By Sopheap
Samleng Yuveakchon Khmer (Voice of Khmer Youth)
Translated from Khmer and posted online
Corruption in Cambodia has caused the state to lose an average per day income of US$1 million. For this reason, the Cambodian Government appears to be reluctant to make an anti-corruption law anytime soon despite the strong push from the donor countries and civil society groups.
Peter N. Fowler, senior counsel, Office of Enforcement, External Affairs US Patent and Trademark Office of the Department of Commerce, paid an official visit to Cambodia and met with the 7th Commission of the National Assembly headed by Keo Remy on Wednesday morning, 14 February. At this meeting, Peter N. Fowler told Keo Remy, who represented the National Assembly's 7th Commission, that he would like to urge the National Assembly to closely monitor the enforcement of various laws it has adopted, such as the Intellectual Property Rights [IPR] laws, and the protection of various copyrights registered with the Ministry of Commerce.
The senior legal adviser to the US Department of Commerce made that request after observing that a number of unscrupulous foreign investors have used the trade marks and logos of the world's well-known products by importing semi-finished goods into Cambodia to be finished, or using Cambodia as a transit country, before re-exporting them to the European or US markets.
Meanwhile, Keo Remy said that the crackdown on the illegal copying of famous product labels and qualities and the counterfeiting of brand-name goods in Cambodia appeared to be not very active because Cambodia is not a target destination of the pirated goods.
Keo Remy went on to say that Cambodia is still a very small market and is a transit nation only. Cambodia has not yet been able to produce pirated high-quality goods of the world. Cambodia's neighbors, however, are capable of such counterfeiting operations, and they have used Cambodia as a transit country or as a place where semi-finished products are brought in to be finished before re-exporting them to the European and US markets.
Peter N. Fowler said at the meeting with the National Assembly's 7th Commission that Cambodia must strengthen its laws, meaning that all laws passed by the National Assembly must be strictly enforced in the right direction and the Government must draft many other bills and send them to the National Assembly for adoption in order to attract renowned international investors, such as those from the United States, into investing in Cambodia.
Vietnam has strictly enforced its anti-corruption laws, and officials involved in corruption have been severely punished according to these laws. Some of them have been hanged because they committed serious acts of corruption. The Vietnamese Government took such drastic measures after Hanoi became a World Trade Organization member even after Cambodia.
However, because the Hanoi Government has sufficient laws for protecting the interests of foreign investors, because its justice system is trustworthy and its anti-corruption laws are properly enforced, Vietnam has become an investment destination for many big US firms. For instance US Microsoft Company recently invested nearly US$1 billion in Vietnam after this country firmly enforced its IPR laws. This has opened the floodgate to an influx of other foreign investors into Vietnam.
However, Cambodia where each year US$350 to US$400 million are lost to corruption has attracted many unscrupulous foreign investors because Cambodia has an extremely weak legal system and is full of corrupt officials who have shares in the foreign companies.
Because Cambodia does not strictly enforce its IPR laws, some foreign firms have used Cambodia as a base for counterfeiting products that they export to and sell cheaply on the international markets.
US economic experts have discovered that Cambodia has been used by a number of dishonest foreign companies as a center for counterfeiting goods for export to foreign markets.
Peter N. Fowler, senior counsel on Enforcement of the US Commerce Department's Patent and Trademark Office, told the National Assembly's 7th Commission at the 14 February meeting that he believed that the Cambodian Government, too, did not want unscrupulous foreign investors to come to and invest in its country. He said he hoped that Cambodia would consolidate its legal system, especially the enforcement of the IPR laws so as to win the trust of the world's major investors and lure their investment to Cambodia.
However, for more than a decade the foreign aid-dependent government headed by Hun Sen still has not had the will to make an internationally standardized anti-corruption law.
At the consultative meeting on 12 February, US Ambassador to Cambodia openly criticized the Cambodian Government for the delay in making the anti-corruption law, pointing out that the bill has not yet left the Council of Ministers because of various excuses.
