leader of political opposition Sam Rainsy, former Economy Minister, to call for injecting government funds into the economy and for pushing reforms, in particular against endemic corruption. But the government would rather let the storm blow over, waiting for growth to come back in developed countries, hopefully pulling the country out of its recession in the process.
In the meantime, some hopes turn to the mineral, oil and gas resources development. But the revenues from these productions will be mainly derived from exports of raw materials with no local added value, whereas imports of manufactured goods will increase. Even after growth returns, Cambodia will still have to figure out how to hitch its industry to the global economy profitably rather than be a supplier of garments produced by cheap labor. Cambodia is beginning to learn the challenge of being part of an integrated world.
Anne-Laure Porée is a journalist based in Phnom Penh. She can be reached at alporee@hotmail.com.
Rights:© Copyright 2009 Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
Waiting for a rebound, Cambodia needs to be more than dressmaker to the world
Anne-Laure Porée
YaleGlobal , 11 August 2009
PHNOM PENH: Defying the gloom descending on the tourism sector brought about by the global crisis, the capital’s airport recently launched a hopeful initiative: a new airline. Cambodia Angkor Air was launched to boost tourism between the capital and Siem Reap near the famed ruins of Angkor Wat. With tourist arrivals falling sharply since late last year, this may signal a triumph of hope over reality. If anything, the hopes and fears surrounding Cambodia’s tourist revenue and garment trade underline how the fortune of the country has become intertwined with the larger world.
Global misery: Cambodian women workers, who once benefited from foreign orders for garments, are now facing unemployment. (Photo: Anne-Laure Porée)Since peace came to Cambodia in the last years of the last century, the country has emerged as a poster child of globalization in Southeast Asia. In the middle of this decade, Cambodia enjoyed double digit growth and even hoisted itself up to 6th place in the rank of the fastest growing economies for the 1998-2007 period.
And now the country is experiencing the downside of dependence on the world. The sectors most affected by the crisis – tourism and garment export – are the ones that have seen the most development thanks to the integration of Cambodia into the global economy a decade ago, after peace was restored in the country. At this time, the economy was opened to foreign investors, who poured money into the garment industry, taking advantage of supports granted to Cambodia such as the Most Favored Nation (MFN) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP). This status provided access to the American market and it enabled other Asian investors – Chinese in particular – to get round their own quotas or the Least Developed Country status conferred upon them by the United Nations.
But the happy days are now threatened by the shrinking world market. Of the four major pillars of Cambodian economy – the garment industry, tourism, construction and agriculture – three are seriously impaired by the global crisis. With 70 percent of Cambodia’s garment production going to the US, the declining American economy, choosey shoppers and stay-at-home tourists have led to job losses in Cambodia.
The figures released in late July by the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) showed a worse than anticipated loss: exports dropped almost 30 percent and one garment worker in 6 lost her job in the first six months of 2009. Most of these workers are women who transfer a substantial part of their earnings to their family living in rural areas in order to supplement farming-based incomes. In some villages, every family has one or several members working in the garment factories based in the Phnom Penh suburbs. Some go for unpaid leaves or part time jobs, some enter prostitution, but most decide to go back to their village in order to work in the rice fields.
According to Van Sou Ieng, GMAC president, Cambodia is much more severely affected by the crisis than other Asian countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh or China because the industry sector in Cambodia is less competitive. “We need more time to produce than China or Vietnam,” he says. Though the government helps with profit tax exemptions or export charge reductions, there’s no miracle cure for Ieng.
Tourism – the second pillar of the economy – has suffered from the economic crisis, and the fallout from the swine flu. In Siem Reap, located next to the famed Angkor temples, a spot visited by more than 1 million tourists in 2008, the situation is described as “catastrophic” by hotel managers. The hotels’ occupancy rate has fallen 25 percent compared to the same period in 2008. Several three or four star hotels have definitely closed their doors, and the mid-range hotels have been multiplying promotional offers for months.
The drop in Western tourists’ arrivals (down 14 percent during the four first months of 2009 according to the Minister of Tourism) has a direct impact on tourism generated incomes – foreigners spent 1.6 billion dollars in 2008. The Ministry of Economy and Finance expects a drop in tourism growth of 7 to 8 percent this year.
The construction sector is also affected: many foreign investors have delayed, reduced or slowed their projects. The capital Phnom Penh started to change face in 2008 with the building of huge towers, business centers and shopping malls but activity slid in the second half of 2008, leaving workers without employment. Such trends have had significant consequences, particularly among the banking sector. The Acleda bank, which has the largest branch network in all provinces, reported a fall in profits in the second quarter of 2009 because of late payments and less lending. The Cambodians, who speculated on land as investment, are now facing difficulties because the prices of land and real estate have plunged and they can’t sell and get cash.
The hardest hit, of course, are the poorest of the poor who count each riel. For them, any drop in income, as well as any unexpected crisis, immediately results in cutting down the number of meals per day.
Agriculture, the fourth pillar of the Cambodian economy and the least exposed to global currents, could bolster the country’s 2009 growth, which is forecast at 2.1 percent. The agricultural sector (with 4.3 percent growth expected in 2009 depending on weather conditions) is essentially based on rice farming and fishing.
But the part of agriculture that has drawn foreign interest proves to be a mixed blessing.
In northeastern Mondolkiri province, plans by a French company to set up a rubber plantation have created a conflict that symbolizes the double edged sword of globalization. For several months, Bunong, a Montagnards ethnic group, has been fighting against the project – as their farmland gets swallowed up by the rubber company that has an agreement with the Cambodian government. The company is expected to make huge profits, a part of which could return to the community via the salaries of the plantation workers and the development of a new city.
The crisis has forced the government to pay attention to those left behind by globalization. “We thought that the private sector could solve every problem but we have to reconsider the role to be played by the State in order to palliate the deficiencies of the market,” says Hang Chuon Naron, Secretary General of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.
The crisis has also led the leader of political opposition Sam Rainsy, former Economy Minister, to call for injecting government funds into the economy and for pushing reforms, in particular against endemic corruption. But the government would rather let the storm blow over, waiting for growth to come back in developed countries, hopefully pulling the country out of its recession in the process.
In the meantime, some hopes turn to the mineral, oil and gas resources development. But the revenues from these productions will be mainly derived from exports of raw materials with no local added value, whereas imports of manufactured goods will increase. Even after growth returns, Cambodia will still have to figure out how to hitch its industry to the global economy profitably rather than be a supplier of garments produced by cheap labor. Cambodia is beginning to learn the challenge of being part of an integrated world.
Anne-Laure Porée is a journalist based in Phnom Penh. She can be reached at alporee@hotmail.com.
Rights:© Copyright 2009 Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
S Korea's Hyundai Group to build vehicle assembling factory in Cambodia: ambassador
People's Daily Online
20:26, October 14, 2009
Hyundai Company of South Korea will build a vehicle assembling factory in Cambodia, South Korean ambassador to Cambodia said on Wednesday.
"The vehicle assembling factory will be opened in coastal Koh Kong Province," Lee Kyung Soo, South Korean ambassador here told reporters in a news conference on the state visit of South Korea president Lee Myung Bak to Cambodian on Oct. 22-23.
The press conference is organized by the club of Cambodian Journalists.
But Lee Kyung Soo did not give the details about the amount invested by Hyundai in Cambodia. Deputy Director General of Hyundai Group already paid a visit to Cambodia a few days ago, LeeKyung Soo said.
The press release from South Korean Embassy in Phnom Penh said that Camko Motor Company is building a Hyundai car assembly factory in Koh Koh province, about 370 km southwest of capital Phnom Penh. It covered land area of 165,000 square meters with two facilities for maintenance and dormitory. It can assemble 3,000 cars per year and the type of car including SUV, Van and other cars.
According to Lee Kyung Soo, South Korea's investment in Cambodia last year was worth about 1,238 million U.S. dollars, but for the first six months of this year, the investment decreased about 58 percent compared with the same period of last year because of the global financial crisis. South Korea's investment in Cambodia focuses on the rubber plantation, mines, energy, oil and gas, real estate, tourism, construction, agri-industry, Lee Kyung Soo said.
For the bilateral trade between the two countries in 2008, Cambodia imported about 309 million U.S. dollars worth of products from South Korea and Cambodia's export to South Korea about 294 million U.S. dollars. So far this year the two-way trade volume is worth about 120 million U.S. dollars. Both sides will try to foster more trade volume, Lee Kyung Soo said.
Source:Xinhua
20:26, October 14, 2009
Hyundai Company of South Korea will build a vehicle assembling factory in Cambodia, South Korean ambassador to Cambodia said on Wednesday.
"The vehicle assembling factory will be opened in coastal Koh Kong Province," Lee Kyung Soo, South Korean ambassador here told reporters in a news conference on the state visit of South Korea president Lee Myung Bak to Cambodian on Oct. 22-23.
The press conference is organized by the club of Cambodian Journalists.
But Lee Kyung Soo did not give the details about the amount invested by Hyundai in Cambodia. Deputy Director General of Hyundai Group already paid a visit to Cambodia a few days ago, LeeKyung Soo said.
The press release from South Korean Embassy in Phnom Penh said that Camko Motor Company is building a Hyundai car assembly factory in Koh Koh province, about 370 km southwest of capital Phnom Penh. It covered land area of 165,000 square meters with two facilities for maintenance and dormitory. It can assemble 3,000 cars per year and the type of car including SUV, Van and other cars.
According to Lee Kyung Soo, South Korea's investment in Cambodia last year was worth about 1,238 million U.S. dollars, but for the first six months of this year, the investment decreased about 58 percent compared with the same period of last year because of the global financial crisis. South Korea's investment in Cambodia focuses on the rubber plantation, mines, energy, oil and gas, real estate, tourism, construction, agri-industry, Lee Kyung Soo said.
For the bilateral trade between the two countries in 2008, Cambodia imported about 309 million U.S. dollars worth of products from South Korea and Cambodia's export to South Korea about 294 million U.S. dollars. So far this year the two-way trade volume is worth about 120 million U.S. dollars. Both sides will try to foster more trade volume, Lee Kyung Soo said.
Source:Xinhua
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Cambodians Win Trophy for Bravery and The Hearts of Many at Homeless World Cup in Milan
Posted by Cambodia - 17/09/2009
Six young men have returned to Cambodia, with memories but with a special trophy awarded for their bravery. They know that whilst they may not have won the Cup, they certainly won the hearts and minds of those who witnessed their bravery, courage and superb efforts in their second Homeless World Cup event.
