North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un speaks with one of his generals in a photo released by the Korean Central News Agency on Feb. 2, 2015.
BANGKOK — The U.S. special envoy for North Korea on Friday expressed hope that Pyongyang would accept Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s diplomatic offer of unconditional talks, although the overture has already been contradicted by the White House.
Joseph Yun told reporters in Bangkok that the talks could take place without preconditions and would serve Washington’s dual approach of pressure and engagement on Pyongyang over its nuclear program.
Yun acknowledged it’s unclear whether North Korea would be willing to talk following a period of accelerated nuclear activity, saying “it’s very hard to discern what their intent is without having real dialogue.”
“I think what Secretary Tillerson spoke to was we want to have a dialogue with them. We are open to dialogue and we hope they will agree to have a dialogue,” said Yun at the end of a two-nation tour that also included a stop in Tokyo.
“Let’s see how they respond … I am very hopeful that diplomacy has a long way to go before any next steps are considered.”
In a speech in Washington on Tuesday, Tillerson said the United States will be willing to start diplomatic talks with North Korea without preconditions. This led to questions on whether the Trump administration was exploring a new policy on North Korea after previously stating it wouldn’t negotiate with North Korean officials unless they were willing to discuss curbing their nuclear weapons and missiles program.
However, the White House was quick to contradict Tillerson’s offer. A National Security Council spokesperson said Wednesay that North Korea must not only first refrain from provocations but take “sincere and meaningful actions toward denuclearization.” The spokesperson, who was not authorized to be quoted by name and requested anonymity, said that given North Korea’s most recent missile test, now was not the time for talks.
BANGKOK — It’s been a big year for Thai craft beer. From sun-dried banana-brewed beer and the country’sfirst legal honey wine, the domestic variety has gone from meh to “more please.”
Atop a roof near MRT Lat Phrao, craft beer geeks and the craft-curious will gather for seven days to celebrate the year’s local beer boom.
Starting Dec. 25, Craft Space Beer Week will feature a long list of local and international craft beer brands, music, workshop, games and more.
Wichit Saiklao, known in the community as a pioneer of Thai Craft Beer, will host a talk along with Liger Beer’s Archirawas Wansrisawat, Sandport Beer cofounder Supapong Pruenglampoo and Panithan Tongsiri of Lamzing and Bannok beers.
Beer foam plus art is aesthetically delicious. Yer Space will lead a workshop on painting ceramics cups with colors mixed with beer head. Audio/visual artist group Suburb Sound will perform Dec. 29 and Dec. 30.
Admission is free. Coupons to buy some beer, food and play games will be available at the door.
Craft Space Beer Weekwill run Dec. 25 to Dec. 31 on the rooftop of Move Amaze. The commercial complex is located on Soi Lat Phrao 19 and can be reached from MRT Lat Phrao.
Police arrest Pathumporn “Ae” Mongkornchaiya Thursday in Ratchaburi.
RATCHABURI — Police have arrested the admin of a Line group who allegedly paid parents to sexually abuse their toddlers and were looking Friday for the woman’s supposed employer.
Police arrested Pathumporn “Ae” Mongkornchaiya, 27, in Ratchaburi province on Thursday, four days after she became the lead suspect in recruiting members to a community of pedophiles where they would post rape and sex videos using a private Line group. They case emerged after one such clip involving a mother and stepfather raping a toddler boy leaked from the group.
“We believe that she also hired other families to do similar acts, so we are investigating this further,” police Maj. Gen. Kornchai Klaiklung said. “She confessed to the crimes, and now we have to look for the people who hired her to do this.”
Songpol Sangkasem of Phitsanulok police on Friday cast doubt on Pathumporn’s claims and said the police have not reached out to either Interpol or Line Corp.
“We’re still interrogating her. She might just be saying there’s an employer to try and push the blame away from herself. We have to find evidence that she was being employed first,” Songpol said.
Pathumporn paid 400 baht, police said, to a 25-year-old mother and 40-year old stepfather to rape her 3-year-old toddler for two videos starting in 2016. Pathumporn reportedly received about 600 baht for helping acquire such clips.
