Cambodian Government:Corrupt, Incompetent 7

It’s all changed!  Earlier I noted that it has intrigued me through the years that the Cambodian government has tolerated the Cambodia Daily‘s reporting about corruption and incompetence in the government here.  That’s all stopped. 
The government has now closed down the Cambodia Daily as of 4 September 2017, supposedly for unpaid taxes.  The government is after the non-government press, foreign radio sources (e.g., VOA and RFA), foreign governments (especially the USA and the EU), and any critical NGOs.  The present government is really running scared and so now, even ten months before the national elections in July, 2018, they are criticizing, harassing, and prosecuting any opposition voices.  That is particularly true of opposition politicians who are being arrested and imprisoned on what many consider political charges rather than real offenses.

This is No. 7 of the nine examples of incompetence and corruption that appeared in the headlines of The Cambodia Daily in just two days.  In this article the Cambodian government once again prevents any ASEAN criticism of China in ASEAN statements.

Wednesday, 9 August 2017

Thursday, 10 August 2017

 

Chinese Spirit Festival

Today we drove to Kampot Province with our donors from Korea and when we stopped at a gas station on the way down, this elaborate offering to the spirits of the deceased was placed in front of the station.  Today is the Spirit Festival in Chinese culture and the gas station owners–and many, many other people in Cambodia—took it very seriously.

Convenience Store

This woman has everything covered: she’s arranging lotus pods which can be given at the wat on the Buddhist holiday that day (and the seeds can then be eaten); in the middle she’s selling gasoline from the blue handcrank pump; and if you want to fill yourself rather than your motorcycle tank, you can buy a pomelo fruit stacked on the right.

Chicken Carousels

In a culture where many, many people are selling food on the street, anything that makes your product stand out is an advantage.  One of the newest marketing gimmicks to hit the Phnom Penh streets is this chicken carousel.  Powered by an electrical cable snaking across the pavement, the machine has a rotating display and warming lamps for pre-roasted chickens and geese.

The rotating displays are an eye-catching novelty now but they must be a real headache to clean.

Sign Language Linguistics

Dr. Felix Tse is a professor and administrator of a sign language linguistics program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.  She came to Phnom Penh to explain the program and invite the linguistics department of the Royal University of Phnom Penh to establish a formal cooperation in sign language research.  Felix and Charlie have known each other for about twenty years.  Charlie studied Cantonese language at CUHK a long time ago. Click here to see more about Felix’s time in Phnom Penh.

Going to Hong Kong

The Maryknoll Deaf Development Programme had a farewell today for our co-director, Keat Sokly (right), who is leaving tomorrow to study in Hong Kong for a year.  He will be in a sign language linguistics program at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.  His learning will be great for the deaf community in the long term.  In the short term, we are going to miss his presence and leadership tremendously.

Visit from a Friend

Today Keat Sokly, co-director at DDP, and I met Ms. Felix Yim Binh Sze as she arrived from Hong Kong where she is a professor in sign language linguistics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.  Over dinner we discussed with Felix some ideas about CUHK starting a partnership with a local university to help sign language linguistics develop in Cambodia.