The Chinese Embassy in Cambodia's official Facebook page finally made its first post on Sunday with an announcement about a Chinese-funded health project.
Sporting a fuzzy photo of the two nations’ flags as its profile picture, the first activity on the page was on March 28, when a cover photo was uploaded. Sunday marked the first time the page shared a status update, a post in Khmer announcing the operation of 20 mobile clinics in the Cambodian countryside funded by Chinese aid.
While the Facebook post was written in Khmer, the Chinese Embassy in Cambodia’s official website is offered only in Mandarin and English. Chinese embassies in other countries in the region, including in Myanmar, Thailand, and Malaysia, have Facebook pages with posts shared in English or in the local language.
Facebook is the dominant social media platform in Cambodia, with 4.8 million users reported last year. Tensions between China and Cambodia have risen in recent months, particularly in the coastal town of Sihanoukville, where many local business owners have complained of being pushed off their land and losing profits due to an influx of Chinese tourists and businesses in the city.
