Cambodia Says US Officials Can 'Pack Up and Leave'

Cambodia Says US Officials Can 'Pack Up and Leave'

U.S. embassy officials in Cambodia should “pack up and leave” if they do not like the country, a Cambodian government spokesman said on Thursday.

The statement came after U.S. diplomats¹ in Phnom Penh criticized Cambodia’s July 2018 election. They said on social media that the election had “failed to represent the will of the Cambodian people.” The embassy officials made the comment to mark one year since the vote.

In that election, Prime Minister Hun Sen’s ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CCP) won all 125 parliamentary seats. The CCP’s complete victory followed the dissolution of the main opposition² party. Rights groups said the election was neither free nor fair.

But a Cambodian government spokesman rejected the criticism. Phay Siphan said U.S. officials should not make such “barbaric comments.”

“Although we are friends, if these officials don’t like Cambodia, they should pack up and leave. Let me be clear: We don’t welcome you,” Siphan told reporters on Thursday.

Siphan said he was using the language of U.S. President Donald Trump³. Trump recently told four ethnic⁴ minority lawmakers to “go back” to “the totally broken and crime infested⁶ places from which they came.”

“We have the same right to speak as President Donald Trump. It’s simple. If you don’t like it here, leave,” Siphan said.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. embassy would not comment.

The American officials’ Facebook post said the 2018 election excluded the main opposition Cambodian National Rescue Party (CNRP). The Cambodian supreme⁷ court dissolved the party in 2017.

The supreme court also banned 118 of the CNRP’s elected officials from politics for five years. The party’s leader, Kem Sokha, spent more than a year in jail on treason charges. He was released from prison in 2018, but put under house arrest in Phnom Penh.

For years, Cambodia has been criticized by human rights organizations. It has increasingly turned toward its main ally, China, for diplomatic and financial support. The U.S. has expressed concern about military ties between Cambodia and China.

The Wall Street Journal reported in July that China and Cambodia made a secret agreement to allow Chinese forces to use a Cambodian Naval⁸ base on the Gulf⁹ of Thailand. Hun Sen’s government denied the report.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

dissolution – n. the act of officially ending a marriage, organization, or agreement

barbaric – adj. very rude or offensive

infest⁵ – v. to be all over a place in large numbers

1 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

4 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

5 infest   

v.大批出没于；侵扰；寄生于

参考例句：

• Several animals in sea water can infest wood.海水中有好多动物能侵害木材。
• A lame cat is better than a swift horse when rats infest the palace.宫殿有鼠患，瘸猫比快马强。

6 infested   

adj.为患的，大批滋生的（常与with搭配）v.害虫、野兽大批出没于( infest的过去式和过去分词 )；遍布于

参考例句：

• The kitchen was infested with ants. 厨房里到处是蚂蚁。
• The apartments were infested with rats and roaches. 公寓里面到处都是老鼠和蟑螂。

7 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

8 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

9 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。