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Cambodia wants US deportation deal renegotiated

2018-07-06T00:57:51Z

WinifredForlong:

Cambodia's premier Hun Sen has become noticeably more critical of Washington in recent years, a period in which he has also grown much closer to China Cambodia on Tuesday said it will renegotiate a deal with Washington where convicted criminals with Cambodian heritage are deported to the Southeast Asian nation, retracting an earlier statement that the deportations had been suspended. For the last 15 years, the two nations have had a repatriation agreement allowing them to forcibly deport criminals with ties to the other country. More than 500 felons with Cambodian heritage have been deported from the US, many with few ties to their ethnic homeland or even the ability to speak Khmer. Earlier in the day Chum Sounry, a spokesman for Cambodia's foreign ministry, said news of the suspended agreement was delivered to W. Patrick Murphy, one of the State Department's most senior Asia diplomats who is currently visiting. The deal, Chum Sounry said, had been "criticised by both Cambodians here and Cambodian communities in the US" as a form of "double punishment". But in a later statement he clarified that the deal was still in place and that Phnom Penh wanted it "amended". Earlier in the day he said any new deal should contain provisions ensuring repatriations are only voluntary and that deportees should have the right to visit family in the US. The US embassy in Phnom Penh told AFP it had been informed of Cambodia's desire to renegotiate certain aspects of the agreement. Relations between the United States and Cambodia have grown increasingly frosty in recent years. Washington secretly bombed Cambodia during the Indochina wars but went on to be a major donor as the country emerged from the ashes of the Khmer Rouge genocide, pouring billions in aid into the country. It also took in tens of thousands of Cambodian refugees over the decades. But Cambodia's premier Hun Sen has become noticeably more critical of Washington in recent years, a period in which he has grown much closer to China. China has lavished poverty-stricken Cambodia with billions of dollars in grants and [http://thesaurus.com/browse/low-interest%20loans low-interest loans] over the [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html du lịch Bắc Kinh 5 ngày 4 đêm] past few decades. Unlike aid from the US, Beijing's support comes without pressure on strongman Hun Sen to clean up [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] his government's dismal human rights record. Hun Sen's speeches routinely lambast Washington and earlier this year Cambodia cancelled annual military drills with the US military. Officials at the time denied the decision was an effort to appease rival superpower China, with whom Cambodia had recently held drills. Advertisement

Beyond the baguette: France s food legacy in Vietnam

2018-06-29T03:16:56Z

WinifredForlong:

It has been more than six decades since the end of French colonial rule in Vietnam, but when President Francois Hollande arrives this week he'll struggle to avoid a quintessential legacy of his country's rule: the baguette. Smeared with pate and loaded with fresh coriander and cucumber, or just enjoyed with a pat of fresh butter, "banh mi" are a delicious symbol of Vietnam's lasting links with its former occupiers. "The French were very proud of banh mi. I think French cuisine has had a lot of influence on Vietnamese cuisine," baker Nguyen Ngoc Hoan told AFP from his busy boulangerie in Hanoi's French Quarter. 'Banh mi' are displayed for sale on a sidewalk in central Hanoi �Hoang Dinh Nam (AFP) Hoan started baking banh mi -- which refers to plain bread or the popular "petit pain" loaded with meat, vegetables or fried egg -- in 1987 and five years later got a stint at the bakery in the storied Metropole hotel, built by the French at the turn of the 20th century. The sandwich has become a foodie favourite in hipster enclaves around the globe, sold from food trucks and sipped with craft beer in both its classic form and a flurry of new varieties. Hoan's father was also a baker but discouraged his son from following in his floured footsteps. "The baking profession chose me, it was not my decision," Hoan said, speaking in front of a wall of ovens as his workers tirelessly knead [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html vtr.org.vn] dough nearby. He started his career baking what he called Vietnamese bread -- airy on the inside, crusty on the outside -- but after training with a French baker in Shanghai decided to switch to the denser French-style. Now, he churns out thousands of warm baguettes daily, along with croissants, creme caramel and homemade pate. - 'Petit pain' - French bread was first made in Vietnam to feed hungry soldiers in Indochina, France's empire which spanned much of Southeast Asia from 1858 to its crushing defeat in the Dien Bien Phu battle in Vietnam in 1954. But the French became known for more than food, gaining a brutal reputation for crushing anti-imperialist movements and putting Vietnamese laborers to work in gruelling conditions on rubber plantations, while heavily taxing citizens during periods of drought and famine. Most French who came to Vietnam weren't interested in low-level jobs like baking. To fill the gap, Chinese and Vietnamese worked in boulangeries -- often hidden away in the back so customers wouldn't know who was baking their bread. "By 1910, little baguettes or 'petit pain' were sold in the street to (Vietnamese) people who were on their way to work," according to Erica Peters, food historian and author of "Appetites and Aspirations in Vietnam". In the years that followed, meat, vegetables or fish appeared in the bread -- precursors to the modern-day banh mi sold all over Hanoi, a city rife with French colonial architecture, bistros and cafes. Other culinary influences leaked in too. Local cooks used meat scraps and unused bones from French butchers to create pho -- the national dish of beef or chicken noodle soup, according to Peters. Coffee and creme caramel are some of the other French culinary leftovers. The ubiquity of those influences will not be lost on President Hollande, who arrives late Monday for talks with Vietnam's leadership and French businessmen. - Hybrid cuisine - Today, Vietnam's commercial capital Ho Chi Minh City is dotted with chic cafes serving croque monsieur and macarons at Paris prices. But the $1 banh mi still rules Hanoi's street food scene. It is so engrained in Vietnam's culinary culture that few draw its lineage back to France. "I don't know and don't care whether it's French, I just serve it like this," said Nguyen Thi Duc Hanh, sitting in front of her shop as the lunchtime rush begins. She sells [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour bắc kinh từ hà nội] hundreds per day and keeps her menu simple: banh mi served with pate and a fried egg, beef steak or her very own version of "boeuf au vin" made with local spices. One of her regulars, Nguyen Van Binh, said he has been eating banh mi for 50 years, and unlike Hanh, thinks of it as a hybrid dish. "Banh mi came from France but it was changed and adapted to suit Vietnamese tastes," said Binh, before digging into his fried egg and pate served with a crusty roll. A street vendor sits in front of 'Hoan Boulangerie' shop in Hanoi �Hoang Dinh Nam (AFP) An employee prepares to bake croissants at 'Hoan Boulangerie' in Hanoi �Hoang Dinh Nam (AFP) Local Vietnamese cooks used meat scraps and unused bones from French butchers to create pho - the national dish of beef or [https://www.Google.com/search?hl=en&gl=us&tbm=nws&q=chicken%20noodle chicken noodle] soup �Hoang Dinh Nam (AFP/File) An employee prepares a 'banh mi' for sale at 'Banh Mi Phuc' restaurant in Hanoi �Hoang Dinh Nam (AFP) Advertisement

User:WinifredForlong

2018-06-29T03:16:48Z

WinifredForlong: Created page with "I like Jukskei. Appears boring? Not at all! I to learn Japanese in my free time. my weblog [http://www.vtr.org.vn/cam-nang-du-lich-bac-kinh-5-ngay-4-dem.html tour b..."

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