Cambodian King congratulates China on successful landing of Chang'e-3 probe on moon

English.news.cn | 2013-12-17 17:32:36 | Editor: Tang Danlu

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni has congratulated China on the successful landing of "Chang'e-3" probe on lunar surface.
"The Royal Family, the Royal Government and the people of Cambodia join me in extending our warmest congratulation and admiration to Your Excellency, the Communist Party, the Government, the People's Liberation Army, the great and heroic people of China on the complete success of impressive soft landing of the Chang'e-3 probe on the moon and deployment of the Yutu (Jade Rabbit) lunar rover,"the king said in his letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday.
"This represented another milestone for China's continuous success in space program," he said.
Comprising a lander and a rover, Chang'e-3 lunar probe soft- landed on moon at 9:11 p.m. Saturday Beijing Time. Yutu later separated from the lander and rolled onto moon surface earlier Sunday.
The Chang'e-3 mission makes China the third country after former Soviet Union and the United States to put a spacecraft on lunar soil.

Cambodian opposition insists on re-election as protest enters 3rd day

English.news.cn   2013-12-17 20:08:01

Sam Rainsy (L), president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), addresses to his supporters in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Dec. 17, 2013. The protest against Prime Minister Hun Sen's government entered the third day on Tuesday, as the opposition continued calling for a snap election after allegations of serious fraud in the July's polls. (Xinhua/Sovannara)

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The protest against Prime Minister Hun Sen's government entered the third day on Tuesday, as the opposition continued calling for a snap election after allegations of serious fraud in the July's polls.
The numbers of protesters have gradually declined from about 10, 000 people on Sunday to around 4,000 on Monday and some 3,000 on Tuesday.
Sam Rainsy, president of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), repeated a call for Hun Sen to hold an early re-election, or step down.
"If you do not hold a re-election, step down," he addressed the rally at the capital's Freedom Park on Tuesday afternoon.
Then, he led the protesters to travel by cars and motorcycles through streets in the city.
Security forces had been deployed along streets to ensure security and public order. There is no report of incidents during the rally.
The CNRP announced Sunday it would launch daily protests in the capital to demand an early re-election within three months
Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Sar Kheng last Tuesday rejected the opposition's call for a re-election, saying it was impossible to hold a snap election in Cambodia because there was no reason and to hold a re-election would take at least one or two years.
He said the ruling Cambodian People's Party's door remained open for further negotiations with the CNRP.
Dispute between Hun Sen's ruling party and the longtime opposition leader Sam Rainsy's party has persisted since the July election results showed that the ruling party won a majority of vote with 68 parliamentary seats and the opposition earned the remaining 55 seats.
The opposition refused to accept the outcome and has boycotted parliament since then in order to call for an independent probe into the alleged irregularities during the polls. But the ruling party rejected the call, saying it was against the nation's constitution.

Cambodia says cooperation with Japan will enhance country's defense capacity

English.news.cn   2013-12-17 21:10:28

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) -- The newly-signed defense cooperation deal between Cambodia and Japan would help Cambodia strengthen capacity in national defense, a senior official said Tuesday.
The two countries inked a memorandum on defense cooperation during the official visit of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen to Japan from Dec. 15-17, Kao Kim Hourn, minister attached to Prime Minister Hun Sen, said in a news conference on Tuesday at Phnom Penh International Airport upon the premier's arrival from Japan.
"It was the first-ever defense cooperation between Cambodia and Japan," he said.
Under the deal, Japan would assist Cambodia develop military human resources, particularly in mine clearance, and in other fields.
During the visit, Hun Sen and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe agreed on Sunday to upgrade relationship between the two countries to a "strategic partnership," he added.
Abe also pledged 134 million U.S. dollars in new loans for three infrastructure projects in Cambodia.

Cambodia bans march in celebration of Int'l Human Rights Day

English.news.cn   2013-12-08 19:32:12

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Interior Ministry has allowed the opposition party to hold a rally at the Freedom Park in the capital Phnom Penh to mark the International Human Rights Day on Tuesday, but march was not permitted.
"The Ministry of Interior allows the Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP) to gather at the Freedom Park in the morning on Tuesday, Dec. 10 with the participants below 10,000, the maximum capacity of the park," said a letter signed by Interior Minister Sar Kheng on Sunday. "March is banned, but the party can assign 10 representatives to deliver their petition to the National Assembly."
The Ministry of Interior called on all participants to cooperate with the authorities to celebrate the International Human Rights Day peacefully.
The CNRP announced Thursday to stage mass rallies in both Phnom Penh and the tourist city of Siem Reap on Dec. 10.
"We plan to get together 20,000 people in Phnom Penh and at least 10,000 participants in Siem Reap city," CNRP spokesman Yem Ponharith told Xinhua.
He said the upcoming rallies aim to demand greater respect for human rights and greater access to social justice.
CNRP leader Sam Rainsy will join the rally in the capital in the morning and fly to Siem Reap in the afternoon.
The CNRP has launched several mass rallies in Phnom Penh after the July's disputed election. One of the events in September turned violent as protestors hurled stones at police and the police retaliated with tear gas and water cannons. As a result, a protestor was shot dead and several got wounded.
Yem Ponharith said from Dec. 15 onwards, the CNRP will hold mass protests in Phnom Penh every Sunday to demand probe into the allegations of serious fraud and irregularities during the July election that handed victory to Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling party.
"We will continue our protests and boycott of parliament unless investigation was launched into the poll irregularities," he said.

