E-visa eases travel chore

For an upcoming tour to Cambodia, I got a visa for $25 via e-mail, and it took just two days.

That's about nine days faster and $100 cheaper than the traditional method of filling out a paper application, then mailing it with your passport to a visa expeditor.

Tourists go online to http://evisa.mfaic.gov.kh/, fill out the form, upload their photo, use PayPal to pay the fee and press Submit.

It benefits Cambodia, which is trying to attract tourists. It benefits travelers, because it's so easy. Two days later, I came back to the Web site, entered a reference number and my e-mail address and downloaded the visa..

While American tourists can travel to many popular countries such as England and France without a visa, e-visas make traveling to visa-requiring nations not only easier, but more welcoming.

One hopes more of them will join the trend. Bahrain has it. Armenia has it.
Even Australia has replaced its requirement that American tourists have visas with an easier online Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) requirement. The ETA is good for up to three months and can be applied for at www.eta.immi.gov.au.

Meanwhile, the United States still has one of the toughest visa policies in the world. Would-be visitors from most countries need a personal interview even to get a tourist visa. Now, the U.S. is using e-visa technology as a new security measure.

Starting Jan. 12, even visitors from countries that don't need visas, such as England and Germany, will have to register before their trip to the U.S. at the "Electronic System for Travel Authorization" Web site at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov. It requires visitors to provide all the information they would provide for a visa, so it's basically a de-facto visa requirement, even though it features electronic approval.

While some countries are using e-visas to reduce barriers to tourism, the U.S. is doing the opposite.

What does 'bumped' mean?

There was confusion among readers when I wrote recently about a new law that doubles the amount of compensation airlines must pay for bumping passengers off flights.
The main question: Does it count as being bumped if your flight is canceled? No.

"Bumped" means only one thing -- that you are a confirmed passenger on a flight but are denied boarding at the gate because the plane is full, AND it leaves without you even though you did not volunteer to be bumped, AND you refuse whatever compensation the airline offers you.

In that case, the airline must follow federal law. If it cannot get you to your destination within an hour of when your original flight was to have arrived it must pay you up to $800, depending on the level of delay.

The number of truly bumped passengers is only about 1 per 10,000, but nobody wants to be that one unlucky dude.

Wi-Fi coming to Delta

Delta Airlines is installing Wi-Fi technology on its planes to make it possible to surf the Internet in flight.

Available by late fall on some aircraft, it should be on the whole fleet by next summer, for $9.95 per flight. American Airlines has announced a similar move.

In theory, Internet in the air sounds fine. My only worry? If some loudmouth with a headset hooks up an Internet telephone-type connection like Skype at 30,000 feet and blabs for hours, circumventing the no cell phone rule.

On the other hand, maybe someone could use Skype to order mid-air pizza for the starving passengers. Read more!

Anti-tank mine kills 5, wounds 3 in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A truck hit an anti-tank mine in a former stronghold of Cambodia's ultra-communist Khmer Rouge guerrillas, killing at least five people and wounding three, police said on Sunday.

The victims of Friday's accident in the northwestern district of Anlong Veng included women and children who were traveling in a truck carrying rice to a mill, police said.

The area near the Thai border, was once a base for Khmer Rouge guerrillas and is where the group's chief, Pol Pot, died in 1998.

Recent heavy rain could have loosened the soil and shifted the mine onto the road, provincial police chief Menn Ly said.

Decades of civil war, especially in the former battlefields of Khmer Rouge, left Cambodia as the world's most mined country -- an estimated 4-6 million landmines are believed to be still planted in the countryside.

Mine-clearing teams have cleared over 400 square km (155 sq miles) of land but another 4,000 square km are still to be de-mined, said Leng Sochea, a spokesman for Cambodia's Mine Action Centre.

About 450 people are killed each year in Cambodia by mines, down from about 800 in earlier years. Many more are maimed.

(Reporting by Ek Madra; Writing by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Bill Tarrant)

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Cambodia’s ethnic Vietnamese cross the border to go to school

by Le Hoang Vu

AN GIANG — Schools in Khanh An Commune, An Phu District, An Giang Province are welcoming hundreds of new Vietnamese-Cambodian students from Kan Dal Province, Cambodia this academic year.

The majority of the students hail from Pec Chay Commune, Koh Thum District, Cambodia, where many ethnic Vietnamese are living.

Khanh An Commune’s Primary School B has more than 600 Vietnamese-Cambodian students, according to principal Nguyen Tan Tai. All of the school’s new first graders are Vietnamese-Cambodian.

Vietnamese-Cambodians made up 60 per cent of Khanh An Commune’s Primary School A’s 930 students, said principal Nguyen Thi Sanh.

According to Le Van Be, Khanh An Secondary School principal, 30 per cent of the 800 new students this year live in Cambodia.

More and more of Khanh An Commune’s student body is Vietnamese-Cambodian because many cannot afford to send their children to schools in Cambodia.

The Vietnamese-Cambodian students’ parents, many of whom are illiterate, also hope their children learn to both read and write their mother tongue.

Thus, many of these overseas Vietnamese cross the border into Viet Nam to take their children to school every day.

Bui Minh Hung of Koh Thum District, Cambodia sells fish at An Giang Province’s Khanh Binh border gate, and brings his child to a Khanh An school every day. After all his stock is sold, he takes his child home at 12 a.m.

Despite a difficult commute, Nguyen Thi Xuan of Koh Thum District, Cambodia still makes her children to go to school in Viet Nam so they would speak Vietnamese.

Educational authorities in An Giang Province are assisting Vietnamese-Cambodian students to go to school by waiving school infrastructure fees and giving gifts.

For preparation of this school year, Khanh An Commune Primary School A gave away 878 packages of school bags and other classroom necessities worth VND100,000 (US$6) each.

