Mekong Diaries: Day 60

Day 60

Today we caught a bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, where we arranged for the next stage of our journey downstream to Viet Nam by boat. A ferry service runs twice each way every day, carrying tourists through a stretch of river with an amazing history. Cambodia’s rulers moved its capital from Angkorian Siem Reap to the junction of the Tonle Sap and the Mekong when trade began to replace agriculture as the engine of national wealth and influence. Since then boats have been making there way upstream through the mouths of the Mekong Delta to the lands of the Khmer and beyond.

In an aside, check out this site, about an Asia Society exhibition called ‘Arts of Ancient Viet Nam: From River Plain to Open Sea’. The website alone is beautiful and tells a story few are aware of, namey the long cultural history of Viet Nam: http://sites.asiasociety.org/vietnam/?p=17

We have been forced to be very diligent in planning our Vietnam leg, not that we normally lack diligence, because Viet Nam is not an open book where outsiders can critique in the margins. That being said it is not China, and we were able to arrange a promising schedule of of locations and interviews, all sanctioned by our government guide.

We set up our camera on a tripod in the back of the ferry as it pulled out of the port in Phnom Penh, and for the next 5 hours the camera snapped off a frame every second: timelapsing all the way to Cau Doc. Our journey stops not at the floating restaurant we the ferry docks. Instead we heft a bag onto every appendage and toss our considerable bulks onto the back seats of a flock of tiny motorbikes that take off through the busy streets of Cau Doc. Our riders seem possessed with a desire to terrify the large tourists foolish enough to have flagged them down. We adjust our knees and shoulders to avoid high-speed shavings by trucks and on coming cars. 10 incandescent minuets later we pull into a bus stop and after buying a ticket on a mini-bus to Can Tho have quick bowl of truly weird noodles. Then we board the mini-bus which, soon after leaving, pulls into a small shop whereupon the ‘conductor’ proceeds to load an incredible amount of cigarettes into the bus, into pulling back the panels and the ceiling to stuff more cartons on, and finally donning a special set of pants and a jumper in which dozens of cigarette packets are stored. Once our mini-bus has been transformed into a motorised nicotine delivery system we are off and arrive several hours later in Can Tho, in time for dinner and then to bed.

More Sex in Vietnam

More young people with newfound economic freedom are living on their own and moving to cities in Vietnam, and it doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see where that might lead.

UN Special Envoy to Burma Departs: End of an Error

Ibrahim Gambari, the UN special envoy to Burma, is leaving his post to take up a similar UN position to the Sudan. It has been a tenure marked by diplomatic blunders and incompetence.

The news he is going to work on Sudan makes one wonder what further misfortune can possibly befall those blighted people.

It also raises questions about when the United Nations will stop becoming a tax-free rest haven for incompetent diplomats at the expense of the poorest and most vulnerable people in the world.

Mr. Gambari, nicknamed “Gullible Gambari” by colleagues and observers alike, got off to a bad start in his position to Burma and steadily declined from there. Following his first trip there in 2006 he said:

“They [the Burmese junta] want to open up another chapter of relationship with the international community.”

But three days later, only a week after meeting with Gambari, the junta extended Suu Kyi’s house arrest by a year.

As the Independent newspaper in the UK reported:

Suddenly, Gambari’s optimism was his humiliation. “People thought he had fallen for their line,” says Mark Farmaner, director of Campaign for Burma UK.

“He was completely suckered.”

The two questions that need to be asked is why the UN gave him the position and why they kept him on.

Apple Apps Blocked In China

Apple appears to have blocked iPhone applications related to the Dalai Lama in its China App Store, according to news reports.

This would make Apple the latest U.S. technology company to censor its services in China.

It is  also another skirmish between Chinese officials desperate to keep control of information in the country and rapidly advancing technology, which is making that aim more and more difficult.

A report on the IT World website says apps, appearing in most countries’ versions of the App Store, do not currently appear in the Chinese version.

And it is not only information about the Dalai Lama that’s being cut off. Another app related to Rebiya Kadeer, who like the Dalai Lama is an exiled minority leader out of favor with the China’s authorities, is also unavailable in the China App Store.

IT World says the apparent censorship comes after carrier China Unicom launched iPhone sales two months ago, making regulatory approval of the phone’s contents in the country necessary for the first time.

