DPRK-invested museum opens in Cambodia's Siem Reap city
English.news.cn 2015-12-07
PHNOM PENH, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- After five years of building, the 24-million-U.S.-dollar Angkor Panorama Museum, invested by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), opened in northwest Cambodia's Siem Reap city, a local English newspaper reported on Monday.
Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister Sok An presided over the inauguration ceremony, the Khmer Times reported.
Sok An said the 6,000 square-meter building reinforced both cultural and economic ties between the two countries.
The project was signed in 2011, under which DPRK's Mansudea Overseas Project Group will run the museum with the Cambodian government under a build-operate-and-transfer operation for 10 years until it is handed over to the Cambodia's Apsara Authority.
"We need more tourist products such as this to attract visitors to Cambodia. The museum...is another tourism attraction that features, through the paintings (murals) inside the museum, how our Khmer ancestors went about their daily activities during Angkorian time," Sok An was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
The new museum includes works from 63 DPRK artists.
DPRK Ambassador to Cambodia Hong Ki Chol said: "It was well built in a picturesque place, surrounded by Angkor temples - the pride of Khmers. We are proud that this museum was built to show Cambodian culture in the prestigious era of Angkor."
"I am confident the museum will make a positive contribution to giving a comprehensive understanding of ideas about all the Angkor temples and promote tourism," he said.
Siem Reap city is home to the famed Angkor Wat Temple, which attracted some 1.67 million foreign visitors in the first ten months of 2015.
Editor: An
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and you though they didnt have enough money to feed themself
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and you though they didnt have enough money to feed themself
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What's even more surprising is that Cambodia can still get away with freebies and various other handouts from other nations. Poor country my ass. I honestly wonder when donating countries will finally wake up and realize the whole "Khmer Rouge/war/developing country" spiel is a joke and they've been taken for a long ride.
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Lots of developed countries receive aid. India, Pakistan, Israel etc. it's not just a Cambodian thing.
In the grand scheme of things Cambodia is a minnow in the aids stakes.
In the grand scheme of things Cambodia is a minnow in the aids stakes.
pew, pew, pew, pew!
Interesting infographic re: the same (2015 figures)
Meum est propositum in taberna mori,
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
ut sint Guinness proxima morientis ori.
tunc cantabunt letius angelorum chori:
"Sit Deus propitius huic potatori."
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WTF? The museum includes the works of 63 NoKor "artists". Great, interpreting Cambodia for Cambodians? I will not set foot in it.
"We want our country to develop step by step. But that is such a long way off . . . as far away as the stars."
Jobless father in documentary Cambodia: Country of Scars.
Jobless father in documentary Cambodia: Country of Scars.
Exactly.Spigzy wrote:Interesting infographic re: the same (2015 figures)
People who whine about how corrupt, dirty, dangerous Cambodia is reminds me of an elderly Guardian reader who'll be "outraged" or "disgusted" whilst eating their Cornflakes in their comfortable UK house.
Cambodia isn't your country. You're just a visitor. Anything you say or think has no bearing on anything. If you don't like it leave. Simple.
I love this place even with its foibles. In fact the problems it has is why I'm here. I don't want mediocrity, bland safe living. Bring it on!
pew, pew, pew, pew!
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I'm assuming that's aimed at me. I have no false illusions regarding aid and how it's often attached to a soft power agenda, especially amongst the "big" donors. Still, Cambodia has relatively little strategic importance and weight in that regard except to a few, mostly regional, players. I doubt Sweden or Canada have hidden agendas or many strings attached to their aid. This also explains why it receives "little" compared to others, as others have mentioned.starkmonster wrote:What's even more surprising is to find anyone that lives in this country and still thinks the prime objective of donors is to improve the lives of poor Cambodians.