Residents at the border also help out the students by ferrying them across the river for free.

Thanks to local authorities and residents’ help, many overseas Vietnamese students have beat the odds to succeed. For example, Le Duy Phuong, Nguyen Van Lanh and Diep Hoai An, all former Vietnamese-Cambodian high school students, have gone on to university.

Danh Thi My Non, a Vietnamese-Cambodian An Phu High School alum, just entered her junior year at An Giang University, said her vice principal Ngo Thai Can.

Nguyen Quang Tuu of Koh Thum District’s Vietnamese Association said many ethnic Vietnamese in Cambodia were happy their children could learn their mother tongue and keep some Vietnamese cultural traits. — VNS
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US senator urges new approach to Asia trade policy

United States - WASHINGTON, Sept 5 (Reuters) - The United States must rethink its trade policy toward China and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region and adopt new models for negotiating trade deals, a senior Democratic senator said on Friday.

"We must develop a trade policy for the Asia-Pacific region as a whole," Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus said in the text of a speech in Seattle to the National Center for Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.

The group works with the U.S. government on trade policy in the APEC region.

"Too often, China has been treated as a proxy for Asia," said Baucus, whose committee has responsibility for crafting and enacting trade legislation.

President George W. Bush, who will attend his last APEC summit meeting in Peru in November, has been criticized for focusing too much on security concerns within APEC at the expense of the forum's original emphasis on boosting regional trade, investment and development.

The 21-member group accounts for 60 percent of world economic output and brings together leaders of the United States, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and other countries in North America, South America and Asia for annual talks.

Baucus called for a "reinvigorated APEC, one with a clear mission to expand trade between member economies."

The next U.S. administration should pursue a variety of trade pacts within the region, starting with one to liberalize just trade in services with Japan, Baucus said.

That would be break from the broader free trade agreement model followed by the Bush administration. However a pact that includes agriculture would be politically difficult for Tokyo and one that includes autos could be hard for Washington.

Baucus also urged stitching together existing free trade pacts with Chile, Singapore, Australia and South Korea into a regional accord and then expanding it to others like Malaysia, New Zealand, Taiwan and Vietnam.

He did not mention that Congress has yet to approve the South Korean agreement because many Democrats say its auto provisions favor South Korea too much.

Washington also should cut duties on goods from the poorest countries in the region, such as Cambodia, Baucus said.

The United States collects as much duties on $2 billion worth of imports from Cambodia as it does on $57 billion worth of imports from Britain, he said.

Much of Cambodia's exports are in sectors, such as clothing, where the United States has its highest tariffs. (Editing by Xavier Briand)


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Cambodia, "environmentally sustainable" tourism to save Mekong dolphin

Overfishing, war, and pollution have decimated the dolphins, and only a few dozen of them are left. Environmentalists have begun a project aimed at contributing to the development of the villages and to saving the dolphins, but their numbers continue to diminish.

Phnom Penh (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Saving the few dozen freshwater dolphins still remaining in the Mekong River, and helping the local population by guaranteeing them a source of livelihood: this is the aim of the "ecotourism" project begun in the border area between Laos and Cambodia by the Cambodia Rural Development Team (CRDT), which has the twofold objective of protecting wildlife and providing an alternative source of income for the inhabitants of the villages.

For centuries, the waters of the Mekong River - which crosses China, Laos, and Cambodia, before reaching the ocean in Vietnam - were the uncontested habitat of thousands of freshwater dolphins. The Sino-Indian War and the increase of industrialization, together with high pollution levels, have decimated the species, only a few dozen of which survive; 71, according to the latest count provided by the World Wildlife Fund.

The village of Sambor, in the north of Cambodia, is one of the places selected by the CRDT as a model of environmentally sustainable development: tourists are given the opportunity to live in contact with the local population, to help the inhabitants protect the natural habitat of the dolphins, and to teach a little English to the children. The most frequently requested activities include well digging, sewer construction, and work in the fields.

The experiment promoted by the activists is intended to save the dolphins from extinction by radically changing the habits of the inhabitants of the village, who for decades have used aggressive fishing methods like explosives and high-capacity nets. Now the freshwater dolphins are seen as a resource to be "exploited" in order to attract foreign capital and tourism; the visitors pay 60 US dollars for three days in contact with nature, and the money is used to support the local population. In a country in which half the population lives on a dollar a day, the inhabitants of the village earn five dollars a day by providing food (two dollars) and lodging (three dollars) for the visitors.

But recent studies have demonstrated that if the benefit for individuals is beyond question, the same cannot be said for the dolphins: in spite of a small increase in their numbers in the initial phase of the project, it is not yet clear whether this is truly effective for preserving the species. Scientists affirm that a new and not yet identified disease is spreading rapidly, killing the offspring. Researchers fear that the new virus - caused by pollution in the water, infested with chemical agents and the runoff from gold mining projects - could soon lead to the total extinction of the dolphins.

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So Far, It Just Isn't Looking Like Asia's Century

By Joshua Kurlantzick

So much for the Asian century. The Thais are bickering with themselves, and when they're done doing that, they'll bicker with the Cambodians -- again. China may be Japan's biggest trading partner, but they hate each other anyway. Malaysia and Indonesia? Two countries divided by the same language.

I've spent a lot of time in Asia over the past decade, as an expat and a traveler. From where I stand, the place is a geopolitical mess. Hogtied by nationalism and narrow self-interest, the countries of the East won't be banding together to replace the West as the seat of global power -- at least not anytime soon.

Asia's troubles have been on prominent display in recent weeks as anti-government demonstrations, fueled in part by anti-Cambodian nationalism, rocked Bangkok. Earlier this summer, Thailand and Cambodia moved onto war footing because of a dispute over a mountaintop temple -- not exactly a living example of the Beijing Olympics' motto: "One World, One Dream."