After her arrest, Pathumporn said she was employed by an anonymous source with a Japanese username on Line, a chat app popular in both Japan and Thailand. She claimed to have received money from the source through cash cards, which she would take a cut of before transfering money to people who posted the clips or streamed acts of sexual violence in the Line group.
“In the group members’ Line profiles, the members set their usernames to kiku anone [cutesy Japanese] characters without revealing any identities at all,” Kornchai said.
Kornchai said Pathumporn also allegedly hired men and women to perform live sex many times for the Line group, which she said had around 100 members.
Pathumporn insisted she “did not know” there were children used in the Line videos and that she just handled money transfers and recruitment. She said the group existed long before she joined and started working for the employer.
Police have charged Pathumporn with human trafficking, uploading obscene content to computer systems and for violating the Child Protection Act. She is under police custody at the Thung Song Hong Police Station in Bangkok.
Police arrest Pathumporn “Ae” Mongkornchaiya Thursday in Ratchaburi.
LOS ANGELES — Nine films are now vying for an Academy Award nomination in the foreign language category.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the short-list Thursday, which includes films from Chile, Germany, Israel and Lebanon. Ninety-two films were initially in contention for possible nomination.
Five films are typically nominated for foreign language Oscar consideration, and the nominees will be announced on Jan. 23. The Academy Awards will be held on March 4 in Los Angeles.
The short-listed films are: Chile’s “A Fantastic Woman,” Germany’s “In the Fade,” Hungary’s “On Body and Soul,” Israel’s “Foxtrot,” Lebanon’s “The Insult,” Russia’s “Loveless,” Senegal’s “Felicite,” South Africa’s “The Wound” and Sweden’s “The Square.”
Junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha jokes with a Voice TV reporter on Nov. 22 at Government House. Image: Voice TV
BANGKOK — A TV station repeatedly penalized by the military government for its coverage will lay off up to half of its workforce, sources said Thursday.
The restructuring of Voice TV, which is owned by the son of junta political arch-rival Thaksin Shinawatra, will fall heavily on its television production staff as the channel will shift its focus to online presence, two sources at the channel said separately. They spoke anonymously because they are not allowed to discuss company policies to the media.
Both sources said station management will announce next Friday whose jobs are on the line.
“The list will be announced next Friday,” one source said. “There will be 150 people left, from something like 300 employees in various sections. Most of the layoffs will be in the TV department while most of the website crew will get by.”
Voice TV news director Prateep Kongsib declined to comment.
“Apologies, but I cannot give you any information at this time,” he wrote in an email.
Founded in 2008, the station is one of two dozen stations that paid 50 billion baht to win a digital broadcast license. Their content has been policed by state broadcasting regulators, which was empowered by the regime to dish out punishment to violators of junta guidelines and coverage agreements the media were pressured into complying with following the 2014 coup.
The company is privately held and its finances are shielded from scrutiny, but reports suggest its business has been struggling. An article by Isra News in March said the station had racked up cumulative losses of 1.3 billion baht by the end of 2015, the latest information available.
Owned by Panthongtae Shinawatra, the only son of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the station routinely covers political issues and offers commentary perceived as favorable to his political faction.
The station’s stance has often led to conflict with junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha, who has banned any public criticism of his regime since seizing power from a pro-Shinawatra government in 2014.
In August, the station announced it would cut its political coverage and content entirely to avoid further censorship and transition to more lifestyle-oriented coverage.
The crackdown on media freedom under the junta coincides with the ongoing decline of the traditional media, whether in print or on the air. A number of print outlets have closed down or slashed their offerings in recent years, and many digital TV stations say they are struggling to turn a profit.
“Our digital TV business is not going well, which is no different to other channels,” one of the sources said. “So we have to evaluate, what do we have to do?”
The other source said many advertisers have been scared off by the frequent punishments from the regulators at the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission.
Both sources maintained the station would not close down despite financial difficulties.
Additional reporting Pravit Rojanaphruk
Correction: An earlier version of this article quoted a source saying Voice TV would end broadcasts. The source did not state such information. We regret the error.
Maria Poonlertlarp, who previously went by Maria Lynn Ehren, at left and Mario Maurer, at right. Photos: @Marialynnehren, @Mario_mm38
By Sattrawut Bunruecha
BANGKOK — Maria Poonlertlarp Ehren may have fallen short last month on the Las Vegas stage but her reign is just beginning in Thailand.
Many hoped the Thai-Swedish beauty would become the third Thai contestant to win the Miss Universe crown, especially because her stunning beauty came with an impeccable grasp of English. Though she stalled out at fifth place in the pageant, she came home to an adoring nation and accepted a government offer Tuesday to be a living embodiment of “Thainess.”
Yet even before the pageant took place, Maria’s ethnicity and background had rekindled debate over what is and is not “Thai,” with detractors arguing she represents neither and supporters saying her mixed heritage gave her a huge advantage.
“Outwardly she may not look very Thai, but inwardly she is so Thai. She demonstrates Thai social etiquette, and that the whole world will know she is from Thailand,” read a commenton the Pantip.com webboard.
Rise of the ‘Half Blood’ Idols
In the broader domain of popular Thai culture, young mixed-race actors and models of Thai-Western unions, or leuk khrung (Thai-Western, or literally “half-blood”), appear in most contemporary Thai films and television dramas.
A number of stars and singers of Thai-Western intermarriage have quickly shot to superstardom during the past decade. Their faces beam from nearly every advertisement and program: Urassaya “Yaya” Sperbund, Nadech Kugimiya, Davika Hoorne, Kimberly Voltemas Tiamsiri and Mario Maurer. They’re are among the highest paid actors in Thailand. Most are under 25.
Mario; a 29 year old of Thai, German and Chinese descent; was hired last year by the tourism authority to be the face of Thailand.
Chutharat Rueangrak, 27, who avidly watches about 20 weekly hours of television dramas, is also a big fan of Nadech and Yaya. She said the popularity of Thai-Western celebs exploded again about a decade ago, “probably after ‘4 Huajai Haeng Koon Kao’ [‘4 Hearts of the Mountains’],” a 2010 soap opera that launched the careers of the two lead actors.
“Thai actors have to go through some plastic surgery to achieve the beauty standards such as double-fold eyelids, high noses, thin chins and V-shaped jawlines, while altering one’s body is not yet fully accepted in Thai society. Personally, I think those people do not look natural on screen,” she said.
In a market where skill in foreign languages is low and skin whitening a key marketing feature in skin products, it’s also about the corporate bottom line.
“Talents, especially the ability to speak English, plays an important role in success because it makes people look ‘expensive,’” Chutarat said.
“Expensive,” or paeng, is even a buzzword in image-oriented industries such as advertising and modeling to describe people and things that look stylish, elegant and glamorous.
In the advertising domain, Thai-Western actors, models, and singers have also become the dominant “face” of countless products. Talent agent Phijitra Phaesuwan said firms producing expensive products such as cosmetics, electronic gadgets and garments often choose Thai-Western actors and models because they look more paeng.
They may have more value for brands looking beyond Thailand’s borders.
“Usually the products pay more due mainly to the fact that the commercials appear in more countries, and sometimes throughout Asia,” Phijitra said.
As representations of leuk krung in the media have proliferated, so have notions of love across racial lines.
This is visible in films like “Plae Kao” (“The Scar”), a 2015 remake set amid a pastoral backdrop of buffalos and vast fields in what was a rural part of the capital. It featured Thai-Belgian Davika and Chaiyapol Julian Poupart.
In dozens of posts daily, Thai netizens share photos of handsome foreign men and anecdotes of their virtues.
Chaturat, the avid soap fan, said the popularity of celebs of mixed heritage is rooted in insecurity.
“Thais often have mixed feelings of admiration and jealousy toward people who look superior in terms of social, financial and racial statuses and physicality,” she said. “The choices reflect Thai people’s deep-seated inferiority complex.”
Thus the dichotomy of a nation equally obsessed with both “Thainess” and the outside world.
Austrian-Thai Nadech Kugimiya is a ubiquitous face in marketing.
Despite the surge of ultra-nationalist sentiments aroused time and again, often for political purposes, Thais are not so inward when it comes to who they love in show business.
“In countries such as Japan, consumers still prefer actors who look local. Thailand is a nation where people look up to people who appear superior, the same way as people in less-developed neighboring countries idolize actors and singers from Thailand,” Phijitra said.
There lies the fundamental contradiction, according to Thammasat University lecturer Veluree Metaveevinij.
“The allure of something associated with the West is however ambiguous,” Veluree said. “Thai-Western actors play prominent roles in historical films and dramas, but at the same time the West is depicted as villains threatening the purity of Thai culture and Thainess in these same films and dramas.”
“The relationship between Thailand and the West is therefore a love-hate one,” the lecturer said. “We admire Thai-Western actors and singers, while reviling and blaming farangs as they represent capitalism and moral deprivation.”
Torrey Holistics employees, Matt Sullivan, left, and Taron McElroy, arrange jars of cannabis in San Diego, Calif., Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. On Thursday, California issued its first batch of business licenses for the state's upcoming legal marijuana market, setting the stage for sales to begin to adults in January. The first license for recreational retail sales went to Torrey Holistics in San Diego. Photo: Julie Watson / Associated Press
LOS ANGELES — California on Thursday issued its first batch of business licenses for the state’s upcoming legal marijuana market, setting the stage for sales to begin in January.
The first temporary license was awarded to Pure CA, which does business as Moxie brand products, a company known for its cannabis extracts.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” said Moxie CEO Jordan Lams, who credited “a lot of the stars aligning” for being awarded the first distributor license for recreational pot.
“California has been without regulations for a very long time. So there is going to be a transition period,” he added, referring to the changes coming in 2018 with legal cultivation and sales.
The release of the initial 20 temporary licenses, good for 120 days, represents another steppingstone toward legal purchases, which were approved by voters last year.
“We plan to issue many more before Jan. 1,” Lori Ajax, the state’s top marijuana regulator, said in a statement.
The first license for recreational retail sales went to Torrey Holistics in San Diego, which submitted a 60-page lease, diagrams and a detailed business plan.
Tony Hall, who opened the shop two years ago with a college friend, said he sees recreational marijuana taking off like the wine and craft beer industries.
Customers go through an electronic security gate manned by a guard. Once inside, the business looks like a stylish pharmacy with wood floors and Christmas decorations.
“The taboo part is slowly going to be removed and this is going to be like any other business,” Hall said.
In general, California will treat cannabis like alcohol, allowing people 21 and older to legally possess up to an ounce and grow six marijuana plants at home.
Come January, the newly legalized recreational sales will be merged with the state’s two-decade-old medical marijuana market, which is also coming under much stronger regulation.
The state and local governments have been rushing to develop rules for the new industry. A patchwork is emerging with some cities embracing legal sales and others banning commercial pot activity.
In the background is widespread uncertainty about whether President Donald Trump’s administration will attempt to intervene in states where marijuana is legal.
As marijuana is illegal in the eyes of the federal government, major banks are leery to do business with dispensaries and growers so much of the business is conducted in cash.
FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2017, file photo, The Walt Disney Co. logo appears on a screen above the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Disney is buying a large part of the Murdoch family's 21st Century Fox in a $52.4 billion deal, announced Thursday, Dec. 14, including film and television studios, cable and international TV businesses as it tries to meet competition from technology companies in the entertainment business. Photo: Richard Drew / Associated Press
NEW YORK — Disney is buying a large part of Fox, but Fox News Channel and other U.S. television businesses are staying with the Murdoch family.
Here’s a look at what the Disney and Murdoch empires will look like under The Walt Disney Co.’s $52.4 billion deal for 21st Century Fox:
THE DISNEY BANNER
Besides classics such as Mickey Mouse and Goofy, Disney already owns several iconic franchises, including the Muppets, “Star Wars” and Marvel superhero movies and comics. It operates a major movie studio and several TV networks, including ABC, ESPN, the Disney Channel and Freeform.
With the deal, Disney gets the Fox movie business, including Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox 2000. Fox held rights to some Marvel characters; this deal will bring Marvel’s X-Men, Fantastic Four and Deadpool under the Disney roof. Disney will also take ownership of the “Avatar” franchise, which has alreadyspawned a Disney theme park; sequels are on the way.