Editor: Shen Qing

Cambodia closely watches Thai political turmoil: gov't spokesman

English.news.cn   2013-12-03 21:47:14

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- A Cambodian government spokesman said Tuesday that the country is keeping a close eye on the political turmoil in Thailand.
"We are closely monitoring the issue in Thailand and cannot provide any comments on this matter at the moment," Information Minister Khieu Kanharith said in response to reporters' questions about the political trouble in Thailand.
He said the anti-Thai government protests had been triggered by the controversial amnesty bill, not by the border issue with Cambodia over the disputed land near the Preah Vihear Temple.
"This is an internal issue of Thailand," he said, referring to the anti-Thai government protests led by former Democrat Member of Parliament Suthep Thaugsuban.
In regard to the situation along Cambodia-Thailand border, Khieu Kanharith said it remained calm and both sides' troops have contacted each other as usual.
"There is no any troop reinforcement along the border and both sides' armies have promised to maintain good relations and avoid any clashes," he said.
Cambodia and Thailand has had a bitter border row since July 2008 when the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization inscribed the Cambodia's 11th century Preah Vihear Temple on the World Heritage List, but Thailand claimed the ownership of 4.6 square km of scrub next to the temple.
The temple had become a flashpoint of armed clashes between the two countries' troops since then.
Upon Cambodia's complaint, the International Court of Justice ( ICJ) ruled last month that Cambodia has sovereignty over the whole territory of the promontory of Preah Vihear Temple, and in consequence, Thailand was under an obligation to withdraw from that territory the Thai military, police forces, other guards or keepers that were stationed there.
Khieu Kanharith said Cambodia would not rush to start talks with Thailand over the implementation of the ICJ's ruling so as to give time to the Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra's government to resolve its internal issue.

Cambodia, Vietnam to complete overland border demarcation by 2015

English.news.cn   2013-12-03 20:52:50

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan said Tuesday that the country will expedite overland boundary demarcation with Cambodia and expects to fully complete the process by 2015.
Speaking at a meeting with Cambodian Parliament Chief Heng Samrin, Nhan said that so far, the two countries have completed about 75 percent of the border demarcation.
"Vietnam is committed to building a border of peace, friendship, cooperation and development with Cambodia," said Nhan, who is also President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee.
For his part, Heng Samrin said a clear border line would lay the foundation for building peace, stability, cooperation, and development along border provinces.
He highly spoke of good relations and cooperation between the two neighbors in all fields of cooperation.
Cambodia shares 1,270 km of border with Vietnam to the east.

Editor: Mengjie

IMF chief: Cambodia needs to invest more in education, infrastructure

English.news.cn   2013-12-03 19:11:25

PHNOM PENH, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde said Tuesday that Cambodia needs to invest more in education and physical infrastructure in order to lay the foundation for future success.
"Laying the foundation for future success must begin with education. As you all know so well, education is the stepping stone to a better world," she said during a lecture to about 300 students at the Royal School of Administration here.
"Through education, we take a candle and we enlighten the entire country, the entire region, and the entire world."
Lagarde said Cambodia was at the cusp of a great change--moving from agriculture to industry, from farm to city.
"Cambodia is a youthful country with a third of the population under the age of 14. It is the young people who must manage this change, and they must be given the opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge they need," she said.
While there has been good progress, Cambodia is still being held back by low levels of education and by inadequate skills, she said, noting that spending on education is still only 2.5 percent, or 335 million U.S. dollars, of the GDP.
"Every young person in Cambodia deserves the chance to achieve their true potential--and in turn, the potential of the economy," she said.
However, investing in the future did not end with education, she said, stressing that Cambodia needed investment in infrastructure--especially in power facilities, roads, and bridges.
"It needs greater economic diversification, including through rural development and stronger institutions and governance," she said. "Also, it needs a better business climate, based on impartiality and predictability."
Meanwhile, Lagarde hailed the Southeast Asian nation for strong economic growth of around 8 percent over the past decade and said the IMF predicted that the country's growth was expected around 7 percent this year and next.
"Cambodia's performance is driven by its openness to the world, " she said, noting that the country has seen strong increases in garment exports, foreign direct investment, and tourism.
Lagarde arrived here on Sunday evening for a two-day visit. Cambodia was her first leg of a tour to three Asian nations, which will also take her to South Korea and Myanmar, according to an IMF press release.
During in Cambodia, she had met with Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, Prime Minister Hun Sen, Finance Minister Aun Porn Moniroth, think-tank representatives, women leaders, and business people as well as civil society organization representatives.