Of course, an Asian version of the European Union isn't out of reach, as many Asian leaders know. But today, the continent battles a kind of split personality. On the one hand, many cultural, economic and political trends suggest that Asian nations are becoming more integrated than ever before. But on the other, a virulent nationalism is spreading in the region, one that feeds on reinterpreted -- or even imaginary -- history to gin up hatred and push small-minded agendas.

Elites in Asia clearly understand the benefits of integration, and businesses and officials together are promoting the trend. In 2004, China replaced the United States as Japan's biggest trading partner. Chinese yearly trade with the ten Southeast Asian nations will likely surpass $200 billion by 2010.With the expansion of satellite television, Asian airlines and regional hiring by Asian conglomerates, businesspeople watch the same news, cool their heels together in a slew of space-age international airports and mingle at cocktail parties and pan-Asian business summits. Fads that start in Tokyo or Seoul, such as drinking red wine or dying hair blond, sweep through the region. At summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), I've seen packs of diplomats gathered at bars swapping stories in fluent English about their hijinks during graduate school at Johns Hopkins University.

Despite all that love, most of the region's multilateral institutions do little more than meet for the sake of meeting. In Cambodia and Laos, local officials and fishermen despair that dams built by China on the upper portion of the Mekong River are blocking water flow -- and ravaging fishing in the southern stretch of that river that snakes through their countries. "But when we . . . try to bring this up at ASEAN meetings," Sokhem Pech, a leading Cambodian Mekong expert, told me, "no one even wants to talk about it." The committee officially monitoring the Mekong, which doesn't include China, is so feeble that it rarely speaks out on the issue.

The problem: Calls to nationalism and an obsession with sovereignty are drowning out calls for cooperation. The passage of time since World War II, when nationalism led to catastrophe, has allowed politicians to wield it more freely for short-term gain. "The Chinese are ignorant, so they are overjoyed," Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara quipped after China launched a manned spaceship in 2003. "That [spacecraft] was an outdated one. If Japan wanted to do it, we could do it in one year."

This sort of nationalism isn't the stuff of a few firebrands. Across the continent, populist politicians have scrubbed school textbooks, whether to minimize Japan's atrocities in South Korea and China during World War II or to erase the memory of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia -- perhaps because Prime Minister Hun Sen was an officer in the genocidal regime before he turned against it. Traveling to Cambodia, I meet teenagers who know practically nothing about what happened in their country in the 1970s. China, too, has whitewashed the memory of the Tiananmen Square crackdown of June 4, 1989. When a "Frontline" documentary crew went to Beijing University a few years ago and showed students the iconic 1989 photograph of the man who stopped a tank in its tracks, no one recognized it.

Politicians aren't the only ones embracing nationalism. In 2002, when Thailand was still recovering from its financial meltdown, government-backed filmmakers produced "The Legend of Suriyothai" to restore their country's wounded pride. One of the most expensive pictures in Thai history, it told the story of an ancient Thai queen who died fighting Burmese invaders -- and compounded Thais' hostility toward Burma, their neighbor to the west.

The Internet has further empowered Asian nationalists, allowing them to air their vitriol unchecked. On Chinese online bulletin boards such as the "Strong Nation Forum," which is run by the People's Daily, respondents compete for the most aggressive stance and ridicule Chinese leaders for compromising on issues such as relations with neighboring countries or Tibet or Taiwan. In Japan, the blogosphere helped spark sales of the manga comic book "Hating the Korean Wave." And in Indonesia, online writers helped fuel anger at neighboring Malaysia for the use of a supposedly Indonesian jingle in a tourism campaign and for the mistreatment of an Indonesian karate referee. These are petty grievances, but the Internet amplifies even the smallest outbursts, and reactions can be fierce. Just last week, Vietnam's foreign ministry called in China's ambassador to protest the appearance on Chinese Web sites of "invasion plans" that purported to detail the occupation of Vietnam by the People's Liberation Army.

Whenever I visit Asia, I meet young people who detest neighbors they barely know. "The Thais, all they care about is money. Nothing else," one Burmese acquaintance told me in Rangoon, despite the fact that he'd never actually been to Thailand. In one study taken last year by a leading Japanese nongovernmental organization, two-thirds of the Chinese polled said they had either a "very bad" or "relatively bad" impression of Japan.

As any politician can tell you, public opinion counts. In an open society such as the Philippines, rising anti-Chinese sentiment helped force the government in September 2007 to suspend China-funded projects valued at $4 billion. Even countries that have little history of animosity toward each other can be swept into a rage by the new nationalists. In 2006, after Singaporean state investment fund Temasek Holdings purchased Thai telecommunications giant Shin Corporation, Thai bloggers and online columnists condemned the deal, arguing that a Singaporean company would have control over sensitive Thai communications infrastructure. Thousands of Thais marched to Singapore's embassy in Bangkok -- a move that left urbane Singaporean diplomats, more accustomed to managing business deals than bullhorns, a bit flat-footed.

All these problems don't seem to have resonated in the United States, where an entire industry has developed around predictions that the Asian century will replace the American one. And maybe it will -- a few centuries from now.
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Thai protesters enjoy free food, $3 massage

By JOCELYN GECKER, Associated Press Writer

BANGKOK, Thailand - Once open only to the ruling elite, Thailand's stately Government House has turned into a cross between a refugee camp and a village fairground.

Thousands of anti-government protesters occupying the prime minister's office compound have set up a tent city complete with free food, outdoor showers, entertainment, massages and lots of manicured shrubs for hanging laundry to dry.

The siege, in its 11th day Friday, is aimed at forcing Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej to resign. The demonstrators have not succeeded in kicking him out of office, but they have kept him out his office.

