Showing 111 - 120 of 532
Rail deals must have accountability
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 03/05/2019
» Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's recent participation in the second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) in Beijing was problematic on many levels. On what basis did Gen Prayut negotiate a rail deal between Thailand and China? What are the details and cost-benefit considerations of this deal? The lack of transparency and public accountability surrounding the Thailand and China rail plan is likely to pose future questions and problems for a huge infrastructure project Thailand can use, but according to whose terms its people must be the main beneficiary.
Understanding Japan's Indo-Pacific initiative
News, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 18/04/2019
» After making painstaking revisions in the past 18 months, Japan has come out with the region's most comprehensive policy -- the Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) initiative. Tokyo's new framework calls for closer cooperation among countries in Asia and Africa, the world's two most dynamic continents. With this plan, Japan has put its 60 years of post-war diplomatic and economic developmental experience into a single coherent policy that might well last throughout the 21st century.
Developing skills the key to learning
Oped, Published on 25/03/2019
» The term “education for the 21st Century” recognises that we are living through a period of rapid change in an increasingly globalised environment, to which education systems need to adapt, not just through a one-off reform, but continuously.
What to look for in Thai election results
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 22/03/2019
» Elections are often a referendum on incumbencies. Voters are asked whether they like what they have seen from government and whether they want continuity or change in view of competing alternatives. In the same vein, Thailand's momentous election on March 24, after a nearly eight-year hiatus that includes almost five years under military-authoritarian rule, is an opportunity to see what the governed prefer to have as their government. Here are some of early telltale signs that portend the political directions ahead.
Invest in Thai youth for the future
News, Thomas Davin, Published on 18/03/2019
» Thailand has made remarkable progress in social and economic development over the past few decades. But it still faces several challenges in ensuring that development gains are equally shared by all.
Army-backed regime pulls poll disguises
News, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 15/03/2019
» At issue in the looming election is less about Thailand's return to democratic rule and more about the country's slide into long-term military-authoritarianism with democratic disguises. The most recent military seizure of power on May 22, 2014, appears increasingly like a coup to remake all coups. However the votes are decided, the army-backed junta under the National Council for Peace and Order, spearheaded by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, intends to stay for the long haul.
The silence over China's Muslims in Xinjiang
News, Gwynne Dyer, Published on 13/03/2019
» Muslim governments were not silent when Myanmar murdered thousands of Rohingya, its Muslim minority, and expelled 700,000 of them across the border into Bangladesh. They were unanimous in their anger when the Trump administration moved the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. But they are almost silent on China's attempt to suppress Islam in its far western province, Xinjiang.
Europe on brink of revolution as elections loom
News, Published on 14/02/2019
» Europe is sleepwalking into oblivion, and the people of Europe need to wake up before it is too late. If they don't, the European Union will go the way of the Soviet Union in 1991. Neither our leaders nor ordinary citizens seem to understand that we are experiencing a revolutionary moment, that the range of possibilities is very broad, and that the eventual outcome is thus highly uncertain.
Reforms needed to fix Thai schools
News, Published on 09/02/2019
» Despite all the lofty goals and tremendous effort made to improve the state of Thai education recently, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's military government has failed to bring about essential reforms.
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.