Peter N. Fowler, senior counsel, Office of Enforcement, External Affairs US Patent and Trademark Office of the Department of Commerce, paid an official visit to Cambodia and met with the 7th Commission of the National Assembly headed by Keo Remy on Wednesday morning, 14 February. At this meeting, Peter N. Fowler told Keo Remy, who represented the National Assembly's 7th Commission, that he would like to urge the National Assembly to closely monitor the enforcement of various laws it has adopted, such as the Intellectual Property Rights [IPR] laws, and the protection of various copyrights registered with the Ministry of Commerce.
The senior legal adviser to the US Department of Commerce made that request after observing that a number of unscrupulous foreign investors have used the trade marks and logos of the world's well-known products by importing semi-finished goods into Cambodia to be finished, or using Cambodia as a transit country, before re-exporting them to the European or US markets.
Meanwhile, Keo Remy said that the crackdown on the illegal copying of famous product labels and qualities and the counterfeiting of brand-name goods in Cambodia appeared to be not very active because Cambodia is not a target destination of the pirated goods.
Keo Remy went on to say that Cambodia is still a very small market and is a transit nation only. Cambodia has not yet been able to produce pirated high-quality goods of the world. Cambodia's neighbors, however, are capable of such counterfeiting operations, and they have used Cambodia as a transit country or as a place where semi-finished products are brought in to be finished before re-exporting them to the European and US markets.
Peter N. Fowler said at the meeting with the National Assembly's 7th Commission that Cambodia must strengthen its laws, meaning that all laws passed by the National Assembly must be strictly enforced in the right direction and the Government must draft many other bills and send them to the National Assembly for adoption in order to attract renowned international investors, such as those from the United States, into investing in Cambodia.
Vietnam has strictly enforced its anti-corruption laws, and officials involved in corruption have been severely punished according to these laws. Some of them have been hanged because they committed serious acts of corruption. The Vietnamese Government took such drastic measures after Hanoi became a World Trade Organization member even after Cambodia.
However, because the Hanoi Government has sufficient laws for protecting the interests of foreign investors, because its justice system is trustworthy and its anti-corruption laws are properly enforced, Vietnam has become an investment destination for many big US firms. For instance US Microsoft Company recently invested nearly US$1 billion in Vietnam after this country firmly enforced its IPR laws. This has opened the floodgate to an influx of other foreign investors into Vietnam.
However, Cambodia where each year US$350 to US$400 million are lost to corruption has attracted many unscrupulous foreign investors because Cambodia has an extremely weak legal system and is full of corrupt officials who have shares in the foreign companies.
Because Cambodia does not strictly enforce its IPR laws, some foreign firms have used Cambodia as a base for counterfeiting products that they export to and sell cheaply on the international markets.
US economic experts have discovered that Cambodia has been used by a number of dishonest foreign companies as a center for counterfeiting goods for export to foreign markets.
Peter N. Fowler, senior counsel on Enforcement of the US Commerce Department's Patent and Trademark Office, told the National Assembly's 7th Commission at the 14 February meeting that he believed that the Cambodian Government, too, did not want unscrupulous foreign investors to come to and invest in its country. He said he hoped that Cambodia would consolidate its legal system, especially the enforcement of the IPR laws so as to win the trust of the world's major investors and lure their investment to Cambodia.
However, for more than a decade the foreign aid-dependent government headed by Hun Sen still has not had the will to make an internationally standardized anti-corruption law.
At the consultative meeting on 12 February, US Ambassador to Cambodia openly criticized the Cambodian Government for the delay in making the anti-corruption law, pointing out that the bill has not yet left the Council of Ministers because of various excuses.
1 comment:
FROM KHMENG WAT KHNONG SROK
TO PEOPLE ABOVE
WE ARE YUON-HANOI WHO WOULD IMPLEMENT HO CHI MINH'S DREAM UNTIL CAMBODIA BECOMES ONE OF OUR INDOCHINA'STATE.
WE KNOW THAT BEING A DOG ISN'T A EASY LIFE AS YOU ALL SEE EVERYDAY
PRIME MINISTER HUN SEN WHO BARKS DAY & NIGHT TO PROTECT & DEFEND YOUN-HANOI.
PLEASE FORGIVE US WHO WERE BORN AS
A PEST OF KHMER NATION.
KHMENG WAT KHNONG SROK
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