Chinese-Owned Hostel Sign Removed in Siem Reap City
A man is removing a signboard at Taipo International Youth Hostel in Siem Reap city (Photo: Ministry of Commerce)
- Thmey Thmey
- June 4, 2019 3:00 PM
PHNOM PENH--A Chinese-owned hostel sign in Siem Reap City was removed by the authorities due to the sign’s incorrect Khmer text, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Commerce.
On the ministry’s Facebook page, Secretary of State Veng Sothy said that the hostel’s name written in Khmer on the sign was different from the name under which the hostel was registered at the ministry, and that the owner had not asked the ministry for that name approval.
“We removed the sign of this hostel because the owner who is Chinese used poor Khmer translation, and the name is different from what is listed at the ministry,” Sothy said in the Facebook post.
He then explained that the hostel’s name on the sign was “Taipo International Youth Hostel” in English but that the name written in Khmer was different.
The sign’s removal comes as poor Khmer translation on business signboards is being seen as a widespread issue at businesses run by Chinese nationals in Cambodia, causing feelings of huge dissatisfaction among the Cambodian population.
The Cambodian authorities have been urging foreign owners to respect the country’s laws and regulations regarding businesses while the Ministry of Commerce has cracked down across country on any incorrect business signs, which tend to be at businesses belonging to Chinese owners.
Tourism Minister Thong Khon has also called on the ministry’s authorities at local levels to help disseminate the law in Chinese language in order to make Chinese investors aware of it and prevent future problems.
