Cambodia Faces Rising Authoritarianism Under Beijing’s Shadow

4 comments

1. SS: In *Japan Forward*, Tomo Kuwamura portrays a Cambodia sliding unmistakably into the long shadow of authoritarianism, where the Hun dynasty cements its power through monuments, surveillance, and the steady suffocation of dissent. Though Hun Sen formally relinquished the premiership in 2023, his influence remains omnipresent as his son Hun Manet fronts a one-party state that dismantles opposition, rigs the political arena, and drives independent journalism to the brink of extinction. Reporters are arrested, coerced into humiliating apology videos, and warned off anything that exposes the rot beneath the regime. China’s “governance model” looms large, empowering Phnom Penh with digital sentinels, AI-driven surveillance, and an embryonic Great Firewall that come together to form the nervous system of a creeping techno-authoritarian state. As American democratic support recedes and Chinese influence surges, Cambodia becomes a stage for a much larger global drama in which autocracies now outnumber democracies and billions live under tightening control, prompting the stark question of whether a nation that abandons freedom can still claim a future.

2. Aside from vibes what evidence is this article actually based on?

3. Biased, anti-China propaganda nonsense. China has nothing to do with Cambodia’s governance model. 

4. Cambodia hasn’t been democratic since never

   The Khmer Rouge was not only authoritarian but genocidal, then Vietnam overthrew them and Hun Sen took over strong arming his way against the restored monarchy and it’s party and consolidating power that then transfered dynastically to his son. This is all Hun Sen / Cambodia own doing after Vietnam left, China has only helped providing technical expertise to increase the amount of tools the already authoritatian government had to detect and punish dissent. 

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