To ease the kinks caused by round-the-clock protesting, massage services are available under the shade of palm trees for $3 an hour.

In a live radio broadcast Thursday, Samak called the situation a national embarrassment and refused to step down — drawing boos and jeers from thousands of protesters fanning themselves on lawn chairs outside his office.

"I am outside and can't work properly," Samak said, his speech broadcast from a sound stage set up on the Government House lawn.

Samak initially based himself at a military headquarters outside Bangkok, but his aides say he has lately worked from an office at the Defense Ministry.

"Is it shameful? Yes, it is," Samak said.

Still, authorities have been reluctant to use force against the crowd for fear they will be denounced for sparking violence with the protesters, who have armed themselves with makeshift weapons and vowed to resist any attempt to remove them.

Also, violence, or the perception that it was imminent, could cause the military to stage a coup with the excuse that it was necessary to restore order, as it did in September 2006. It was demonstrations by the People's Alliance for Democracy, which is leading the current protest, that sparked the instability that led to the coup.

The new demonstration is built on the alliance's belief that Western-style democracy does not work for Thailand. It says the ballot box gives too much weight to the impoverished rural majority allegedly susceptible to vote buying that breeds corruption. It wants Parliament to be revamped so most lawmakers would be appointed rather than elected.

The protest has caused one of the biggest political crises since Thailand became a constitutional monarchy in 1932. It is the first time in the country's history that civilians have overrun the seat of government.

Built in the early 20th century and modeled after a Venetian palace, the Gothic-style Government House is one of Bangkok's most distinguished buildings.

The alliance's security volunteers sit behind a barbed-wire barricade at the entrance, which is stacked with motorcycle helmets for protection and golf clubs, bamboo rods and rudimentary shields.

"Welcome! Would you like something to eat?" asked Pongping Kumna, a protester manning the free food stand just past the entrance gate. Tables were piled high with donated food, many ordered from popular Bangkok restaurants.

Recent offerings included sauteed chicken with chili and basil, Thai-style noodles from a famous downtown noodle shop, McDonald's hamburgers and, for dessert, chocolate doughnuts and shaved ice with fruit flavoring.

"We have everything we need here. There's no reason to leave," said Pongping, 44, a clothing shop owner from the southern beach town of Krabi who had camped at the compound for nine days.

Protesters, mostly royalists, wealthy and middle-class urban residents and union activists, have tapped into the Government House's electricity system. Extension cords charge mobile phones and power televisions.

The anti-government channel ASTV, owned by protest leader Sondhi Limthongkul, is broadcast round-the-clock on TV sets scattered around the grounds.

Fiery anti-Samak speakers take the stage, alternating with pop singers, like one recently crooning James Taylor songs as the crowd clapped and swayed.

When supplies are needed, protest leaders take the microphone and call for donations from supporters, who have responded by trucking in portable toilets and rudimentary outdoor showers with curtains for privacy.

The stench of urine and garbage is a problem they are trying to address.

Signs taped to the building's ornate facade note: "The Government House is the property of the Thai people. So all Thais should keep it clean."

For medical needs, there are several first-aid stations, which also hand out free shampoo, soap, mouthwash and razors.

Doctors from hospitals and clinics around Thailand have taken leaves to join the protest, said Bangkok ophthalmologist Somporn Reepolmania, pointing out a surgeon, dentist, psychiatrist and anesthesiologist.

"We are protesting against Samak and against the corrupt politics of Thailand," he said. "The government has no morals, no ethics, and the system doesn't work. We have to change it."

Protesters say they are not afraid of conflict. Some have traveled long distances to take part in the demonstrations.

"I flew from Los Angeles to Bangkok to be with (my) people," said United Airlines flight attendant Maree Lertphraewphun, who has lived in the United States for 38 years. She requested vacation to join the protests.

"If I happen to die, I will die with them," she said.

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Thai PM buys time with referendum plan

By Darren Schuettler

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has bought some time with a referendum aimed at defusing street protests, but it will do nothing to resolve Thailand's fundamental political conflict, analysts say.

Leaders of the three-month old campaign to oust the 73-year-old premier vowed to continue their protest, including the 11-day occupation of Samak's official compound in Bangkok.

But with a national referendum looming it becomes much harder to force Samak out through intervention either by the military or the king, who has stepped into disputes in the past.

"I don't see any quick resolution of this situation," Giles Ungphakorn of Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University said, adding Samak had cleverly batted the ball back to the anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD).

"The PAD's strategy now will be to increase pressure and they will have to discredit the referendum," he said of the motley coalition of royalist businessmen, academics and activists leading the sit-in at Government House.

Samak, who refuses to quit or call an election, announced the referendum on Thursday, two days after imposing emergency rule in Bangkok. He said on Friday he was considering lifting the decree after the army refused to evict the PAD by force.

A new referendum bill passed its first reading in the Senate on Friday, but it could take up to 90 days for final approval.

It's still not clear what question would be put to Thailand's 65 million people. But Samak would likely win on the back of strong support in the countryside, where many Thais blame the protests in Bangkok for hurting the economy.

"Many of these well-off protesters may think they can afford to join the rally, but they don't realize that the demonstration is hurting everybody else in this country," glass blower Prapha Janjaem said in Baan Bangsai, a village north of Bangkok.

The stock market has fallen more than 26 percent since the PAD launched its campaign at the end of May, while the baht has plunged to a 19-month low against the dollar. The crisis has also hit tourism, with airlines and hotels reporting cancellations.

Rubber exporters said some shipments had been disrupted by anti-government industrial action by rail workers.

Thanachart Securities said a referendum would not end the crisis, which has eroded investor confidence in Thailand.

"We feel there are just two ways out -- either the prime minister quits or he calls an election," it said.