Winning against Japan in the semi final saw these brave young men take on the more physically dominant players of the Belgium team at the final, but it did not intimidate these substantially smaller players.
Belgium lead the game, and in the second half Cambodia fought back from 7-1 down and goal keeper Viet Kung made impressive saves to keep them in the match. The final score was 8 - 5 to Belgium.
After the game the players were congratulated and presented with medals. At the final whistle, the players were mobbed by other teams and spectators who wanted to share the joy of the experience of being at the Homeless World Cup.
Each of them, like celebrities, were asked for photos and a continual chant “Cambodia” filled the stadium. This encouragement could have only filled that feeling of disappointment that lingered amongst team members after they lost the last game.
Coach Jimmy Campbell was impressed by the efforts and spirit of the players.” Against some odds they managed to still play really well and I commend them on their courage and their sportsmanship” he said.
Patrick Cassidy (member of Homeless World Cup Foundation) was spectating the event and commented on the courage of the team after watching the game.
“Courage came to mind when I saw Cambodia play on the pitch with Belgium. Much physically stronger players, but these young men worked as a team and played with their hearts. That is what this event is about,” he said.
The emotion of that moment was captured by a spectator Karen Tuch who said “The amount of support and encouragement that has been shown to the Cambodians has been amazing. The crowds and other players love Cambodia and I think showing this kind of support to countries like such as this is what this tournament is about.”
Whilst getting to the tournament was an achievement for Cambodia, their playing throughout the week was impressive. They played their first match against Switzerland with a final score of 6 – 4 to Switzerland, they won their second match against Croatia on penalties after a thrilling 6 – 6 game, and a narrow defeat against hosts Italy 7 - 9 and on the fifth day they won both matches thrashing Spain 12 – 2 and Japan 10 – 1.
Proving that there is more than one way to score a goal at the Homeless World Cup, from getting on a plane for the first time, the players enjoyed an afternoon at San Siro stadium, a tour around the centre of Milano and one player even got to meet Formula One Champion Lewis Hamilton.
Team Manager and chairperson of (HFCA) Happy Football Cambodia Australia the coordinating body that got the team to Milano, is really proud of the efforts of the young men who journeyed a long way and proved their bravery and courage throughout the tournament.
“These young men come from one of the poorest nations in the world. They have had a tremendous amount of support this tournament and are returning home after an event that has and will change their lives forever. We are really proud the bravery award went to Cambodia, they really deserve it”. He said.
One can only imagine how this has impacted these young men from the streets of Cambodia. But anyone who met them, anyone who saw the smile on their faces will realise, that this is a moment in their lives which means that they have changed forever.
The team will be able to now share their memories and experiences to others in their community.
Six young men have returned to Cambodia, with memories but with a special trophy awarded for their bravery. They know that whilst they may not have won the Cup, they certainly won the hearts and minds of those who witnessed their bravery, courage and superb efforts in their second Homeless World Cup event.
Winning against Japan in the semi final saw these brave young men take on the more physically dominant players of the Belgium team at the final, but it did not intimidate these substantially smaller players.
Belgium lead the game, and in the second half Cambodia fought back from 7-1 down and goal keeper Viet Kung made impressive saves to keep them in the match. The final score was 8 - 5 to Belgium.
After the game the players were congratulated and presented with medals. At the final whistle, the players were mobbed by other teams and spectators who wanted to share the joy of the experience of being at the Homeless World Cup.
Each of them, like celebrities, were asked for photos and a continual chant “Cambodia” filled the stadium. This encouragement could have only filled that feeling of disappointment that lingered amongst team members after they lost the last game.
Coach Jimmy Campbell was impressed by the efforts and spirit of the players.” Against some odds they managed to still play really well and I commend them on their courage and their sportsmanship” he said.
Patrick Cassidy (member of Homeless World Cup Foundation) was spectating the event and commented on the courage of the team after watching the game.
“Courage came to mind when I saw Cambodia play on the pitch with Belgium. Much physically stronger players, but these young men worked as a team and played with their hearts. That is what this event is about,” he said.
The emotion of that moment was captured by a spectator Karen Tuch who said “The amount of support and encouragement that has been shown to the Cambodians has been amazing. The crowds and other players love Cambodia and I think showing this kind of support to countries like such as this is what this tournament is about.”
Whilst getting to the tournament was an achievement for Cambodia, their playing throughout the week was impressive. They played their first match against Switzerland with a final score of 6 – 4 to Switzerland, they won their second match against Croatia on penalties after a thrilling 6 – 6 game, and a narrow defeat against hosts Italy 7 - 9 and on the fifth day they won both matches thrashing Spain 12 – 2 and Japan 10 – 1.
Proving that there is more than one way to score a goal at the Homeless World Cup, from getting on a plane for the first time, the players enjoyed an afternoon at San Siro stadium, a tour around the centre of Milano and one player even got to meet Formula One Champion Lewis Hamilton.
Team Manager and chairperson of (HFCA) Happy Football Cambodia Australia the coordinating body that got the team to Milano, is really proud of the efforts of the young men who journeyed a long way and proved their bravery and courage throughout the tournament.
“These young men come from one of the poorest nations in the world. They have had a tremendous amount of support this tournament and are returning home after an event that has and will change their lives forever. We are really proud the bravery award went to Cambodia, they really deserve it”. He said.
One can only imagine how this has impacted these young men from the streets of Cambodia. But anyone who met them, anyone who saw the smile on their faces will realise, that this is a moment in their lives which means that they have changed forever.
The team will be able to now share their memories and experiences to others in their community.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Cambodian refugee among 10 Americans chosen to receive national award
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to present Sonith Peou with the 2009 Community Health Leaders Award for providing health services to the Southeast Asian immigrants
PRINCETON, N.J. (October 8, 2009) — The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) today announced its selection of Sonith Peou, program director of the Metta Health Center in Lowell, Mass., to receive a Community Health Leaders Award. He is one of 10 extraordinary Americans who will receive the RWJF honor for 2009 at a ceremony this evening at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Peou is being honored for his work to provide culturally competent services for Southeast Asian immigrants in Lowell, Mass., helping them to become healthy, economically independent citizens. "Sonith Peou has triumphed over tragedy in order to provide health care services to disadvantaged immigrants in the United States, many of whom were persecuted in their home countries," said Janice Ford Griffin, national program director for the award.
Peou helped to establish the Metta Health Center, an initiative of the Lowell Community Health Center, and he designed the facility to look like a clinic in Cambodia. He staffed it with native speakers and incorporated elements of Eastern medicine that are more traditional in Asian countries. Today, the Metta Health Center provides culturally competent health care services to thousands of Cambodians, Laotians and Vietnamese. Like other community clinics, the center focuses on preventive care and tries to keep members of the community out of the emergency room.
"I am very grateful for this award, but it would not have been possible without the strong and supportive leadership of the Lowell Community Health Center, whose leaders believed in this project," said Peou, who emigrated from Cambodia in 1981. "I hope this award will bring attention to the importance of providing quality health care to immigrants, as good health is the cornerstone to healing and making a better life."
The chief executive officer of the Lowell Community Health Center, Dorcas Grigg-Saito, said of Peou that he is a "born leader" who has risen to become one of the most respected Cambodian-American leaders in the Greater Lowell area, as well as nationally. "Throughout his work, Sonith displays a level of loving kindness and compassion (the definition of 'metta' in Khmer) that has created a welcoming atmosphere that engages a truly underserved population in ongoing primary and preventive care and ultimately better health outcomes," Grigg-Saito said.
The Community Health Leaders Award honors exceptional men and women from all over the country who overcome significant obstacles to tackle some of the most challenging health and health care problems facing their communities and the nation. The award elevates the work of the leaders by raising awareness of their extraordinary contributions through national visibility, a $125,000 award and networking opportunities. This year the Foundation received 532 nominations from across the United States and selected 10 outstanding individuals who have worked to improve health conditions in their communities with exceptional creativity, courage and commitment.
There are nine other 2009 Community Health Leaders in addition to Peou. Their work includes oral health services for remote communities; self-directed care for persons with physical disabilities; a marriage between health care and legal aid; a mentoring program to help disadvantaged youth pursue health careers; care for victims of torture; an innovative approach to combat obesity; quality health services for Native American elders; family planning and health services for women, men and teens; and mental health services for the underserved.
Since 1993 the program has honored more than 160 Community Health Leaders in nearly every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Nominations can be submitted for the 2010 Community Health Leaders Award through October 15, 2009. For details on how to submit a nomination, including eligibility requirements and selection criteria, visit www.communityhealthleaders.org.
###
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) established the Community Health Leaders (CHL) Award to recognize individuals who overcome daunting obstacles to improve health and health care in their communities. Today, there are 173 outstanding Community Health Leaders in nearly all states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit www.communityhealthleaders.org.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.
PRINCETON, N.J. (October 8, 2009) — The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) today announced its selection of Sonith Peou, program director of the Metta Health Center in Lowell, Mass., to receive a Community Health Leaders Award. He is one of 10 extraordinary Americans who will receive the RWJF honor for 2009 at a ceremony this evening at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C.
Peou is being honored for his work to provide culturally competent services for Southeast Asian immigrants in Lowell, Mass., helping them to become healthy, economically independent citizens. "Sonith Peou has triumphed over tragedy in order to provide health care services to disadvantaged immigrants in the United States, many of whom were persecuted in their home countries," said Janice Ford Griffin, national program director for the award.
Peou helped to establish the Metta Health Center, an initiative of the Lowell Community Health Center, and he designed the facility to look like a clinic in Cambodia. He staffed it with native speakers and incorporated elements of Eastern medicine that are more traditional in Asian countries. Today, the Metta Health Center provides culturally competent health care services to thousands of Cambodians, Laotians and Vietnamese. Like other community clinics, the center focuses on preventive care and tries to keep members of the community out of the emergency room.
"I am very grateful for this award, but it would not have been possible without the strong and supportive leadership of the Lowell Community Health Center, whose leaders believed in this project," said Peou, who emigrated from Cambodia in 1981. "I hope this award will bring attention to the importance of providing quality health care to immigrants, as good health is the cornerstone to healing and making a better life."
