RFA Insider #15: Cambodia's Hun Sen, Tibet's caterpillar fungus, Laos censors memes

By Amy Lee for RFA Insider
2024.09.13
RFA Insider #15: Cambodia's Hun Sen, Tibet's caterpillar fungus, Laos censors memes Vuthy and Poly rendered as frogs in possibly the greatest podcast logo at RFA
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Off Beat

Khmer Service Director Poly Sam and Deputy Director Vuthy Huot, hosts of the popular “Cambodia This Week” podcast, oblige us with their first English-language recording to explain how Hun Sen has maintained a tight fist on power in Cambodia for over three decades.

Starting with his early beginnings as a Khmer Rouge soldier, Poly and Vuthy chronicle how Hun Sen was installed as Cambodia’s foreign minister by the Vietnamese government, assumed the role of prime minister and cemented his standing through a coup. Last year, Hun Sen resigned so that his eldest son, Hun Manet, could take over the reins – but is that really the end of Hun Sen's rule or is he still calling the shots?

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From left to right: RFA Insider cohosts Amy Lee and Eugene Whong, Khmer Service director Poly Sam, and deputy director Vuthy Huot. (RFA/Charlie Dharapak)

Podcast Free Asia

Listeners may recall the case of Chinese-American democracy activist Wang Shujun, who was accused (and recently found guilty) of spying for China. Wang’s case is further detailed in the Investigative team’s short podcast series Master of Deceit. Eugene notes that more Chinese-American individuals in positions of power (Yuangjun Tang, Alexander Yuk Ching Ma and Linda Sun) have been arrested and accused of spying for China as of late; however, Master of Deceit focuses on the singular case of Wang Shujun.

The Rundown

Amy kicks off The Rundown with another traditional medicine story, featuring the parasitic caterpillar fungus. The fungi, which mummifies their caterpillar hosts and sends growths shooting out of the head, is prized for its’ heart, liver and lung benefits. Come spring to early summer, rural Tibetan families will scale the Himalayan mountainsides and Tibetan Plateau to collect caterpillar fungi, with the harvest accounting for up to 90% of a family’s yearly income. However, overharvesting, climate change and the rise of farmed and artificial products have put these rural families’ livelihoods in direct danger.

Eugene turns to Laos for the next story, where two young men have landed in hot water for playing with AI. Graphic artists Dai James and James Famor were taken into custody by police after they altered photos and videos of pothole-laden streets to depict themselves fishing and crocodiles lurking in the flooded potholes. While James was released on the same day, Famor was forced to attend a “re-education” class and issue a video apology. The pair appear to have violated laws against “releasing destructive news causing disorder,” but residents say that the young men were actually doing a public service by drawing attention to damaged roads.


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