Cambodia to prepare for upcoming ASEAN Tourism Forum

August 31, 2010 10:04 PM\

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) - In a way to get well-prepared for the upcoming Cambodia 30th ASEAN Tourism Forum (ATF 2011), the Cambodian government and other key stakeholders met Tuesday in the country's capital to discuss things to be done by then.

Deputy Prime Minister and the Chairman of ATF 2011 Inter- Ministerial Organizing Committee Sok An presided over the official launching of ATF 2011 and new websites of the Ministry of Tourism, www.tourismcambodia.org.

Sok An said that the 2011 ATF is a great event for the ASEAN, ASEAN+3 (India, Australia and Russia) and other partners to have more exchange and help to promote the development of tourism industry.

He said the theme of the 30th ATF is "ASEAN - A World of Wonders and Diversity", which reflects ASEAN's rich regional culture, abundant natural resources and high quality services in the tourism industry.

Sok An pointed out that the 30th ATF 2011 will also help Cambodia to promote its tourism industry.

Thong Khon, minister of tourism said Tuesday at the forum that as planned the 30th ATF 2011 will be held at the newly built Diamond Island Convention and Exhibition Center in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia from January 15 to 21, 2011.

He said alongside with the ATF 2011, there will be travel exchange (TRAVEX) which will give the venue for the ASEAN's package toursellers and potential buyers from the region and the world, and friendship golf tournament for ASEAN Tourism Ministers and senior officials, organized and sponsored by international television network (CNN).

Thong Khon said"Cambodia is proud to host ATF for the second time, which proves the development in all sectors in Cambodia, particularly infrastructure development, potential cultural and historical tourism, and abundant natural resources, together with the nature smiles of Cambodian people, deserved to be recognized as Cambodia-Kingdom of Wonder".

Cambodia first hosted ATF in 2003.

Thong Khon said during the ATF 2011, there will be a platform for TRAVEX exhibition consisting 420 stands. Currently, 302 stands have been booked by domestic and international companies (sellers) and there are 477 buyers from the region and the world.

He added that"ATF will be the greatest opportunities for both buyers and sellers to enhance business communication, operation and networking in a closely and friendly manner."

Over 1,600 delegates which include 400 international buyers and 100 international media are expected to take part and cover the event.

The statistics provided by Ministry of Tourism showed that in seven months of 2010, there were 1,423,505 foreign tourists visited the country. The number showed a significant increase of 13.85 percent compared to the same period in 2009.

Meanwhile, Thong Khan said that preliminary estimate predicts that Cambodia will receive around 2.4 million tourist arrivals in 2010. an increase of approximately 12 percent.

Sacrava's Political Cartoon: 71 Advisers

Supporters rally against man's deportation to Cambodia

DAVID M WARREN / Staff Photographer

Hov Ly Kol's friends and family rally against his deportation to Cambodia. His years in prison turned him around, they say.Read more:

By Michael Matza
The Philadephia Inquirer Staff Writer

Hov Ly Kol survived the "killing fields" of 1970s Cambodia and the crowded refugee camps of Thailand and the Philippines. In 1985, with his mother and a younger brother, he legally entered the United States as a refugee.

Barring a last-minute stay of removal, Kol, 35, will be headed back to Cambodia on Tuesday - deported for taking part in a robbery that ended in murder.

He is among about 50 Cambodian Americans across the nation awaiting imminent expulsion for crimes for which they have already served prison time, according to his supporters. Deportation, they say, is a second round of punishment that creates a "climate of fear and paranoia" in Cambodian American communities.

Authorities, however, say Kol and the others scheduled for imminent removal are precisely the "criminal aliens" that Congress targeted when it passed two laws in 1996 tightening immigration rules.

Kol served 12 years in Pennsylvania prisons for two house robberies in January 1995. In one, he acted as a lookout for another gang member who shot and killed a man. Kol pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and faced a maximum of 26 years behind bars. By law, he should have been deported immediately when he was paroled in 2007.

Although Cambodia has had an agreement since 2002 to accept deportees from the United States, it would not issue travel documents for Kol at the time of his release from prison, for reasons never fully explained. So federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement authorities released him back to his South Philadelphia neighborhood under intensive monitoring and supervision.

