Showing 1 - 10 of 28
Antitrust laws need a rethink
News, Editorial, Published on 04/08/2020
» Big Tech roared back into the headlines last week after US President Donald Trump declared that Washington would ban the Chinese video-sharing platform TikTok. The sudden announcement came just days after the US House Judiciary subcommittee grilled four tech chiefs -- Google's Sundar Pichai, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, Apple Inc's Tim Cook, and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg -- in a marathon five-and-a-half-hour antitrust hearing. The US-based firms, worth nearly US$5 trillion (156 trillion baht), stand accused of stifling competition and establishing "monopolistic" dominance.
Speech curbs hold back nation
News, Editorial, Published on 05/07/2020
» Last week's final acquittal of rights activist Andy Hall by the Supreme Court, whilst certainly welcome and the correct verdict, was also a stark reminder of just how damaging to free speech Thailand's laws are.
Asylum policy adjustments welcome
News, Editorial, Published on 21/01/2019
» The new, high-profile chief of immigration is promising an optimistic and extremely welcome change of policy. While the exact plans are being thrashed out, Pol Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn pledges to provide more humane and professional treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.
Xmas spirit a Thai virtue
News, Editorial, Published on 24/12/2018
» The celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ is one of the few holidays so widely marked. It may not be a holiday in Thailand, but there is probably no one unaware of Christmas. Many Christians criticise the commercial atmosphere, but there's really no escaping it. The giving of gifts and the "Christmas spirit" of peace and joy is worth noting by everyone, everywhere.
Torture law must pass
News, Editorial, Published on 17/12/2018
» This week the junta-appointed National Legislative Assembly (NLA) will begin winding up business for the year. On the schedule for Thursday is the reading of a bill that is long overdue. If passed -- and it must -- it will officially bar government and security forces from using torture and enforced disappearance. It is shocking, this far into the 21st century, that a civilised nation has never prohibited these odious practices.
Draw a line on plastic
News, Editorial, Published on 04/12/2018
» Today, Thailand's green day, is a minor milestone in the long and often depressing battle for a better environment.
Unnecessary complications
News, Editorial, Published on 09/11/2018
» The working of government and the making of sausages are quite similar, a wise man said more than a century ago. It is often unappealing to watch the process, even if the outcome is often uplifting. Two events sparked by the Thai government last week rather prove the point. The quest for "Taobao Villages" and a sudden demand to protect Thai food from foreigners both came out of the blue, and are more off-putting than attractive.
PM, a plan and a canal
News, Editorial, Published on 31/10/2018
» Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has taken the right steps over the latest resurrection of the Kra Canal. But that doesn't mean he's going to get much support or win over public opinion on the matter. By ordering two new studies into updated proposals for building the canal, he will get criticism from both sides. Proponents of what they want to call the "Thai Canal" think he is taking too long and opponents of the proposal believe he should do nothing.
Forest case rings alarms
News, Editorial, Published on 20/08/2018
» A seminal court case clashed with new government policy, and it is going to take some time to sort out the outcome. In the Court of Appeal, a so-called "forest dweller" was found guilty of trespassing and imprisoned for a year with a hefty fine of 140,000 baht. At Government House at almost the same time, a new programme to reform forest laws was announced. Its aim is to commercialise forested areas.
Update the computer law
News, Editorial, Published on 18/04/2018
» If events over the past two weeks do not convince the government to write an actual law covering computer fraud, maybe nothing will. The first unfortunate event was to threaten a Chiang Mai magazine editor with a computer crime charge over something that had nothing to do with computers (or crime, come to that). The second was the reluctant admission by the country's second mobile phone company of security misbehaviour, putting tens of thousands of customers at risk. That is not a crime.