Tea Banh (R) and Hem Heng (L) (Photo: Sam Borin, RFA)According to Wikipedia, Tea Banh is of Sino--Thai descent, His father named Tea Toek, a Thai-Chinese, and his mother Nou Pengchend, a Thai descendant.
Tea Banh joined the Pchum Ben celebration with Cambodian-Americans
21 September 2009
By Sam Borin
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Heng Soy
Click here to read the article in Khmer
About 1,000 Cambodian expats, especially those who live around Washington DC, celebrated the last day of the Pchum Ben festival in a ceremony where a high-ranking Hun Xen’s regime official joined in.
In his participation in the Pchum Ben celebration with Cambodian Buddhists at the Puthikaram Pagoda, Washington DC, Tea Banh, the Cambodian vice-PM and minister of Defense, expressed his emotion to see the similarities of the various [religious] buildings and the Pchum Ben celebration activities held by various Cambodian Buddhist followers from various states around Washington DC, USA.
Tea Banh who was accompanied by Hem Heng, the Cambodian ambassador to the US, joined with more than 1,000 Cambodians to celebrate the last day of Pchum Ben.
During the celebration, Tea Banh told reporters that he is happy to join in this national celebration. “It’s very good, it’s extremely good, even if they left the country, but we still preserve our good national customs, this is a good thing for our people. I am very proud for our people, even they live far away, they still maintain their traditions very well. It’s very similar, the ornaments [on the temple] are also similar, the rituals are exactly the same. I am moved to see that we maintain our [customs]. Nobody can detract the beliefs that we have and we still maintain them very well,” Tea Banh said.
Layman Koy Moeun, who is also the vice-president of the pagoda, said about the Pchum Ben celebration: “In the last two days, the pagoda is completely crowded. The situation is the same on both days: Saturday and Sunday, up until now. The Cambodian ambassador in Washington DC and 9 delegate members from Cambodia came along, they gathered at the pagoda to celebrate the festivals with us and me as the layman here. They donated money to monks and to support the pagoda.”
Like other Buddhist followes, Tea Banh [a former communist Khmer Rouge soldier] and Hem Heng, the Cambodian ambassador to the US, joined in the religious celebration to commemorate the last day of the Pchum Ben traditional festival.
Tea Banh is currently visiting Washington DC. According to his schedule, Tea Banh will meet Adam West, the Cambodia Desk Officer of the US Department of State, and James Steinberg, the US Deputy Secretary of State. In the afternoon, Tea Banh will meet with Robert Gates, the US Secretary of Defense, and General [Kelly K.] McKeague, the Chief of Staff of the National Guard Bureau, and General Craig McKinley. He will also participate in the 2009 and 2010 US Quadrennial Defense Review meeting.
In his participation in the Pchum Ben celebration with Cambodian Buddhists at the Puthikaram Pagoda, Washington DC, Tea Banh, the Cambodian vice-PM and minister of Defense, expressed his emotion to see the similarities of the various [religious] buildings and the Pchum Ben celebration activities held by various Cambodian Buddhist followers from various states around Washington DC, USA.
Tea Banh who was accompanied by Hem Heng, the Cambodian ambassador to the US, joined with more than 1,000 Cambodians to celebrate the last day of Pchum Ben.
During the celebration, Tea Banh told reporters that he is happy to join in this national celebration. “It’s very good, it’s extremely good, even if they left the country, but we still preserve our good national customs, this is a good thing for our people. I am very proud for our people, even they live far away, they still maintain their traditions very well. It’s very similar, the ornaments [on the temple] are also similar, the rituals are exactly the same. I am moved to see that we maintain our [customs]. Nobody can detract the beliefs that we have and we still maintain them very well,” Tea Banh said.
Layman Koy Moeun, who is also the vice-president of the pagoda, said about the Pchum Ben celebration: “In the last two days, the pagoda is completely crowded. The situation is the same on both days: Saturday and Sunday, up until now. The Cambodian ambassador in Washington DC and 9 delegate members from Cambodia came along, they gathered at the pagoda to celebrate the festivals with us and me as the layman here. They donated money to monks and to support the pagoda.”
Like other Buddhist followes, Tea Banh [a former communist Khmer Rouge soldier] and Hem Heng, the Cambodian ambassador to the US, joined in the religious celebration to commemorate the last day of the Pchum Ben traditional festival.
Tea Banh is currently visiting Washington DC. According to his schedule, Tea Banh will meet Adam West, the Cambodia Desk Officer of the US Department of State, and James Steinberg, the US Deputy Secretary of State. In the afternoon, Tea Banh will meet with Robert Gates, the US Secretary of Defense, and General [Kelly K.] McKeague, the Chief of Staff of the National Guard Bureau, and General Craig McKinley. He will also participate in the 2009 and 2010 US Quadrennial Defense Review meeting.
32 comments:
who is tea banh? how this guy become cambodia a vice- pm and minister of defense? can anyone educate me? how can i find out his back ground? and how he got the job?
ps any khmer political leaders background.
thank you
Just because you overseas fucks lost touch with Khmer tradition doesn't give you a right to diss those in srok Khmer who still keep the tradition alive, ah lop Western White dick licker pussies.
He's a Ah Yuon I guessed, Viet want to be Khmer and they benefit our country right now.
for 7:48
even though i am far from my homeland i keep up information through news everyday. i just don't want cambodia to be in the situation like the year 1600 through 1900. if you know my point, cambodia was swallowed by those two aggresive nations. as a khmer daughter, i have the right to know who the real khmer leader and who is not.
ps. when you want to express your feeling, please use proper language.