PUPPET OR PM?

The PAD, which accuses Samak of being a puppet of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, removed in a 2006 coup, launched its street campaign in May, signaling a return to open political warfare in Thailand.

Thaksin, still admired by rural Thais who handed him huge parliamentary majorities in return for his populist programs, is believed to be pulling political strings from exile in London.

He is despised by Bangkok's middle class, the military and the royalist establishment, who all opposed his modernizing agenda. He was also accused of abuse of power and corruption while in office.

"The current drama could take years, if not decades to resolve itself. It is nothing short of a class war with two opposite groups of elites backing their respective sides," Bangkok's Nation newspaper said.

It said Samak was betting that the military "don't have the cheek" to launch a coup before the referendum.

Army chief Anupong Paochinda has said repeatedly that a putsch would not solve the country's political problems.

But more bloodshed on the streets could prompt the military or King Bhumibol Adulyadej to intervene. A move by the latter would be unlikely to favor the government, although it would be nuanced and espouse the need for national harmony and stability.

"The question is whether or not the PAD will have enough patience to wait for this vote or will it continue to provoke the situation," said Kim Eng Securities analyst Vikas Kawatra.

There has been no major violence in Bangkok since emergency rule was imposed on Tuesday, but the situation remains tense.

A gunman on a motorcycle fired at 100 students marching to protest at Samak's home on Thursday night, wounding two of them.

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Thai Seamico Securities to buy into Vietnamese firm

BANGKOK, Sept 5 - Thailand's Seamico Securities PCL said on Friday it would buy a 25 percent stake in a securities firm in Vietnam as part of its plan to expand overseas.

The brokerage did not say how much it had paid, but it said in a statement to the Thai stock exchange that it could eventually take up to 49 percent in Vietnam's Thanh Cong Securities Co J.S.C.

Thanh Cong Securities has registered capital of $21.5 million and Thanh Cong Textile Garment is a major shareholder, the statement said.

Vienam's main stock index <.VNI>, which rose 24 percent last year after jumping 145 percent in 2006, has lost 41 percent this year, hit by global credit woes and soaring domestic inflation.

Seamico, ranked seventh among Thailand's 38 listed brokers, focuses on underwriting share and debt issues as well as advising companies on initial public offerings.

The Thai firm has said it expected to receive a licence to enter Cambodia later this year.

It posted a second-quarter net profit of 28.15 million baht .

At 0829 GMT, Seamico shares were unchanged at 2.22 baht while the overall index <.SETI> was 1.38 percent lower.

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Cambodian Senate president returns home from China visit

Cambodian Senate President Chea Sim arrived in Phnom Penh on Friday after paying an official visit to China.

Chea Sim was welcomed by some Cambodian senior officials and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Zhang Jinfeng at the Phnom Penh International Airport.

At the invitation of Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Chea Sim left Cambodia Monday for China to pay a five-day visit.

During his stay in China, Chea Sim respectively met with Wu Bangguo, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, and Jia Qinglin on Tuesday. 　

Source:Xinhua Read more!

Cambodian American Heritage Museum exhibit mirrors archivist's life story

When Ty Tim, his wife and daughter survived the Khmer Rouge's brutal regime and came to the United States as refugees in 1982, they brought with them two things from Cambodia: a small ivory Buddha he found while searching for food in the jungle and a copper coin his mom gave him before she died in a forced labor camp. Both were hidden from Khmer soldiers in the pockets of his daughter's pants.

Since 2004, Tim, who lost four of his five children during the Khmer Rouge's murderous rule from 1975 to 1979, has been returning to his homeland, bringing back what he couldn't before.

Tim, 65, has acquired wooden carvings, ancient Cambodian instruments, sacred texts on palm leaves, etchings from the Angkor Wat temple, children's toys and fishing traps. Some of the treasures—novelties and replicas of ancient works because Cambodian law bans removal of historical artifacts—grace the walls of his Skokie home.

But many of them made up the core of the Cambodian American Heritage Museum's exhibit last year on the arts and culture of Cambodia and are part of the exhibit opening Sunday on every day life in Cambodia.

The exhibits at the museum, 2831 W. Lawrence Ave., are in partnership with Northern Illinois University.

Tim, a retired teacher and the museum's archivist, says the exhibits help Cambodian-Americans remember aspects of their culture they may have forgotten. Many refugees came to the U.S. from Cambodia ready to put tragedy behind them and quickly faced the challenges of learning a new language and making a living, he said. The exhibits also can teach non-Cambodians and a new generation of U.S.-born Cambodian-Americans who may know little about Cambodian traditions.

"They need to know something about their culture," Tim said.

Although the ivory Buddha and copper coin, used by Cambodians as a massaging tool, are not on display, Tim's own story appears to echo through the exhibit.

His father was a farmer. Tim grew up harvesting rice and catching fish using the basketlike traps his father made. A fish trap like the one he used is in the exhibit, as are some of the different types of rice he helped harvest.

Knowing a bit about farming came in handy under the Khmer Rouge, which took power in 1975. The regime, which sent the population to work in rural farms and killed more than 1.5 million people, was anti-intellectual.

So teachers such as Tim often hid their profession, claiming instead to be illiterate farmers.

But the Khmer soldiers would still test them, ordering his family to grow vegetables on infertile land and forcing him to plow rice fields.

He has brought back Khmer-language textbooks and toys used by children in schools. A wooden toy that mimics the toad mating call comes from Tim's own collection. Nearby, a ceremonial silver tea set and wedding conch used to pour holy water on the couple's hands are also on loan from him.

Today, his life in America is quite different than that life in Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge forced millions like him and his family to march from Phnom Penh into the jungle. On the march through the jungle, his father died. At the farming camp, his mother and four youngest children died of starvation.

