BANGKOK — Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was named the chairwoman of a major seaport in China’s Guangdong province.
Yingluck, whose government was overthrown in a 2014 coup, fled Thailand in 2016 shortly before a guilty verdict was delivered following a lengthy corruption trial. The ex-premier will now head the Shantou International Container Terminal, according to a report posted online by Chinese state media People’s Daily.
The brief article said Yingluck was also appointed the firm’s legal representative. The port is located in Shantou, a major port city on the eastern seaboard of China.
The news came several days after Yingluck and her brother, former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, were spotted in Shantou. Both former leaders are descended from Chinese immigrants with roots in southern China.
Since she left the country, Yingluck has lived in exile in multiple countries where she keeps residences, like her brother Thaksin. He was deposed in a 2006 putsch and, like Yingluck, fled Thailand to avoid a corruption conviction two years later.
The siblings continue to wield immense influence among their Redshirt supporters despite years of self-imposed exile.
On Tuesday, deputy junta leader Prawit Wongsuwan said Thaksin is welcome to return anytime and fight his case under the justice system. Thaksin shot back by tweeting that he doesn’t trust a justice system controlled by Prawit.
