In 1970, at the age of 10, Johnny Lui fled Cambodia for Hong Kong with his family due to the war in Cambodia, although he could not remember whether it was before or after the coup d’etat led by Marshal Lon Nol on March 18 that year to remove then Prince Norodom Sihanouk from power.

Fifty-four years later, at the age of 64, Lui still remembers that his home was located not far from the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh and he attended a Chinese school in the city.

Another memory he has is of a bridge called Chroy Changvar (Cambodia-Japan Friendship Bridge) which crossed a river and he also recalls hearing about the Khmer Rouge. He does not know how many relatives remained in Cambodia or whether they were killed in the war, as all means of communication with them were lost.

Those are the only memories Lui, who is now a journalist, political and economic commentator and YouTube content creator based in Hong Kong, still has about his past in Cambodia.

In late June, he attended a Laos-China Railway event organised by China Daily and the Mission of China to ASEAN, along with dozens of other ASEAN journalists, including a reporter from The Post.

Regarding current affairs in the country, Lui said he only hears bad news, which discourages him from visiting his birthplace. He noted that reports of kidnapping, human trafficking and insecurity for tourists, especially in Preah Sihanouk province, are common.

“In my mind, Cambodia is a good country. But now I am scared to go back to Cambodia or travel there because we get information and news from the media that [it] is not safe for foreigners, with kidnapping and robbery. So, I think people don’t want to go to Cambodia, particularly Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville,” he said.

“In Sihanoukville, I heard that many Chinese people were kidnapped and then sold to KK Garden,” he said, referring to an alleged scam camp in Myanmar. “It is a place where a group of people cheat others and maybe even kill them.”

When asked where most Hong Kongers usually visit, he said most of them go to Thailand, Japan and China.

Another journalist from Hong Kong, Gao Peng of the YouTube channel Vlight, has never been to Cambodia but heard that it is beautiful country.

“I have never been to Cambodia; I just hear about it on the Internet. From the media, I did not hear much, just that Cambodia is friendly with China, has Chinese restaurants and that many Chinese go there to run their businesses,” she said.

Asked about negative aspects, Gao said she had only heard about security issues.

“I don’t know whether or not it is true because I have never been there. No matter which country or city I have been to, security is the most important thing. For example, when we visited Laos, my friend warned me to be careful, such as not being alone. But when I arrived, the city was actually quite safe,” she said.

“So, I think sometimes you need to experience it and visit the city to know the truth. Sometimes, if we only hear about a city, we should keep it as a reference. As for Cambodia, I believe the people are nice because Southeast Asian people are normally very kind, humble and share similar communities and cultures.

“Also, the architecture is similar to that in Yunnan, [China], especially considering its historical background. I think Cambodia also has minority ethic groups which have their own arts and heritage. All of this I heard from the news and media,” she added.

Vilardo Gonzales Gabuang, a reporter at BusinessMirror in the Philippines, who also attended the tour, was asked about his impression of Cambodia. He said he had only heard about the Khmer Rouge, Angkor Wat and the looting of Khmer artefacts.

The closer in proximity one is to a particular country, the better one understands the real situation, as confirmed by Souksakhone Vaenkeo, a deputy editor with the Vientiane Times in Laos.

Although Laos borders Cambodia, Souksakhone has never had a chance to visit the Kingdom, but had heard many good things about Laos’ neighbouring country.

“Since we are neighbours, I learned a lot about Cambodia. While in school, we learned that Laos and Cambodia fought alongside each other for their national independence. During our era of kingdoms, our King Fa Ngum was said to have fled to Cambodia and married a Cambodian princess,” he said.

“When mentioning modern Cambodia, what comes to my mind is tourism at the famous Angkor Wat, and Sihanoukville, which has developed rapidly like Phnom Penh. I am really impressed by how your country has modernised and developed so quickly. I also know that the people are very friendly, as I have Cambodian friends who join media trips overseas, like this [one],” he added.

Asked about negative things he had heard, he said there is no bad news about Cambodia in Laos.

“I have never heard a single negative thing about Cambodia. We share similarities, and the people are kind and friendly,” he added.

Prime Minister Hun Manet, in an interview with Chinese media in October last year, said there is no country without crime, but crimes like human trafficking and scams in particular do not accurately reflect the actual state of affairs in the country.

“I send my message to the Chinese people: please come visit Cambodia, we will give you every opportunity. Cambodia is the Kingdom of Wonders. Tourists who visit Cambodia say that the Cambodian people are kind and friendly. Cambodia has many ancient temples. I call on the Chinese people to visit Cambodia to discover what our country has to offer,” he said during the interview.

Chhort Bunthang, a Cultural Relations, Tourism and Education research officer at the Royal Academy of Cambodia, said that there is no link between job scamming and the tourism environment in the country.

However, he said the fear among foreign visitors is understandable because they simply fear the surrounding environment, even if they are not directly affected.

“When bad news about Cambodia is spread, such as news about murder or kidnapping, it makes people scared,” he said.

“So, bad news published by local media and echoed by international media makes people far away who know less about Cambodia fearful. But currently, there are more aspects to consider when we talk about low foreign visitors, such as the fact that we are just coming out of Covid-19 and the economic slowdown,” he said.

According to Bunthang, another factor contributing to the low number of visitors is related to geopolitics, such as the perception that Cambodia has a good relationship with China but not with the US, which affects visitors’ feelings.

Having been assured that Cambodia is quite safe for visitors, Lui said he will visit Cambodia in the near future to see how the country has developed since his departure in the 1970s.

“Of course, I want to visit Cambodia to see the changes that have taken place since I was born there,” he added.