"They kept 1,200 people in that one village," Tim recalls. "When we got out from that village, there were only 400 of us left."

When Vietnam invaded Cambodia and overthrew the Khmer Rouge, the family returned to Phnom Penh. Tim started work again as a teacher.

But when friends told him officials were upset over his refusal to learn Communist ideology, he and his family fled again.

This time, they walked for two months back through the jungles, without a map, desperate for water, evading land mines and soldiers of all kinds.

They eventually reached a refugee camp in Thailand.

It's a history he feels younger Cambodians such as his three youngest children—one born in post-Khmer Rouge Cambodia and two in Chicago—at times fail to grasp.

So he fills his home with reminders of his native land.

And he hopes the museum exhibits will help educate them.

nahmed@tribune.com

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SCT still bullish on Cambodia

SCT Co Ltd, an international trading arm of Thailand's Siam Cement Group, expects to increase its turnover in Cambodia by 25% from last year to $50 million this year despite border tensions between the two countries. SCT managing director Kalin Sarasin said the potential for the trading business with Cambodia was tremendous as few products were manufactured locally.

Thailand is Cambodia's third biggest trading partner with value of $550 million in 2007, behind China ($750 million) and Vietnam ($650 million), he said.

''Cambodia is a net-importer country with most of products shipped from Thailand, Vietnam and China. The trading business is shown to have the highest growth, expanding relative to stable gross domestic products (GDP) growth which is expected at 7.5% in 2008.''

Major products imported to Cambodia are construction materials such as cement, roofing materials, ceramic tiles, sanitaryware and steel.

Its subsidiary, Cementhai SCT (Cambodia) Co. also exports waste paper and aluminium scrap from Cambodia to supply many factories in Thailand, he added.

The construction business, according to Mr Kalin, is among sectors that have shown strong prospects in the neighbouring country along with oil and gas, plantations and agro-industries and labour-intensive ventures such as garments and logistics.

In every sector, many foreign and local companies have stepped up investments in Cambodia. Infrastructure is being built to lure more investors, he said.

Office buildings and serviced apartments are in high demand for expatriates. Several South Korean developers are investing in condominiums in Phnom Penh while the construction market is growing dramatically in Siem Reap and Kampong Som, added Mr Kalin.

''There are many oil and gas exploration activities in Cambodia, boosting the demand for related materials such as piping and structural steel for rigs,'' he said.

In the agricultural sector, Chinese and Thai investors are investing in plantation projects in Cambodia. Major crops are rice with tapioca, palm oil, and rubber becoming more attractive for investors.

Mr Kalin played down the impact of the border dispute over the Preah Vihear temple, saying it would not last long.

''The dispute has not affected our operations much,'' he said. ''With our strong distribution network and many local staff, we are ready to move on with our business plan there and adapt to all situations.''

Siam Cement (SCC) shares closed yesterday on the SET at 158 baht, unchanged, in trade worth 83.9 million baht. Read more!

Awards spotlight businesses in VN, Laos and Cambodia

HA NOI — An awards programme for outstanding enterprises and businesses in Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam will be held in Ha Noi early next year.

The event is jointly organised by the Viet Nam Association for Small and Medium-sized Enterprise, the Ministry of Defence’s Economic Department and the Association for Economic Development of Viet Nam-Laos-Cambodia.

Prizes will be given to outstanding enterprises and business people who run their business effectively and have been active in social charity work.

"Prizes will also be given to enterprises and business people earning outstanding achievements and investing in economic development in the three countries," said organisers.

Eligibility for the competition requires enterprises and business people to have actively contributed to the friendship between the three countries; earned high growth rates from high-quality products; have strong and attractive trade-marks as well as a good business culture while obeying laws and protecting the environment.

Judges for the competition will include representatives from relevant ministries, the embassies of Laos and Cambodia in Viet Nam and Vietnamese embassies in Laos and Cambodia.

Representative from friendship associations between the three countries will also be on the judging panel.

Applications can be submitted from now until November 30, 2008. — VNS Read more!

Local film takes its viewers to war-torn 1970s Cambodia

By MIKE BRANTLEY
TV & Media Editor

"Residue," a locally produced short dramatic film about the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency's involvement in Cambodia in 1970, will be screened Sunday in Mobile.

Made by filmmakers Nathaniel Nuon, Jared Davis and Wade Miller under their Sothea Pictures banner, the film soon will be showcased as well at three film festivals in southern California. It is an official selection of the Temecula Valley International Film Festival, the San Diego Asian Film Festival and the San Diego Film Festival.

In Mobile on Sunday, the film will be shown at The Wine Loft at 9 Du Rhu Dr. Admission is free, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and the screening beginning at 7:30 p.m.

"Residue," which was largely shot at a pre-renovation historic home in Fort Conde Village and in other Mobile locations, was directed by Nuon from a script written by Davis and Nuon.

Miller, producer of the film, described the story it tells as "controversial and intriguing" as it deals with the CIA's involvement in Cambodia and then picks up six years later for "the chilling aftermath."

"Residue" is fiction based on history, Miller said. Providing backdrops for the story are the Lon Nol coup d'etat of 1970 and the rule of the Khmer Rouge in 1976.

"We are shedding some light on a part of history that is not taught much, especially in the United States," Miller told the Press-Register.

When the film begins, the war in Vietnam has begun to spread across that country's border with neutral Cambodia. Fearing the spread of communism, Miller explained, the CIA targeted Cambodia for clandestine operations.

The story focuses on a group of 12 secret army Cambodian soldiers trained by the CIA to take out communist Vietnamese targets inside Cambodia in order to make way for a new pro-American government.

But once the coup is successfully executed, one by one each member of this secret team is killed.

