People pray during a ceremony to reopen the Terminal 21 shopping mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020. The worst-ever mass shooting in the country took place at the shopping mall over the weekend with a total of 29 people shot dead by a disgruntled soldier. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
NAKHON RATCHASIMA (AP) — The shopping mall that was the site of Thailand’s worst-ever mass shooting reopened Thursday, four days after security forces killed a gunman who was holed up inside, ending the bloody rampage.
A total of 29 people were killed by the soldier, who kept police at bay at the Terminal 21 Korat mall in northeastern Thailand for about 16 hours over the weekend before being killed.
More than 200 Buddhist monks presided over a ceremony attended by business owners and shoppers at the center of the mall in Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat, which included prayers and alms offerings to make merit for the dead.
Stores and food centers opened for business shortly afterward. Police stood outside the supermarket area where the gunman was finally cornered and shot Sunday morning.
“I wanted to come here to take part in the merit-making ceremony to help boost Korat people’s morale,” said 24-year-old Tatsarat Lasewaraks. “And I also wanted to convey my condolences to the brave people who sacrificed their lives.”
However, fear was uppermost in the minds of others.
“I am still scared. Now, when I go out, I want to finish whatever I am doing quickly and head home,” said Nichawat Suthewa, 21. “I am still afraid that a shooting incident could happen again.”
The gunman, a sergeant major in the army, launched his attack after fatally shooting his commander, whom be believed was involved in a real estate deal that had cheated him out of money. He then stole high-powered weapons from his army base before killing people on the street, in a temple and in the mall.
In an image released by the police, suspect Ekkachai Charueksilp is apprehended by police commandos in Soi Chula 10 after firing at least 40 shots in public on Feb. 14, 2020. Image was censored by the police.
UPDATE: Police said the gunman was apprehended at about 10.45am
BANGKOK — Police said a man who fired at least 40 shots in public close to Chulalongkorn University was arrested on Friday morning after hours of standoff.
Police identified the gunman as Ekkachai Charueksilp, 44, who sent pedestrians scurrying for cover when he started firing his handgun at multiple directions from a sports equipment store. The incident came just days after a soldier killed 29 victims in Thailand’s worst ever mass shooting.
Police said there is no report of any injury in today’s shooting but at least one witness said the gunman aimed his firearm at pedestrians at one point. Some buildings in the area were also struck with the bullets.
The gunman was identified as Ekkachai Charueksilp, 44. Image: Royal Thai Police
“At first he was shooting into the sky. He fired three shots. And then he aimed at my direction,” one witness said. “I could hear sound of metals clanging.”
Police cordoned off the alley of Chula Soi 10 where Ekkachai was hiding. Members of the public were advised to steer clear while the operation is ongoing. The media were also asked to refrain from livebroadcasting the standoff.
Ekkachai was later apprehended shortly after Arintaraj 26, the same police commando team that recently took down the gunman in Korat’s mass killings, arrived at the scene
Police said Ekkachai had an argument with his family before leaving his home with a handgun.
Although police spokesman Kissana Phatanacharoen said the incident is not another “mass shooting” as reported by some on social media, there is a widespread fear in Thailand over a possible copycat of the killings in Korat.
Two people were already arrested this past week for threatening to shoot up shopping malls.
Damages at the scene on Feb. 14, 2020 Police at the scene on Feb. 14, 2020 Police at the scene on Feb. 14, 2020 Police at the scene on Feb. 14, 2020
Myles Bernard Weston, an Australian captain with Xiamen Airlines, sits inside the cockpit of an airplane. (Photo provided by Xiamen Airlines)
XIAMEN (Xinhua) — Myles Bernard Weston, an Australian captain with Xiamen Airlines, added special significance to the charter flight MF8779 Thursday, as he is one of the first foreign pilots to fly to Wuhan since the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
At 10 a.m., the airplane took off from the city of Xiamen, east China’s Fujian Province, and headed to Wuhan, the COVID-19 epicenter in central China’s Hubei Province, carrying 11,259 kg of supplies for the Fujian medical team assisting in Wuhan.