The delay in his removal while he remained free opened the door for community sympathy and support. There, his supporters say, he demonstrated that he had turned his life around by cleaning up playgrounds in his South Sixth Street neighborhood, volunteering with children, and providing for his mother and siblings, including his sister, Jeannette, 20, a Temple University student.

He was "young and dumb" when he committed his crime, his sister said. "I understand he committed a felony. But he did his time. And he came out changed."

At a rally Monday on Independence Mall, Kol's supporters portrayed him as a model for penal rehabilitation. They want the federal courts to review his case rather than impose a mandatory penalty.

Kol attended Taggert School and dropped out of Furness High School when he was arrested. For a quarter-century, he has lived in America. He speaks some Khmer, the language of Cambodia, but he will find daily life there extremely hard, said family friend Sopha Nguy, 28.

"I speak a lot of Cambodian," she said, "but if you sent me to live over there, I couldn't survive."

Nguy sat with Kol's mother, Sokhoeurn Kol, 55, at the demonstration, billed as "A Day of Action Against Deportation." It included a performance by AZI, a Cambodian American hip-hop group, and drew about 80 supporters.

This month, Cambodia issued the necessary travel documents. Kol was arrested and was transferred last week from a prison in York, Pa., to one on the West Coast to await deportation.

Instead of mandatory deportation, "there should be a process for individualized consideration of these cases," said Mia-lia Kiernan of Deported Diaspora, one of the organizers of the rally. "They're not terrorists. They've served their time. They've learned."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Contact staff writer Michael Matza at 215-854-2541 or mmatza@phillynews.com.

Cheam Yeap cursed those who cursed Hun Sen

By Khmerizarion
Source: DAP News

Mr. Cheap Yeap (pictured), a senior MP from the ruling Cambodian People's Party and chairman of the National Assembly's Finance and Audit Committee, has cursed those who cursed Hun Sen, saying that they will be destroyed or killed by a lightning. Mr. Cheam Yeap said Prime Minister Hun Sen is a national hero who should not be insulted.

Mr. Cheam Cheap's curse followed the report by ASTV Manager Online, a TV owned by a Thai ultra-nationalist Mr. Sodhi Limthongkul, on 29th August that a Thai group calling itself Vishnu Lovers has performed a ritual ceremony in Vishnulok province by paying homage to King Nuresuan, a great 16th century Thai king who defeated the Burmese invaders and who ruled Cambodia from 1594-1595 when they ransacked the Cambodian royal capital of Longvek. During the who ceremony it was reported that the 50 or so participants bowed to the statue of King Nuresuan. After that, they replaced Nuresuan's statue with Hun Sen's picture and they stick it to a banana tree and cut off the banana tree and tossed it away to rid off bad luck. The report said that they participants cursed Hun Sen by saying that he is an ungrateful person to King Nuresuan who had saved and ruled Cambodians.

In response to the actions of these Thai ultra-nationalists, aided and abetted by Mr. Sondhi Limthongkul, Mr. Cheam Yeap said that these Thai people forgot that they were the invaders who ransacked Longvek and annexed many Cambodian provinces, including Kauk Khan (Sisaket), Surin, Nokor Reach Seima (Korat) etc. Mr. Cheam Yeap called these Thai ultra-nationalists as inhuman, barbarians, bastard jungle robbers and religion blasphemers who can't differentiate between bad deeds from good deeds and who dare to curse and insult Cambodia's hero, Samdech Hun Sen, who was respected by all Cambodians. He said if Mr. Sondhi and his group continue to insult Mr. Hun Sen he will meet with misdeeds and death like on 17th April 2009 when he was riddled with bullets during a failed attempt on his life.

Khmer Krom regrets the opening of Voice of Vietnam Radio station in Phnom Penh

Mr. Thach Setha making a speech on 4th June 2010, during the 61st anniversary of the loss of Kampuchea Krom territory to Vietnam.

By Khmerization
Source: everyday.com

The Khmer Krom community in Cambodia has expressed regrets that the Cambodian government had refused permission for them to open their own radio station in Cambodia, but allowed Vietnam, a communist country which oppresses and persecutes Khmer Krom and which bans Khmer Krom people from listening to radios and watching TVs broadcasting from Cambodia, to open the Voice of Vietnam's representative office in Phnom Penh.

Mr. Thach Setha, president of Khmer Kampuchea Krom Community, said he wants the Cambodian government to give permission to Khmer Krom to open their own radio station in Cambodia, the same as the Cambodian government giving permission to Vietnamese community in Cambodia to open their radio stations. "I regrets very much what the Cambodian government had done to the Khmer Krom people. We want the Khmer Krom's voice to be heard here (in Cambodia). If they allowed the Vietnamese to have their radio in Cambodia, they must also allow the Khmer Krom to have our own radio as well to make it fair. In Vietnam, our (Khmer Krom) people were not allowed by the Vietnamese authority to listen to radio or watch TVs from Cambodia. They have banned our rights", he said.

The Voice of Vietnam's representative office was inaugurated by the visiting Vietnamese president Mr. Nguyen Minh Triet and Cambodian officials in Phnom Pneh on Friday, 27th August.

Road to Ta Moan temple opened for use

The Ta Moan Thom road when it was started on 9th September 2009.


By Khmerization
Source: everyday.com

A 9-kilometre long, $1.3 million road to Ta Moan temple has opened for use on Monday. The road, which is connecting Ta Moan temple with Banteay Ampil district in Oddar Meanchey province, has been built with funds from local donors raised through an appeal by CTN television network.

It was reported that Thai soldiers opposed to the construction of this road but Cambodian army overcame their objection until it is 100% completed. The construction of the road took one year to complete and was built by Cambodian Army Engineering Unit.

Mr. Neak Vong, commander of 42nd Battalion, said he is very happy because the road will make it easy for people to visit the temple as well as a quick mobilisation of troops should there be a need for troop mobilisation.

"Damnak Kar Yuon Rumleay Srok Khmer" a Poem in Khmer by Hin Sithan

[Thai] Deputy PM: Bilateral Ties to Improve When Both Leaders Meet

31 August 2010

Thai-ASEAN News Network

The deputy PM of national security told the Senate he is confident that bilateral relations between Thailand and Cambodia will improve after the leaders of both nations have had an opportunity to meet in person.

Suthep Thaugsuban, deputy PM of national security, answered a question directed at him by Senator Somchai Sawaengkarn regarding his approach to resolving the soured relations between Thailand and Cambodia.

Suthep said that so far, the Thai government has been very patient in finding ways to be on amicable terms with Cambodia through talks between officials at different levels.

He added that the Thai government has tried to contain the impact of the border tensions and prevent them from spreading and affecting people who live along the border.

Regarding the resignation of Thaksin Shinawatra as economic adviser to the Cambodian government, he said the resignation will ease tensions between Thailand and Cambodia and in the future, international summits will present opportunities for leaders of both nations to discuss the conflict.

Senator Somchai Sawaengkarn proposed that both countries share the benefits of the disputed land and said that determining a border between the two countries must be done without favoring one country over the other.

He also called for both sides to withdraw their troops.

Life in Battambang ... Aaah, those delicious oranges from Battambang!

Cambodian vendors selling fresh oranges wait for their customers on the roadside in Battambang town, northwestern of Cambodia's capital of Phnom Penh, Monday, Aug. 30, 2010. Battambang town is the well-known place for selling fish rolls and fresh fruits to travelers, who stop by on their way to and from the country's northwest provinces. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodian passenger, right, negotiates the price of fish rolls in Battambang town, northwestern of Cambodia's capital of Phnom Penh, Monday, Aug. 30, 2010. Battambang town is the well-known place for selling fish rolls and fresh fruits to travelers, who stop by on their way to and from the country's northwest provinces. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith)

Cambodia gets library for kids [from residents of Hiroshima]

Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2010

PHNOM PENH (Kyodo) - A facility established in the Cambodian capital by residents of Hiroshima to facilitate peaceful exchanges opened a children's library Sunday.

Hidetoshi Ito, general manager of Hiroshima House located in central Phnom Penh, said about 210 illustrated children's books, mostly of Japanese folktales, have been translated into Cambodia's Khmer language since last November by some 38 Cambodian students studying Japanese.

The number of donated books will increase over time to around 500, Ito said.

Among the 100 or so people who attended the opening ceremony were Takashi Hiraoka, a former mayor of Hiroshima, and Katsuhiro Shinohara, a former Japanese ambassador to Cambodia.

Hiraoka, now director general of the Association for Exchange between Hiroshima Citizens and Cambodia, said at the ceremony that Cambodia's future depends on its children and "reading is really important" for them to acquire deep knowledge and contribute to the country's development.

