Sou Sdei and welcome to Campuccino, your fortnightly dispatch of key headlines in Cambodia with a dash of opinion.
To new subscribers, welcome! I’m Darathtey, a communication consultant, writer, and researcher. Learn more about my work here.
Here we are in December, my favourite month because it is often the time that calls for reflection and celebration of the year’s milestones. It has been an eventful year for me both professionally and personally, and I’m delighted to say that I’m ending this year with such gratitude to myself and loved ones who encourage, support, and pick me up along the way. This newsletter is going to be my last for this year, and I'll see you back here early in the new year.
Happy Holidays everyone!
- Darathtey
While I was on a family holiday in New Zealand in mid-November, news broke at home on the topic of China’s funding (or lack thereof) of the renowned Funan Techo Canal. Since then, there have been a few developments. To speedily catch you up, at an early stage, the status of China’s financial backing of the canal was called into question. The Cambodian government was tightlipped on the matter. In the backdrop of this, we had a foreign minister swap: out Sok Chenda Sophea, and back in the former and now current foreign minister Prak Sokhonn. By the end of November, the Chinese ambassador, during his meeting with the FM Prak Sokhonn, pledged his strong support for Cambodia’s development but the topic around the canal’s funding remained murky. Then, in early December, former PM and current President of the Senate Hun Sen had a high profile visit to China with President Xi Jinping who reaffirmed the strong tie between the two countries. However, there have been no details offered on construction funding of the Funan Techo Canal project.
Okay, I can’t find a smooth transition between the canal and rice, so we’re gonna cut right to it. Finally, news from Cambodia I can show off to my international friend: Cambodia’s fragrant rice “Malis Angkor” was selected as world’s best rice at the 2024 International World Rice Conference in Manila, Philippines on November 7. This marked the sixth time Cambodia received such an award. As a Cambodian and a lover of rice (obviously), I must say this is pretty cool.
Now, we have reached the usual grimness of news from Cambodia. Early this month, Cambodia’s mediasphere mourned the loss of an environmental journalist Chhoeung Chheung. He was shot on December 4 while on assignment covering illegal forest clearing in northern Cambodia. He died from the injuries on December 7. I encourage you to read this piece by Gerry Flynn and Phoung Vantha covering not just the incident but the risky state of journalists working to cover environmental issues in Cambodia.
Next up, crypto. An article by Danielle Keeton-Olsen reported in early December that Cambodia has blocked access to 16 cryptocurrency exchange websites, including Binance and Coinbase, despite having partnerships with some of them. This move highlights the government's struggle to regulate the booming but illegal crypto market while facing international pressure to curb its reputation as a hub for cybercrime. I don’t know much about crypto but knowing the decentralised nature of it makes me doubt the effectiveness of such effort.
Speaking of effort, the national police has spent the past two months raiding fortified complexes in Kampong Speu, informally known as Mango Park, and in Phnom Penh’s Steung Meanchey commune over suspected illegal gambling or worker abuse. Despite the raids, particularly the Mango Park complex, there's little evidence of meaningful intervention or victim rescue. While authorities uncovered over 1,000 foreign workers during raids in Kampong Speu and Phnom Penh, most of these individuals remain unaccounted for, with only 25 people being brought to court for questioning. According to local vendors and witnesses, the Mango Park compound quickly resumed operations with even tighter security, while a nearby facility known as "Mango Park 2" has actually doubled in size since January. Though one raided compound in Phnom Penh appears to have been shut down, with some workers being deported, anti-trafficking specialists suggest these raids are more for show than substance, noting that proper trafficking victim screening rarely occurs during these operations.
Visually Pleasing
Arts & Culture
🇰🇭 សាទរកម្ពុជា Celebrating Cambodia appears to be a new cultural campaign aims to “ignite national pride and cultural appreciation among Cambodians of all walks of life”. To be honest, it took me a while to understand what this is about and even now, I’m not quite sure except for the fact that there’s going to be a big celebration on New Year’s Eve in front of the Royal Palace. Based on my observation, the campaign seems to have a rather large marketing budget which allows them to enlist many social media influencers and celebrities to promote the event. Even though I personally do not need my national pride ignited, I might drop by on the day to see what it is all about. If anything, it seems that there will be many cool cultural performances which I can always stand behind. Oh, I almost forgot. This event is organized by the Union of Youth Federations of Cambodia. 😁
📽️ A new short film Grandma Nai Who Played Favourites (ចៅសំណព្វចិត្ត) made by Cambodian-born director Chheangkea Ieng will hold its world premiere in January at Sundance Film Festival 2025 in the US. The film was a collaboration between Daniel Mattes from Anti-Archive and Karen Madar from NoMad Productions, with Loy Te and Vincent Villa from Kongchak Pictures joining forces as co-producers. Exciting stuff!
✈️At the annual Cambodia Book Fair, I came across a new book on Cambodian cuisine titled “មរតកម្ហូបប្រពៃណីជាតិ” (Traditional National Cuisine) produced by មាតុភូមិ Meatophum, a renowned Cambodian restaurant chain. The book attempts to define various collections of traditional Cambodian dishes, categorise them by types, colours of base ingredients, and locations. I found this fascinating until they refused to sell me the book and only allowed me to take it on a 4-day loan which didn’t make sense. Anyway, I’m sharing this with ya’ll because I think it is super cool. Obviously, I will keep you foodies posted when I get my hands on the book and hopefully when they actually sell them.
Worth Watching
ABC News’ Last Land episode on Cambodia explores the issues of illegal timber harvesting, unauthorized land clearing, and the hunting of protected wildlife. This is not a new topic because I often mentioned many news reports on the issues in the newsletter. Local reporters put their lives in danger and some lost their lives covering the issue.
Campuccino is a fortnightly dispatch of key headlines in Cambodia, written by @DarathteyDin.
I’d love to hear from you. If you have feedback or content ideas, please write to me at hello@darathteydin.com