This is also among the first charter flights on the Chinese mainland transporting daily supplies to medical teams assisting the virus-plagued city.
The captain, from Australia’s Brisbane, has been working for Xiamen Airlines for one and a half years. While many other foreign captains are on holiday, Weston chooses to stay in Xiamen.
“I live in Xiamen with my wife and two daughters and we love here. Xiamen is my home now,” Weston said. “Actually I never consider to leave. I just have a feeling of wanting to stay.”
Weston regards his charter flight to Wuhan as “a great honor.”
Photo shows Xiamen Airlines MF8779, the charter flight piloted by Myles Bernard Weston. (Photo provided by Xiamen Airlines)
“It’s an important duty to take this important medical gear and the supplies to Wuhan,” he said. “I’m just one member of a large team. We bring our best.”
To be fully prepared, the captain reviewed all information concerning the flight a day before departure, including the weather forecast and the local airport.
“My family are very proud that I’m able to perform the flight today. They also love China,” Weston said, adding that his family feels he is contributing to the fight against the virus on behalf of the whole family.
According to Xiamen Airlines, there are 11 foreign captains standing by to join the battle against the virus. So far, the company has dispatched 14 charter flights sending more than 1,600 medical staff and 700 tonnes of supplies to the hard-hit Hubei Province.
Weston said he was touched to see Chinese people stick together and keep great unity in the face of the epidemic.
“To the people of Wuhan, I will say, stay strong Wuhan! Stay strong China!” Weston said.
A doctor checks the conditions of a patient in Jinyintan Hospital, designated for critical COVID-19 patients, in Wuhan in central China's Hubei province Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020. China on Thursday reported 254 new deaths and a spike in virus cases of 15,152, after the hardest-hit province of Hubei applied a new classification system that broadens the scope of diagnoses for the outbreak, which has spread to more than 20 countries. (Chinatopix Via AP)
BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday reported a sharp spike in deaths and infections from a new virus after the hardest-hit province of Hubei applied a new classification system that broadens the scope of diagnoses for the outbreak, which has spread to more than 20 countries.
Japan reported its first death, a woman in her 80s who had been hospitalized since early February. She is the third confirmed fatality outside of mainland China, after deaths in the Philippines and Hong Kong.
The new diagnostic approach came on the same day that Hubei and its stricken capital, Wuhan, replaced their top officials in an apparent response to public criticism of how authorities have handled the epidemic.
The death toll in China reached 1,367, up 254 from the previous day. The number of confirmed cases jumped 15,152 to 59,804. The unusually large increases were due to the change in Hubei’s approach.
The total now includes more than 13,000 cases of “clinical diagnosis” in Hubei, which appears to include those based on a doctors’ analysis combined with lung imaging, as opposed to waiting for laboratory test results.
In breaking down the large number of new cases in China, National Health Commission spokesman Mi Feng said Hubei had adopted a revised diagnosis and treatment plan aimed at accelerating the identification and treatment of patients.
That adds a “clinical diagnosis case” classification to identify suspected cases who appear to have pneumonia so that patients can be accepted as soon as possible and treated as confirmed cases, Mi said, adding that should “reduce severe illness and mortality.”
Residents wearing masks wait at a traffic light in Beijing, China Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020. China is struggling to restart its economy after the annual Lunar New Year holiday was extended to try to keep people home and contain novel coronavirus. Traffic remained light in Beijing, and many people were still working at home. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
One expert said the changed case definition in Hubei likely speaks to the crush of patients the health system is experiencing and the backlog of untested samples.
“Clearly in Wuhan, the health system is under extreme pressure and so the first priority has to be the patient,” said Mark Woolhouse, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at the University of Edinburgh.
He said it wasn’t unprecedented for case definitions to rely on doctors’ diagnoses rather than wait for laboratory confirmation, and that these kinds of changes usually happen when there are simply too many patients to process in a fast-moving outbreak.
