News and Views on Tibet

Cambodian PM bans Tibetan and Taiwanese flags

Share on facebook
Share on google
Share on twitter

By Tenzin Dharpo

DHARAMSHALA, FEB. 6: Cambodia’s incumbent Prime Minister, in a bit to reaffirm its allegiance to China, has banned the Tibetan and Taiwanese national flags in his country.

Cambodian PM Hun Sen, during a dinner engagement with the Cambodian-Chinese Association on Saturday ,said that he will not allow the flags to be raised in his country while accepting Chinese sovereignty over Taiwan. However, Hun added that trade and commerce initiatives are welcome from the island nation.

Hun who is described as a pro-China leader said he is fulfilling a courtesy of respecting the sovereignty of China. “We shall not do anything that harms the sovereignty and independence of China because of Taiwan,” the Cambodian leader was quoted as saying by Bangkok Post.

One of the longest serving leaders in the world, Hun has been at Cambodia’s helm since the last three decades with some also labeling him a “dictator”. He has been implicated in corruption and human rights violation cases in his ongoing rule of the Asian nation.

China is the chief investor in Cambodia with trade between the two countries recorded at 2.34 billion USD during the first half of 2016, while Beijing has invested close to 14 billion USD into Cambodia beginning early 1990’s up to March 2016.

Tibet was annexed by the Mao-led Communist party in the 1950’s and continues to be controlled by China which claims it was historically its territory although Tibetans in exile as well as inside Tibet challenge the claim. The Tibetan issue has grown since the last fifty years with the official stand asserting for a “meaningful autonomy” as well as those strongly pushing for complete independence.

Taiwan on the other hand is considered a break-away province by China although the ruling Taiwanese government has vowed to lessen dependency on China and also indicated to push for independence.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *