Chau Seng

Chau Seng (Khmer: ចៅ សេង, 15 March 1929 – 1977) was a left-wing politician of Cambodia.

Seng was a Khmer Krom. Born in commune of Tri Tôn, Châu Đốc Province, Cochinchina (in present-day An Giang Province, Vietnam). He was a cousin of Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum. Educated in France, in Paris, he became a communist. On his return to Cambodia, he had become Norodom Sihanouk's private secretary.[1] He joint the Sangkum on 13 April 1957 together with Hou Yuon and Hu Nim. In the same year, Chau Seng was elected a member of National Assembly. After that he was appointed under-secretary, and later secretary of state for education. In 1967, he was rector of the Buddhist University.[2] Seng made a national attempt at Cambodianization, however it was failed.[3]

After the Cambodian coup of 1970 in which Sihanouk was ousted by Lon Nol, Chau Seng served as the Minister for Special Missions of the GRUNK government, the Beijing-based government-in-exile that was formed as a coalition between Sihanouk and the communists.[4]

Seng was arrested, tortured and later executed by the Khmer Rouge at S-21 prison[5] in 1977.[6]

References

1. Philip Short, Pol Pot: Anatomy of a Nightmare, p. 129
2. Munson, Frederick P.; Martindale, Kenneth W.; McMorris, David S.; Parachini, Kathryn E.; Raiford, William N.; Townsend, Charles (October 1968). Area Handbook for Cambodia. United States Government Printing Office. p. 178.
3. David M. Ayres. Anatomy of a Crisis: Education, Development, and the State in Cambodia, 1953-1998. University of Hawaii Press. p. 43-44. ISBN 0-8248-2238-2.
4. GRUNK - Place de Barcelone
5. "Pol Pot's Daughter Marries in Former Stronghold". Cambodian Daily. March 17, 2014.
6. David M. Ayres. Anatomy of a Crisis: Education, Development, and the State in Cambodia, 1953-1998. University of Hawaii Press. p. 108. ISBN 0-8248-2238-2.