“I’m not surprised that this has happened given the way the outbreak has been going in China,” Woolhouse said. “You have to be pragmatic and take the concerns of the patient first and treat them as if they already have the disease, even in the absence of lab confirmation.”
China also appointed new high-level officials in Hubei and Wuhan.
Former Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong succeeded Jiang Chaoliang as the ruling Communist Party chief in the beleaguered province, the Xinhua state news agency reported, while Wang Zhonglin took over from Ma Guoqiang as the party secretary in Wuhan.
The appointments follow the sacking earlier this week of two leaders of the provincial health commission. State media also reported that a slew of others were expelled from the party for transgressions related to the epidemic.
The public has widely criticized local officials for failing to respond quickly and decisively to the new virus. Authorities initially assured people that there was little to no risk of human-to-human transmission, a statement that was later retracted. Wuhan residents said hospitals were overcrowded and lacked sufficient medical supplies. Doctors who tried to share information early on were reprimanded by police for “spreading rumors.”
Many countries have implemented travel restrictions on recent visitors to China, which has more than 99% of the world’s reported infections.
In an unprecedented measure to contain the disease, recently named COVID-19, the Chinese government has placed the hardest-hit cities — home to more than 60 million — under lockdown. One district in Shiyan, a city in Hubei, has implemented “wartime measures,” barring residents from leaving even their apartment compounds for two weeks.
According to a local government notice, neighborhood committees will distribute basic necessities at a fixed time and at fixed prices, as well as help residents purchase any medicine they might urgently need.
Xu Min, a resident of Shiyan’s Zhangwan district, said her neighborhood entrance was being guarded by community workers and security staff.
“It doesn’t have too much of an impact on our life, except that we’re not allowed to go out,” Xu said.
Videographers film the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020, in Yokohama, near Tokyo. Life on board the luxury cruise ship, which has dozens of cases of a new virus, can include fear, excitement and soul-crushing boredom, according to interviews by The Associated Press with passengers and a stream of tweets and YouTube videos. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
World Health Organization spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said the agency is seeking more clarity from China on the updates to its case definition and reporting protocol.
“It is our current understanding that the new case definition widens the net, and includes not only lab-confirmed cases but also clinically diagnosed cases based on symptoms and exposure,” Jasarevic said in an email to The Associated Press.
“The jump in cases today reflects the broader definition,” he said.
An advance team of WHO experts has been in China since Monday. The team is here to “discuss specific arrangements for the China-WHO joint mission with the Chinese side,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily online briefing.
“The purpose of the joint mission is that experts of both sides can have in-depth communication on the situation and efforts of prevention and control, and come up with advice for China and other affected countries,” Geng said.
In Vietnam, official media reported that a village of 10,000 northwest of the capital, Hanoi, was put in lockdown due to a cluster of cases there.
The online newspaper VN Express cited a senior official of Vinh Phuc province as reporting an increase in cases in Son Loi. Vietnam has confirmed 16 cases, most of them in the province.
Japan’s Health Ministry announced Thursday that 44 more people on a cruise ship quarantined in the port of Yokohama, near Tokyo, have tested positive for COVID-19. The ship has 218 infections among its 3,700 passengers and crew.
Health Minister Katsunobu Kato told reporters five of the patients who were already sent to hospitals for isolation and treatment have severe symptoms and are on artificial respirators or under intensive care.
Another cruise ship, the Westerdam, finally docked Thursday in Cambodia after being turned away by several Asian and Pacific governments. No cases of the viral illness have been confirmed among its 1,455 passengers and 802 crew members, according to operator Holland America Line.
Thailand refused to allow the Westerdam to dock this week after it had already been turned away by the Philippines, Taiwan, Japan and Guam over virus concerns.
The Westerdam began its cruise in Singapore last month and its last stop before it was refused further landings was in Hong Kong, where 51 cases of the viral disease have been confirmed.