Shinohara, who speaks fluent Khmer, said he was happy to witness the opening of the library, which Cambodian children can use to absorb more knowledge after their regular school hours.

Hiroshima House is located near the Royal Palace in a monastery complex that serves as the headquarters of Cambodia's Theravada Buddhism.

Designed for multifunctional use, including for language teaching and educational exhibitions, the five-story building was constructed bit by bit by Hiroshima volunteers visiting the country between 1995 and 2006, when it was completed.

In addition to providing lodging and various courses for Cambodians, the facility has a museum and a Japanese library.

Living Dead Girl?

Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Source: www.phnompenhpost.com
ShortNews.com

In Kandal, Cambodia, a teenage girl was about to be cremated by her relatives when one of the relatives opened the coffin to see the girl´s hand was no longer resting on her chest (where it had previously been).

They said when they touched her, her skin was still soft and pale and she didn´t smell bad, so they thought she might still be alive.

They took the body to a doctor, but the doctor has not been able to determine if the girl is alive or dead.

Congratulations to Prof. Chhany Sak-Humphry, the 2010 recipient of the Regent's Medal of Excellence in Teaching at the U. of Hawai'i, Manoa

Source: http://www.hawaii.edu/about/awards/teaching.php?award=sakhumphry

The Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Teaching is awarded by the Board of Regents as tribute to faculty members who exhibit an extraordinary level of subject mastery and scholarship, teaching effectiveness and creativity and personal values that benefit students. The board also awards the Regents’ Medal for Excellence in Research.

Teaching Medal Award Winner

Chhany Sak-Humphry

Manoa Chhany Sak-Humphry is an associate professor in the Department of Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures at UH Manoa. Sak-Humphry believes that the benefit of learning any foreign language is immeasurable.

She began teaching Khmer at UH in 1983 and has single-handedly developed the Khmer language program into the excellent and internationally recognized program that it is today. She also developed and directed the Advanced Study of Khmer Abroad Program which serves students in the United States and abroad.

Sak-Humphry’s approach to teaching has been to integrate outstanding instruction with innovative research on Khmer language, linguistics and literature.

"Pkaay Sam-yong" a Poem in Khmer by Sék Serei

Cambodia-Thailand plan special economic zone near Poipet

Thai Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot (L) and Cambodia's Deputy PM Nhiek Bunchhay (R).

By Khmerization
Source: DAP News 

After the re-establishment of the ambassadorial level diplomatic ties early last week,Cambodia and Thailand are poised to strengthen further economic ties by agreeing to establish a special economic zone a long the border near Cambodia's Poipet town in Banteay Meanchey province.

The announcement was made during a ministerial meeting organised by the Union Media of Asean Forum held at Phnom Penh Hotel on 29th August which were attended by Cambodia's Deputy Prime Minister Nhiek Bunchhay, Information Minister Khieu Kanharith and Deputy Commerce Minister and the Thai side was attended by Thai Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot. The Cambodian special economic zone would be established at a 2,500 rai of land (416 hectares) in O'Neang near Poipet and the Thai special economic zone would be established in Ba Pa Rai opposite O'Neang on the Thai side of the border.

The long-awaited special economic zones have been on the drawing board since 4 years ago, but due to border dispute between the two countries the plan has been put on hold. "Wecannot start the project in the past due to border issue. Now we have reconsidered the project and the border issue will be left to border committees (of both countries) to resolve. At the same time, we will get the project going very soon", said Mr. Nhiek Bunchhay.

Mr. Alongkorn Ponlaboot, the Thai Deputy Commerce Minister, also shares the same sentiment, saying that past border issue should be left to the border committees of the two countries to resolve peacefully. "If we are walking on a road full of gravels, we all must pick up all the gravels off the road", he said figuratively.

"At the same time, Thailand will continue to purchase Cambodian produce and goods and other Cambodian products from the border areas", he added. Mr. Alongkorn added that the special economic zone would provide tens of thousands of jobs to Cambodian workers. He estimated that currently, there are about 100,000 Cambodians working illegally in Thailand.

On the other hand , Deputy Prime Minister Nhiek Bunchhay had asked the Thai side to build many factories in the area and employ Cambodians as workers. He also hopes the area would become an major economic and trade zone and a zone of peace. Both sides pledged to improve roads and rail links to facilitate transport and trades between the two countries.

