DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Principal suspect of Mekong River attack pleads guilty” plus 2 more

DAP: The breaking news in Cambodia: “Principal suspect of Mekong River attack pleads guilty” plus 2 more


Principal suspect of Mekong River attack pleads guilty

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:02 PM PDT

KUNMING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Naw Kham, principal suspect for the murders of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River last year, pleaded guilty Friday evening when he and five other people were standing trial in southwest China.

The trial, which opened Thursday morning at the Intermediate People's Court of Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, ended on Friday, one day ahead of schedule.

Naw Kham, the head of an armed drug gang from Myanmar, expressed his penitence to the victims and their families in court, hoping for leniency.

The court will pick a date for sentencing following a review of the case by a collegiate bench.

Naw Kham denied plotting the attack on Thursday. However, the five other defendants on trial all testified in court that Naw Kham was the gang's ringleader who masterminded the attack.

The six suspects were charged with intentional homicide, drug trafficking, kidnapping and hijacking by the Kunming People's Procuratorate.

Prosecutors showed irrefutable and sufficient evidence of the criminal offences, including the six defendants' confessions, witness testimonies, DNA test results, and autopsy reports.

Thirteen witnesses from Laos and Thailand testified in the trial on the basis of bilateral judicial assistance treaties between China and the two counties respectively. They were protected by the court according to China's law and international practice.

All six defendants who were foreigners answered questions raised by the chief justice, judges, prosecutors, victims' relatives and lawyers during the trial, aided by translators.

Relatives of the 13 Chinese victims, embassy personnel of the related countries, Chinese legislators, political advisors, experts and representatives of local residents and media were present at the court during the two-day trial.

The court also heard the trial of the incidental civil action of the case on Friday.

Victims wanted civil compensation of tens of millions yuan but the court did not reveal the exact figures.

Naw Kham did not deny the evidence provided by the prosecutors on Friday. He said he was willing to pay compensation, adding that he had 30 million baht (about 6 million yuan or 951,139 U.S. dollars).

Begging for lighter punishment, the other five defendants also pleaded guilty in court but said they had no money for compensation.

Nie Tao, a Chinese police officer with the special task force of the case, said police from both China and Thailand exchanged views on the nine Thai soldiers who were allegedly involved in the case on Friday afternoon.

Chinese police will continue to cooperate with the Thai police in the investigation into and prosecution of the nine Thai soldiers, Nie said.

The Naw Kham crime ring was busted earlier this year in a joint operation by police from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand after the brutal murders of the Chinese sailors triggered an outcry in China last year.

The 13 Chinese sailors were confirmed dead after two cargo ships, the Hua Ping and Yu Xing 8, were hijacked on Oct. 5, 2011 on the Mekong River.

With a length of almost 5,000 km, the Mekong River, known in China as the Lancang River, is one of the most important waterways in Southeast Asia, linking the countries of China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. It plays a crucial economic role among the Greater Mekong Sub-region countries.


Cambodian PM: Poverty reduction target may hit 2 years earlier

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:02 PM PDT

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia is expected to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) in poverty reduction two years earlier than the UN-imposed target, Prime Minister Hun Sen said Friday.

According to the UN MDG, Cambodia is set the target to reduce poverty rate to 19.4 percent by 2015, meaning that the country needs to lift out at least 1 million out 4 million people out of extreme poverty.

"The poverty rate in Cambodia has declined from 22.9 percent in 2009 to 20 percent in 2012 and could further drop to 19 percent in 2013," Hun Sen said Friday in a message to mark the 10th Anniversary of the International Day of Peace.

The premier's prediction was made after the country's economy grew up to 7.1 percent last year in spite of flood devastation.

He foresaw that the country's per capita GDP will reach 990 U.S. dollars in 2012 and 1,080 U.S. dollars in 2013 from 911 U.S. dollars last year.

The Southeast Asian nation has the population of about 14.5 millions. Its economy relies on garment export, tourism, agriculture and construction.

People living below poverty line are defined by an income of less than 1.25 U.S. dollars a day.

Xinhua Insight: Xi urges China-Asean economic ties, peaceful dispute settlements

Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:01 PM PDT

NANNING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- China and ASEAN nations have strategic importance to deepening economic ties and should resolve disputes through negotiations, Vice President Xi Jinping said on Friday in southwest China, where the ninth China-Asean Expo opened on Friday morning.

Xi made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the ninth China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and the 2012 Forum on China-ASEAN Free Trade Area in Nanning, capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

China and the ASEAN must work more vigorously to advance connectivity. This is a measure of strategic importance that will promote intra-regional economic integration and enhance regional competitiveness, thus contributing to a sustained and steady growth in the regional economy, Xi said.