Associated Press writers Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo; Sopheng Cheang in Sihanoukville, Cambodia; Grant Peck in Bangkok; Maria Cheng in London and researchers Liu Zheng and Yu Bing in Beijing contributed to this report.
TOKYO (Kyodo) — A 112-year-old Japanese who has been recognized as the world’s oldest living man cited “laughter” Wednesday as the secret to his longevity.
Chitetsu Watanabe, who was born on March 5, 1907, pumped his fist as he was handed a certificate by a Guinness World Records official at the nursing home in Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture, where he resides. He is in good health, according to the facility.
In this Feb. 3, 2020, photo, Democratic presidential candidate and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, right, talks with supporters during a campaign stop in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A meeting with nearly 80 black pastors in Detroit. A speech before a black Democratic organization in Montgomery. A rally at a historically black university. A tour of Martin Luther King Jr.’s church. An early voting kickoff at an African American museum. All in the past two weeks.
While Michael Bloomberg’s rivals battled it out in majority-white Iowa andNew Hampshire, the billionaire presidential candidate aggressively courted the black voters critical to any Democrat’s chance of winning the nomination.
The effort, backed by millions of dollars in ads, has taken him across Southern states that vote on March 3, from Montgomery, Alabama, this week in Raleigh, North Carolina, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, states where African American voters can decide a Democratic primary.
His pitch is one of electability and competence — hoping to capitalize on black Democrats’ hunger to oust President Donald Trump. But as he courts black voters, he’ll also have to reconcile his own record as mayor of New York and past remarks on criminal justice.
Bloomberg’s outreach aims squarely at former Vice President Joe Biden, who is banking on loyal black voters to resuscitate his bid after poor showings in Iowa and New Hampshire.
“Who can beat Donald Trump? That’s what people care about,” said former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who is among the black leaders endorsing Bloomberg. Nutter says Bloomberg’s record of accomplishments outweighs the damage of flawed policing.
Bloomberg has no doubt been helped by his limitless financial resources and his strategy to focus on states conducting primaries on Super Tuesday. One of the world’s richest men thanks to a net worth of roughly $60 billion, Bloomberg has spent more than $300 million of his own money on advertising, including spots on black radio stations, a Super Bowl ad that featured an African American mother who lost her son to gun violence and a national ad touting his work with President Barack Obama on gun legislation and a teen jobs program.
He’s also racked up endorsements from African American mayors and held events with key figures in the black community, including a meeting with black pastors in Detroit and a speech at an Alabama Democratic luncheon. Much of the outreach has been aimed at middle-age and older voters, who turn out more reliably, and appeals to a sense of pragmatism. Bloomberg may not be the candidate you know best, the campaign argues, but he’s the best poised to beat Trump.
On Wednesday, Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath endorsed him, citing his record on gun violence prevention. McBath ran for Congress in 2018 after her teenage son was shot to death in a car over a dispute about loud music. She was the first Democrat elected to her seat since 1979.
A new poll shows signs of success for Bloomberg, whose support has been hovering around 1 in 10 Democratic voters in most national polls. The Quinnipiac University poll, which was conducted after the Iowa caucuses but before New Hampshire’s primary, found Bloomberg with 15% support nationally, up from 8% in a late-January poll. That put him about even with Biden and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and slightly ahead of Pete Buttigieg, who essentially tied with Sanders in last week’s Iowa caucuses. The poll showed Sanders leading, with 25% nationally.
During a recent rally at historically black Alabama State University, Bloomberg drew several hundred people, who chanted “I like Mike!” prompting a dry response from the understated candidate.
“Better they do that than they don’t do that,” he said.
Louretta Wimberly, a retired educator from Selma, Alabama, watched the rally and reconsidered her support for Biden. She’s felt a longtime connection with the former vice president, but she likes what she’s hearing from Bloomberg.
“I’ve been following him because he is speaking to the things that we black women in Selma and in the Black Belt want — public education, health care and infrastructure,” Wimberly said.
