The price of rat meat has quadrupled in Cambodia this year as inflation has put other meat beyond the reach of poor people, officials said on Wednesday. With consumer price inflation at 37 percent according to the latest central bank estimate, demand has pushed a kilogram of rat meat up to around 5,000 riel (69 pence) from 1,200 riel last year. Spicy field rat dishes with garlic thrown in have become particularly popular at a time when beef costs 20,000 riel a kg. Officials said rats were fleeing to higher ground from flooded areas of the lower Mekong Delta, making it easier for villagers to catch them. "Many children are happy making some money from selling the animals to the markets, but they keep some for their family," Ly Marong, an agriculture official, said by telephone from the Koh Thom district on the border with Vietnam. "Not only are our poor eating it, but there is also demand from Vietnamese living on the border with us." He estimated that Cambodia supplied more than a tonne of live rats a day to Vietnam. Rats are also eaten widely in Thailand, while a state government in eastern India this month encouraged its people to eat. ================================================================================== Chinese nationalism China's red national flag, which fluttered proudly during the recently concluded Olympic Games, conjures up an image of "patriotic nationalism," which the Chinese Communist Party has been employing as a pillar of its rule. In an age in which the meaning of socialism seems to have lost much of its substance, the Olympics have, without a doubt, proved that nationalism can be used as a basis to unite the people as one country. However, as one party official describes it, this "new ideology" can be a double-edged sword because surging nationalistic pride can also be accompanied by the dangerous characteristics of oppression and recklessness. The influential China Youth Daily on Sunday carried an opinion piece by the official Xinhua News Agency that described the Olympics as a "new starting point for the revival of the people." Celebrating China's mammoth achievement of winning more than 50 gold medals--a feat that made its people drunk with joy--the article said the Beijing Olympics "solidified Chinese self-confidence, pride and strength in unity." There is no doubt about that. Throughout the 16-day sporting extravaganza, the loud cheers of "Go for it, China!" and the singing of the Chinese national anthem were not acts forced upon citizens by the government. Chinese people do share a common view that China is a "big country" and a "strong nation." Therefore, Chinese President Hu Jintao, who declared the start of the Olympic Games during the Opening Ceremony, and other party members only needed to play the role of leading citizens toward the goal of "national revival and development toward becoming a global power." Reformers within the party believe the Chinese leadership has benefited greatly from the Olympics. "During the staging of this Olympics, China has displayed unprecedented solidarity. The beneficiary of this nationalism has been the ruling party," one reformer said, echoing a view held by many of them. With diversifying social strata, interests, perceptions, income disparities and increasing social injustices seen in Chinese society, the government is expected to further take advantage of the power of nationalism as a social gelling agent to hold its people together, observers say. "Nationalism can be very useful [when dealing with the outside world]," a party insider said. Nothing is seen as more useful than the public expressing their rejection of international criticism toward China for what is perceived as dictatorial and oppressive policies. A case in point was the uproar that ensued after the discovery of lip-synching during the Opening Ceremony, which led to an indignant reaction from the Chinese public. The common stand of the people was: "Why does the foreign media keep trying to find fault with China?" Such perceptions of unfair treatment by foreign media are shaped mainly by party propaganda. An intellectual in Beijing expressed concern in this respect. "Government policies employed to stoke nationalism tend to heavily stress patriotism and national interests, leading to increased totalitarian adverse effects, such as oppression of those who possess alternative or controversial views toward government policies. There are fears of a reversal of progress in reforms and the opening of China," he said. An unusual catchphrase doing the rounds in Beijing at the moment is "to be harmonized." People ironically use the expression when houses belonging to people who have refused to move out get destroyed. The expression refers to the idea that "harmonious society aiming for the common good of the country [as pursued by President Hu] has been created by removing anything that obstructs the wider benefit of society at large." At the same time, the peril of nationalism can rear its ugly head, as highlighted during the unexpected withdrawal of 110-meters hurdler Liu Xiang, who was widely expected to win a gold medal. Following his pullout due to injury, there was immediate widespread condemnation of Liu on Internet bulletin boards. In an unusual step, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping stepped in and expressed concern and sympathy for Liu in a statement. "This could be viewed as a government response to dampen public criticism [of Liu] by issuing a strong message," a government source said.
----- Original Message ---- From: Neak kampuchea <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, August 28, 2008 6:17:37 AM Subject: Re: Khmer Krom are fully Vietnamized. On Aug 23, 12:03 pm, Neak kampuchea <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > They are always claiming that because they are oppressed of Human > Rights under Communist Vietnamese. But when they are already abroad, > why they still speak Yuan at home the same way they did in Khmer Krom. > There is no excuse for a better communication as most Khmer Krom > speaks Vietnamese at home while they are abroad. > > This attitude shows that they are fully Vietnamized (Yuan) no matter > what their arguments are. > > If so, why they blame our young Cambobian generation as disguised > Vietnamese troups just because of their light skin color. > They don't know how to speak Vietnamese, while all of Khmer Krom are > fully Vietnamized. > > Khmer Krom are extremists and really idiot. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