It certainly is, but what's disturbing and frustrates me increasingly with what I consider home is the totally blatant and unabated corruption. Most other countries at least have revenue collection agencies and systems in place to help curb corruption, but Cambodia makes no such discernable effort. Let's take Nepal, for example (from that chart about US aid). They apparently receive roughly the same amount of aid from the US (84 for Nepal vs 79 for Cambodia) and have a similar GDP (62 for Nepal vs 50 for Cambodia). How many luxury vehicles do you see in the streets of Kathmandu or on that country's roads? How many luxury villas? Given all the money being made in Cambodia, you'd think they'd have more than enough money to fund their own museums and various other projects via simple taxation. I'm just increasingly disgusted by the fact that a lot of money is now being made, both legitimately and not, but very little effort is put into collecting from the "haves", for rather obvious reasons. Hell, even in the capital cities of massive, much richer countries such as India, Pakistan, Vietnam and so on you don't see this shit... Has anyone ever been to a country/city with as many luxury vehicles per capita around as Phnom Penh? I personally haven't, though cars in Germany do tend to be quite new (I've never been to Monaco, maybe there?).YaTingPom wrote:Lots of developed countries receive aid. India, Pakistan, Israel etc. it's not just a Cambodian thing.
In the grand scheme of things Cambodia is a minnow in the aids stakes.
And no, this isn't "hating" because of someone's success. There's corruption everywhere, of course. But it's so open here that it's a bit sickening. One of those days. Rant over.
To be honest the only reason I am aware of corruption is because of what people say as fact. New hotel = dirty money, new shopping mall = corruption, new Lexus = corruption. I've not seen any evidence apart from what's been said on 440 and in the media/books.
I've only been here for a very short time so maybe I'm yet to be exposed to it, apart from bribes and tea money of course. I know of two people who drive new Lexus and both sold land for silly amounts (and liked to tell everyone about it) but in five years they'll have five year old Lexus and no land or money!
Corruption in the west is just as rife but more subtle. The amounts are huge (Party "donations", lobbyist bribes) but it will still happen without recourse. FIFA is a good example. Huge corruption. F1 is as dodgy as it gets. Big drug companies, local council run areas, SME's all getting/giving back-handers.
Politics and business. Corrupt.
Nepalese invest their money into Cambodia!
I've only been here for a very short time so maybe I'm yet to be exposed to it, apart from bribes and tea money of course. I know of two people who drive new Lexus and both sold land for silly amounts (and liked to tell everyone about it) but in five years they'll have five year old Lexus and no land or money!
Corruption in the west is just as rife but more subtle. The amounts are huge (Party "donations", lobbyist bribes) but it will still happen without recourse. FIFA is a good example. Huge corruption. F1 is as dodgy as it gets. Big drug companies, local council run areas, SME's all getting/giving back-handers.
Politics and business. Corrupt.
Nepalese invest their money into Cambodia!
pew, pew, pew, pew!
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Completely agree. ''I don't give a shit'' - should be in Sanskrit on the flag.LexusSchmexus wrote:I'm assuming that's aimed at me. I have no false illusions regarding aid and how it's often attached to a soft power agenda, especially amongst the "big" donors. Still, Cambodia has relatively little strategic importance and weight in that regard except to a few, mostly regional, players. I doubt Sweden or Canada have hidden agendas or many strings attached to their aid. This also explains why it receives "little" compared to others, as others have mentioned.starkmonster wrote:What's even more surprising is to find anyone that lives in this country and still thinks the prime objective of donors is to improve the lives of poor Cambodians.
It certainly is, but what's disturbing and frustrates me increasingly with what I consider home is the totally blatant and unabated corruption. Most other countries at least have revenue collection agencies and systems in place to help curb corruption, but Cambodia makes no such discernable effort. Let's take Nepal, for example (from that chart about US aid). They apparently receive roughly the same amount of aid from the US (84 for Nepal vs 79 for Cambodia) and have a similar GDP (62 for Nepal vs 50 for Cambodia). How many luxury vehicles do you see in the streets of Kathmandu or on that country's roads? How many luxury villas? Given all the money being made in Cambodia, you'd think they'd have more than enough money to fund their own museums and various other projects via simple taxation. I'm just increasingly disgusted by the fact that a lot of money is now being made, both legitimately and not, but very little effort is put into collecting from the "haves", for rather obvious reasons. Hell, even in the capital cities of massive, much richer countries such as India, Pakistan, Vietnam and so on you don't see this shit... Has anyone ever been to a country/city with as many luxury vehicles per capita around as Phnom Penh? I personally haven't, though cars in Germany do tend to be quite new (I've never been to Monaco, maybe there?).YaTingPom wrote:Lots of developed countries receive aid. India, Pakistan, Israel etc. it's not just a Cambodian thing.
In the grand scheme of things Cambodia is a minnow in the aids stakes.
And no, this isn't "hating" because of someone's success. There's corruption everywhere, of course. But it's so open here that it's a bit sickening. One of those days. Rant over.
Haha - my money’s on Playboy
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It wasn't meant to be a dig at you directly, but looking back it did come across like that. There are different levels of soft power, you have the full scale geopolitical power plays involving the U.S, China and to a lesser extend the EU and Russia.LexusSchmexus wrote:I'm assuming that's aimed at me. I have no false illusions regarding aid and how it's often attached to a soft power agenda, especially amongst the "big" donors. Still, Cambodia has relatively little strategic importance and weight in that regard except to a few, mostly regional, players. I doubt Sweden or Canada have hidden agendas or many strings attached to their aid. This also explains why it receives "little" compared to others, as others have mentioned.starkmonster wrote:What's even more surprising is to find anyone that lives in this country and still thinks the prime objective of donors is to improve the lives of poor Cambodians.
Then you have the meat and potatoes that all small economies play along with, like when Israel appeared out of nowhere in 2010 made a load of investments and aid pledges, then a few months later Cambodia, the poster boy for UXO horrors, forgets to show up for the U.N vote on cluster munitions.
Cambodia also has a few other "interesting" policy positions, such as being pro-whaling, having full diplomatic relations with DPRK and not recognising Taiwan.
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I'm surprised they aren't chucking more at SE Asia because of the SCS confrontation.YaTingPom wrote:Lots of developed countries receive aid. India, Pakistan, Israel etc. it's not just a Cambodian thing.
In the grand scheme of things Cambodia is a minnow in the aids stakes.
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Corruption is a huge problem everywhere, of course. I guess it's human nature. Let's take the U.S. for example. There are far too many cases of corruption at every level of the system for us to discuss in any meaningful way. From petty officers in the navy committing organized government credit card fraud, to the Virginia governor's wife accepting a rolex from a businessman "friend." But what really differentiates this corruption from that which you see in various developing countries is that it is not accepted by the populace, that people are (mostly) held accountable for their actions. There are both internal and external controls, district attorneys that would like nothing more than to be able to put corrupt officials away, government watchdog groups, and an active and free press that are able to expose corruption, without fear of repercussions.YaTingPom wrote:Corruption in the west is just as rife but more subtle. The amounts are huge (Party "donations", lobbyist bribes) but it will still happen without recourse. FIFA is a good example. Huge corruption. F1 is as dodgy as it gets. Big drug companies, local council run areas, SME's all getting/giving back-handers.
Politics and business. Corrupt.
But then there are other types of "corruption" which seem to be accepted. We like to roll our eyes and comment on the VIP passes that well connected Khmers put on their dashboard, but even New York City has a similar process. There are different levels of stickers to put on your windshield, or an old badge on your dashboard, that you get based on either who you know or how much you donate. Donate a certain amount to the police force and get a gold badge stick for your windshield - you'll never have a problem in the city. I constantly wonder how the hell they can get away with that. Or the whole political appointees as ambassadors really starts to get under my nerves. Donate or fundraise a certain amount to a campaign and then become an ambassador? WTF is up with that? I could ask what qualifications Caroline Kennedy had to become ambassador to Japan aside from supporting Obama, but she's a Kennedy so gets a pass. But how the hell can you justify Noah Mamet as the ambassador to Argentina, other than by the fact that he raised over $3 million for Obama? The guy hadn't even been to Argentina before, and doesn't speak Spanish.
A bit off topic, and a rant, but I guess my point is that there are differences, and some similarities, and people (and governments) will do as much "back-scratching" as their populations allow. Cambodians, for various reasons, tolerate a high level of it. Americans tolerate low levels of it, and make people face justice for breaching their duties; however, for some things that they don't understand (such as appointing ambassadors) they don't seem to care about.
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