Cambodian PM greets Chinese ahead of Lunar New Year

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen expressed his greetings Tuesday on the occasion of the Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, which falls on Thursday.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony of more than 1,000 students at the Human Resources University, the prime minister blessed his compatriots with good luck, wealth, and happiness in the Lunar New Year.

"Gong Xi Fa Cai," he said, which is the common Chinese ways of saying Happy New Year.

"Frankly speaking, Cambodia celebrates three times of New Year in a year: Universal New Year, Chinese New Year, and Khmer New Year itself," he said.

The Chinese New Year is one of the largest festivals in Cambodia, said Cambodian Culture Secretary of State Chuch Phoeun.

"It is broadly celebrated in Cambodia, even my family has also had Chinese blood," he told Xinhua. "It is the second largest New Year celebrations in Cambodia after the Khmer New Year."

Days ahead of the celebrations, shops selling decoration materials and praying stuff have received crowds of customers, as houses have been decorated with red paper-cuts, Chinese couplets, lanterns and plum blossom saplings.

Plum blossom saplings are popularly used to decorate houses during the Spring Festival in this Southeast Asian nation.

Chan Dara, 47, a seller of the plum blossom saplings in the capital, said plum blossom trees cost between 10 U.S. dollars and 300 U.S. dollars based on their sizes and beauties.

"According to Chinese belief, the flower can predict business future. If the tree blooms on the first day of the Chinese New Year, it's believed that the business throughout the year will make good earnings," he said.

According to figures of the Chinese Association in Cambodia, over 700,000 Chinese descendants are living in Cambodia. Endi