Perspectives

by Lia Sciortino

Perspectives

Reading Media in the Mekong Region

Johanna Son

BANGKOK -- Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia. What images might these words conjure up in the minds of international consumers of news? Perhaps war, maybe the Khmer Rouge. Or they might say, ‘Oh, it’s that those countries that had that war some time ago. . . they’re near one another, and they’re all the same’.
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Tourism

Row Over Preah Vihear Continues

Mekong Media Roundup | Tourism | Thailand

BANGKOK - Thailand will ask Unesco to delay a decision on Cambodia's proposal to list Preah Vihear temple as a World Heritage Site, said Pongpol Adireksarn, head of Thailand's World Heritage Committee following the Central Administrative Court injunction on June 28 against the Thai government supporting Cambodia's bid.

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Balancing Heritage and Development in Luang Prabang

Top Stories | Culture | Tourism | Laos | Vietnam

By Sutthida Malikaew*

LUANG PRABANG, Lao PDR - Duangsavan Boupha, a native of Luang Prabang, has lived in the same house she was born in more than 60 years ago. She inherited the 72 year-old house from her grandparents. Her daily routine begins early each morning with the traditional distribution of alms to Buddhist monks, as is the custom here.

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Hoi An Lives with Tourism Pains

Top Stories | Culture | Tourism | Laos | Vietnam

By Sutthida Malikaew

HOI AN, Vietnam - “More people come to Hoi An, but I can sell less,” Kim Chi, owner of an art gallery in this central Vietnamese town, says in a bored tone.

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Two Villages

Documentaries | Culture | Tourism | China

Tan Le Shui and Feng Weiyang, Yunnan Television

A village on the banks of Lancang, China and a village in Mekong Island, Cambodia are the rich settings of this documentary.

In the Chinese village of Manchunman, the Dai people have become experts at courting tourists to buy their local crafts. A tourist company has put up a gate at the entrance of the village, turning it into a park where locals perform traditional rituals in daily shows.

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Hoi An Lives with Tourism Pains

Top Stories | Culture | Tourism | Laos | Vietnam

By Sutthida Malikaew

HOI AN, Vietnam - “More people come to Hoi An, but I can sell less,” Kim Chi, owner of an art gallery in this central Vietnamese town, says in a bored tone.

» add comment

Hoi An Lives with Tourism Pains

Top Stories | Culture | Tourism | Laos | Vietnam

By Sutthida Malikaew

HOI AN, Vietnam - “More people come to Hoi An, but I can sell less,” Kim Chi, owner of an art gallery in this central Vietnamese town, says in a bored tone.

» add comment

Tourism Offers Irawaddy Dolphins Protection, and Farmers, Income

What's New

2 Mekong Fellows Win Journalism Prizes in Cambodia

Two Cambodian journalists who were part of the Imaging Our Mekong programme, Leang Delux and Ung Chansophea, won prizes in the Investigative Journalism Awards Competition organised by the Club of Cambodian Journalists with the support of the U.S. Embassy. Our congratulations to both of them! »»

Latest Mekong Book Off the Press

'Opening Borders: Reportage from Our Mekong' (237 pp, 2008), the fifth book in the Imaging Our Mekong series, is now off the press. »»

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News from the Mekong

Preah Vihear Tiff the Latest in Testy Cambodia-Thai Ties

By Andrew Nette

PHNOM PENH, Jul 24 (Newsmekong) - The armed standoff between Cambodia and Thailand over ownership of the ancient Hindu temple of Preah Vihear is the latest chapter in the neighbouring countries’ troubled relationship. »»

Temple Row May Sour ASEAN Spirit

By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK, Jul 18 (IPS) - Amornchai Sirisai has been a regular visitor to the Thai-Cambodian border, close to where a 10th century Hindu temple sits atop a steep cliff. But it is not tourism that brings the Thai national to the ancient site. »»

CAMBODIA: Locals, Lawyers Prepare for Battle over Land

By Andrew Nette

RATANAKIRI, Cambodia, Jul 10 (IPS) - In thick forest in the north-east Cambodian province of Ratanakiri, a team of lawyers uses a global positioning satellite handset to mark the location of traditional spirit forests and gravesites belonging to local Jarai villagers. »»

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Mekong Media Roundup

VIETNAM: Guidelines Seek to Assist Trafficked Women and Children

HANOI - Trafficked women and children would receive more help to return to Vietnam and integrate back into society with the release of ministry guidelines on effective use of the law, a press conference was told here on June 27. »»

LAOS: More Illegal Migrants Volunteer to Return Home

VIENTIANE - A group of 837 illegal Lao migrants arrived in Vientiane on June 22 after spending years suffering in Thai detention camps. »»

THAILAND: Landmines Threaten Elephants

MAE SOT, Thailand - More than 100 elephants hauling logs on the Thai-Burmese border are in constant danger, as one step in the wrong direction could injure or even kill them. »»

CAMBODIA: Chinese Language Courses Popular

PHNOM PENH - While English remains the most popular foreign language among students in Cambodia, Chinese, Japanese and Korean are fast catching up as young Khmers increasingly view them as a gateway to better jobs in the country’s growing industrial and tourism sectors. »»

Row Over Preah Vihear Continues

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