Despite border tensions, trades between Cambodia and Thailand have improved significantly. In the first 7 months of 2010, trades between the two countries increased by 76%, worth a whopping $1,610 million. Thai investments for the same period amounted to $176 million.

100 heavily-armed Thai soldiers staged a military drill near Cambodian border

Cambodia-Thai border post No.34-36 near the area.

By Khmerization
Source: Kampuchea Thmey

About 100 black-clad Thai soldiers have staged a military drill at Pa Rai village in Thailand's Aranyaprasat district in Sakaeo province, opposite Cambodia's Tuol Prasat and Prey Koup villages in Poipet district of Banteay Meanchey province, near a place where about 200 Thai yellow shirts unsuccessfully attempted to cross the border to stake a claim to the area nearby.

Cambodian military source told Kampuchea Thmey that the 100 Thai troops are from 1207th Company. The source said that the Thai side had informed the commander of Cambodian 911th Brigade, Gen. Chhouk Ang who was based north of Poipet, about the military drill.

The same source said that the 100 heavily-armed Thai troops were staging their military drill about 7 kilometres north of the Poipet International Checkpoint.

Phnom Penh skyscrapers arise

Aug 30, 2010
PropertyReport

Phnom Penh Tower, a US$60 million 22 storey ‘skyscraper’ billed as Cambodia’s first intelligent office building is set to top-off September 2, this week.

One of several towers that are simultaneously under construction across the capital, developers are hailing these as a sign of Cambodia’s strong and resurgent property market.

Host to commercial office space, officials at Hyundai Amco Company, the firm that is building the tower, say that they have already contacted the 250 potential clients and expect 50 per cent of these to sign contracts soon.

“ I can see that foreign direct investment, tourism, import-export is increasing together with the number of companies registered to do business here,” Sung Soo Kim, Hyundai Amco Company Director, was reported as saying by the Phnom Penh Post.

“Cambodia’s real estate sector is not in a downturn anymore.”

With Cambodia’s new towers offering a mix of commercial, office and residential space, the targeted rent for the Phnom Penh Tower runs from about $20 to $40 per square metre. Its topping off also comes at a time when a larger 27 storey Canadia Tower looks to welcome businesses into its lower floors in September, with some speculating that it will be host to the Cambodia Stock Exchange, which is awaiting the completions of its own building next year.

Police intercepted 25 tons of sassafras oil for making ecstasy tablets

Authority pumping sassafras oil from the deck of the truck and (inset) the truck driver.

By Khmerization
Source: DAP News

Pursat provincial police have intercepted a Phnom Penh-bound truck carrying 25 tons ofsassasfras oil, an ingredient for making ecstasy tablets, near the Cardamon Mountain ranges in Phnom Krovanh district of Pursat province.

Deum Ampil reported that on the afternoon of Sunday 29th August, police from Pong-ril commune had intercepted a blue truck bearing the number plate C-0233 travelling on Hinghway 56A near Phnom Krovanh district en route to Phnom Penh. A check of the number plate shows that the truck is owned by a man named Khvoeung who live in Doem Chan village in Phnom Penh's Meanchey district. A 26 year-old driver of the truck, Sok Vicheth, was detained on the spot.

Mr. Sin Sophalla, a forestry official from Pursat, told Deum Ampil that the sassafras oil was discovered in a specially-built tanker under the deck. Authority pumped the oil from the specially-built tanker to plastic containers and kept them at the headquarter of Pursat Forestry Department to use as evidence. The truck driver was detained at the place overnight and will be sent to court on Monday, 30th August.

Attacking Poverty in Cambodia and India With Education And Bicycles

Two young girls carry trays on their heads laden with snacks to sell at a Phnom Penh's railway station. (Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

29 August 2010

Les Carpenter
Voice of America

At a time when many school systems begin classes around the world, many poor children in some parts of the world may be staying home for any number of reasons. One, it seems, is a lack of transportation to get the children to a school that may not be near their homes. That's where a project called "Lotus Pedals" steps in in Cambodia. It is a program administered by Lotus Outreach International that, among other things, provides sturdy bicycles to a group of poor children so they can travel to their school.

Public secondary schools are few and some are a considerable distance from the students in Cambodia and India and Lotus Outreach says that is usually the greatest hurdle for children to continue their education. Spokesman for the program, Glenn Fawcett, Executive Director of Field Operations says there are usually more primary schools than secondary schools in some of these poor regions. So, he says, "when a student finishes sixth grade, they may find themselves faced with a trip of 2, 6, 8, 10, 30, 40 kilometers away from the nearest secondary school."