“We continue to comply with local laws,” Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said in an e-mail when asked about the missing apps. “Not all apps are available in every country”

Mekong Diaries: Day 43

Today we fly to Vientiane, and find it a quaint and quiet little town next to the Mekong. Along the river in the center of town earthworks and machinery are transforming the shoreline.

Hmong Forced Back To Laos

 

In the latest blow to refugee seekers in Asia thousands of Thai military with batons and riot shields today began forcibly repatriating some 4000 Hmong from a border camp in Thailand back to Laos.

Thailand chose to ignore protests from U.N. refugee officials, international rights groups, and the United States.

RFA quoted Col. Thana Charuvat, who is overseeing the deportation of the 4,371 Lao Hmong, that the initial busloads departed peacefully.

Neither journalists nor independent observers were permitted to witness the operation at Huay Nam Khao camp.

The Hmong are a lost people in communist Laos and Vietnam. There homes straddle the mountains in both countries. They allied with the US in the Vietnam war and since then have incurred the wrath of the both regimes.

The refugees fear persecution back in Laos.

The move comes barely weeks after Cambodia repatriated 20 ethnic Uyghur refugee seekers to China seemingly in contravention of international law.

Not A Great Time To Be A Refugee In Asia

The only upside to being a refugee is generally the miserable life in a make shift camp and an uncertain future is better than the horrors you are running from. 

But this week in Asia being a refugee took a new twist as international law and common human compassion were ground into the mud.

Thailand has joined its neighbor, Cambodia, in the new sport of sending back the most wretched and vulnerable of humanity to a precarious future at best.

Facebook Under Attack From Outside And In

While Facebook is already already suffering from bans and censorship from some Governments in Asia it’s popularity is now being affected by a redesign that is raising privacy concerns. 

A revamp of privacy settings  prompts members to post their status updates and personal information directly to the internet for everyone to see.

The privacy overhaul, which is intended to give users more control over who sees the information they post on their personal pages is confusing and cumbersome.

Daily RFA News Summary December 10

This a summary of stories being carried on Radio Free Asia today December 10, 2009. Please use the links to go directly to the relevant RFA language website to listen to the stories or read original language transcripts. Some items are translated into English and are available on RFA’s English language page.

If there are stories that you want to hear more about or you would like to see covered we would love to hear from you. If you have a story to tell we will listen.RFAs main page has contact details for all the language services.

RFA daily news summary Thurdays Nov 12

Radio Free Asia’s Daily Language Service News Summary

RFA EXCLUSSIVE:  TODAY AN INTERVIEW OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S BROTHER BY THE CANTONESE SERVICE .

This a summary of stories being carried on Radio Free Asia today November 12, 2009. Please use the links to go directly to the relevant RFA language website to listen to the stories or read original language transcripts. Some items are translated into English and are available on RFA’s English language page.

If there are stories that you want to hear more about or you would like to see covered we would love to hear from you. If you have a story to tell we will listen.RFAs main page has contact details for all the language services.

Lao:

1. Lao Ministry of Energy and Mining to inspect investors for those who get mining concessions but never start operations, hoping to sell to bigger players for profit.
2. UXO Lao severely short of funds and labor. The Government is under pressure to clear land for farmers but officials say they lack money and employees to keep up with demand.
3. AIDS center estimates 5000 HIV cases in Laos. Earlier the Government announced 3,900 HIV/AIDS cases, but has now increased the estimate.
4. Lao sports official says only 1000 tickets left for SEA Games’ opening and closing ceremonies.
5. Sky-rocketing prices in Vientiane generate more land-related conflicts.
6. According to health official, 1,500 people seek medical help every month for skin problems caused by fake cosmetics.
7. Vientiane lacks data about mining potential need to attract investors.
8. Lao university students concerned by the lack of education opportunities for underprivileged youth.

Tibetan:

1. Dalai Lama ends public teachings in Arunachal Pradesh by exhorting thousands of his followers to maintain Buddhist culture.
2. Chinese FM spokesman Qin Gang says President Barack Obama’s race and background should mean he is sympathetic to China’s opposition to the Dalai Lama and Tibetan independence.
3. China should abolish secretive “black jails” used to hold aggrieved citizens, Human Rights Watch says in new report launched ahead of President Obama’s visit.
4. President Obama leaves on his debut presidential tour of Asia seeking to revive America’s prestige as regional power. It is seen as a trip much heavier on symbolism than diplomatic substance.
5. U.S. Treasury Sec Timothy Geithner says a strong dollar is “very important” to the U.S. and praised China’s role in the global economic recovery.
6. The Dharamsala-based Active Non-violence Education Center calls for objective reporting by media to spread the message of peace according to Tibetan Administration-in-exile reports.

