On Friday evening, 20 January, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao headed a delegation to pay a courtesy call on Cambodia's former king Samdech Norodom Sihanouk in Beijing, presenting him with a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the Chinese New Year to be ushered in by the end of January.
The former king wrote in an article published in his Web site on Saturday that the Chinese premier and his delegation also accompanied by China's deputy foreign minister had paid him a courtesy visit, but he did not elaborate about his talks with the Chinese premier.
It should be noted that Cambodia's former king has had a most special relationship with the Chinese leaders. Cambodia's present monarch, King Norodom Sihamoni, also has excellent relations with the Chinese leadership.
Analysts said that the Chinese premier's call on the former Cambodian king certainly would cast a great influence on the relations between the two countries, especially between the Beijing and Phnom Penh administrations.
In the past decade, China has given Cambodia a great deal of grants and loans with low interest for Cambodia's reconstruction. Moreover, many Chinese companies have invested in Cambodia and it should be noted that recently a US assistant secretary of state paid a regional visit, including China and Cambodia.
Analysts said that the Chinese premier's visit to the former Cambodian king surely bore great political significance on Cambodia. It is expected that this would improve the political situation in Cambodia, helping this country to take giant steps forward. This shows that the relations between China and Cambodia are priceless.
This courtesy call was paid after Sam Rainsy, leader of the Cambodian opposition, strongly lashed out at China, accusing it of being behind the current spade of arrests of the human rights activists. Sam Rainsy himself has claimed that he always follows the former king and the current Cambodian king. Still, he attacked China, knowing very well that the two Cambodian monarchs are China's best friends.
The analysts said that to be diplomatically correct, Sam Rainsy must understand this situation and refrain from taking a tough stance by attacking China. Sam Rainsy must adopt a flexible position or he would meet with bad luck.
An official of the opposition party said on Friday that Sam Rainsy probably was not going to make harsh criticisms against the political figures in the country, nor against the friendly big powers in Asia.
Officials of the opposition party said that this change of position was seen after some diplomats and analysts advised that Sam Rainsy and his party should not add fuel to the present crisis. The best solution for Sam Rainsy is that he should change his attitude from being tough to being flexible. In this way, it is expected that very soon he would be lucky again. In other words, Sam Rainsy might be free before the end of the old year and the beginning of the New Year in April.
Officials in the Sam Rainsy Party [SRP] said that several analysts have advised the leader of the opposition party and his MPs to send polite greetings cards to the Chinese and Vietnamese people on their traditional New Year even though recently Sam Rainsy harshly attacked the Beijing and Hanoi governments.
The analysts further noted that with a polite manner with which Kong Koam, acting SRP president, addressed Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday evening in front of the National Assembly and with the hope that the king might intervene, it is understood that the prospect of securing a pardon appears to be very bright.
The analysts estimated that opposition party leader Sam Rainsy and Cheam Channi probably would win their freedom and could return to the country if Sam Rainsy chose a flexible political-diplomatic attitude by avoiding any clashes with some of Asia's great powers as well as the leaders of the Cambodian government.