The chief executive officer of the Lowell Community Health Center, Dorcas Grigg-Saito, said of Peou that he is a "born leader" who has risen to become one of the most respected Cambodian-American leaders in the Greater Lowell area, as well as nationally. "Throughout his work, Sonith displays a level of loving kindness and compassion (the definition of 'metta' in Khmer) that has created a welcoming atmosphere that engages a truly underserved population in ongoing primary and preventive care and ultimately better health outcomes," Grigg-Saito said.
The Community Health Leaders Award honors exceptional men and women from all over the country who overcome significant obstacles to tackle some of the most challenging health and health care problems facing their communities and the nation. The award elevates the work of the leaders by raising awareness of their extraordinary contributions through national visibility, a $125,000 award and networking opportunities. This year the Foundation received 532 nominations from across the United States and selected 10 outstanding individuals who have worked to improve health conditions in their communities with exceptional creativity, courage and commitment.
There are nine other 2009 Community Health Leaders in addition to Peou. Their work includes oral health services for remote communities; self-directed care for persons with physical disabilities; a marriage between health care and legal aid; a mentoring program to help disadvantaged youth pursue health careers; care for victims of torture; an innovative approach to combat obesity; quality health services for Native American elders; family planning and health services for women, men and teens; and mental health services for the underserved.
Since 1993 the program has honored more than 160 Community Health Leaders in nearly every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Nominations can be submitted for the 2010 Community Health Leaders Award through October 15, 2009. For details on how to submit a nomination, including eligibility requirements and selection criteria, visit www.communityhealthleaders.org.
###
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) established the Community Health Leaders (CHL) Award to recognize individuals who overcome daunting obstacles to improve health and health care in their communities. Today, there are 173 outstanding Community Health Leaders in nearly all states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. For more information, visit www.communityhealthleaders.org.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on the pressing health and health care issues facing our country. As the nation's largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of all Americans, the Foundation works with a diverse group of organizations and individuals to identify solutions and achieve comprehensive, meaningful and timely change. For more than 35 years, the Foundation has brought experience, commitment, and a rigorous, balanced approach to the problems that affect the health and health care of those it serves. When it comes to helping Americans lead healthier lives and get the care they need, the Foundation expects to make a difference in your lifetime. For more information, visit www.rwjf.org.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
After delays, Cambodia rekindles stock market dream
Thanhniennews.com
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 6, 2009 11:33:12 Vietnam (GMT+07)
Construction cranes and unfinished high-rise buildings surround the silty marshland where a year from now Cambodia hopes to turn the page on decades of upheaval by opening a stock exchange.
The idea of a Cambodian stockmarket has been floated since the 1990s but has struggled for traction in a country known for a culture of political impunity, chronic poverty and a history of violence, including the Khmer Rouge "Killing Fields."
But authorities argue those days are over and plan to sign a deal this month with World City Co Ltd, a South Korean-backed developer, to start building a $6 million, four-storey stock exchange on the waterfront of a new financial district.
"We want to do it next year," Mey Vann, director of the financial industry department at Cambodia's Ministry of Economy and Finance, said in an interview. "It'll be good timing for us with the economic recovery."
It was supposed to open in September, a target set last year when South Korea's stock exchange operator agreed with the Cambodian government to set up and run a joint stock exchange.
But the global financial crisis intervened, ending an unprecedented boom which saw Cambodia's economy expand 10 percent annually in the five years up to 2008. Foreign investment collapsed, tourist arrivals fell by double digits and garment exports, a mainstay of the economy, shrank by 15 percent.
In recent weeks, Cambodian officials have cautioned against moving too fast, in some cases questioning whether a country whose education system was decimated during Pol Pot's 1975-79 reign of terror is ready to invest in stocks.
"We've been waiting for a green light," said Intyo Lee, project director for Korea Exchange, Asia's fourth-largest bourse operator which will own 49 percent of the exchange and is recruiting and training workers for it. Cambodian will own the rest.
"We're pretty much ready," he added, "but many people say it's too early. The government is trying to build consensus."
Starting small
The exchange expects to start small with just four or five companies issuing about $10 million worth of shares each, said Lee. That's comparable to neighboring Vietnam's first stock market launched in 2000 with its initial market capitalization of $43 million. Today, Vietnam's market is worth $27 billion.
Yet there are risks to Cambodian investors. In Vietnam, most of the investors were local, often unaware of the risks, and many were burned as the market steered a rollercoaster course. Meanwhile, foreign investors largely sought to dip into the potential high returns of an emerging frontier market while hedging their bets with a highly diversified portfolio.
Like its neighbor, Cambodia is giving privatizing state companies priority with a place to sell stock. The Finance Ministry has asked three state-owned companies to list shares: Telecom Cambodia, port operator Sihanoukville Autonomous Port and the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority.
Some of those companies have a simple question: why do it?
"We don't have any financial constraints. I don't understand the reasons we are going to be listed," said Ek Sonn Chan, who runs the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, which employs about 600 people, has about $200 million in assets and generates about $25 million in annual revenue. He said the company is profitable.
"If we become a public company, maybe we are more responsible, more transparent and maybe we can help the government allocate financial support to our company. But in the meantime, we don't know much about how it happens. It's very new to Cambodia, very new to me," he said.
Others say the timing may not be right for some time. Foreign direct investment nearly halved to an estimated $490 million from $815 million in 2008, according to the International Monetary Fund, which expects Cambodia's economy to shrink nearly 3 percent this year before growing about 4 percent next year.
Most of the disappearing capital had flowed into construction projects, including a $2 billion satellite city on the outskirts of the capital Phnom Penh where the exchange will be built.
Developed by South Korean-backed World City, the two-year-old project known as Camko City aims to create a new financial district by 2018 spread over 125 hectares, complete with glass-walled office towers for stockbrokers, upmarket apartments, securities regulator offices and sleek retail spaces.
But construction has slowed, said Kim Duk-kon, a vice president at World City. Although the first phase is nearly complete with many of the residential villas built and sold, subsequent phases are on hold after capital dried up.
Flooded swampland
The area where the stock exchange will be built is flooded swampland on the edge of Boeung Kak Lake in the heart of the city. The Finance Ministry said the end of the rainy season this month will allow workers to begin building the exchange on the corner of what developers are calling Phnom Penh Boulevard.
Cambodian officials rejected an initial design, saying the exchange's exterior was too modern and not Cambodian enough. It has since been redesigned using traditional Khmer accents.
Vann at the Finance Ministry and Kim said a news conference this month will announce construction of the exchange. A new Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia, he added, is drafting market regulations that will be issued soon.
"We have a very good team at the Securities and Exchange Commission. They graduated from overseas. They are new blood in terms of enforcement of the law," he said. "Our law is very strict in terms of speculation."
Some observers are unconvinced and say authorities need to demonstrate how investors will be protected in a country with a reputation for corruption at nearly every level of the bureaucracy. Some fear speculative gambling by public employees.
David Cowen, deputy division chief for the International Monetary Fund's Asia and Pacific Department, met recently with the new securities regulator and urged its officials to work closely with the central National Bank of Cambodia.
He said the Commission would soon issue operational guidelines on securities firms. The IMF wants to see if those rules are consistent with banking laws and recognize the central National Bank of Cambodia's role as the nation's chief regulator.
Source: Bloomberg
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 6, 2009 11:33:12 Vietnam (GMT+07)
Construction cranes and unfinished high-rise buildings surround the silty marshland where a year from now Cambodia hopes to turn the page on decades of upheaval by opening a stock exchange.
The idea of a Cambodian stockmarket has been floated since the 1990s but has struggled for traction in a country known for a culture of political impunity, chronic poverty and a history of violence, including the Khmer Rouge "Killing Fields."
But authorities argue those days are over and plan to sign a deal this month with World City Co Ltd, a South Korean-backed developer, to start building a $6 million, four-storey stock exchange on the waterfront of a new financial district.
"We want to do it next year," Mey Vann, director of the financial industry department at Cambodia's Ministry of Economy and Finance, said in an interview. "It'll be good timing for us with the economic recovery."
It was supposed to open in September, a target set last year when South Korea's stock exchange operator agreed with the Cambodian government to set up and run a joint stock exchange.
But the global financial crisis intervened, ending an unprecedented boom which saw Cambodia's economy expand 10 percent annually in the five years up to 2008. Foreign investment collapsed, tourist arrivals fell by double digits and garment exports, a mainstay of the economy, shrank by 15 percent.
In recent weeks, Cambodian officials have cautioned against moving too fast, in some cases questioning whether a country whose education system was decimated during Pol Pot's 1975-79 reign of terror is ready to invest in stocks.
"We've been waiting for a green light," said Intyo Lee, project director for Korea Exchange, Asia's fourth-largest bourse operator which will own 49 percent of the exchange and is recruiting and training workers for it. Cambodian will own the rest.
"We're pretty much ready," he added, "but many people say it's too early. The government is trying to build consensus."
Starting small
The exchange expects to start small with just four or five companies issuing about $10 million worth of shares each, said Lee. That's comparable to neighboring Vietnam's first stock market launched in 2000 with its initial market capitalization of $43 million. Today, Vietnam's market is worth $27 billion.
Yet there are risks to Cambodian investors. In Vietnam, most of the investors were local, often unaware of the risks, and many were burned as the market steered a rollercoaster course. Meanwhile, foreign investors largely sought to dip into the potential high returns of an emerging frontier market while hedging their bets with a highly diversified portfolio.
Like its neighbor, Cambodia is giving privatizing state companies priority with a place to sell stock. The Finance Ministry has asked three state-owned companies to list shares: Telecom Cambodia, port operator Sihanoukville Autonomous Port and the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority.
Some of those companies have a simple question: why do it?
"We don't have any financial constraints. I don't understand the reasons we are going to be listed," said Ek Sonn Chan, who runs the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority, which employs about 600 people, has about $200 million in assets and generates about $25 million in annual revenue. He said the company is profitable.
"If we become a public company, maybe we are more responsible, more transparent and maybe we can help the government allocate financial support to our company. But in the meantime, we don't know much about how it happens. It's very new to Cambodia, very new to me," he said.
Others say the timing may not be right for some time. Foreign direct investment nearly halved to an estimated $490 million from $815 million in 2008, according to the International Monetary Fund, which expects Cambodia's economy to shrink nearly 3 percent this year before growing about 4 percent next year.
