《全職家教達人》王老師──台大畢,身兼補教與家教全方位經歷，幫您目標達陣！

Cambodia’s economy

By The Economist
From The Economist
Published: October 04, 2012

The economy grows, but so does the opposition.

Sep 29th 2012 | PHNOM PENH | from the print edition

UNDER dazzling white strip-lights a production line of young Cambodians stitch, iron and fold their way to the day’s target of 820 two-piece children’s pyjamas. These garments are destined for the shelves of Los Angeles, shop price $9.97. The workers, mostly women, start at 7.30am and could knock off at 4pm, but almost all stay for two hours’ overtime. There are about 1,300 workers at the Gawon Apparel factory on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital and they can produce up to 20,000 items of clothing a day—or 7.3m a year.

The factory is South Korean-owned and is one of about 375 across the country with an export permit. Garment-making is the country’s most important and dynamic industry. Together with 45 footwear companies and hundreds of subcontractors, the industry employs almost 500,000 workers, out of a population of barely 14m people. The shirts, blouses and trainers churned out by these factories account for 80% of the country’s exports and earn $4 billion of foreign exchange in a country with a GDP of just $13 billion. The success of the garment industry is an encouraging sign of new-found economic vitality in a country that emerged only 20 years ago from decades of Khmer Rouge terror, foreign invasion and civil war.

Mercedes Cha, the gregarious South Korean owner of Gawon Apparel, is a devout Presbyterian. She says she was told by God to move her three factories to Cambodia. Other employers come to Phnom Penh for more worldly reasons: the low wages and no-quota access into the European and American markets. Cambodia has become the country of the moment for low-cost assembly work in the region, undercutting not only China but also Vietnam, Indonesia and others.

All this has done wonders for the country’s balance-sheet and also for the fortunes of the long-serving prime minister, Hun Sen, and his ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP). A former guerrilla fighter who helped to sweep out the Khmer Rouge in 1979 with the help of the Vietnamese, Mr Hun Sen has long been criticised by Western governments and many foreign aid groups. They may grumble about the country’s human-rights record and the lack of democracy but they put up with Mr Hun Sen for overseeing growth. His main backer is China.

Lately, however, the rules of the game have been changing, as economically empowered citizens have begun to push for more social and political rights. Many garment factories have this year been hit by strikes and protests about working conditions and pay. Another sensitive issue is land rights. Over the past ten years about 300,000 people have been forcibly displaced from their homes and villages as the government has sold land concessions, often to Chinese developers. The clearance of homes around a lake in the middle of the capital to make way for blocks of flats and shopping malls was particularly controversial, provoking a string of protests.

For a long time Mr Hun Sen was able to ignore (or suppress) such protests, because the economy was growing. But now even he has started to make concessions. In May the government suspended the allocation of all new land concessions. In September it ordered employers to pay out an extra $10 a month in allowances to every worker. And, to appease foreign aid groups, Mr Hun Sen’s government has quietly shelved a bill that would have restricted their activities in the country.

The concessions may be linked to a general election due next year. The CPP, with deep pockets, control of the media and strong grassroots organisation does not normally have to worry about election results. Now, however, it is facing a united opposition for the first time in several years. The Human Rights Party, with three of the 123 seats in the national assembly, and the Sam Rainsy Party (SRP), with 26 seats, have joined to form the Cambodian National Rescue Party. The two parties also hold thousands of local council seats.

Son Chhay, a prominent SRP member of parliament, argues that the new combination of parties will give the government “a real scare this time”, and could get up to 50 seats. That may be optimistic but at least the election will be worth watching.

from the print edition | Asia

©The Economist Newspaper Limited 2012

低價製造王國 子民的反撲

2012-10-03 天下雜誌 507期 作者：經濟學人

柬埔寨成為世界廉價成衣工廠。隨著經濟開發，人權意識抬頭，民眾開始走上街頭，希望靠自己扭轉命運。

佳元製衣的車姓女老闆，是一位來自韓國的長老會教徒。問她為何將成衣廠搬到柬埔寨，她虔誠地回答，這是上帝的旨意。

不是每位外商，都有這樣的崇高情懷。

柬埔寨有三七五間類似的韓國成衣廠。這裡工資低，出貨到歐美市場不受配額限制，使柬國成為東南亞的低價製造王國。比成本，連中國、越南和印尼，都不是對手。

佳元製衣的工廠裡，一三○○名員工大多為女性。早上七點半來上班，做到晚上六點才能回家休息。

他們一天縫出兩萬件衣物，等於一年縫七三○萬件。賣到美國洛杉磯的大賣場，一套兒童的睡衣，價格不到十美元。

柬埔寨的成衣產業，雇用五十萬名員工，相當於總人口的四％。這是當地最重要的產業，佔出口八成，為GDP僅有一三○億美元的柬國，帶來四十億的外匯。

罷工連連 人民黨受挑戰

成衣產業起飛，為柬國的經濟帶來動力，走出二十年前紅色高棉、內戰和外權入侵的陰影。

但是，目前執政的人民黨也飽受批評。外界指出，柬埔寨頻頻傳出人權問題，沒有邁向真正的民主。

總理韓森掌權近三十年。中國是他的靠山。而他長年主導經濟復甦的政績，讓西方對柬國的人權民主問題，睜一隻眼閉一隻眼。

這一切即將改變。

隨著經濟成長，人權意識抬頭，人民為了權利走上街頭。今年，柬國的成衣廠，陸續發生抗議和罷工事件。

政府強徵土地，也引起反彈。過去十年，柬國為了提供土地特許經營權給中國的開發商，迫使三十萬人民離鄉背井。

今年年初，投資公司在首都金邊的萬谷湖，打造高級商業住宅區，造成上萬人失去家園，也引發激烈抗爭。

韓森終於決定讓步。五月，政府暫停土地特許經營權的批准。到了九月，更要求雇主提供每個月十美元的額外津貼給員工。

他可能在擔憂明年的大選。沈良西黨和人權黨，共同籌組救國黨，佔有國民大會二四％的席位，對人民黨造成空前威脅。

這次的大選值得關注，因為可能扭轉柬埔寨數十年來的命運。（周原譯）