Mr. Fawcett adds that most parents don't have the resources to send their children those distances to school. The San Diego, California based Lotus Outreach International has scholarship programs "in a number of provinces right across Cambodia with 761 girls already in these programs." Those girls get bicycles to help them get to and stay in school, among other benefits of the scholarship programs. Mr. Fawcett says his organization concentrates on girls because girls are "far and away getting less educational opportunities than boys" in these regions.

Fawcett says the situation in India is very similar to that in Cambodia, but has additional problems, including a dropout rate of about 50 percent. He says the key to poverty reduction is just getting a basic education. That's why, he says, that in the most rural areas of India Lotus Outreach is working on "mobilizing communities and pushing the education authorities to provide the basic amenities for schools, such as toilets."

Secondary schools in India are, as in Cambodia, sometimes a long way from communities forcing families to keep their children at home. "In India," he says, "it's worse than in Cambodia because of the very traditional families will not send their girls out of their sight." In a Muslim district in India, Lotus Outreach has begun "the Blossom Bus", in which a parent chaperone rides the bus to deliver village girls to school each day, one way around the reluctance of parents to allow their girls to attend schools.

Why concentrate on educating girls? Mr. Fawcett says there are several studies that show that girls who continue their education will not only have an enhanced salary capacity, but are more likely to invest that income back into their own community. So, educating girls is a greater community resource and becomes a very powerful and strong thing. That, says Glenn Fawcett, is what educators call the "girl effect".

A Runners Quest Comes Full Circle With 10K Raised for Cambodia Students

On September 5th 2010 Jane Price of Sacramento will run an ultra marathon and has raised over $10,000 for Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC), the organization in Cambodia that she visited back in 2007.

August 28, 2010

EMAILWIRE.COM

SIEM REAP, Cambodia--Jane Price first traveled to Siem Reap, Cambodia in 2007 and participated in the Angkor Wat half marathon. On September 5th 2010 Price will run an ultra marathon and has raised over $10,000 for Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC), the organization in Cambodia that she visited back in 2007. 

Jane's history with Cambodia started in 2007 when she stayed at Journeys Within B&B and was introduced to Journeys Within Our Community (JWOC), a non-profit organization founded by Journeys Within tour company owners Brandon and Andrea Ross. To help support the organization she sponsored a JWOC Scholarship Student. This JWOC program gives in-need and deserving students a four year university education in Cambodia. The students in return volunteer 5 to 10 hours a week on various JWOC projects, allowing the projects to run and giving the students valuable experience. After corresponding with her student for three years, Jane returned to Cambodia in 2010 and volunteered for a month at JWOC. Upon returning home she signed up for her first ultra marathon which was a 50k run through the Sierra Nevada foothills. As if this goal wasn't big enough, Price decided to fundraise for JWOC and the Scholarship program.

"I strongly believe in the role of education in making a long term impact to improve the lives of students and their communities. From a personal standpoint I know firsthand the impact a scholarship can have on one's life as I was the beneficiary of scholarships and grants when I was a university student. These generous gifts allowed me to further my education and improve my life in profound ways," said Jane.

Jane sent emails to friends and family and told of her experiences with JWOC. She posted her story and her quest on the JWOC website so others could be inspired by her goal. With the race a week away, Price has reached her goal of raising $10,000 to donate to JWOC, and she can now proudly say that five new students will be able to start attending university in the fall thanks to her efforts.

"We really depend on travelers and guests being inspired by what we're doing. Our hope is that they go home and inspire others,” said Andrea Ross, Journeys Within Tour Company and JWOC founder. "I love that Jane just came to Cambodia for the weekend the first time, to run a marathon no less, and now she's combined her amazing love and ability to run with her passion and enthusiasm for what we're doing in Cambodia. It truly is supporters like this that make our projects possible. The best part is that five students now have a completely different future because of Jane's commitment!"

With the fundraising behind her, Price now has the hurdle of that ultra marathon to get through. The race, Run on the Sly, will be 50 kilometers, and will take place on September 5th in the Sierra Nevada mountain range at an altitude of 3,800 feet, featuring a hilly course covering mountain trails and fire roads.

"I love running for so many reasons: being in nature, setting and achieving goals, stress reduction, and being able to eat pretty much whatever I want and now it also provides me a platform to help others," said Price.

About Journeys Within Our Community

JWOC was founded by Brandon and Andrea Ross, owners of Journeys Within Tour Company in response to guests and travelers desire to give back and make a difference. JWOC believes in its slogan, “See a Problem, Solve a Problem” and has been doing that for the last five years. More information can be found and donations can be made atwww.journeyswithinourcommunity.org

Contact Information:
Journeys Within
Stephanie Moreland
Tel: 832-755-7661
Email us

Alongkorn leaves for Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh City to boost trade

NONTHABURI, Aug 28 -- Thai Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot left Saturday on a three-day visit to the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh and Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, aimed at boosting trade with the two neighbouring countries.

During the visit, Mr Alongkorn said prior to his departure, he will inspect road transport and logistics development linking the two countries including transport systems, warehousing facilities and customs procedures.

Mr Alongkorn said he would also try to develop Thailand’s trade with the two countries as part of an implementation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) scheduled to be launched in 2015.

Also, he said he would survey proposed locations for special economic zones at the Thai border districts of  Watthana Nakhon and Aranyaprathet.

The special economic zones will benefit both Thailand and Cambodia in terms of trade and tourism, Mr Alongkorn said.

During the first seven months this year, combined trade between Thailand and Cambodia totaled US$1.61 billion, up 76.1 per cent from the corresponding period of 2009. Thailand enjoyed a trade surplus of about US$1.3 billion.

Trade between Thailand and Vietnam between January-July this year totaled US$3.9 billion, an increase of 27 per cent from the same period last year, with Thailand enjoying a trade surplus of US$2.4 billion. (MCOT online news)

Govt plans special economic zone

30/08/2010 at 12:00 AM
Source: Bangkokpost

PHNOM PENH: The government plans to set up a special economic zone in Sa Kaeo to boost trade and investment ties with Cambodia, Deputy Commerce Minister Alongkorn Ponlaboot says.

Mr Alongkorn said in the Cambodian capital the government would consider a special zone for trade in Aranyaprathet district in Sa Kaeo.

The zone would be linked with Cambodia's 2,500 rai investment area which has been established at Poipet and O'Neang opposite Ban Pa Rai in Aranyaprathet.

The Commerce Ministry would hold talks with other agencies on the plan which was expected to be forwarded to the economic ministers for approval in three months, he said.

The special economic zone would be the second with neighbouring countries after the first which straddles Mae Sot district in Tak and Myawaddy in Burma. A special economic zone would give entrepreneurs more investment flexibility through such things as relaxed labour rules.

Mr Alongkorn, who travelled to Phnom Penh by road from Aranyaprathet, identified contract farming and the processed food industry as potential investments in the zone.

"Now the United States is the top trade partner with Cambodia followed by Thailand," Mr Alongkorn said in talks with Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Nhek Bunchhay, Deputy Commerce Minister Kim Sitan and Information Minister Khieu Kanharit.

"The new cooperation on the economic zone with Cambodia will keep Thailand as a top partner with that country."

The plan was part of a Thai strategy to open more economic links with its neighbours and came under the Mekong subregional cooperation scheme, Mr Alongkorn said.

Nhek Bunchhay supported the plan, saying industries to be set up in the proposed zone would help end problems associated with the influx of illegal Cambodian workers into Thailand. More than 100,000 Cambodians work illegally in Thailand, including Bangkok, he said.

The Thai economic zone would allow Cambodians to cross the border to work and return home again on a daily basis, Nhek Bunchhay said. It also would contribute to peace and development, and reduce border conflicts.

"Developments along our border can take place if we help turn the boundary into a border of peace and sincerity," the Cambodian deputy premier said.

Nhek Bunchhay called for the two countries to quickly find ways to resolve the disputed territory on the border.

Khieu Kanharit urged the media in Thailand and Cambodia to play a role for the two countries to foster economic cooperation and create better understanding.

"Smoeu Trem Mé Yuon?" a Poem in Khmer by Sam Vichea

China flexes hydropower muscle

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

When Xiaowan hydropower station sputtered to life this week in China’s south-west Yunnan province, the Asian giant was able to lay claim to having the world’s largest hydropower capacity.

BANGKOK, Aug 27, 2010 (IPS) - After all the turbines in the Xiaowan hydropower station sputtered to life this week in China’s south-west Yunnan province, the Asian giant was able to lay claim to having the world’s largest hydropower capacity.