Most of the disappearing capital had flowed into construction projects, including a $2 billion satellite city on the outskirts of the capital Phnom Penh where the exchange will be built.
Developed by South Korean-backed World City, the two-year-old project known as Camko City aims to create a new financial district by 2018 spread over 125 hectares, complete with glass-walled office towers for stockbrokers, upmarket apartments, securities regulator offices and sleek retail spaces.
But construction has slowed, said Kim Duk-kon, a vice president at World City. Although the first phase is nearly complete with many of the residential villas built and sold, subsequent phases are on hold after capital dried up.
Flooded swampland
The area where the stock exchange will be built is flooded swampland on the edge of Boeung Kak Lake in the heart of the city. The Finance Ministry said the end of the rainy season this month will allow workers to begin building the exchange on the corner of what developers are calling Phnom Penh Boulevard.
Cambodian officials rejected an initial design, saying the exchange's exterior was too modern and not Cambodian enough. It has since been redesigned using traditional Khmer accents.
Vann at the Finance Ministry and Kim said a news conference this month will announce construction of the exchange. A new Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia, he added, is drafting market regulations that will be issued soon.
"We have a very good team at the Securities and Exchange Commission. They graduated from overseas. They are new blood in terms of enforcement of the law," he said. "Our law is very strict in terms of speculation."
Some observers are unconvinced and say authorities need to demonstrate how investors will be protected in a country with a reputation for corruption at nearly every level of the bureaucracy. Some fear speculative gambling by public employees.
David Cowen, deputy division chief for the International Monetary Fund's Asia and Pacific Department, met recently with the new securities regulator and urged its officials to work closely with the central National Bank of Cambodia.
He said the Commission would soon issue operational guidelines on securities firms. The IMF wants to see if those rules are consistent with banking laws and recognize the central National Bank of Cambodia's role as the nation's chief regulator.
Source: Bloomberg
In Brief: Bourse prakas passed
The Phnom Penh Post
Tuesday, 06 October 2009 15:00 Nguon Sovan
CAMBODIA’S securities regulator signed off on two prakas (edicts) Friday, one regulating securities firms and the other setting out rules for operators within the securities market, said a statement Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC). The prakas are part of 30 being prepared by the SECC to run the bourse, it said. Among the minimum financial requirements set, securities firms wishing to underwrite offerings must have minimum capital of US$9.52 million, dealers $6 million, brokers $1.42 million and investment advisors $0.97 million, the prakas said.
Tuesday, 06 October 2009 15:00 Nguon Sovan
CAMBODIA’S securities regulator signed off on two prakas (edicts) Friday, one regulating securities firms and the other setting out rules for operators within the securities market, said a statement Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Cambodia (SECC). The prakas are part of 30 being prepared by the SECC to run the bourse, it said. Among the minimum financial requirements set, securities firms wishing to underwrite offerings must have minimum capital of US$9.52 million, dealers $6 million, brokers $1.42 million and investment advisors $0.97 million, the prakas said.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Cambodia is not a Province of Thailand: (Suvaṇṇabhūmi is just the Name of an Airport)
October 1st, 2009 · No Comments · Culture វប្បធម៌, History ប្រវត្តិសាស្រ្ត
By Eisel Mazard*
July, 2009
§1.
“Suvaṇṇabhūmi” is not just the name of an airport: it has been an important part of Thai propaganda for over 100 years. Today, the myth of “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” is used to claim that all of Cambodia, Laos and even Vietnam were formerly part of Thailand, but were later “lost” in a series of wars. This article presents a series of facts about the real history of Southeast Asia. The original text was written in simplified English, intended for translation.
Many Thai people alive today heard about “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” from their grandparents, so they assume this is a very old idea. Many Thai people grew up hearing propaganda that their ancient homeland was in Yunnan (a province in China, north of Laos) –but then the message changed. Sometimes the government tells them the ancient homeland is “here” in this ancient kingdom called “Suvaṇṇabhūmi”, sometimes they say it is in Shan State (now part of Burma), sometimes in Southern China or even further north than China, in Mongolia. Sometimes the government tells them to hate the Burmese, sometimes the Chinese, sometimes Cambodians. They told their people to hate and fear Communists, but (at the same time) they supported the Khmer Rouge. The result is that Thai people are genuinely confused about their own history.
Most Thai people do not hate Cambodians. Most Thai people know that Thailand is full of ancient Khmer monuments, but they do not know why. Despite everything their government tells them, most Thai people know they received their Buddhist tradition from Cambodia: when they get Buddhist tattoos, or buy magic amulets, they always want the writing to be in old-fashioned Khmer letters. When they visit museums and ancient ruins, they see that the old stones are written in Khmer letters, too. Most Thai people know that Phimai (north of the city of Korat) is an important place, but do not understand why the ancient city there is Cambodian (not Thai). They visit places like Lopburi, and can see that the oldest buildings there are Cambodian (not Thai) but they do not understand why.
When people are confused, sometimes they get angry. However, many of Thai people are willing to listen to the truth about their country’s history. The new propaganda that Thailand’s kings lost so much territory contradicts some of the older propaganda. Most Thai people learned that the same kings expanded the country’s territory in the same period of history. Nobody in Thailand wants to believe that King Rama V lost territory (even if the new government propaganda says so). Most Thai people would be offended if you said that all these famous Kings lost so many wars, and lost so much territory: most of the history they already know is about the same kings winning wars and expanding Thailand’s territory.
So, the present political conflict is an opportunity to learn about history; understanding the history will help us to understand the conflict.
§2.
What is the earliest origin of the “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” propaganda? The answer is very easy for English people to read about, but very difficult to find if you are reading in Thai or Khmer. A man named James Prinsep translated many important stone inscriptions in India, and published his research in 1837. That may seem like a long time ago, but this is modern history: before 1837, nobody in Thailand was interested in “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” and almost nobody knew the name of the emperor “Ashoka”.
After James Prinsep translated the inscriptions of Ashoka into English, people in Southeast Asia became very excited about the earliest origins of Buddhism (and began re-writing history). In Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, new myths were written, trying to prove that this ancient emperor in India sent “Buddhist Missionaries” to their own countries.
In Burma, interpretations trying to prove that Burmese Buddhism came directly from India were published; at the same time, in Thailand people tried to interpret the same stone inscriptions in another way to prove that Buddhism came to Thailand first, not Burma.
Some of this was “nationalist propaganda”, but some of it was just silly enthusiasm. Europeans scholars had published exciting “news” about the ancient world, and it changed the way people thought about the history of Buddhism. 100 years later, it had changed the way people think about nationalism, too. Still today, most people in Thailand have a vague sense that “Ashoka” was an important King, who somehow “gave” Buddhism to Thailand. It isn’t true, but people have been talking about it since 1837.
What is the truth? The truth is that Ashoka lived around the year 260 B.C. (more than 2,200 years ago!). It is important to think clearly about just how ancient that is. Ashoka lived more than 1000 years before the oldest Pali and Sanskrit inscriptions ever found in Cambodia. At that time, there were no Thai people in “Thailand” and Angkor Wat did not exist. Nobody in Southeast Asia was Buddhist at that time. The Emperor Ashoka was important because he helped to establish Buddhism in India and Sri Lanka. The truth is that Buddhism arrived in Cambodia much later than Ashoka (almost 1000 years later!).
Anyone who can read Pali can read the inscriptions of Ashoka themselves (the language used is similar to Pali, however, it is not correct to say that they are written in Pali, as there are differences of spelling and dialect). Most of the difficult work in transcribing and translating Ashoka’s inscriptions was already finished 100 years ago. Unfortunately, while these books are available in English, they are not published Cambodian; if would be wonderful if charities in Phnom Penh started to support translation projects of this kind. (For example, Alfred C. Woolner’s book from 1924, titled Asoka: Text and Glossary, could be translated into Khmer.)
§3.
Many people who grew up in Thailand will now be asking, “What about the story of the two monks Soṇa and Uttara? The Thai government did not invent that story!” While it is true that the story comes from Sri Lanka (not Thailand) most of the propaganda does mis-represent the story.
The Thai museums imply that the journey of Soṇa and Uttara (from India to Thailand) is recorded in the edicts of Ashoka (this is not true), and then they suggest that the story records a series of historical and political facts. They never tell you who the author of this story is: it was not written by the Buddha, and not by the emperor Ashoka either! They do not really tell you what the story is about, or why it is supposed to be important.
The simple truth is that the story of Soṇa and Uttara is a fable. It does not say anything about Thailand, and it does not name any Thai king; it does not describe any historical event in Thailand, and it is not even a story about two Indian monks going to Thailand.
It is a story about two monks who go to a magical kingdom where a sea-monster (nāga) is eating all of the king’s sons. The monks have an adventure trying to defeat this sea-monster. In the end, they magically protect the kingdom by chanting in Pali. This impresses the local people, who then convert to Buddhism. To thank the two monks, the Royal family decides to name the new prince “Soṇuttara”, combining their names; in fact, out of gratitude, they vow to name all of their kings “Soṇuttara” in the future. This is possibly a joke that doesn’t translate very well: “Soṇa” means “Dog” in Pali, and “Uttara” means “ultimate”.
There is no reason for anyone to think that the “Golden-land” mentioned in this story is Thailand. Everything about the story seems to describe a place in ancient India but even so, it is a magical place: it is possible that no specific place in the real world was alluded to. There is no reason why any sane person would think this story contains historical facts of political importance.
Does anyone in Thailand really know how silly this story is? It was translated into English for the first time over 100 years ago, in 1908 (Wilhelm Geiger’s translation of the Mahāvaṃsa); the Thai propaganda about Soṇa and Uttara was probably based on that English-language source. This is a common pattern in Thai propaganda: is easier to read English translations than to study the original Pali. A lot of the pseudo-history of Thailand was inspired by European research that was new at the time.
The story of Soṇa and Uttara was written in medieval Sri Lanka (not in ancient India); while some stories of that period contain historical information, this particular story is just a fable intended to entertain children. For 100 years, many Western scholars have pointed to evidence that this Suvaṇṇabhūmi was within mainland India, while others have suggested it was western Burma. The truth is that it doesn’t matter where it was: this “golden land” mentioned in a fable is completely irrelevant to the history of Thailand. The story itself was totally unknown in Thailand until modern governments started making propaganda out of it.
§4.
The propaganda about “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” became more important in a series of wars in the 20th century.