In terms of television production, Disney will get Twentieth Century Fox Television, FX Productions and Fox21, with shows including “The Simpsons” and “Modern Family.”
Disney will get at least a 39 percent stake in European satellite-TV and broadcaster Sky. Fox is hoping to acquire the remainder of Sky before the deal closes, giving Disney full control. Disney is also acquiring Star India, a major media company with dozens of sports and entertainment channels.
Disney, a co-owner of Hulu, will get Fox’s share in the streaming company, giving Disney a majority control.
THE MURDOCH FAMILY
Before the sale, Fox will spin off some properties into a separate company, which the Murdoch family will control. Murdoch’s new Fox will have the Fox television network and stations, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network and the U.S. sports channels FS1, FS2 and Big Ten Network. It will also keep the Fox studio lot in Los Angeles and an equity investment in Roku, a maker of TV-streaming devices.
The publishing and newspaper businesses will stay with Murdoch, as those have already been separated into a different company, News Corp. Those businesses include the New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Sun and The Times in the U.K., and book publisher HarperCollins.
There’s been speculation the Murdoch family will try to combine News Corp. with what’s left of Fox, though Rupert Murdoch told investors Thursday, “We haven’t thought about combining with News Corp.”
BANGKOK — A primetime soap with sexual assault as a central plot point has inflamed social debate over the death penalty and rape culture.
Human rights activists and academics point out that while the primetime soap “Lah” (The Hunt) is sympathetic toward the view that rapists should pay the ultimate penalty, it is also hostile toward the prevalent rape culture found in lakorn, or soap operas.
Although sexual violence against women is a common plot points in lakorn, usually to punish morally suspect women or advance romantic relationships between protagonists and their love interests, “Lah” places the blame squarely on the attackers rather than the victims.
Characters in the series even explicitly argue for the death penalty for rape, the main reason being that if the rapists are not executed they will come out of jail and continue to sexually assault people.
Lalita “Mew” Panyopas as Matusorn in an episode of Lah.
In “Lah,” single mom Matusorn (Lalita “Mew” Panyopas) and her middle school student daughter Matukorn (Pornsroung “Xiang Xiang” Ruayruen) are gang raped by seven men. The men escape prosecution and prison because of their social status. In the meantime, Matthayom 1 student Matukorn suffers a mental breakdown. In revenge, Matusorn dons elaborate disguises to kill off the rapists in her own form of vigilante justice.
The hashtag #Lah2017 has been the top trending tweet in Thailand for several days as people weigh in on capital punishment, victim-blaming and vigilantism.
“Some people said the lakorn is too dramatic. Hmm?” @Chocooliie tweeted. “In a country where rape happens on trains, and a whole village can gang rape one woman, and where an uncle rapes a 5-year-old niece to death, what can be too dramatic? #Lah2017”
Chocoolie’s tweet was retweeted more than 42,000 times as of Thursday.
“We live in a society that teaches women not to dress provocatively because it risks rape, but we never taught men that they have no right to rape anyone,” @Mariko3407 tweeted in another widely shared message.
But Amnesty Thailand director Piyanut Khotsan said that the lakorn’s “eye-for-an-eye” solution shouldn’t be applied in real life.
“As for Amnesty, we view that rape is a terrible thing that should not happen to anyone. However, punishing it with the death penalty is not the solution. Our standpoint is that there should be no death penalty in any case, even rape.”
Piyanut said that society should “prevent rape and find solutions within the justice system” without resorting to the death penalty – a point illustrated by Matusorn’s trial for murder.
“Even the main character is judged for killing the rapists. Does she have to get the death penalty, too?” she said. “Lakorn or real, it’s a very emotional situation, but we have to remember everyone’s right to life.”
Both Piyanut and Pasavit Boonkongchuen, an expert on mass media culture at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Arts, said that death penalty for rapists can increase the danger for victims, since the rapist may kill or harm the victim to prevent them from speaking out.
Piyanut said that the death penalty does not point to a decreased sexual assault crime rate.
The scene where Matusorn and Matukorn are beaten and sexually assaulted.
‘Good Start’ to Cultivating an Anti-Rape Culture
Although the series may not change minds on the death penalty, Pasavit said it was “a good start to [cultivating] an anti-rape culture” and beneficial social debate.
“Portrayals of rape can spark debate on sensitive subjects that people never bring up over lunch,” Pasavit said. “In Thai society usually hot-button issues get space over other topics.”
In recent years, explosions of outrage in the wake of rape crimes has periodically flared up campaigns for death sentences. In February 2016, a group of minors who confessed to raping and killing a woman in Phattalung ignited a campaign led by an actress, while a man who raped and killed a 13-year-old girl on a train was sentenced to death amid public outroar.
The lakorn, Pasavit said, has a strong message against sexual violence, albeit one that is also pro-death penalty, because it places the blame on the perpetrators rather than the victim.
“The soap showed that the victims didn’t do anything wrong but were victims. This can increase understanding of consent in society,” he said. “The audience and the lakorn don’t blame the victims for how they were dressed or where they were walking at night.”
Matukorn is raped in a scene from the soap opera ‘Lah.’
Although Pasavit doesn’t think that the tide will be turned all at once against rape culture in lakorns will be as “anti-rape culture,” he says “it’s a good start against plots where the victim and rapist falls in love.”
Elements of the lakorn even apply to the worldwide #MeToo campaign initiated by sexual harassment allegations at Hollywood director Harvey Weinstein.
“In the lakorn, the little girl is the one who identifies the rapists. This could help reproduce in society courage in victims to identify their attackers, who usually do not step forward. The soap shows that the victim plays a big part in bringing the culprit to justice,” said the mass media expert.
The lakron’s official TV Instagram account even posted a photo asking viewers who agreed with the death penalty to type #TeamPaSoi and those who disagreed with #TeamLoongYai, according to the characters espousing those views in the drama. An overwhelming number wrote #TeamPaSroi.
In July during the filming of Lah, actor Pharunyoo “Tack” Rojanawuthitham, who plays one of the rapists stirred some online drama when he posted on-set photos with a caption asking fans who wants to get raped. Pharunyoo is often vocal in calling for the death penalty for rape when the issue comes up.
“Lah” (The Hunt) is currently airing on One 31 channel Mondays and Tuesdays from 9:15pm to 10:35pm and 11pm on Line TV. The 2017 version is the third remake, with previous versions aired in 1994 and 1977.
BANGKOK — A well-known human rights lawyer was summoned by police Thursday to hear charges of violating the Computer Crime Act and contempt of court.
Arnon Nampa, who has represented numerous pro-democracy activists and rights advocates, denied any wrongdoing and said the charges were lodged because of his activism against the military regime. A string of junta opponents has faced similar charges in recent months.
Arnon responded to the news by posting the summons letter he received from the police and in his irreverent and chauvinist style suggested that potential suitors seek him out while they can.
“Girls who want to screw this little lawyer better hurry because this time I’m in for serious charges = contempt of court, violating the court’s authority and the Computer Crime Act! If I am imprisoned, it will be long. You can send a message to my inbox. First come, first served,” he wrote today on Facebook.
Thailand’s contempt of court statute has become broadly interpreted to punish any remark deemed offensive or even critical of the courts and their rulings.
Apart from serving as a lawyer, Arnon also leads an activist group called Resistant Citizens.
The letter stated that the accusations were filed Dec. 5 by police Lt. Col. Supharat Kam-in, but Arnon was only informed today. It ordered Arnon to appear by Wednesday. The lawyer said he will inform police he isn’t free that day.
The summons did not specify any alleged wrongdoing. Arnon believes however that the charges relate to a Nov. 2 post on Facebook in which he criticized a court ruling that supporters of lese majeste convict Jatupat “Pai” Boonpattararaksa were guilty of contempt of court.
Asked if the charges would soften his criticism of the junta, Arnon, who has over 46,000 followers on Facebook, said no.
“I insist I will continue,” he said.
Violating the Computer Crime Act carries a maximum prison term of five years. Those guilty of contempt of court face up to six months in jail.
Cybercrimes and other offenses have been used in recent months to prosecute critics of the junta, which include the likes of politicians, activists and journalists.
Just this week, Pheu Thai Party spokeswoman Sunisa Divakorndamrong was charged with violating the Computer Crime Act and sedition for criticizing the regime online.
