Opinion

The prosecution of naturalized Thai businessman Tu Hao, aka Chainat Kornchananand, who is charged with drugs dealing, and multiple raids of his glitzy real estate and other assets estimated at 5 billion baht at various parts of Thailand over the past ten days have made many Thai anxious again that Chinese businessmen, particularly the grey business type (and China) are swallowing up Thailand, reducing the kingdom into a mere economic vassal state of China.

In what has become a vicious cycle, riot police needlessly and heavy-handedly disperse protesters using rubber bullets and more, leading to serious injuries or even death, and this is followed by demand for accountability and transparency.

Examine the just-concluded APEC 2022 Summit in Bangkok positively and one can learn a few things about the propaganda.

It took just a few weeks for the Prayut Chan-o-cha government to cancel its controversial policy to allow foreigners to own up to one rai of land if they invest 40 million baht for three years. Well, the Cabinet on Tuesday decided they would not swim against the tsunami of criticisms and the allegation that they are literally “selling off Thai land” – particular close to general election time.

Thailand has become a beauty-pageant organizing superpower over the past few years and decidedly with late last month’s purchase of Miss Universe brand by a tycoon and transgender activist Chakrapong “Anne” Chakrajutathip. Chakrapong paid 20 million U.S. dollars and is now in control of Miss Universe Organization (MU), which was partly and formerly owned by Donald Trump.

Well, if you are still undecided, here is the answer by foreign ministry spokesman Tanee Sangrat nearly two weeks ago after a group of foreign Twitter users criticized Thailand’s foreign policy towards Russia following my column on Thailand’s vote to abstain during the recent U.N. General Assembly from condemning Russia’s annexation of Ukrainian territories.

In a long drawn out struggle for a truly free, equal, and democratic society, sometimes we forget what we stand for and what are our cherished principles.

I was asked by an up-and-coming journalist from a neighboring country earlier this week why Thailand chose to abstain from voting to condemn Russia for its annexation of Ukrainian territories in a shambolic referendum during the latest U.N. General Assembly emergency special session in New York on Wednesday.

The collective shock unfolding in Thailand in the aftermath of Nong Bua Lamphu mass shooting by a drug-addicted ex-cop which resulted in 38 deaths including the assailant, who committed suicide, led to much soul-searching but also kneejerk reactions.

Less than twenty minutes after he was let off the hook by the Constitutional Court, which ruled on Friday that he can still be PM for two and a half more years because the eight-year limit stipulated under the charter should only be counted when the junta-sponsored constitution came into effect in April 2017, Gen. Prayut Chan-o-cha made it clear he is planning to stay on to do more ‘great things’ for Thailand.