When Prince Damrong wrote the history of Thailand, he created the myth that Thai people originated in Mongolia (in mountains further north than China), and that they formerly had a kingdom in Yunnan (South-Western China, further north than Laos). The myth is that the Thais were the rulers and inhabitants of the “Nan-Chao” kingdom; this was the name of a real kingdom in Yunnan, but the idea that it was populated by Thai people is fiction.
Prince Damrong invented this theory. He wrote that the Thai people were driven out of China in the year 143 B.C., but even the number is a complete fiction. There was never any evidence that this happened; still today, there is no evidence. There is no source for the event (nor for the specific year) except the imagination of Prince Damrong. He also invented the number 5000 B.C. for the year of the Thai migration from Mongolia to Yunnan. This allows a few thousand years for them to walk to Dali (大理 in the middle of Yunnan province, also written “Tali-fu” in old books) and rule the Nan-Chao kingdom (starting around 2200 B.C.). It is all fiction: neither Mongolia nor Dali have anything to do with the history of the Thai people.
There is not one stone inscription anywhere in China to prove Damrong’s theory, but Cambodia is full of inscriptions that record the truth about Thailand’s history. And the truth is that most of Thailand was formerly part of Cambodia.
This is not news. Many Thai authors have already written critiques of Prince Damrong’s history, including Nidhi Eoseewong (who is probably the most famous and respected Thai historian of the last 50 years). For a good article on the history of writing history in Thailand, see: Charmavit Kasetsiri, “Thai Historiography from Ancient Times to the Modern Period”. This article was published in a book called _Perceptions of the Past in South East Asia_, in 1979, by the Asian Studies Association of Australia. (Maybe this should have a Khmer translation too?) More recently, Suriya Ratanakul has published criticism of Thai origin theories from a linguistic perspective (e.g., “Tai People and their Languages”, Mahidol, 1990). Many Thai scholars have contributed reasonable perspectives on these historical issues to the International Conference of Thai Studies (a forum that is deemed “safe” for criticizing official propaganda, perhaps because it is predominantly conducted in English).
Apart from the fact that Prince Damrong’s myth isn’t true, we have a lot of confusion because the propaganda keeps changing.
The “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” theory began with the idea that Thai people left China (moving from North to South) and conquered a large part of Southeast Asia. As simple as this sounds, the theory already has a problem, because 143 B.C. is several centuries too late for the Emperor Ashoka to send his missionaries to Thailand: even if we wanted to believe Damrong, there could be no Thai people in Thailand to welcome their guests from India (ca. 260 B.C.). There is another problem today, because people in Thailand are now taught that they are the descendants of the people preserved in Ban Chieng who were already in Isan (N.E. Thailand) 6,500 years ago (but this site had not yet been discovered in Damrong’s time).
Cambodia did not fit into that propaganda very well, and Damrong’s work doesn’t really attempt to explain the history of Laos, Vietnam or Cambodia (it just asserts Thailand’s history, without making it coherent with any of the evidence from adjacent countries). However, while Damrong was still alive, the Thais had new problems on their Eastern frontier, and started to write new propaganda in response to it.
The “advantage” of Damrong’s version of history was that it justified Thailand starting a war to conquer Shan State. Damrong’s most famous book on history is simply titled “Thai Fight Burma”, published in 1917. Most of his theories are anti-Burmese and anti-Chinese. So, in the beginning, “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” was used to justify wars to expand Thailand to the North and to the West.
In 1931, Luang Wichitwathakan published his version of Thai history. He later became the head of the “Department of Fine Arts” and spent his life producing propaganda. His efforts were not limited to writing books: he also produced dramas performed on stage and songs broadcast on radio. He was a major influence in Thai popular culture, as well as in the “high culture” of written history. There was a transition in the 1930s from Prince Damrong’s propaganda to Luang Wichitwathakan’s version. Damrong felt that he was excluded from Thailand’s politics after 1932. In fact, Damrong’s books continued to be used in classrooms, but they did not feature the new ideas that Thai propaganda was then concerned with (”Communism”, “Democracy”, etc.).
§5.
Thai History was written and re-written rapidly in the years leading up to World War Two. When the Thais (very briefly) occupied Shan State (in collusion with the Japanese) they published maps and propaganda declaring it “the original Thai homeland”. They published a new wave of Suvaṇṇabhūmi propaganda after their victory in the Franco-Thai war of 1941. There was a rush to produce propaganda fast enough to justify Thailand’s territorial claims from 1941 to 1947, as the Thais really believed that they had an opportunity to conquer all of “French Indochina” at the end of World War Two.
However, in 1947 everything changed: the British signed a new treaty with Burma (the “Atlee Treaty”) ending Thai hopes of ruling Shan State, and the French recognized a new constitution for Laos as a separate nation. In the same year, Thailand had yet another “coup d’état”, and began negotiations with the U.N. “Franco-Siamese Conciliation Commission”.
These negotiations in 1947 are much more important than the maps that UNESCO is now evaluating for the dotted-line around Preah Vihear. In 1947, the Thai government told this special “Commission” at the U.N. that Thailand had always been the historical ruler of all of Laos, and at least ruled Battambang, if not all of Cambodia. The Thai argument was that France had somehow tricked the world into thinking Laos and Cambodia were separate countries, when they were really provinces of Thailand; therefore, the provinces should be returned to Thailand as the French were leaving. Of course, that is also a myth: it is the myth of “Suvaṇṇabhūmi”, already explained.
The U.N. was thus expected, “…to decide on the claims… which would expand the territory of Thailand all the way to the Vietnamese border… [and] the Commission rejected in its final report all of Thailand’s claims.” I am quoting an article by Pheuipanh Ngaosyvathn, published in 1985, in a Western academic journal titled _Asian Survey_ (Vol. 25, issue 12, p. 1242-1259).
This 1947 U.N. decision is important for Cambodian people to know about. The Thai military did not request a few kilometers of land around a particular temple; they wanted to conquer all of Laos, and as much of Cambodia as they could take.
§6.
The UNESCO paperwork concerning the fate of this single temple omits the real drama of history that created the border. For this reason, most of the debate “misses the point”.
The French won a war against Thailand in 1893. Negotiations then began between France and England (from 1893-6) to decide Thailand and Cambodia’s borders. At that time, the British and French were very concerned with the control of Shan State and Yunnan (but did not care very much about Cambodia). Neither the Thai nor the Cambodians had a voice in those debates. The result was the Anglo-French settlement of 1896.
Today, it is difficult for Thai people to imagine that Shan State and Yunnan are really so important; however, both the British and the French wanted to build railroads to Yunnan (starting in the 1870s). In the 1880s and 1890s, many people thought there would be a war because France, England and Thailand all wanted to control Shan State (in order to control the imaginary railroad). Prince Damrong’s propaganda reflects the political concerns of that era, looking North and West from Bangkok (seeking to control Shan state and expand into China).
However, Europeans have their own bias in writing this history. Almost nothing by written by Europeans (nor even the UN) mentions that the French army was defeated in 1941. The Thai army did defeat the French army in 1941, prior to the Japanese occupation. This means that the earlier agreements (of 1902) were made invalid. Cambodians are more likely to remember their own rebellion against the French in 1942; both events (1941 & 1942) demonstrated the weakness of the French military in Southeast Asia.
Soon thereafter, the French were defeated by the Germans in Europe and defeated by the Japanese in Asia. Just a few years later, after the Japanese retreat, the French were defeated by the Communists (within the former French colonies) when they tried to re-assert control. That is at least three important military defeats in about 13 years (1941–54). These simple facts are omitted from European articles on this history: the facts are embarrassing to French nationalists, but they are important for understanding the ongoing border conflict (between Thailand and Cambodia).
The U.N. decision of 1947 was made in this context. This means that the history of the other agreements (and maps) is relatively trivial: the 1896 agreements (between the French and Thais) were made invalid in 1902 and all of the agreements of 1902 were made invalid again in 1941. In general, there was little-or-no representation for Cambodia at these negotiations; France also did not allow Cambodian representation at the armistice of 1954. This means that there was nobody at any of these meetings who could ask the obvious question of why Surin was assumed to be part of Thailand in the first place. The negotiations were defined by the threat posed by imperialist armies from Europe. When that threat disappeared, the logic behind the borders they had imposed disappeared, too.
Does anyone in Cambodia or Thailand really care about the details of the maps made for the 1902 agreements? The border disappears with the empire that defined it.
The collapse of the French empire left Cambodia and Laos with irrational borders; it also left Thailand with an identity crisis. The Thai are now struggling to reconcile the notion of their own “Thainess” with the legacy of far more ancient civilizations that now surround them, not only in Surin, but even as near as Nakon Pathom (almost a suburb of Bangkok).
Today, Thai propaganda offers us impassioned and self-contradictory claims: somehow, they say, the Thai were the original inhabitants of all these places, and yet they also think they are superior to the indigenous people they conquered when they arrived there. They cannot reconcile Thailand (as a geographic and political reality) with Thainess (as an ethnicity and a language-group).
§7.
Some of these contradictions are demonstrated in the most recent re-writing of Thai history that I can comment on: the efforts of Taksin’s government.
The Taksin government wanted to challenge the legacy of the Thai Fine Arts Department (founded by Luang Wichitwathakan, as mentioned, in the 1930s). The idea was to replace the old message with something more upbeat, positive, and suited to the bourgeois tendencies of the 21st century.
Opposition from within the Fine Arts Department was significant: unable to reform it, Taksin created the “O.K.M.D.” (Office of Knowledge Management and Development). This might be remembered as simply another “Taksin mega-project”; in fact, it was his own version of the Fine Arts Department, with a similarly broad agenda, including the creation of new museums.
Of course, one of the crucial differences is that the OKMD was almost purely a propaganda instrument, even if it was created with the “good intention” of replacing the version of history written by Prince Damrong. The OKMD did not have any responsibility for archaeology, nor for the conservation of artifacts; it was created simply to articulate the new government’s message to the people. That is, by definition, propaganda.
One acronym gives rise to another: the OKMD created the “N.D.M.I.” (National Discovery Museum Institute). The NDMI also had a very broad mandate, and was intended to take over a series of historical sites in downtown Bangkok (generally, old buildings already owned by the government) to create a series of museums. The first NDMI museum remains open, giving a permanent statement of the version of history that Taksin’s patronage created.
It is no surprise that the central concept of the museum is “Suvaṇṇabhūmi”: Taksin liked this idea so much that he named his airport after it. The museum repeats many important lies from the old propaganda, including the idea that Soṇa and Uttara brought Buddhism to Thailand. The museum also formally states the curators’ appreciation for Prince Damrong as the inventor of Suvaṇṇabhūmi as an historical concept.
However, this re-telling of Thai history is also responsive to some recent trends in European scholarship. In contrast to the old propaganda about “racial purity”, there is instead a message of harmonious “racial diversity”. There is dramatically less emphasis on the city of Sukhothai, and less emphasis on the unique King Ramkhamhaeng. Perhaps this was because international scholarship has proved the Ramkhamhaeng inscription to be a fraud; apart from that one inscription, there is no evidence that Ramkhamhaeng ever existed, nor that his empire ever existed (a collection of essays on this matter has been published by the Siam Society, in Thailand, incorporating several important articles by Michael Vickery).
Instead of trying to prove that Thailand existed as an ancient empire (alongside Cambodia), the NDMI propaganda simply states that there were no empires, and no nation-states, prior to the modern era. They re-draw the map as a series of city-states, and then claim that all of it had always been “Suvaṇṇabhūmi”. This may seem like a friendly (or non-confrontational) way to re-invent the myth, but it still means that the Thai government’s political position is that Cambodia never existed, and has no right to exist now.
The new propaganda gets rid of the (offensive) notion that the racially-superior Thai people migrated south and conquered Southeast Asia. However, it also avoids any clear timeline of anybody migrating anywhere (or anybody conquering anybody). The results of this new myth are also offensive. The same old story of Suvaṇṇabhūmi is simply being re-told without admitting that war, slavery and feudalism really were important parts of Thailand’s history: instead, we are given a message that the country was always built on trade, technology, and “ethnic harmony”.
I will not offer a lengthy criticism of the museum’s version of history in this article. However, the point here is simply this: although political concerns have changed, the myth of Suvaṇṇabhūmi is more prominent now than ever before. The Taksin government gave this term new impetus, and new prominence, presenting it as part of a new generation of propaganda. Every person who arrives at Bangkok airport is confronted with the myth of Suvaṇṇabhūmi as soon as they arrive, however it may be misspelled or mispronounced on their ticket or on the signs painted on the walls (Suwannaphum? Suvarnapoomee?).
§8.
As mentioned, from the 1930s up to 1947, the propaganda reflected different concerns, looking east from Bangkok. At that time, it seemed possible to extend Thai territory eastward, as the French Empire collapsed. Of course, the rapid rise and fall of the Japanese empire (in Southeast Asia) also encouraged expansionist schemes of this kind.
General Phibun Songkran, the same man who had (briefly) expanded Thai power into Burmese, Lao and Cambodian territory (1941–6), remained a pervading influence until 1958. In the late 1950s, the French army departed, the American army arrived, and, from the Thai perspective, the war to extend Thai territory simply continued under the name of “anti-Communism”.
From 1949–1961 the U.S. supported Chinese KMT (anti-Communist) troops living in Northern Thailand. The old propaganda about a war to re-conquer the so-called Thai homeland in Yunnan (as Damrong imagined it) would have seemed useful for a series of Thai governments that were then preparing for a war against Communist China (with American Support).
It is easy for Cambodians to forget that most of the Thai propaganda was not anti-Khmer in this period: it was mostly anti-Burmese and anti-Chinese. However, it is also fair to say that Cambodians have suffered much more from Thai military policy than anyone in Burma or China. The original “Domino Theory” was presented in 1952, as a justification for the American military to occupy former French Colonies as a barrier against Chinese Communism: the theory compares Communist influence to a game of dominoes, and was used to explain U.S. military involvement in Southeast Asia until 1973.
In 1973, U.S. President Nixon made a pact with Communist China; this had many effects, all over the world, but it also (permanently) ended Thailand’s ambitions to conquer part of Yunnan. They had already lost the possibility of conquering Shan State, and now all of their Northward ambitions were made impossible. After 1973, eastward expansion was the only dream possible for the Thai military, and they became increasingly involved in America’s wars in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The cycle of propaganda and pseudo-history continued through decades of active armed conflict on the Thai-Khmer border.
The suffering and tragedy of these wars is not the subject of this article. What I would say here, simply, is that Thai propaganda was written to support specific political objectives. The Thai military elite did not abandon their claims to Cambodian territory when the U.N. rejected them in 1947: the Thai military’s objective has remained the conquest of former French colonies. The “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” myth remains one way of articulating this aspiration.
§9.
It is obvious that many of the Thais involved in these wars assumed that if they defeated Communism, Laos and Cambodia would become part of Thailand (or, at least, they would conquer Laos and Battambang). The Thai army invaded Laos in 1984, and then fought a larger war against Laos in 1987–8. They justified this as an attempt to win back the territory the French had stolen from Thailand. As we have discussed, the official propaganda states that everything east of Thailand was “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” before the French intervened.
This issue was not resolved in 1947, it was not resolved in 1987, and it is still not resolved today.
I would here suggest that, from the Thai military’s perspective, the Cambodian border conflict is similar to the Lao: they do not regard the line around just one temple as the problem. They consider the entire border illegitimate. The temple is just one opportunity to challenge that border. For many Thai nationalists in the military (or for anyone who believes the propaganda), Battambang is “lost” territory that Thailand must re-conquer, or else they just say that all of Cambodia should be a province of Thailand.
Is it any surprise that the Thai military claims French Indochina was formerly part of Thailand? In general, both Thai and Khmer people in the present generation have heard some aspects of this story from their grandparents, and learn other aspects from watching television. The different parts of the story never fit together, they never match with the jumble of information in the newspapers.
From a Cambodian perspective, looking North and West, it is obvious that a large part of Thailand is still ethnically Khmer, despite the last 300 years of history. Many Cambodians consider Surin a natural part of Cambodia. Of course, many Cambodians grew up in refugee camps on Thai territory (while the U.S., U.N. and the Thai military all supported Pol Pot). As a result, there are many families with ties on both sides of the disputed border. Among the farmers on the Thai side (in the “Lower Isan”, as some now call it) I think there is an unusual sense of kinship and cultural awareness, perhaps simply because there are so many looming monuments to the Cambodian culture that was once there. Those ancient monuments still put “the lower Isan” on the map, attracting visitors from around the world.
Nobody in Surin wants war. The pressure to go to war comes from a professionalized elite, who have decades of experience making war on exactly the same border. If they want war, sooner or later, they will have it.
[END]
*Eisel Mazard is an Independent Scholar (Theravada Asia)
Email: eisel.mazard@gmail.co
Website: http://www.pali.pratyeka.org
* Thanks Willem and the author for sharing this interesting article.
By Eisel Mazard*
July, 2009
§1.
“Suvaṇṇabhūmi” is not just the name of an airport: it has been an important part of Thai propaganda for over 100 years. Today, the myth of “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” is used to claim that all of Cambodia, Laos and even Vietnam were formerly part of Thailand, but were later “lost” in a series of wars. This article presents a series of facts about the real history of Southeast Asia. The original text was written in simplified English, intended for translation.
Many Thai people alive today heard about “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” from their grandparents, so they assume this is a very old idea. Many Thai people grew up hearing propaganda that their ancient homeland was in Yunnan (a province in China, north of Laos) –but then the message changed. Sometimes the government tells them the ancient homeland is “here” in this ancient kingdom called “Suvaṇṇabhūmi”, sometimes they say it is in Shan State (now part of Burma), sometimes in Southern China or even further north than China, in Mongolia. Sometimes the government tells them to hate the Burmese, sometimes the Chinese, sometimes Cambodians. They told their people to hate and fear Communists, but (at the same time) they supported the Khmer Rouge. The result is that Thai people are genuinely confused about their own history.
Most Thai people do not hate Cambodians. Most Thai people know that Thailand is full of ancient Khmer monuments, but they do not know why. Despite everything their government tells them, most Thai people know they received their Buddhist tradition from Cambodia: when they get Buddhist tattoos, or buy magic amulets, they always want the writing to be in old-fashioned Khmer letters. When they visit museums and ancient ruins, they see that the old stones are written in Khmer letters, too. Most Thai people know that Phimai (north of the city of Korat) is an important place, but do not understand why the ancient city there is Cambodian (not Thai). They visit places like Lopburi, and can see that the oldest buildings there are Cambodian (not Thai) but they do not understand why.
When people are confused, sometimes they get angry. However, many of Thai people are willing to listen to the truth about their country’s history. The new propaganda that Thailand’s kings lost so much territory contradicts some of the older propaganda. Most Thai people learned that the same kings expanded the country’s territory in the same period of history. Nobody in Thailand wants to believe that King Rama V lost territory (even if the new government propaganda says so). Most Thai people would be offended if you said that all these famous Kings lost so many wars, and lost so much territory: most of the history they already know is about the same kings winning wars and expanding Thailand’s territory.
So, the present political conflict is an opportunity to learn about history; understanding the history will help us to understand the conflict.
§2.
What is the earliest origin of the “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” propaganda? The answer is very easy for English people to read about, but very difficult to find if you are reading in Thai or Khmer. A man named James Prinsep translated many important stone inscriptions in India, and published his research in 1837. That may seem like a long time ago, but this is modern history: before 1837, nobody in Thailand was interested in “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” and almost nobody knew the name of the emperor “Ashoka”.
After James Prinsep translated the inscriptions of Ashoka into English, people in Southeast Asia became very excited about the earliest origins of Buddhism (and began re-writing history). In Burma, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, new myths were written, trying to prove that this ancient emperor in India sent “Buddhist Missionaries” to their own countries.
In Burma, interpretations trying to prove that Burmese Buddhism came directly from India were published; at the same time, in Thailand people tried to interpret the same stone inscriptions in another way to prove that Buddhism came to Thailand first, not Burma.
Some of this was “nationalist propaganda”, but some of it was just silly enthusiasm. Europeans scholars had published exciting “news” about the ancient world, and it changed the way people thought about the history of Buddhism. 100 years later, it had changed the way people think about nationalism, too. Still today, most people in Thailand have a vague sense that “Ashoka” was an important King, who somehow “gave” Buddhism to Thailand. It isn’t true, but people have been talking about it since 1837.