Voters like Wimberly don’t often raise Bloomberg’s record in New York, but his critics do. For them, his criminal justice policies there — specifically his embrace of a practice known as stop and frisk that disproportionately affected people of color — remain a mark on his civil rights record that cannot be erased by his recent apologies. The issue flared up again this week when comments he made in a 2015 Aspen Institute speech resurfaced. In the audio, Bloomberg says the way to bring down murder rates is to “put a lot of cops” in minority neighborhoods because that’s where “all the crime is.”
Bloomberg apologized for supporting the practice just days before he launched his 2020 bid in November, and repeated that apology on Tuesday, saying the remarks “do not reflect my commitment to criminal justice reform and racial equity.” But the timing of his apologies strikes some as politically expedient.
“He should have done it when it mattered. Now he just looks like someone who’s willing to say anything to get elected president,” said Hawk Newsome, president of Black Lives Matter New York, who said younger black voters in particular will not be willing to give Bloomberg a pass on his record on policing. “What he’s selling we already bought, paid for and returned.”
The prominent activist the Rev. Al Sharpton, who fought with the mayor over stop and frisk, said Tuesday he told Bloomberg in a phone call moments after his November apology that “it’s going to take more than one speech, but it’s a step in the right direction.”
Sharpton said that Bloomberg had “an upside and a downside” as mayor but that his biggest strength as a presidential candidate is his argument that he’s the best one to take on Trump. That’s especially true if Biden — his pitch to black Americans has been that he’s the most electable in November — continues to slip, leaving voters thinking that Bloomberg “may have a better shot” in November, Sharpton said.
But Bloomberg also is viewed skeptically by some younger and progressive voters wary of putting another rich man in the White House. And it’s far from clear that his cool, business-like approach to campaigning will connect with voters.
A tour guide at King’s church asked the people gathered around them to join in song. While others followed her lead, singing and clapping to “This Little Light of Mine,” Bloomberg ignored the request and carried on with introducing himself to people and shaking their hands, until the singing stopped.
On the stump, Bloomberg appeals more to the pragmatism of voters who want to beat Trump and get things done.
James May, the former mayor of Uniontown, Alabama, said before a Bloomberg speech at a Democratic Party leader luncheon that Bloomberg’s accomplishments as mayor were enough to earn his support. “If he does that when he becomes president, he’s my kind of guy,” May said. As for Biden? “He’s good, too, but not quite good enough.”
Bloomberg has so far been shut out of debates, allowing him to largely avoid tough public questioning of his record. That could change next week when Democrats hold their next debate. Bloomberg needs to meet a polling threshold in two more polls to make the stage for the first time.
Maurice Hawkins, an Air Force veteran from Virginia Beach, Virginia, plans to vote for Biden on Super Tuesday, but he said Bloomberg’s history with the stop-and-frisk police tactic wouldn’t stop him from supporting the former mayor.
Hawkins said Democratic voters can be too rigid about a candidate’s history, particularly on issues where the country has evolved, such as criminal justice. Biden has had to answer for his own record, including helping craft the 1994 crime bill, which critics blame for the mass incarceration of minorities over two decades. Biden has proposed a plan that would reverse parts of that bill.
Hawkins, who is black, said he attended a Bloomberg speech in Norfolk, Virginia, last week because he’s considering backing Bloomberg if Biden isn’t in the race when Virginia votes.
“I wanted to hear what he has to say,” Hawkins said, “because I think because we’re in a really turbulent primary, we don’t know who’s gonna come out of it.”
Ngon moment: Ranee “Bella” Campen is ngon at Tanawat “Pope” Wattanaputi in the soap opera “Bupphesanniwat” (2018).
A postponed date, a sharply-worded reply, or even the absence of a text can trigger it.
Suddenly, she – usually, it’s a she – is giving her boyfriend the cold shoulder.
What’s wrong? “Nothing,” she replies – if she replies at all.
