Security Forces Get in Line for Chinese New Year ‘Ang Pao’ Cash
Chinese New Year is coming and crowds of uniformed police, military police, soldiers and even the stony-faced troops of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s Bodyguard Unit will be queuing with expectation at the gates of the rich and powerful to receive their annual “ang pao” envelopes. In probably the first gift-giving ceremony of the approaching New Year, hundreds of members of the armed forces stood patiently in the mid-morning sun on Friday at the ornate gates of Sok Kong’s house on Norodom Boulevard. Inside the expansive grounds of the well-known businessman’s French-colonial era villa, which was once the Japanese Embassy in Phnom Penh, a stage had been set up and tables and chairs arranged for an early New Year party for the staff of his Sokimex conglomerate. … Though it may seem odd to some to see hundreds of men in uniform lining up to receive little red ang pao envelopes stuffed with small amounts of cash, the annual tradition is growing in popularity and official acceptance by military and police commanders. … According to Chinese tradition, ang pao is money given during holidays and special occasions, particularly during the Lunar New Year to young children, to bring luck and ward off evil spirits. The likelihood that giving ang pao to police officers in uniform might also ward off the correct enforcement of the law one day was denied by military police spokesman Brigadier General Kheng Tito, who likened the cash gift-giving to a “religious” issue. “No one forces us to take [ang pao], and we did not ask them to give it to us,” Brig. Gen. Tito said, explaining the large attendance by his military police officers at Mr. Kong’s house. “This is humanity. This is not bribery,” he said. …
Khy Sovuthy
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/security-forces-get-in-line-for-chinese-new-year-ang-pao-cash-51022/
