Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk is in a feisty mood, undergoing medical check-ups in China from where the monarch has gone on the offensive to set the record straight on his six decades of political life.
Through his palace publication, Bulletin Mensuel de Documentation (BMD), the king reprints newspaper articles with addendums scribbled in margins and clarifications to stories about himself.
He highlights perceived inaccuracies while applauding efforts to stamp out corruption and human trafficking, with exclamation marks.
In a BMD interview in early May, the 80-year-old monarch wrote, "These days I am writing a lot. It is not necessary to be astonished by it.
"I feel my death is coming soon.
"I must therefore, while the Buddha leaves me some life, write and write again in order to complete all that I have been able to give as testimonies and explanations for history to the young generations."
Just six months ago, a fit Sihanouk entertained heads of state at the summit of the Association of South East Asia Nations (ASEAN) and was applauded for twinkle-toeing on the dance floor with Philippine President Gloria Arroyo.
He has since verified his list of numerous health complaints, another source of palace rumors among royal watchers, which force him to spend much of the year in China for medical treatment.
He left Phnom Penh for China in March.
The list includes chemotherapy for non-Hodgkins lymphoma, arteriosclerosis, hyperlipemia, gallstones and abnormal glucose tolerance.
One source with close links to the king said Sihanouk's health was fine but the monarch was suffering from depression caused by the problems that have beset his country and was making his displeasure known.
"He's totally depressed by the nonsense that is going on.
"Cambodia has received so much money for reconstruction but no one knows where the money has gone. There are few roads and every time it rains Phnom Penh turns into a lake."
He said the king always notes how Cambodia had historically survived without foreign assistance as an independent kingdom but now his country relies on handouts.
"I don't think he'll return [from China] before the elections."
Instead, Sihanouk is expected to keep writing -- in French, occasional English and Khmer -- and often in response to letters from the mysterious Ruom Ritt, known locally as "a close friend of the king."
Ruom Ritt has proved an occasional irritant to Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen by posing questions to the king in BMD and illiciting a blistering response.
Ruom Ritt once asked the king to list the achievements of Hun Sen's government. The king praised his prime minister, compared him to the mighty Angkorian kings of a thousand years ago and forecast his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) would win the elections next month.
He then noted "without accusing them of any corruption" that "certain leaders and cadres in the CPP have become extremely rich."
This included a blatant sell-off of "thousands and thousands" of Cambodian artifacts to well-off Khmers and foreigners.
In the latest issue of BMD the king drew his pen, and his renowned ironic wit for one article referring to the prime minister as the "strongman" and underlined the word, with an additional comment: "Bravo!"
While Sihanouk reserves some tact for his prime minister his assessment of family matters and a likely successor are blunt.
Soon after the May issue of BMD was released, its scribes followed up with another list of questions but the king's answers were sent in a letter to The Cambodia Daily newspaper.
Prince Norodom Ranariddh, once a hot favorite as future monarch, now has "major problems" with politics. Prince Norodom Sihamoni is a "chance" while Prince Norodom Sirivudh is too tainted by past political affiliations.
Instead, the monarch declared to his kingdom that his wife Queen Monineath was a viable option to carry the throne forward after his death but this would require a constitutional change allowing women to reign.
The king, however, has taken steps to ensure his legacy if none of the future alternatives are acceptable, and a republic follows.
In the last issue of BMD, the revered monarch announced his treasure trove of Cambodian movies, directed by himself, would be donated to the French National Film Archives.
Apparently Sihanouk fears his movies would be held up to public contempt by his foes if a republic were declared after his death.
In which case, Sihanouk has laid down his last request.
"In my humble opinion Cambodia's republicanization would be only acceptable after a national referendum was conducted in due form and, if possible, under the appropriate control of the United Nations," he wrote in the letter published by The Cambodia Daily.
Mongolian influencer Anudari Daarya looks effortlessly glamorous and carefree in her social media posts — but the classically trained pianist’s road to acceptance as a transgender artist has been anything but easy. She is one of a growing number of Mongolian LGBTQ youth challenging stereotypes and fighting for acceptance through media representation in the socially conservative country. LGBTQ Mongolians often hide their identities from their employers and colleagues for fear of discrimination, with a survey by the non-profit LGBT Centre Mongolia showing that only 20 percent of people felt comfortable coming out at work. Daarya, 25, said she has faced discrimination since she
April 21 to April 27 Hsieh Er’s (謝娥) political fortunes were rising fast after she got out of jail and joined the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in December 1945. Not only did she hold key positions in various committees, she was elected the only woman on the Taipei City Council and headed to Nanjing in 1946 as the sole Taiwanese female representative to the National Constituent Assembly. With the support of first lady Soong May-ling (宋美齡), she started the Taipei Women’s Association and Taiwan Provincial Women’s Association, where she
More than 75 years after the publication of Nineteen Eighty-Four, the Orwellian phrase “Big Brother is watching you” has become so familiar to most of the Taiwanese public that even those who haven’t read the novel recognize it. That phrase has now been given a new look by amateur translator Tsiu Ing-sing (周盈成), who recently completed the first full Taiwanese translation of George Orwell’s dystopian classic. Tsiu — who completed the nearly 160,000-word project in his spare time over four years — said his goal was to “prove it possible” that foreign literature could be rendered in Taiwanese. The translation is part of
It is one of the more remarkable facts of Taiwan history that it was never occupied or claimed by any of the numerous kingdoms of southern China — Han or otherwise — that lay just across the water from it. None of their brilliant ministers ever discovered that Taiwan was a “core interest” of the state whose annexation was “inevitable.” As Paul Kua notes in an excellent monograph laying out how the Portuguese gave Taiwan the name “Formosa,” the first Europeans to express an interest in occupying Taiwan were the Spanish. Tonio Andrade in his seminal work, How Taiwan Became Chinese,
RSS