7:48 AM,
Calm down buddy. To get the record straight, most people aren't dissing the people of Cambodia nor its culture and heritage. People are dissing the highly corrupted CPP officials and high-ranking generals in the government.
By the way you demonstrate your use of language in your post, you sound very ignorant and probably are very ignorant as an individual.
Because you always fuck with the white people and you forgot motherfucker your home land and your motherfucker your people.
my name is heng xoy but mostly xoy never heng so just call me ah xoy
stfu you fob, go sucking your dad's dirty dick with aids on the top you fucking motherfucker 7:48
AMERICA FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
i could careless about mr. tea banh's background. i think what's more important is his ability to lead and how smart he is to reform cambodia armed forces, etc... i hope the US is not letting opposition trouble-makers influence them in the wrong way. seeing is believing.
i can't believe people in DC actually join this man. this man is a khmer killer. this man should be burnt alive! what is wrong with those idiots that join him at the festival.
9:40AM, this man have no ability!! he don't even know how to used computer. he's one of the lef over khmer communist from pol pot regime. HE HAS NO TRUE ABILITY! HIS POSITION WAS APPOINTED BY HIS MASTER HUN XEM.
Cambodia Town
Long Beach, Ca
Defense Minister Tea Banh was commando during Lon Nol regime (Khmer Republic)in Koh Kong province, he was escaped several time in ambused from dead during fighting aganist Pol Pot guerillas. Later on, he joined force with Samdech Deycho Hun Sen. Did you see 7:43 AM
10:53 AM was New Phally
7:43 AM
Tea Banh is of Sino-Thai descent, His father named Tea Toek, a Thai-Chinese, and his mother Nou Pengchend, a Thai descendant.
He speaks Thai more than khmer at home with family and friends. He come from low class family and has litle education in Koh Kong Province.
He joined Communist party in 1966 served as "nearasar" information, letter man, than he promoted to Yothea srok and after 1975 he in charged as kamaphipal Yothea Kang Pol thom in Koh Kong District.
He got his job and Ranking through the joined of communist vietnam to invade Cambodia sine january 7, 1979.
Now he is a permanant member in CPP and hold a highest post in the army branch.
10:58 AM,
How do you know all the details about Tea Banh? Do you work with him?
Cambodia Town
Long Beach, Ca
I am correcting my statement About Defense Minister Tea Banh was never Lon Nol Commando.
The guy 10:58 AM must be his friend.
New Phally
11:08 AM
I was evacuted to Koh Kong as New People or they called me the 17 april people, and I saw him passby my Phum all the time.
Cambodia Town
Long Beach, Ca
I would like to informe, the reasons Defense Minister Tea Banh get his name because he was never got injuries for severals occassion during fighting to save his life against Pol Pot guerillas. Thus,I got the information from his friend about his biography.
New Phally
how can cambodia minister defece can't speak fluently cambodian? is he Ah Yuon Kro Torp Orp Kro Tin ? 7:48
As Khmer descent, we have to be one. When we will have great, strong and good leaders, than we Khmer sure will stick together like Israel.
some angry people in here sound like khmer rouge.
controll yourself, don't let your anger dictates your life. anger lead to trouble.
Most of Cambodian leaders are vietamse or Siam brain, they even married vietnamse or Siam wives.
Show some love my people. Just because we don't share the same political ideogloy, doesn't mean that we can't welcome him with open arms.
Please don't call this temple "DC temple". This temple locates in Silver Spring, Maryland, not in DC as one claims.
I, myself, went to Silver Spring temple in Maryland on Sunday. I heard the rumor talked about this so-called Duck Shooter in the temple; but I missed it. Otherwise, I will use sling short to get one while it's landing in the temple. They visit in the low profile and no announcement. Otherwise, people will jump on this duck for sure.
Do you know every temple in the USA or back home have some monks that work for CPP and embed in the temple to gather information? Of course 100% like Kong Chheang, Men Say, etc... are CPP people.
So watch out and don't listen to them much. They're worthless to listen to and don't donate money to them.
Khmers overseas everywhere always maintaining their traditonal values, religious beliefs...
but many are disappointed about the corrupted and opression in Cambodia... they are ashamed of their leaders... hoping those leaders upgrade again our values in international affairs to be proud of...
11:30! you are good!
10:50 open your haerth some time, man!
A duck shooter is in town,
let's go to shoot the DUCK.
Ah Tea Banh, Ah banh Tea both are equal means.
ទា បាញ់ បានក្លាយជា ទា ស្ងោ យូណាស់ទៅហើយ។
ហៅ វា ថា ទា ស្ងោ វិញទើបត្រូវ។ ខ្មែរនៅដីស៊ី យកគាត់ទៅសែនប្រែត។
ដល់ត្រឡប់ទៅវិញគាត់និងទៅតាមប្រែតមិនខានទេ។
Tea banh is anoter oldfart that needs to step aside and let the younger generation do the job. this guy has no ability or the intelligent to lead cambodia.
god bless cambodia.
I just wanna make a comment here about some facts I have known about this particular story. For one thing, Wikipedia cannot be 100% correct. People can have access to the page and edit it, which lowers the credibility of the content. There's a book about the biography of Tea Banh written in khmer. I've read it and it tells that Gen. Tea Banh was truly born in Koh Kong and his parents are really Sino-Thai. However, Tea Banh is a real cambodian; he joined the movement in Koh Kong fighting against Khmer Rouge for years. He really did some good works for the country and his experiences in the army made him fit for a high-position in the Ministry of Defence. I do agree with all your comments that he's been the Minister for too long and also been a permanent CPP member which make him a bias person in the military.
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