To Celebrate Relations With China, Hun Sen Plants Rosewood Tree

Prime Minister Hun Sen and the visiting president of the China-Cambodia Friendship Association (CCFA) each planted a tree inside the Peace Palace compound in Phnom Penh on Wednesday to celebrate the 55th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Gu Xiulian, president of the CCFA, planted an Osmanthus Fragrans sapling, the mature version of which has culinary and medicinal value, while Mr. Hun Sen planted a Dalbergia Cochinchinensis, which grows in the wild across Cambodia and is better known as Siamese rosewood. … The planting of the single Dalbergia Cochinchinensis comes as Cambodia’s forests are being destroyed by illegal loggers looking to cash in on the value of luxury rosewood, much of which is shipped to China. Chinese import documents obtained last year revealed that more than 36,000 cubic meters—more than $60 million worth—of logs under the “rosewood” category had entered China from Cambodia between January 2007 and August 2012. Speaking after the planting ceremony, Mr. Thamrong said that Ms. Gu had praised Cambodia’s rapid development and support for China. …

 Khuon Narim
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/to-celebrate-relations-with-china-hun-sen-plants-rosewood-tree-48609/