Anyone who’s been in a romantic relationship with a Thai knows firsthand the chilly grip of ngon – the unique Thai gesture that’s somewhere between being pouty, mad, and disappointed. It’s one of those cultural habits that are said to lack an equivalent in English language, somewhere up there with greng jai.
In ideal relationships, like the symmetric yin and yang, ngon should go together with ngor, the act of attempting to rectify those unsaid disappointment and hurt feelings.
While this epitome of indirect communication may strike non-Thais as immature and confusing, a cultural expert said the seesaw game of ngon and ngor only takes place in a relationship that’s intimate enough to have expectations from it, not from strangers or enemies.
“Maybe foreigners would think that being direct is the best way to solve problems, but Thais are ngon because we think, ‘You should know why I’m mad, how can you not know?’” Nattaporn Panpothong, a lecturer on Thai language at Chulalongkorn University, said in an interview. “‘We are so close already, you should already know how I feel.’’”
Top: A YouTube video lampooning the habits of ngon and ngor.
Naturally, this distinctive dynamic can lead to hiccups in Thai-Farang relationships – when the Thai way of placing reliance and expectations between people clashes with the Western society’s focus on individualism and independence.
Jirawat Arayanakorn, 24, says her French boyfriend Hugo, 22, has never ngor her even once in their two years together.
“He knows something’s going on when I’m ngon, but he never gets that he has to ngor,” Jirawat said. “I tried to signal my annoyance to him by grumbling or going silent, but he still doesn’t know that I’m ngon. I eventually have to vent it out directly or get mad at him.”
Her explanations of the seemingly alien concept to her boyfriend is often met with outright rejections of her feelings, like “Why don’t you just say it directly?” or “I think it’s childish and unreasonable.”
What Makes People Ngon?
To say ngon and ngor are common in Thai concept of romance is an understatement. The conflict is found – expected, even – in countless movies, series, musics, and dramas that have anything remotely to do with relationships.
As a famous 2005 pop song“Miss Call”goes, “Your darling is calling, please pick it up. Don’t let me wait with tears in my eyes. Your darling is calling to ngor you. Don’t let me be discouraged by the long wait, it was my fault.”
Top: A 10-minute compilation of the ngon moments in the 2018 hit soap opera “Bupphesaniwat”
To prove the prevalence of ngon and ngor culture, Khaosod English recently visited Siam shopping district in Bangkok downtown, a favorite hangout for Thai couples. Every couple interviewed for this story said they experienced at least one instance of ngon and ngor.
Panchita Kiwarawut, 23, said the most recent time she ngon at her 26-year-old boyfriend Jaruwat Tiyatanchat was because he told her not to spill water while she was pouring it.
“I thought he was using rough language at me and I built it up the ngon in my head. So I became ngon, even though he later explained it was just a warning,” Panchita said.
Top: A ngon scene from 2018 soap opera “Game Sanaeha.”
Jaruwat, that smooth-talking water-conserver, says he usually ngor her by hugging her, talking to her sweetly, and taking her out for desserts.
The latter method appears to be a common playbook. Nuttawut Khunwisespong, 18, said he used the same ngor tactics – taking his girlfriend out for ice cream – when he accidentally fell asleep before calling her, causing all hell to break loose in the outburst of ngon.
“I usually get ngon when he doesn’t spend enough time with me,” said his girlfriend Kunlayakorn Tuankum, 18. “But if he apologizes and talks nicely, then it’s fine.”
Nuttawut and Kunlayakorn.
Even Jiranan Jiapaisankul, 22, and Nutdanai Puangthong, 21, who described themselves as a couple who don’t usually fight, were able to recall the latest ngon/ngor episode.
That was when Jiranan gave her boyfriend flowers as a romantic gesture, but Nutdanai refused them. She went silent in offense.
“I learned that it’s better to talk about problems straight-up, not just let stuff build up,” Nutdanai said.
Venusians VS Martians?
Nearly all of the interviewed couples said that the woman was usually the party who is ngon more often. This seems to be true even in a relationship that transcends biological sex, as seen in the case of Nichapath Lookmueang, 27, and her girlfriend Wannapha Tongsomrit, 25.
