Showing 1 - 10 of 76
Kids in face of criminal justice system
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 21/02/2024
» Passions are raised understandably when children are alleged to have committed crimes. Yet, a balanced approach is required; emotions need to be moderated, and rationalisation needs to be advocated.
Key portals to Global Digital Compact
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 09/02/2024
» This year will witness the formulation and adoption of the UN-backed Global Digital Compact if all goes as planned. It will provide a policy framework for digital relations worldwide, although not yet equivalent to a binding treaty. What, then, are the stakes, the key portals to the digital future?
Poll outcome invites shared wisdom
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 22/05/2023
» That was the week that was, beginning on May 14, 2023, Thailand's monumental and momentous national election day. The results of the election were historically in favour of democratic change, with the Move Forward Party (MFP) gaining the most seats in the Lower House. It is leading a coalition of parties, aspiring to form the next government and winning over 310 seats in total, despite shenanigans from arch-conservatives.
Some good news for freedom of speech
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 13/05/2023
» The World Press Freedom Day, concurrently May 3, was celebrated recently with a panel discussion at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand, which provided a fresh opportunity to catch up with news, especially on Thailand. It was also an occasion to reflect on international developments concerning the shrinking space for the free flow of information ("info-inhibition") in various settings.
A broken system
Life, Suwitcha Chaiyong, Published on 24/04/2023
» Last year, Mintra Chuawangkham, better known as Minton, a young female influencer with 3.5 million followers on TikTok and 1.92 million subscribers on YouTube, revealed in a video that she had been stalked and sexually harassed by a security guard for a year. The security guard also created a fake Facebook account pretending to be her. The fake account defamed the influencer by posting false information about their sexual relationship. He created a fake marriage licence and tried to deceive other people into believing that they were a couple. He also posted many creepy messages which expressed his sexual desire for her on social media.
Free vs hate speech as world changes
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 28/12/2022
» While the Asia-Pacific region is home to a wealth of constructive traditions and practices, it is also confronted with the conundrum of how to protect freedom of expression at the same time as tackling hate speech which is rampant today. A morass of laws of a prohibitive and inhibitive kind are emerging, entrenching censorship and self-censorship, especially in the face of more authoritarian trends, rather than a broader range of actions to respect a diversity of opinions and to counter incitement to hatred.
Let's talk about gun control in Thailand
Oped, Boonwara Sumano, Published on 12/10/2022
» Oct 6 marks one of the most tragic days in Thailand's history. Back in 1976, hundreds of students and protesters were attacked and killed at Thammasat University's Tha Prachan campus. Last week, 37 people, 24 of them preschool kids, lost their lives in a gun and knife attack at a childcare centre in Nong Bua Lam Phu province.
Beating scams, trafficking no easy task
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 01/09/2022
» This region has been in the news in recent weeks in regard to online scams and human trafficking, compounded by other forms of exploitation such as forced labour and forced criminality.
UN review shows human rights flaws
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 17/11/2021
» The international human rights system consists primarily of two parts: international human rights treaties to which countries are invited to become parties on the basis of their consent, and the UN's own jurisdiction, through the UN Human Rights Council, covering all countries even if they do not consent to the coverage. The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) belongs to the latter part of the system and Thailand's recent appearance before this process on Nov 10, in public and online, was eye-opening.
People-centric attitude to data safety
Oped, Published on 13/10/2021
» Cyber attacks and ransomware have become crimes of modern digital society. Yet, in Thailand what is of new concern is the attack on government database sources -- particularly those of state hospitals.