BANGKOK – The Thai military government has officially unveiled a set of "stickers" that depict the moral teaching of junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha for the chat application LINE.
Images of the "Twelve Values" stickers were published on the website of the Ministry of Information, Communication, Technology (ICT) today. The set consists of twelve stickers representing each of the "Twelve Values" that Gen. Prayuth wants all Thais to practice, and four stickers for "general occasions."
For instance, the first value, "Loyalty to the Nation, the Religion, and the Monarchy," is depicted by an animated woman hugging a big heart, with the caption "Love with all my heart!," while the sixth value, "Morality and good will for others," is portrayed with a cartoon character telling the phone users, "Don't lie!"
The four "general occasion" stickers feature a cartoon character saying "Happy New Year," "Roger that," "Good morning," and "Good night."
The stickers will be available for download for LINE application between 30 December and 28 January free of charge, the website says. ICT officials previously termed the stickers as a "New Year present" to all Thais.
"We want to help Thai people know more about the values," Songpon said. "So that they will send the stickers to each other on New Year's [Day]," said Deputy Permanent Secretary of the ICT, Songpon Komolsuradet on 16 December.
LINE was chosen as the platform for the stickers presumably because it is one of the most popular chat applications in social media obsessed Thailand. According to the Japan-based company, there are at least 24 million registered LINE users in Thailand out of a population of 65 million.
The instant messaging application is known for its "stickers," or sets of cartoons and emojis that can be purchased from an online store.
The Thai government will pay LINE seven million baht to provide the Twelve Values stickers to users free of charge, documents on the ICT website reveal.
The Twelve Values, which Gen. Prayuth bestowed to the nation in a televised broadcast in July, are the following:
1. Loyalty to the Nation, the Religion, and the Monarchy
2. Honesty, sacrifice, endurance, and noble ideology for the greater good
3. Gratitude for parents, guardians, and teachers
4. Diligence in acquiring knowledge, via school studies and other methods
5. Preserving the Thai customs and tradition
6. Morality and good will for others
7. Correct understanding of democracy with the King as Head of State
8. Discipline, respect for law, and obedience to the older citizens
9. Constant consciousness to practice good deeds all the time, as taught by His Majesty the King
10. Practice of Self-Sufficient Economy in accordance with the teaching of His Majesty the King
11. Physical and mental strength. Refusal to surrender to religious sins.
12. Uphold the interest of the nation over oneself.
Authorities have already instructed public schools and state agencies to hang a banner listing Gen. Prayuth’s teachings on their premises. State agencies have also produced a poem, song, and 12-part film based on the Twelve Values.
The film, titled "Thai Niyom," stirred controversy shortly after it was released on 6 December because of a scene in which two children are seen painting and praising a picture of Adolf Hitler.
A Cabinet minister from the Office of Prime Minister, which was responsible for the film’s production, was forced to apologise to the Israeli ambassador in Bangkok after the diplomat said he was "deeply saddened" to see the "trivialization and misuse" of Nazi symbols in an official Thai government film.
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