"China is ready to establish all-dimensional, in-depth and strategic connectivity with the ASEAN. Currently, we are actively preparing for the establishment of the Chinese Committee on China-ASEAN Connectivity and will in due course set up interaction and institutionalized exchanges with relevant ASEAN agencies," according to the vice president.

With a theme of "Win-win cooperation for common development," the expo is set to draw more than 2,000 domestic and overseas enterprises, and consolidate its place as an important platform to promote China-ASEAN trade. China is the largest trading partner of the ASEAN, while the ASEAN ranks as China's third-largest trading partner. Bilateral trade surged from 7 billion U.S. dollars in the early days of dialogue relations to 362.8 billion last year, registering an average annual growth of over 20 percent.

In 2010, China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (FTA) was launched. Covering a total population of 1.9 billion, it is the world's largest FTA zone of developing countries.

Myanmar's President, U Thein Sein, said, "As our economies are connected to each other, we are happy to see a healthy economy growing in China. The ASEAN welcomes the robust economic partnership with China.

"The market of the ASEAN and China is indeed a huge one. We both have our own distinguished characteristics and are endowed with natural and human resources."

China and ASEAN nations have not only developed robust trade relations, but also seen two-way investment growing steadily, with investment between the two sides totaling nearly 100 billion U.S. dollars by the end of July this year.

Xi pointed out that China has provided financial support to the ASEAN to the best of its abilities by setting up the China-ASEAN Investment Cooperation Fund and making concessional loans, facilitating economic development in ASEAN countries.

Despite the booming trade ties, disputes between China and some ASEAN countries remain. Xi reiterated that China hopes to resolve differences with neighbors concerning territorial land, territorial sea and maritime rights and interests peacefully through friendly negotiations.

"We are firm in safeguarding China's sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and are committed to resolving differences with neighbors concerning territorial and maritime rights and interests peacefully through friendly negotiations," said the vice president.

"We will never seek hegemony, nor behave in a hegemonic manner," he vowed, adding, "By peaceful development, we mean to develop ourselves by upholding world peace and upholding world peace through our own development."

U Thein Sein noted that China and ASEAN nations are situated in a rapidly growing Asia-Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific region has become the center of gravity in international relations and trade. Hence, it is important to work together to promote peace and development in the region.

Lu Jianren, of the Asia-Pacific research institution of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the ASEAN is crucial to China, and individual member state's disputes could not affect the relationship between the two sides.

It is so important that China and the ASEAN join hands to strengthen cooperation and create a win-win situation under current international circumstances, he added.

The ASEAN is made up of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Related:

Xi Jinping calls for more people-to-people exchanges between China, ASEAN

NANNING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- China and ASEAN should promote social and people-to-people exchanges to promote friendship and good-neighborliness, Vice President Xi Jinping said here Friday.

Xi made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 9th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and 2012 Forum on China-ASEAN Free Trade Area in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.  Full story

Xi Jinping calls for greater connectivity between China, ASEAN

NANNING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Vice President Xi Jinping on Friday called on China and ASEAN to work more vigorously to advance connectivity, saying that it is the important foundation for deepening trade and economic cooperation as well as personnel exchanges.

Xi made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 9th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and 2012 Forum on China-ASEAN Free Trade Area in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.  Full story

China, ASEAN should deepen cooperation in two-way investment: VP

NANNING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- China and ASEAN should work more vigorously to deepen cooperation in two-way investment, Vice President Xi Jinping said here Friday.

Xi made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 9th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and 2012 Forum on China-ASEAN Free Trade Area in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.  Full story

China, ASEAN should work to improve on FTA development: VP

NANNING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- China and ASEAN should work more vigorously to improve on the Free Trade Area (FTA) development, Vice President Xi Jinping said here Friday.

Xi made the remarks at the opening ceremony of the 9th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit and 2012 Forum on China-ASEAN Free Trade Area in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.  Full story

China's Xi on diplomacy with neighboring countries

NANNING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping said on Friday that the growth of China-ASEAN relations shows China's diplomacy has lived up to the principle of building amity and partnership with neighbors.

Xi made the remarks when addressing the opening ceremony of the ninth China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit that opened in Nanning, capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.  Full story

China's Xi: China-ASEAN cooperation sees growing gains

NANNING, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping said here Friday that China and the ASEAN have always been committed to mutually-beneficial development, resulting in growing gains in trade and economic cooperation.

When addressing the opening ceremony of the 9th China-ASEAN Business and Investment Summit in this capital city of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Xi said two-way trade between China and the ASEAN(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) surged from 7 billion U.S. dollars in the early days of dialogue relations to 362.8 billion last year, registering an average annual growth of over 20 percent.

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