Nichapath is “tom” or “tomboy,” a woman who represents the masculine partner. She dates a “dee,” or “lady,” or a woman who takes up the traditionally feminine role – similar to the Western ideas of butch and femme.
In their 12 years together, Nichapath says she’s always been the one to ngor when Wannapha gets ngon. Wannapha’s biggest cause of ngon is Nichapath’s long work hours as a personal trainer.
“It’s true that some people get ngon over nonsense things, or things that the other person doesn’t even know why, and that being direct would solve the problem quicker,” Nichapath said. “However, ngor is the correct thing to do in this case because it makes her feel better, and it shows I’m making the effort and not lacking in my duties.”
Nichapath and Wannapha.
But one couple who spoke to Khaosod English identified the man as the serial ngon-er instead of the woman. He said it was the most effective way of getting his point across.
“If I tell her straight up to fix a problem, she won’t improve,” Klong, 18, said of his girlfriend, Manao, 17. “She spends too much time on her phone!”
Cartoonist Pratchaya “Poysian” Mahapauraya runs Facebook page “Sundae Kids,” which is based on themes of relationship and romance. She said ngon probably has something to do with women’s well-known habit of overinterpretation. Thai women are also known to be indirect, making it hard for less perceptive partners to know that a ngon is taking place.
“Both men and women ngon, but women may have the tendency to ponder and overthink more which can lead to more ngon feelings,” said Poysian, whose online comics are followed by about 1.8 million fans.
Ignore Ngor at Your Own Risk
With all that said, some say the concept of ngor might be even harder for foreigners to understand than ngon. Although there are plenty of jokes in the West about the woman saying she’s “fine” when she’s not, the approach to solving said problem is different.
Jirawat said her French boyfriend Hugo has started to try to cheer her up while she’s ngon after she explained the concept to him – but still, it’s not the same as ngor.
“It’s not like Thai couples where the person who ngor will try to wear down the other person by acting nice,” she said. “Thai couples know that ngon equals ngor, but this action and reaction doesn’t exist in [Western] realm. How can they ngor if that action doesn’t exist in their dictionary?”
Top: A scene from the second season of “Hormones” (2014) teen series where a teen girl is ngon because a boy didn’t Like her post on Facebook.
Because ngon is so ingrained in relationships, negligence to reciprocate it with ngor can escalate the situation, as couple Peerapol Kornchaoi, 22, and Surattana Srisam-ang, 22, know all too well.
Peerapol works the night shift at a 7-Eleven in the northern suburb of Bangkok whereas Surattana is an employee at Suvarnabhumi Airport, at the capital’s extreme eastern corner. The couple hardly see each other, and the different schedules take its toll. Surattana gets ngon often – but Peerapol’s not a ngor type of guy.
“The ngon spirals into arguments and then fights,” he said. “But we have to make up eventually.”
Nattaporn, the Chulalongkorn University linguist, said foreigners struggling to understand the concept of ngon should embrace it as a cry for understanding and sympathy from a different culture, instead of dismissing it as immature or childish gesture.
“It’s not about maturity, but a social way of thinking,” Nattaporn said “It’s about having hopes that someone intimate with us will understand how we feel, and being disappointed when they don’t. Even mature people can have this feeling.”
Top: “Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you all year round. Tell me, dear, what are you so ngon about?” Kung R Siam sings in a 2013 country hit “Ngon.”
After all, ngor isn’t confined to romantic relationships or the youth. Friends also ngon at friends over perceived slights. Even Thai elderly are subject to it.
For instance, a Thai granny might be especially quiet to everyone after none of her kids take her out for a family dinner or dismiss her opinions, whereas elderly Westerners might take pride in doing things independently or helping themselves.
“It’s like greng jai. Farang might say we are too greng jai and not individualistic,” Nattaporn said. “While this can be true, we can also think that in a society where no one is greng jai at all, it can lead to chaos.”
