Cambodia Hands Maximum Sentence to Union Leader Over Border Comments rfa.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rfa.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The International Trade Union Congress (ITUC) and Education International have called for the release of Cambodian trade union leader Rong Chhun, who went on trial on Friday 19 January.
Rong Chhun is President of the Cambodian Confederation of Trade Unions. He was arrested and charged with “incitement” after 30 police officers entered his home in Phnom Penh last August.
The ITUC reports that Rong was targeted for speaking about Cambodian farmers, who have lost land to Vietnam at the border. He spoke about the controversial topic in an interview with Radio Free Asia. The Cambodian Government finds the subject sensitive and accused him of spreading false claims at the time.
AFP
Vietnam is set to begin tests this week on a domestically produced coronavirus vaccine, a government led-effort that marks a first in Southeast Asia, starting with 60 volunteers, state media said on Wednesday.
Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia are all struggling with the economic fallout from the pandemic, despite having relatively low numbers of cases and deaths, with Vietnam reporting 1,405 confirmed cases and 0 deaths, Laos reporting 41 confirmed cases and 0 deaths, and Cambodia reporting 362 cases and 0 deaths.
Called Nanocovax, Vietnam’s COVID-19 vaccine was produced by the country’s Nanogen Company and Vietnam’s Military Medical Academy under direction from the Ministry of Science and Technology.