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Eight human rights officers and activists were detained for the act of wearing black on Monday after they sported the hue at a demonstration to mourn the jailing of five of their colleagues last month. Mr. HE said on Tuesday that the act of protesting in monochrome was a clear security threat...

His words followed warnings from other officials, with Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak saying Cambodia could become like war-torn Syria if such protests continued, and government spokesman Phay Siphan saying the wearing of black shirts “reminds people [of] 1975.”...

Prince Sisowath Thomico, one of the few members of the royal family to regularly criticize the government as a prominent member of the CNRP, said the reaction to Monday’s black-clad protesters was farcical given that the gathering was peaceful.

“Some people have said the Khmer Rouge used to wear black shirts, but in the minds of the human rights activists and human rights organizations in Cambodia, who had the people who dressed in black, it is the color of mourning,” Prince Thomico said.

The prince said that for the CPP to interpret the wearing of black shirts as an act of potential revolution showed the party’s current level of paranoia...

Anchor Moy wrote: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the colour of mourning dress in Cambodia was white top and black bottom? And white is the Chinese mourning colour.

juansweetpotato wrote:

Anchor Moy wrote: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the colour of mourning dress in Cambodia was white top and black bottom? And white is the Chinese mourning colour.

Interesting you should mention that AM because I had a conversation with one my clients about just such a thing. He speaks fluent Chinese and Khmer and knows both cultures. He was saying that although black and white are traditional mourning colors that if they had to use one color, that color would be black. He understood that in western culture black is the symbol for death/mourning and also added it was the same in Cambodia.

He also mentioned that red is the color used at funerals in China. I have no way of knowing whether what he told me is true or not. Maybe just in specific areas. It' a huge country.

He's a Buddhist from Kampong Cham BTW.

Anchor Moy wrote:

juansweetpotato wrote:

Anchor Moy wrote: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the colour of mourning dress in Cambodia was white top and black bottom? And white is the Chinese mourning colour.

Interesting you should mention that AM because I had a conversation with one my clients about just such a thing. He speaks fluent Chinese and Khmer and knows both cultures. He was saying that although black and white are traditional mourning colors that if they had to use one color, that color would be black. He understood that in western culture black is the symbol for death/mourning and also added it was the same in Cambodia.

He also mentioned that red is the color used at funerals in China. I have no way of knowing whether what he told me is true or not. Maybe just in specific areas. It' a huge country.

He's a Buddhist from Kampong Cham BTW.

Everyone was wearing red at the Chinese New Year party we went to this year. I sort of understood that it was supposed to be lucky. So, yeah, who knows what colours signify to different people.
All black is definitely trendy. Black and white can also be cool : Arrest this woman. lol.

Color in Chinese culture

Red

Red, corresponding with fire, symbolizes good fortune and joy. Red is found everywhere during Chinese New Year and other holidays and family gatherings. A red envelope is a monetary gift which is given in Chinese society during holiday or special occasions. The red color of the packet symbolizes good luck. Red is strictly forbidden at funerals as it is a traditionally symbolic color of happiness;[1] however, as the names of the dead were previously written in red, it may be considered offensive to use red ink for Chinese names in contexts other than official seals.

In modern China, red remains a very popular color and is affiliated with and used by the Communist government.

Anchor Moy wrote: All black is definitely trendy. Black and white can also be cool :

Analysis: Fading mirage of the CPP
Thu, 12 May 2016
Sebastian Strangio

Cambodia's political crackdown reached a new low on May 9, when eight human rights defenders were detained for the unauthorised wearing of black T-shirts.

Though the group was later released, the arrests on “Black Monday” were a typical example of what Richard Hofstadter might have termed “the paranoid style in Cambodian politics”: the tendency to see any stirring of opposition, however small, as a threat to social cohesion and national survival.

The crackdown that has unfolded over the past year, anchored by an alleged affair between Kem Sokha, deputy president of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, and a hairdresser named Khom Chandaraty, is new only in its specifics.

Similar tightenings occurred in 2005-06, and again in 2009-10, both containing the usual mix of ingredients: flimsy lawsuits, blustery threats from Prime Minister HE, a lengthening cast of sued and imprisoned.