29 Sep - Cambodia was revealed to have banned the Chinese movie, "No More Bets" for its negative depiction of the country. The movie, which was inspired by real events of trafficking and online scams, had used a fictional city for its supposed Southeast Asian location where the events took place, but decided to use Cambodian text (Khmer) in the film.
Various Cambodian government departments, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts are now working together in addressing the way the country was shown in the movie.
A spokesperson from the Ministry of Culture also released a statement saying that while the movie has a good message for the public, which is to be wary of online scams, it has affected the reputation of Southeast Asian countries like Cambodia and Thailand. It was previously reported that "No More Bets" has already scared Chinese tourists from visiting Thailand and Myanmar, with many expressing concerns that they will be trafficked to other Southeast Asian countries. "No More Bets" is one of China's biggest box office films this year, already amassing USD 516.8 million at the box office.