What is the truth? The truth is that Ashoka lived around the year 260 B.C. (more than 2,200 years ago!). It is important to think clearly about just how ancient that is. Ashoka lived more than 1000 years before the oldest Pali and Sanskrit inscriptions ever found in Cambodia. At that time, there were no Thai people in “Thailand” and Angkor Wat did not exist. Nobody in Southeast Asia was Buddhist at that time. The Emperor Ashoka was important because he helped to establish Buddhism in India and Sri Lanka. The truth is that Buddhism arrived in Cambodia much later than Ashoka (almost 1000 years later!).
Anyone who can read Pali can read the inscriptions of Ashoka themselves (the language used is similar to Pali, however, it is not correct to say that they are written in Pali, as there are differences of spelling and dialect). Most of the difficult work in transcribing and translating Ashoka’s inscriptions was already finished 100 years ago. Unfortunately, while these books are available in English, they are not published Cambodian; if would be wonderful if charities in Phnom Penh started to support translation projects of this kind. (For example, Alfred C. Woolner’s book from 1924, titled Asoka: Text and Glossary, could be translated into Khmer.)
§3.
Many people who grew up in Thailand will now be asking, “What about the story of the two monks Soṇa and Uttara? The Thai government did not invent that story!” While it is true that the story comes from Sri Lanka (not Thailand) most of the propaganda does mis-represent the story.
The Thai museums imply that the journey of Soṇa and Uttara (from India to Thailand) is recorded in the edicts of Ashoka (this is not true), and then they suggest that the story records a series of historical and political facts. They never tell you who the author of this story is: it was not written by the Buddha, and not by the emperor Ashoka either! They do not really tell you what the story is about, or why it is supposed to be important.
The simple truth is that the story of Soṇa and Uttara is a fable. It does not say anything about Thailand, and it does not name any Thai king; it does not describe any historical event in Thailand, and it is not even a story about two Indian monks going to Thailand.
It is a story about two monks who go to a magical kingdom where a sea-monster (nāga) is eating all of the king’s sons. The monks have an adventure trying to defeat this sea-monster. In the end, they magically protect the kingdom by chanting in Pali. This impresses the local people, who then convert to Buddhism. To thank the two monks, the Royal family decides to name the new prince “Soṇuttara”, combining their names; in fact, out of gratitude, they vow to name all of their kings “Soṇuttara” in the future. This is possibly a joke that doesn’t translate very well: “Soṇa” means “Dog” in Pali, and “Uttara” means “ultimate”.
There is no reason for anyone to think that the “Golden-land” mentioned in this story is Thailand. Everything about the story seems to describe a place in ancient India but even so, it is a magical place: it is possible that no specific place in the real world was alluded to. There is no reason why any sane person would think this story contains historical facts of political importance.
Does anyone in Thailand really know how silly this story is? It was translated into English for the first time over 100 years ago, in 1908 (Wilhelm Geiger’s translation of the Mahāvaṃsa); the Thai propaganda about Soṇa and Uttara was probably based on that English-language source. This is a common pattern in Thai propaganda: is easier to read English translations than to study the original Pali. A lot of the pseudo-history of Thailand was inspired by European research that was new at the time.
The story of Soṇa and Uttara was written in medieval Sri Lanka (not in ancient India); while some stories of that period contain historical information, this particular story is just a fable intended to entertain children. For 100 years, many Western scholars have pointed to evidence that this Suvaṇṇabhūmi was within mainland India, while others have suggested it was western Burma. The truth is that it doesn’t matter where it was: this “golden land” mentioned in a fable is completely irrelevant to the history of Thailand. The story itself was totally unknown in Thailand until modern governments started making propaganda out of it.
§4.
The propaganda about “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” became more important in a series of wars in the 20th century.
When Prince Damrong wrote the history of Thailand, he created the myth that Thai people originated in Mongolia (in mountains further north than China), and that they formerly had a kingdom in Yunnan (South-Western China, further north than Laos). The myth is that the Thais were the rulers and inhabitants of the “Nan-Chao” kingdom; this was the name of a real kingdom in Yunnan, but the idea that it was populated by Thai people is fiction.
Prince Damrong invented this theory. He wrote that the Thai people were driven out of China in the year 143 B.C., but even the number is a complete fiction. There was never any evidence that this happened; still today, there is no evidence. There is no source for the event (nor for the specific year) except the imagination of Prince Damrong. He also invented the number 5000 B.C. for the year of the Thai migration from Mongolia to Yunnan. This allows a few thousand years for them to walk to Dali (大理 in the middle of Yunnan province, also written “Tali-fu” in old books) and rule the Nan-Chao kingdom (starting around 2200 B.C.). It is all fiction: neither Mongolia nor Dali have anything to do with the history of the Thai people.
There is not one stone inscription anywhere in China to prove Damrong’s theory, but Cambodia is full of inscriptions that record the truth about Thailand’s history. And the truth is that most of Thailand was formerly part of Cambodia.
This is not news. Many Thai authors have already written critiques of Prince Damrong’s history, including Nidhi Eoseewong (who is probably the most famous and respected Thai historian of the last 50 years). For a good article on the history of writing history in Thailand, see: Charmavit Kasetsiri, “Thai Historiography from Ancient Times to the Modern Period”. This article was published in a book called _Perceptions of the Past in South East Asia_, in 1979, by the Asian Studies Association of Australia. (Maybe this should have a Khmer translation too?) More recently, Suriya Ratanakul has published criticism of Thai origin theories from a linguistic perspective (e.g., “Tai People and their Languages”, Mahidol, 1990). Many Thai scholars have contributed reasonable perspectives on these historical issues to the International Conference of Thai Studies (a forum that is deemed “safe” for criticizing official propaganda, perhaps because it is predominantly conducted in English).
Apart from the fact that Prince Damrong’s myth isn’t true, we have a lot of confusion because the propaganda keeps changing.
The “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” theory began with the idea that Thai people left China (moving from North to South) and conquered a large part of Southeast Asia. As simple as this sounds, the theory already has a problem, because 143 B.C. is several centuries too late for the Emperor Ashoka to send his missionaries to Thailand: even if we wanted to believe Damrong, there could be no Thai people in Thailand to welcome their guests from India (ca. 260 B.C.). There is another problem today, because people in Thailand are now taught that they are the descendants of the people preserved in Ban Chieng who were already in Isan (N.E. Thailand) 6,500 years ago (but this site had not yet been discovered in Damrong’s time).
Cambodia did not fit into that propaganda very well, and Damrong’s work doesn’t really attempt to explain the history of Laos, Vietnam or Cambodia (it just asserts Thailand’s history, without making it coherent with any of the evidence from adjacent countries). However, while Damrong was still alive, the Thais had new problems on their Eastern frontier, and started to write new propaganda in response to it.
The “advantage” of Damrong’s version of history was that it justified Thailand starting a war to conquer Shan State. Damrong’s most famous book on history is simply titled “Thai Fight Burma”, published in 1917. Most of his theories are anti-Burmese and anti-Chinese. So, in the beginning, “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” was used to justify wars to expand Thailand to the North and to the West.
In 1931, Luang Wichitwathakan published his version of Thai history. He later became the head of the “Department of Fine Arts” and spent his life producing propaganda. His efforts were not limited to writing books: he also produced dramas performed on stage and songs broadcast on radio. He was a major influence in Thai popular culture, as well as in the “high culture” of written history. There was a transition in the 1930s from Prince Damrong’s propaganda to Luang Wichitwathakan’s version. Damrong felt that he was excluded from Thailand’s politics after 1932. In fact, Damrong’s books continued to be used in classrooms, but they did not feature the new ideas that Thai propaganda was then concerned with (”Communism”, “Democracy”, etc.).
§5.
Thai History was written and re-written rapidly in the years leading up to World War Two. When the Thais (very briefly) occupied Shan State (in collusion with the Japanese) they published maps and propaganda declaring it “the original Thai homeland”. They published a new wave of Suvaṇṇabhūmi propaganda after their victory in the Franco-Thai war of 1941. There was a rush to produce propaganda fast enough to justify Thailand’s territorial claims from 1941 to 1947, as the Thais really believed that they had an opportunity to conquer all of “French Indochina” at the end of World War Two.
However, in 1947 everything changed: the British signed a new treaty with Burma (the “Atlee Treaty”) ending Thai hopes of ruling Shan State, and the French recognized a new constitution for Laos as a separate nation. In the same year, Thailand had yet another “coup d’état”, and began negotiations with the U.N. “Franco-Siamese Conciliation Commission”.
These negotiations in 1947 are much more important than the maps that UNESCO is now evaluating for the dotted-line around Preah Vihear. In 1947, the Thai government told this special “Commission” at the U.N. that Thailand had always been the historical ruler of all of Laos, and at least ruled Battambang, if not all of Cambodia. The Thai argument was that France had somehow tricked the world into thinking Laos and Cambodia were separate countries, when they were really provinces of Thailand; therefore, the provinces should be returned to Thailand as the French were leaving. Of course, that is also a myth: it is the myth of “Suvaṇṇabhūmi”, already explained.
The U.N. was thus expected, “…to decide on the claims… which would expand the territory of Thailand all the way to the Vietnamese border… [and] the Commission rejected in its final report all of Thailand’s claims.” I am quoting an article by Pheuipanh Ngaosyvathn, published in 1985, in a Western academic journal titled _Asian Survey_ (Vol. 25, issue 12, p. 1242-1259).
This 1947 U.N. decision is important for Cambodian people to know about. The Thai military did not request a few kilometers of land around a particular temple; they wanted to conquer all of Laos, and as much of Cambodia as they could take.
§6.
The UNESCO paperwork concerning the fate of this single temple omits the real drama of history that created the border. For this reason, most of the debate “misses the point”.
The French won a war against Thailand in 1893. Negotiations then began between France and England (from 1893-6) to decide Thailand and Cambodia’s borders. At that time, the British and French were very concerned with the control of Shan State and Yunnan (but did not care very much about Cambodia). Neither the Thai nor the Cambodians had a voice in those debates. The result was the Anglo-French settlement of 1896.
Today, it is difficult for Thai people to imagine that Shan State and Yunnan are really so important; however, both the British and the French wanted to build railroads to Yunnan (starting in the 1870s). In the 1880s and 1890s, many people thought there would be a war because France, England and Thailand all wanted to control Shan State (in order to control the imaginary railroad). Prince Damrong’s propaganda reflects the political concerns of that era, looking North and West from Bangkok (seeking to control Shan state and expand into China).