A "great leap forward" was how Liu Qi, deputy director of the National Energy Administration, described the expanding hydropower muscle of the country, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

"The rapid development of the hydropower industry is of great significance to optimising China’s energy structure and reducing carbon emissions," Sun Yucai, executive vice chairman of the China Electricity Council, said in the same report. 

The 700,000-kilowatt scheme of the Xiaowan power station is expected to push China’s installed hydropower capacity to 200 million kilowatts, Xinhua reported. The country’s second largest hydropower project, which cost 5.86 billion U.S. dollars, can "produce 19 billion KW hours of electricity every year, it added.

This power station will receive water from another showpiece of Chinese power: the Xiaowan dam, the world’s tallest double-arch dam with a storage capacity of close to 15 billion cubic metres.

The Xiaowan is the fourth dam that the Chinese have built out among a planned eight cascades of dams in the upper part of the Mekong River - which the Chinese call the Lancang - that flows through the mountainous Yunnan terrain. The Xiaowan Dam began impounding the Mekong's waters in October 2009, nearly two decades after the Manwan, the first among these dams, started to harness the waters of the 4,660-kilometre-long river.

But China’s celebration of its dam-building feats, coming nearly 100 years after it built its first hydropower station near Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan, will not be shared by countries in the lower stretches of the Mekong, say activists.

Many downstream communities have been reporting erratic water levels in the Mekong and blame this on China’s construction of dams on the Lancang.

Following drops to the river’s lowest levels in 50 years, green groups and sections of the media blamed the Chinese dams – particularly the Xiaowan – for affecting the livelihood of riverine villages in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.

A Chinese government effort in March to explain that these were due to a severe drought did little to ease the worries of villagers who depend ed on the river’s ecosystem and fish catch for an income.

Fishing is the main source of livelihood for the 60 million people living in the Mekong basin, and the annual income from fisheries in the lower Mekong is between two to three billion U.S. dollars.

"Many people living in the lower Mekong region will still believe that the filling of the Xiaowan dam reservoir contributes to a drop in the water level during the dry season," says Ame Trandem, Mekong campaigner for International Rivers, an U.S.-based environmental lobby. "It will remain so until the Chinese make public all the information related to its dam operations."

China’s offer of some information about its dams to the Mekong River Commission (MRC) is insufficient, she told IPS. "China has been taking positive steps to be cooperative by releasing some details. But it still needs to be willing to be more accountable and transparent, since local communities have not seen the information given to the MRC."

The MRC, an inter-governmental organisation whose members include Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, says China’s dams do not have the capacity to influence water levels all the way downstream, because much of the Mekong’s waters come from lower basin countries. "The MRC doesn’t anticipate that the Xiaowan dam will have a significant influence downstream on the lower Mekong," says MRC spokesman Damian Kean, echoing views that the Vientiane-based organisation aired when the Chinese dams were under fire early this year.

But "later on, as more and more dams come online, you are going to see a greater impact," he told IPS from the Lao capital. "All the lower Mekong countries want to see the right decision being made in this sector."

At the same time, China is well aware that the impact of its dams on the Mekong – which flows from the Tibetan plateau, through Yunnan, then passes Burma before snaking its way through the basin to empty out into the South China Sea in southern Vietnam – is not limited to the countries that share South-east Asia’s largest body of water.

Since July, Beijing has also had to contend with the U.S. government, which has been reviving Washington’s involvement in the region after the disengagement by the administration of George W Bush.

In fact, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s push for greater cooperation between Washington and the Mekong basin countries during a visit to Thailand in July 2009 spurred warnings from U.S. experts about the danger that China’s hydropower ambitions pose to other Mekong countries.

China’s dam plans will turn the Mekong into a "Chinese River", warned Richard Cronin, the South-east Asian head of the U.S.-based Stimson Centre, in Bangkok this month.

In an August article, the Washington-based ‘Foreign Policy’ publication urged the U.S. government to step into the fray. "Washington’s willingness to get involved in the Mekong River dispute could create an almost perfect counterweight to China’s strategy," wrote John Lee, visiting fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington D.C. For now, Beijing’s response to growing U.S. criticism is to pursue ‘soft power’ diplomacy, says a regional analyst. "China wants to assure governments in the lower Mekong that they have nothing to fear."