Saturday, 15 March 2008

Please End Your Dream of Setting Up a Taiwanese Representative Office In Cambodia

Posted on 15 March 2008.
The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 551

“Phnom Penh: Samdech Akak Moha Senapadei Dekchor Hun Sen said on 13 March 2008 that he has put an end to the dream of some people about setting up a Taiwanese representative office in Cambodia, as an exchange for the return of 2,500 allegedly trafficked women living in Taiwan.

“In the closing ceremony of the annual conference at the Ministry of Interior, Samdech Prime Minister said that the issue of these Cambodian women is used to pressure Cambodia into allowing a Taiwanese representative office to be set up in Phnom Penh, and this issue is used to dissuade Cambodia from supporting the one-China policy.

“Samdech Dekchor said he could quietly get millions of dollars into his pocket if he would sign documents allowing it. He said this is not about business; this is about the sovereignty of countries.

“Samdech Prime Minister said he has documents requesting the setting up of a Taipei office in Phnom Penh. If such an office would be set up, those allegedly trafficked women could legally live in Taiwan. Samdech said that Taiwan has come to a situation that they have to use these women for political reasons and to pressure Cambodia into allowing to have a Taiwanese representative office in Phnom Penh. Samdech Hun Sen sent a message to all who live in Cambodia that they should not have any dream about having a Taiwanese representative office in Phnom Penh or any other part of Cambodia, adding that he could not allow this to happen, because this is a part of the foreign policy of the Royal Government of Cambodia.

“For many years, the Cambodian government has shown its position to recognize the one-China policy. This is a political line which the government is adopting in accordance with the policy from the Sangkum Reastr Niyum which was led by our former King, His Majesty Norodom Sihanouk.

“In his speech, Samdech Prime Minister also cited the success in communicating with North and South Korea, while the two nations are members of the United Nations. Prior to this, Cambodia only communicated with South Korea. Samdech Prime Minister said that the People’s Republic of China is a member of the United Nations and a permanent member of the Security Council. Quite differently, Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, but it is just a province of China.

“Samdech Prime Minister also denounced some members of civil society and some members of the opposition who criticize him for not allowing such an office to be set up, due to the fear that China would be angry. In fact, this is about the respect of independence and sovereignty.

“Samdech Hun Sen asked, ‘If someone want to cut one of your legs, would you agree? Absolutely not. If someone wants to cut one of your provinces, would you agree? Of course, not.’ Samdech said that China has a heart and Chinese leaders are also human. ‘We need to clearly understand this issue.’ Samdech said he does not have the intention to kill those women, but we can find other solutions to bring them back without having to set up a Taiwanese office in Cambodia.

“Samdech Prime Minister said that many Taiwanese companies operate their businesses in Cambodia. We can operate businesses together; they can fly into Cambodia, but they cannot put the Taiwanese flag on Cambodian territory.

“Many kinds of human trafficking happens in Cambodia since many years. Many women were trafficked in many ways - such as false marriages of Cambodian women with foreign men. In the speech, Samdech Prime Minister appealed to parents and guardians as well as the authorities to review all related wrong-doings. There must be a clear observation of the situation before parents should allow their daughters to get married with foreigners. Samdech Prime Minister also ordered the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Woman’s Affairs, and other relevant institutions to quickly find solutions to fix these problems in order to prevent Cambodian women from being cheated and sold to foreigners.”

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.7 #1592, 14.3.2008

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