Burmese:

1. Japan most likely will resume Official Development assistance to Burma after the 2010 election according to the Japanese based NGO Burma Info.
2. India’s policy towards Burma one sided, says Human Rights Watch Asia director in press conf in India.
3. 88 student leader Ma Mee Mee transferred again from Insein to Kathar prison and Ko Thet Zaw from Moulmein to Insein.

Vietnamese:

1. Vietnam Parliament to supervise creation of schools and improvement in teaching standards.
2. Vietnam Parliament prepares the next week’s Q&A for Vietnam PM Nguyen Tan Dung.
3. Price of gold on Vietnamese market continues to soar.
4. OSC: French PM arrives in Vietnam for talks on economic ties.
5. UN Food and Agriculture Organization hails achievement of Vietnam in fighting hunger.

Mandarin:

1. RFA EXCLUSIVE – Family vows to resist forced demolition with blood in eastern China city of Linyi. PHOTO
2. Longtime Sichuan rights activist Liu Zhengyou arrested on charges of fraud.
3. Police round up petitioners in Beijing and Shanghai before arrival of President Obama.
4. Tiananmen mother Ding Zilin urges President Obama to rescue jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo.
5. Wife in letter calls on President Obama to help locate kidnapped rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng.
6. LA-based Chinese groups request President Obama push China on rights.
7. Human Rights Watch blasts China over “black jails” in which petitioners for justice and detained.
8. Panel: Obama’s China trip and US-China relations.
9. Shanghai petitioners express support for rights activist Feng Zhenghu, stuck in limbo at Tokyo airport as entry to Shanghai denied.
10. Canada-based Chinese activists mobilize to help Feng Zhenghu stuck in Tokyo airport.
11. Panel – New policy for addressing petitioners’ complaints: Central government officials will visit provinces, municipalities to meet local petitioners.
12. Reform of China’s education system.
13. Chongqing government promotes “Red-themed” stage plays.

Khmer:

1. Outsted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin speaks to 300 govt officials and business representatives at the Ministry of Finance in Phnom Penhy. He thanks Hun Sen for the opportunity. Later meets with Thai supporters in Siem Reap, visits Angkor Wat. No press interview.
2. Poipet security situation is normal but cross-border business is estimated down 60%. No Thais are allowed to cross the border to visit the Cambodian casinos.
3. National assembly set for Nov. 16 session on suspending Sam Rainsy’s immunity in order to investigate allegations he damaged state property by removing a Vietnam border marker.
4. A Chinese road construction company awarded U.S. $73M loan from China begins 50-km detour of Road 78 from Stung Treng to Ratanakiri to bypass hydroplant Sesan 2.

Cantonese:

1. RFA EXCLUSIVE: INTERVIEW with President Obama’s half brother who suggests his visit to China “has to respect the other side.” PHOTOS AND VIDEO
2. U.S. Embassy in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai consulates invite local bloggers to one hour video meeting for background on Obama
3. visit. Bloggers speak on China’s Firewall.
4. Many organizations continue to urge Obama to speak on China’s human rights situation. HK group will demonstrate tomorrow. Dissidents in China under tight control.
5. Human Rights Watch report on “black jails.”

Korean:

1. Human Rights in Asia, a Japanese human rights group, stages campaign urging EC to press the Luxemburg Government to report transfers of Kim Jong Il’s allegedly illegally obtained funds from Switzerland.
2. Former State Dept senior economist William Newcomb recommends financial sanctions to counter North Korea’s illicit activities.
3. South Korea lambasts North Korea for what it calls its planned provocation in the West Sea.
4. FAO report on crop prospects in North Korea.
5. US envoy Stephane Bosworth to visit North Korea soon for direct talks.
6. News analysis – North Korea secret power succession.
7. News analysis – North Korea observatory: A song in praise of Kim Jung Un.

Uyghur:

1. East Turkistan Republic Day.
2. Conference on Uyghur region in Turkey’s Kocaoli city.
3. On the issue of illegal prisons in China.

 END