Chinese tourists visit the statue of late Cambodian King Father Norodom Sihanouk in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on January 30, 2019. Cambodian Tourism Minister Thong Khon said the country received 1.9 million Chinese tourists last year, up from 1.2 million a year earlier, making China the largest source of foreign tourists to the kingdom. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese netizens called for an earlier widely shared video of  some Chinese people faking as mafia in Cambodia and threatened to disturb local security, should not be an obstacle to disturb the normal development of China-Cambodia relations. 

A video showing more than 10 half-naked Chinese men creating a scene in Preah Sihanouk Province, Cambodia has gone viral.

The Chinese Embassy in Cambodia said on Friday that it was a spoof recorded in March by Chinese workers from Southwest Chongqing Municipality in Cambodia after they got drunk. People in the video are not involved in the mafia.

The embassy stressed that 2019 marks the Year of Law Enforcement Cooperation between the two sides, and both will take practical measures to deepen bilateral cooperation.

The video has also upset domestic netizens and some believe the video left a negative impression of Chinese people's image among locals.

Many netizens called on Chinese people to learn a lesson from the "video incident," while stressed it should not be an obstacle to China-Cambodia relations.

Cambodia has been favored by many Chinese migrant workers due to a geographic advantage, and a good impression of locals on China, which attracts many Chinese to seek jobs and invest here.

"In recent years, Chinese businesspersons have shifted their attention to tourism and construction industry in Cambodia, and registered stellar profits through investment," a Siem Reap-based economic analyst surnamed Wang told the Global Times.

Former Chinese ambassador to Cambodia Xiong Bo said in February 2018 that China has provided assistance to Cambodia for speeding up its economic and social development for a long time as a good neighbor.


Newspaper headline: Spoof video won’t affect China-Cambodia ties: netizens