However, Europeans have their own bias in writing this history. Almost nothing by written by Europeans (nor even the UN) mentions that the French army was defeated in 1941. The Thai army did defeat the French army in 1941, prior to the Japanese occupation. This means that the earlier agreements (of 1902) were made invalid. Cambodians are more likely to remember their own rebellion against the French in 1942; both events (1941 & 1942) demonstrated the weakness of the French military in Southeast Asia.
Soon thereafter, the French were defeated by the Germans in Europe and defeated by the Japanese in Asia. Just a few years later, after the Japanese retreat, the French were defeated by the Communists (within the former French colonies) when they tried to re-assert control. That is at least three important military defeats in about 13 years (1941–54). These simple facts are omitted from European articles on this history: the facts are embarrassing to French nationalists, but they are important for understanding the ongoing border conflict (between Thailand and Cambodia).
The U.N. decision of 1947 was made in this context. This means that the history of the other agreements (and maps) is relatively trivial: the 1896 agreements (between the French and Thais) were made invalid in 1902 and all of the agreements of 1902 were made invalid again in 1941. In general, there was little-or-no representation for Cambodia at these negotiations; France also did not allow Cambodian representation at the armistice of 1954. This means that there was nobody at any of these meetings who could ask the obvious question of why Surin was assumed to be part of Thailand in the first place. The negotiations were defined by the threat posed by imperialist armies from Europe. When that threat disappeared, the logic behind the borders they had imposed disappeared, too.
Does anyone in Cambodia or Thailand really care about the details of the maps made for the 1902 agreements? The border disappears with the empire that defined it.
The collapse of the French empire left Cambodia and Laos with irrational borders; it also left Thailand with an identity crisis. The Thai are now struggling to reconcile the notion of their own “Thainess” with the legacy of far more ancient civilizations that now surround them, not only in Surin, but even as near as Nakon Pathom (almost a suburb of Bangkok).
Today, Thai propaganda offers us impassioned and self-contradictory claims: somehow, they say, the Thai were the original inhabitants of all these places, and yet they also think they are superior to the indigenous people they conquered when they arrived there. They cannot reconcile Thailand (as a geographic and political reality) with Thainess (as an ethnicity and a language-group).
§7.
Some of these contradictions are demonstrated in the most recent re-writing of Thai history that I can comment on: the efforts of Taksin’s government.
The Taksin government wanted to challenge the legacy of the Thai Fine Arts Department (founded by Luang Wichitwathakan, as mentioned, in the 1930s). The idea was to replace the old message with something more upbeat, positive, and suited to the bourgeois tendencies of the 21st century.
Opposition from within the Fine Arts Department was significant: unable to reform it, Taksin created the “O.K.M.D.” (Office of Knowledge Management and Development). This might be remembered as simply another “Taksin mega-project”; in fact, it was his own version of the Fine Arts Department, with a similarly broad agenda, including the creation of new museums.
Of course, one of the crucial differences is that the OKMD was almost purely a propaganda instrument, even if it was created with the “good intention” of replacing the version of history written by Prince Damrong. The OKMD did not have any responsibility for archaeology, nor for the conservation of artifacts; it was created simply to articulate the new government’s message to the people. That is, by definition, propaganda.
One acronym gives rise to another: the OKMD created the “N.D.M.I.” (National Discovery Museum Institute). The NDMI also had a very broad mandate, and was intended to take over a series of historical sites in downtown Bangkok (generally, old buildings already owned by the government) to create a series of museums. The first NDMI museum remains open, giving a permanent statement of the version of history that Taksin’s patronage created.
It is no surprise that the central concept of the museum is “Suvaṇṇabhūmi”: Taksin liked this idea so much that he named his airport after it. The museum repeats many important lies from the old propaganda, including the idea that Soṇa and Uttara brought Buddhism to Thailand. The museum also formally states the curators’ appreciation for Prince Damrong as the inventor of Suvaṇṇabhūmi as an historical concept.
However, this re-telling of Thai history is also responsive to some recent trends in European scholarship. In contrast to the old propaganda about “racial purity”, there is instead a message of harmonious “racial diversity”. There is dramatically less emphasis on the city of Sukhothai, and less emphasis on the unique King Ramkhamhaeng. Perhaps this was because international scholarship has proved the Ramkhamhaeng inscription to be a fraud; apart from that one inscription, there is no evidence that Ramkhamhaeng ever existed, nor that his empire ever existed (a collection of essays on this matter has been published by the Siam Society, in Thailand, incorporating several important articles by Michael Vickery).
Instead of trying to prove that Thailand existed as an ancient empire (alongside Cambodia), the NDMI propaganda simply states that there were no empires, and no nation-states, prior to the modern era. They re-draw the map as a series of city-states, and then claim that all of it had always been “Suvaṇṇabhūmi”. This may seem like a friendly (or non-confrontational) way to re-invent the myth, but it still means that the Thai government’s political position is that Cambodia never existed, and has no right to exist now.
The new propaganda gets rid of the (offensive) notion that the racially-superior Thai people migrated south and conquered Southeast Asia. However, it also avoids any clear timeline of anybody migrating anywhere (or anybody conquering anybody). The results of this new myth are also offensive. The same old story of Suvaṇṇabhūmi is simply being re-told without admitting that war, slavery and feudalism really were important parts of Thailand’s history: instead, we are given a message that the country was always built on trade, technology, and “ethnic harmony”.
I will not offer a lengthy criticism of the museum’s version of history in this article. However, the point here is simply this: although political concerns have changed, the myth of Suvaṇṇabhūmi is more prominent now than ever before. The Taksin government gave this term new impetus, and new prominence, presenting it as part of a new generation of propaganda. Every person who arrives at Bangkok airport is confronted with the myth of Suvaṇṇabhūmi as soon as they arrive, however it may be misspelled or mispronounced on their ticket or on the signs painted on the walls (Suwannaphum? Suvarnapoomee?).
§8.
As mentioned, from the 1930s up to 1947, the propaganda reflected different concerns, looking east from Bangkok. At that time, it seemed possible to extend Thai territory eastward, as the French Empire collapsed. Of course, the rapid rise and fall of the Japanese empire (in Southeast Asia) also encouraged expansionist schemes of this kind.
General Phibun Songkran, the same man who had (briefly) expanded Thai power into Burmese, Lao and Cambodian territory (1941–6), remained a pervading influence until 1958. In the late 1950s, the French army departed, the American army arrived, and, from the Thai perspective, the war to extend Thai territory simply continued under the name of “anti-Communism”.
From 1949–1961 the U.S. supported Chinese KMT (anti-Communist) troops living in Northern Thailand. The old propaganda about a war to re-conquer the so-called Thai homeland in Yunnan (as Damrong imagined it) would have seemed useful for a series of Thai governments that were then preparing for a war against Communist China (with American Support).
It is easy for Cambodians to forget that most of the Thai propaganda was not anti-Khmer in this period: it was mostly anti-Burmese and anti-Chinese. However, it is also fair to say that Cambodians have suffered much more from Thai military policy than anyone in Burma or China. The original “Domino Theory” was presented in 1952, as a justification for the American military to occupy former French Colonies as a barrier against Chinese Communism: the theory compares Communist influence to a game of dominoes, and was used to explain U.S. military involvement in Southeast Asia until 1973.
In 1973, U.S. President Nixon made a pact with Communist China; this had many effects, all over the world, but it also (permanently) ended Thailand’s ambitions to conquer part of Yunnan. They had already lost the possibility of conquering Shan State, and now all of their Northward ambitions were made impossible. After 1973, eastward expansion was the only dream possible for the Thai military, and they became increasingly involved in America’s wars in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. The cycle of propaganda and pseudo-history continued through decades of active armed conflict on the Thai-Khmer border.
The suffering and tragedy of these wars is not the subject of this article. What I would say here, simply, is that Thai propaganda was written to support specific political objectives. The Thai military elite did not abandon their claims to Cambodian territory when the U.N. rejected them in 1947: the Thai military’s objective has remained the conquest of former French colonies. The “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” myth remains one way of articulating this aspiration.
§9.
It is obvious that many of the Thais involved in these wars assumed that if they defeated Communism, Laos and Cambodia would become part of Thailand (or, at least, they would conquer Laos and Battambang). The Thai army invaded Laos in 1984, and then fought a larger war against Laos in 1987–8. They justified this as an attempt to win back the territory the French had stolen from Thailand. As we have discussed, the official propaganda states that everything east of Thailand was “Suvaṇṇabhūmi” before the French intervened.
This issue was not resolved in 1947, it was not resolved in 1987, and it is still not resolved today.
I would here suggest that, from the Thai military’s perspective, the Cambodian border conflict is similar to the Lao: they do not regard the line around just one temple as the problem. They consider the entire border illegitimate. The temple is just one opportunity to challenge that border. For many Thai nationalists in the military (or for anyone who believes the propaganda), Battambang is “lost” territory that Thailand must re-conquer, or else they just say that all of Cambodia should be a province of Thailand.
Is it any surprise that the Thai military claims French Indochina was formerly part of Thailand? In general, both Thai and Khmer people in the present generation have heard some aspects of this story from their grandparents, and learn other aspects from watching television. The different parts of the story never fit together, they never match with the jumble of information in the newspapers.
From a Cambodian perspective, looking North and West, it is obvious that a large part of Thailand is still ethnically Khmer, despite the last 300 years of history. Many Cambodians consider Surin a natural part of Cambodia. Of course, many Cambodians grew up in refugee camps on Thai territory (while the U.S., U.N. and the Thai military all supported Pol Pot). As a result, there are many families with ties on both sides of the disputed border. Among the farmers on the Thai side (in the “Lower Isan”, as some now call it) I think there is an unusual sense of kinship and cultural awareness, perhaps simply because there are so many looming monuments to the Cambodian culture that was once there. Those ancient monuments still put “the lower Isan” on the map, attracting visitors from around the world.
Nobody in Surin wants war. The pressure to go to war comes from a professionalized elite, who have decades of experience making war on exactly the same border. If they want war, sooner or later, they will have it.
[END]
*Eisel Mazard is an Independent Scholar (Theravada Asia)
Email: eisel.mazard@gmail.co
Website: http://www.pali.pratyeka.org
* Thanks Willem and the author for sharing this interesting article.
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