Partway through the film, the scene shifts forward six years, with the Khmer Rouge in power and thousands of people dying daily. One young man escapes capture and sets out on his own personal war against those he feels are responsible for what is happening in his country.

"When your country is in peril, what would you do?" asks screenwriter Davis in a media release supporting the film. "How far would you take it? Sometimes you have to do what is best for your country. Sometimes people do terrible, horrific things like fight wars, and take human lives, not because they are necessarily evil people, but because they believe with all their conviction and soul that they are doing the right thing for their families, themselves and for their country."

Director Nuon said the two time periods depicted in "Residue" were "crucial years" when Cambodians hoped and strove for peace only to find their country engulfed in civil war and then genocide.

The director made reference to The Killing Fields, a collective name for a number of sites in Cambodia where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the Khmer Rouge regime during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979.

Nuon said that in the film "the Khmer genocide is like a character in itself, always present, and always looming over the characters haunting them every step of the way."

Miller said that while "Residue" was shortened to meet the submission criteria of the festivals, those who attend the screening in Mobile Sunday may be treated to a longer, 23-minute cut. It is possible, too, that the film will be shown more than once at The Wine Loft on Sunday to accommodate whatever size crowd turns out, the producer said.

"We took some behind-the-scenes footage and pictures," he said. "We'll be showing that, too."




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Cambodia's population approaches 14 million

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia's population is approaching 14 million people, more than half of whom are women, according to preliminary results from the first general census, local media reported Thursday.

"According to the preliminary results, the population of Cambodia stood at 13,388,910 at midnight on March 3, 2008, consisting of 6,495,512 males and 6,893,398 females," Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sar Kheng, who also chairs the National Census Committee, was quoted as saying in the Phnom Penh Post.

The provisional figures at the national level indicate that the total fertility rate and growth rate of the population has slowed down as predicted, he added.

The census also found that while Cambodia remains a largely rural country, more people were living in cities, the newspaper said.

The average household contained 4.7 people, according to census figures.

The projected annual growth rate in 2010 is expected to be 1.54percent, still higher than that of East Asia, which stands at 1.3 percent.
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Foreign Minister resigns

Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag resigned on Wednesday, and Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej booked early morning air time for a special speech to the nation amdist signs he might quit under the pressure of militant street protests.

A reliable source disclosed that Mr Tej quit in apparent protest, the day after the premier declared emergency rule on Tuesday after clashes between his supporters and anti-government protesters killed one man and injured 43.

Mr Samak ordered TV and radio time beginning at 7:30am (0030 GMT) on Thursday, through the Public Relations Department.

Officially, he will "speak to fellow Thais about the ongoing political turmoil," PRD sources said.

Unofficially, there was high speculation he might decide to resign. Leaders of the People's Alliance for Democracy said on Wednesday that the minimum requirement for negotiations with authorities are the resignations of Mr Samak and his cabinet.

Mr Tej claimed he wanted to leave the office he only recently took over in order to care for his ailing wife. He sent his resignation letter to Mr Samak. Although the premier did not officially accept the letter, Mr Tej was not expected to show up for work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday, according to the source.

Mr Tej, a former permanent secretary for foreign affairs, replaced Noppadon Pattama as foreign minister who had been pressed to resign in the wake of the listing of the disputed Preah Vihear temple as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Heritage Site.

Mr Tej held talks with his Cambodian counterpart over the dispute in Siem Reap, Cambodia, one day after he had assumed the ministerial post on July 27.

High-level diplomacy has been taking place to reduce escalating tension. An agreement was reached, following a meeting between Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers late August, to reduce troop numbers near the temple. Read more!

Cambodia casino reaps 25 mn dollars profit

PHNOM PENH: Cambodia's burgeoning economy brought casino operator NagaCorp 25.5 million dollars in profit in the first half of the year, a company report obtained by media revealed Wednesday. The profit signalled a rise of 26.9 per cent on a year earlier.

"Our operations continued to benefit from the political stability and economic development of Cambodia," the NagaCorp report said. After decades of turmoil, Cambodia has emerged as a rising economy in Southeast Asia - posting an average of 11 per cent growth over the past three years on the back of strong tourism and garment sectors.

Nagacorp reported its revenue soared 68.5 per cent from the same period last year to approximately 109.1 million dollars, in a country hosting several casinos popular with gamblers across the region.

The Malaysian-owned company is registered on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and runs the largest casino in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh. The government awarded it a gambling license in 1994 to promote international tourism.

More than a dozen casinos operated by other companies dot Cambodia's borders with Vietnam and Thailand, raking in an estimated tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

The industry fuels the economies of several hard-scrabble Cambodian cities, though the country remains desperately poor with more than 30 per cent of its 14 million population living in poverty. Read more!

Yamaha, Toyota Tsusho to establish motorcycle company in Cambodia

Yamaha Motor and Toyota Tsusho have agreed to establish a new company, Yamaha Motor Cambodia, to manufacture and market motorcycles with the aim of strengthening the foundation of the motorcycle business in the Cambodian market.

The new company will begin operations on October 1, 2008, and its starting capital of $11.5 million will be invested 70% by Yamaha Motor, 20% by Toyota Tsusho and 10% by Cambodia's Kong Nuon Import & Export.

Since March 2007, Asia Motors, a joint venture company between Toyota Tsusho and Kong Nuon Import & Export, has been assembling and marketing motorcycles with parts and components supplied as semi knocked-down kits by Thai Yamaha Motor.

Yamaha Motor Cambodia will begin operations by taking over operations at the Asia Motors factory and the Asia Motors sales network, and a 94,890sqm lot will be acquired in Phnom Penh's special economic zone for the construction of a new factory.

The initial target for the new company is to expand motorcycle sales to 30,000 units valued at JPY4.2 billion by 2010, after the start of production at the new factory.


