Monovithya Kem

Monovithya Kem (born 2 October 1981) is a Cambodian activist, the eldest daughter of Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha. She is a member of the Permanent Committee of the Cambodia National Rescue Party and its Deputy Director-General of Public Affairs since 2013.[1][2]

The native form of this personal name is Kem Monovithya. This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals.

She is currently in exile, following the country’s political crisis in 2017, when her father was imprisoned and the Cambodia National Rescue Party was dissolved.[3][4] She has since been leading the advocacy efforts abroad to restore Cambodia’s democracy.[5][6] Her advocacy has drawn threats from the ruling regime including that from the Deputy Prime Minister threatening to amend the Constitution to ban her from the country.[7][8]

She has been reported to be a target of alleged ongoing espionage from China.[9] The Facebook Files received by the United States Congress in 2021 also found suspected ties to Chinese intelligence engaging in consistent and long term targeting of officials from the Cambodia National Rescue Party.[10]

Kem first came to public attention when she successfully campaigned for her father's release from Cambodia's prison in 2006. She was an organizer and speaker for the 2006 campaign to free her father and four other Cambodian human rights activists.[11][12]

In 2014, Kem was considered to serve on the National Election Committee (Cambodia), but eventually she withdrew her candidacy.[13]

Kem was born and raised in Cambodia.[14] She holds a bachelor of science in business administration from San Jose State University and a masters of science in business economics from the University of Amsterdam.

References
  1. Henderson, Scott; Miller, Steve; Perez, Dan; Siedlarz, Marcin; Wilson, Ben; Read, Ben (July 10, 2018). "Chinese Espionage Group TEMP.Periscope Targets Cambodia Ahead of July 2018 Elections and Reveals Broad Operations Globally". FireEye. TEMP.Periscope sent a spear phish with AIRBREAK malware to Monovithya Kem, Deputy Director-General, Public Affairs, Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), and the daughter of (imprisoned) Cambodian opposition party leader Kem Sokha
  2. CNRP-KEM SOKHA-SAMRAINSY-KEM MONOVITHYA-DEMOCRACY-PARK, retrieved 2021-11-26
  3. "Kem Sokha: Jailed for standing up to Cambodia's strongman". BBC News. 2018-09-04. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  4. "Cambodia's main opposition party dissolved by Supreme Court". Reuters. 2017-11-16. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  5. "Exiles seek global scrutiny of Cambodian political crackdown". AP NEWS. 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  6. "U.S. Congressmen Hear Testimony on Cambodia, Discuss Options for Further Sanctions". VOA. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  7. Dara, Mech; Nachemson, rew. "Kheng seeks constitutional ban on individuals harming Cambodia's 'interests'". www.phnompenhpost.com. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  8. "CPP: 'Behave or Sokha suffers'". www.phnompenhpost.com. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  9. "Chinese Espionage Group TEMP.Periscope Targets Cambodia Ahead of July 2018 Elections and Reveals Broad Operations Globally | Mandiant". www.mandiant.com. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  10. "Facebook Papers: Chinese state-linked hackers targeting Cambodian opposition". Radio Free Asia. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  11. Boustany, Nora (2006-02-01). "While in U.S., Cambodians Get a Lesson on Rights From Home". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
  12. Kanter, Beth (2006-01-16). "Daughters Fight for the Father and Freedom of Expression in Cambodia". Retrieved 2009-01-25.
  13. Ponniah, Kevin; Seangly, Phak. "Top NEC candidate bows out". www.phnompenhpost.com. Retrieved 2021-11-26.
  14. "A 'Golden Opportunity'". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2021-11-26.


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