Destroying late king poster sparks protest

Beijing on Tuesday condemned a Chinese citizen who triggered a protest by more than 1,000 Cambodian workers after tearing up a poster of the country's late king, Norodom Sihanouk.

The woman, a supervisor at the Top World garment factory in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh, had accused employees of skipping work during a week of official mourning for Sihanouk, who died in Beijing on Oct 15.

She seized and destroyed a portrait of the late monarch as the workers gathered around two pictures of him.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said Sihanouk was a great friend of the Chinese people and "deeply loved and esteemed among the Cambodian people".

He said the woman's action is "extremely wrong". And "It will be handled by the Cambodian side according to the law."

A Chinese observer said the case is an individual one that will not cast a shadow over the deep feelings the Chinese government and people hold for Sihanouk.

The incident caused uproar in Cambodia. More than 1,000 workers continued to protest on Monday, demanding the supervisor be punished. They carried a portrait of Sihanouk and marched to the Royal Palace.

On arrival, they knelt before a giant picture of Sihanouk on the palace wall to express regret that his portrait had been destroyed.

Cambodian police were called in on Monday to prevent a riot. They handcuffed the woman and escorted her to the nearest makeshift shrine honoring Sihanouk, where she lit incense and knelt as workers looked on.

She was transferred to a city court on Tuesday, facing possible charges of insulting the monarchy and inciting public disorder.

In Cambodia, it is a criminal offense to insult the royal family. But unlike neighboring Thailand, Cambodia does not specify punishment for the offense.

Factory manager Khuch Osaphea removed the woman from her job as head of a production unit, and voiced regret for the woman's actions.

One worker, So Sareth, told The Associated Press she did not understand why the Chinese government had honored Sihanouk and yet the supervisor had acted so disrespectfully.

Song Yinghui, a researcher in Southeast Asian studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, said: "I believe it is just an individual case."

Song said the woman had probably been under pressure to complete orders on time. Textile and clothing, a major industry in Cambodia, is recovering well from the global economic crisis. "Obviously she lacks basic knowledge of the historic and social status of Sihanouk," Song said.

"The wrongdoings of the supervisor should not counteract the deep affection that generations of Chinese have held for Sihanouk," Song said, adding that Cambodia and China should deal with the case rationally.

Living in exile in China, Sihanouk often referred to the country as his second homeland. He received his strongest political support in times of adversity from China, along with almost all his medical treatment in the last years of his life after being diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1994.

Beijing made unprecedented high-level arrangements after Sihanouk died.

Top Chinese leaders and former leader Jiang Zemin, who has rarely appeared in public in recent years, voiced their condolences. Vice-President Xi Jinping visited Sihanouk's wife Monineath in Beijing just hours after the king died.

Flags flew at half-mast on Tian'anmen Square in Sihanouk's honor as his coffin was transported through the Chinese capital before being flown home. State Councilor Dai Bingguo, the top official in charge of diplomatic affairs, escorted the coffin to Cambodia.

Contact the writers at lixiaokun@chinadaily.com.cn and liuyedan@chinadaily.com.cn