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China, Cambodia vow to carry forward traditional ties

BEIJING, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- Senior leaders of China and Cambodia on Tuesday underscored the traditional friendship between the two neighbors.
"Let's work more closely to take our five-decade bilateral friendship and cooperation to a new high," China's top legislator Wu Bangguo told the President of the Cambodian Senate, Chea Sim.

In their talks in the Great Hall of the People, Wu, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, reviewed the sound development of China-Cambodia ties, citing political trust, substantive cooperation and support on important issues.

In response, Sim said the Cambodian leadership will carry forward the bilateral traditional solidarity that was forged by the older leaders in the previous century.

Sim said he hoped the two legislatures can step up their cooperation and share experience on governance.

Sim's visit to Beijing coincided with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Cambodia ties.

Later Tuesday, Sim met with Jia Qinglin, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, China's top advisory body.

Jia said China would like to enhance its comprehensive and in-depth cooperation with Cambodia.
The top advisor also expressed appreciation for Cambodia's adherence to the one-China policy and opposition to "Taiwan independence".

Sim said Cambodia was grateful for the assistance China had offered and would like to work more closely with China in politics, economics and other fields.

Sim reaffirmed Cambodia's one-China stance.
Read more!

CPP's control of parliamentarian seats help secure policy sustainability in Cambodia

By Xia Lin, Liu Lu

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian National Election Committee (NEC) declared Tuesday the ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) has secured 90 seats, or over two thirds of the 123 seats, at top legislative body in the general election, thus enabling CPP to have stronger management of the country.

Meanwhile, the main opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP) won 26 seats and the Human Rights Party (HRP) received three seats, and the Funcinpec Party and the Norodom Ranariddh Party (NRP) got two seats each, according to official results declared by NEC on Tuesday.

The first meeting of Cambodia's new parliament is scheduled for Sept. 24, ahead of forming the new government.

"The CPP's dominance will secure peace and stability in Cambodia, which is very precious for the country and its people," said local economic analyst David Phat, who was born here and endured the war-torn years of Cambodia.

Phat said that primarily, continued governance by CPP can guarantee policy sustainability in its upcoming term, adding that the party in its current term has pursed political stability for the sake of economic development, and regional coordination for the sake of international cooperation.

"Political stability can lead to economic prosperity," he told Xinhua.

Under the CPP governance, the Cambodian economy is expected to remain nearly double-digit growth rate and the per capita GDP will probably top 1,000 U.S. dollars by 2014, he added.

Pen Samitthy, editor-in-chief of the country's largest Khmer-language daily newspaper the Rasmei Kampuchea, agreed that the political and economic situation will be further improved as CPP establishes the new government right after the general election.

"CPP will enjoy a larger space and better conditions, so it can lead the government more efficiently," he told Xinhua.

According to the Constitution, the party winning majority of the seats at the National Assembly will establish the government. Law can be passed with support from 50 percent plus one seat at the National Assembly.

The focus will be our economy after the political situation is settled, and especially, the foreign investment will increase, said Pen Samitthy.

"Everything will be better," he added.

Hu Jinlin, a Chinese merchant and major electric appliances dealer in Phnom Penh, echoed the above prediction, saying that national policy sustainability will stay, as CPP grips bigger power and Hun Sen himself can manipulate more development issues.

"The results are a good message for us. They will stabilize and promote the middle- and long-term investment in Cambodia. We see a clear prospect and know that the situation won't change much. Especially, more Chinese people will come to find their opportunities because the two countries have shared decades of friendly cooperation and China is Cambodia's major donor and investor," he told Xinhua.

Suy Sok Khun, senior CPP cadre and veteran reporter at Chinese-language newspaper the Commercial News, told Xinhua that the strong economic performance under the CPP governance in the past few years has boosted its electoral results.

"Hun Sen and senior CPP leaders used to like citing positive economic figures and development of infrastructure as the major achievements of the government. Most voters accepted this and deem CPP is capable," he said.

Official records showed that Cambodian had 11 percent of economic growth on average in the past three years, the highest among Southeast Asian countries; the per capita GDP rose from 448 U.S. dollars in 2005 to 594 U.S. dollars in 2007; and the foreign reserves from 890 million U.S. dollars in 2005 to 1.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2007.

Meanwhile, major national roads, bridges and power projects have also been constructed countrywide, which improved the kingdom's traffic and power network to an unprecedented level.

In addition, said Suy, there were also a big number of inertia voters, who thought that those who did well in the past should be encouraged to stay on their posts in the future.

"One more message that we can feel from the results is that CPP becomes more consolidated than ever before," he added.

However, a source close to the Council of Ministers said on condition of anonymity that any coin has two sides and the landslide victory may also push the giant party to turn a blind eye to its internal problems and govern the kingdom in a pampered way.

Alleged corruption and land grabbing have haunted the CPP government and officials for a long time and drained some voters' confidence and ballots to the major opposition Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), which in effect surpassed Funcinpec during the Commune Councils Election in April 2007 to become the second largest party of the country, said the source.

"If part of SRP members hadn't changed their flag to found the Human Rights Party (HRP) right before the general election, SRP might have been closer to CPP now," he said.

What's more, this overall victory in the election may bear out the assessment of some CPP members that occasional corruption and land grabbing are not as destructive as NGOs and opposition parties thought, and those with critic rhetoric are not worth fearing, he said.

"This frame of mind will inevitably fuel their future wrongdoings and even arrogance in its management of the country," he added.

CPP was established in 1951 and has governed the kingdom since 1993. It now has around 5 million members, over one third of Cambodia's total population.

For the general election held on July 27, 11 political parties and 8,125,529 voters were registered, while 15,255 polling stations were set up nationwide and 17,000 local and international observers watched the process going.
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