So what to do when your Thai girlfriend turns away in a flurry of ngon after you make a passing reference to your ex or didn’t pick the restaurant that she secretly wants to eat at for her birthday?
As illustrated in one of Poysian’s comics, use the magic word to smooth things over: “I’m sorry.”
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choice for all travelers to this pulsating city.
Early offers for six Class of 2020 students to Oxford, Cambridge, and Ivy League universities once again underline Shrewsbury International School Bangkok, Riverside’s reputation as Thailand’s leading international school.
Three early offers Oxford and Cambridge universities make it an unparalled total of 17 Oxbridge offers for Shrewsbury students since 2018, whilst another trio of students have already accepted places at Ivy League offers to Cornell (2) and Dartmouth. Over 200 offers have been awarded to the Class of 2020 so far, with hundreds of applications still pending.
With leading examination results and an award-winning Higher Education team, Shrewsbury is the most highly regarded international school in Thailand when it comes to preparing young people for university.
Shrewsbury’s dedicated university experts, each equipped with country-specific knowledge and an innate understanding of the application process, ensures that every student has access to the highest quality advice, and the opportunity to graduate to tertiary institutions that suit them best.
Head Girl Tarnfun (Tara) Chittmittrapap says Shrewsbury prepares students for university in all kinds of ways.
“I think my application to Cambridge was successful in part due to my critical thinking skills. ‘Reading the World’ [Shrewsbury’s bespoke critical thinking programme] for example, has helped me to analyse concepts and principles born out of real-world contexts.”
Vice Principal (Head of Senior), Mr Rob Millar has watched these six students grow through the years and couldn’t be prouder to see them go on to the next phase of their lives.
“All six students have such different areas of expertise and to have been accepted to the world’s best universities shows the wealth of opportunity that Shrewsbury offers. These exceptional students have shown that if you put the hard work in then, it will pay off; and it has done in a big way.”
If you are interested in finding out more of what Shrewsbury International School Bangkok, Riverside can offer your family, please book a tour through our website. Limited places are still available for our A level Programme starting August 2020 and selected year groups starting August 2021.
Police arrest a monk who's caught having sex with a woman inside a love motel on 2016 Valentine's Day in Bangkok.
BANGKOK — Per yearly tradition, police on Thursday said the force is set to patrol love motels and entertainment venues on Valentine’s Day tomorrow to prevent young people from committing immoral acts and deter any sexual crimes.
Police spokesman Kissana Phathanacharoen said both uniformed and plainclothes police will be on the lookout at those venues and other areas, like public parks at night. Additional checkpoints will be set up. The measure is part of the annual crackdown on Valentine’s Day, which is believed by conservative Thais to influence young people to have sex.
He also urged young people to uphold decent Thai traditions, and said parents should warn their children to protect themselves from those who might lead them astray or engage in illegal activities.
Anyone who sees potentially illegal activities on the Day of Love should alert police by dialing 191 or 1599. They can also use the police application “I Lert You” (ha).
But some NGOs say the authorities should spend more effort on promoting safe sex and enforce the laws with the same enthusiasm everyday.
Jaded Chaowilai, director of advocacy group Women and Men Progressive Movement, said the police’s obsession with teenagers having sex on Valentine’s Day is out of step with the 21st century.
“Younger generation has moved far beyond that, and they can have sex not just on Valentine’s Day anyway,” Jaded said. “Police still see sexual intercourse as a problem. Police efforts should be committed on cracking down on general crimes.”
Instead of the moral crusade, the activist said said there should be more education about sex safe and better access to sexual protections. Schools should also teach children to uphold gender equality and treat members of the opposite sex with respect, he said.
Women rights activist Naiyana Supapung if police are truly concerned about adults exploiting underage individuals in hotels and love motels, they should have launched their patrols everyday and not just Valentine’s Day.
“They should have the measures enforced at risky venues everyday,” Naiyana said.
Thai authorities often drew ridicule from social media for making strange, wacky comments related to Valentine’s Day.
