Earlier this week, Vacharaesorn Vivacharawongse, estranged son of HM the King, who grew up in the United States, told the AFP he wants to return to Thailand permanently after living there for 27 years.
He later told the Bangkok Post he is not representing anyone. “I don’t want to compete for anything … I have no resources, no power. I don’t have aspirations beyond providing value in my own capacity.”
New York’s tabloid New York Post meanwhile claims that the 42-year-old Vacharaesorn may not be qualified as Thai succession law stipulates that the person must not be married to a foreigner, while the paper insists Vacharaesorn is still married to a foreigner and has two children with the person.
Let’s not go far as to speculate about him being a possible candidate for the succession of the throne just yet, the lack of transparency in many aspects of the Thai monarchy means we here in Thailand do not even know what exactly Vacharaesorn’s status is now. Is he still estranged? Is he a prince since his sister is currently and has always been a princess? How should we address him?
For the meantime, the Thai media sticks with a vague prefix of “Thaun Oun” (ท่านอ้น) or honorable Oun, Oun being his nickname, when referring to him. And that is how he is tagged on social media for the meantime as well.
We hope there will be some clarity from the Royal Household Bureau soon, but perhaps I am being too optimistic since the current visit to Thailand, after 27 years of being absent and treated by the Thai media as if Vacharaesorn did not exist at all, is already his third high-profile visit. The Thai press, disturbingly enough, started reporting about his return while failing to note to the readers that for 27 years, they have “mysteriously” failed to even mention about his existence.
This is why when it comes to the Thai monarchy, gossip is prevalent and much more so with the advent of social media. People who “crossed the line” and deemed by police and judges as violating the royal defamation law, also known as the lese majeste law, risk being handed long prison sentences.
A 26-year-old Twitter user was recently sentenced to 25 years for 14 tweets under the law, and the Computer Crime Act, just less than two weeks ago. It is a testament to the risk one takes when tweeting or posting on X and Facebook about the Thai monarchy.
Vacharaesorn has all the rights as a Thai citizen to move back and his remarks suggest the situation may be changing. That is why he is back now after 27 years of conspicuous absence. It is hoped that it will eventually usher a more relaxed climate for critical and open discussion about the future of the monarchy although the prosecutions under the lese majeste law suggests otherwise.
It is precisely the widespread self-censorship practiced by the Thai media compared to the glaring critical reports and analysis by the foreign press about the Thai monarchy that convinced many Thais, particularly young Thais, that the institution and the law need to be reformed.
Vacharaesorn’s mysterious act of reappearance in Thailand after 27 years of equally mysterious absence is a glaring reminder of that very bizarre situation in Thailand.
