Showing 1 - 10 of 11
Humble 'pla tu' caught up in nets of destruction
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 19/12/2019
» I am a big fan of pla thu, or mackerel, one of the signature food ingredients of Thai cuisine. Eaten with decent nam prik -- shrimp paste chilli-based dip -- I would not trade this for any swanky dishes.
How Asean can avoid Mekong 'water war'
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 31/10/2019
» The Xayaburi Dam, the first dam built across the lower Mekong River, came on stream at an interesting time -- just a few days before Thailand hosts the 35th Asean Summit this weekend.
He who dares wins as Grisada leaves his mark
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 11/07/2019
» Prior to his appointment as Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister over a year ago, Grisada Boonrach, a former interior permanent secretary, had already been known as a man who always left his mark on offices of state that he served.
Forget coal and embrace Energy 3.0
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 20/02/2017
» The protesters are clad in green T-shirts. They raise banners which read "No Coal", "Save the Environment". The place is Government House. The scene feels like deja vu. I have to pinch myself as it seems like I am back in the late 90s, a time when environmental protests were frequent across the country.
Thais must face up to China reality
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 28/03/2016
» There has always been a special bond between China and Thailand, which hosts the largest overseas Chinese community in the world. In Thai culture, the Chinese influence is easily traced, through descendants whose origins can be found in rural areas of the southern Chinese mainland, from where their ancestors fled poverty, communism and political oppression to the more hospitable environs of Thailand.
Of me, my wellness and ThaiHealth
News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 21/01/2016
» The name "ThaiHealth" (Thai Health Foundation), a public organisation well oiled by "sin taxes" from cigarettes and alcohol companies, has become the talk of the town. The glare of the spotlight came early this month when Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha invoked Section 44 of the interim charter to sack seven of its board members for alleged "conflicts of interest".
Out of the mouths of babes
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 29/01/2014
» For the last two months I have been woken up by an unusual alarm the sound of a whistle, interspersed with an unknown song from a electronic organ amateurishly played by my young niece. The six-year-old girl has ritually practised her tune in the morning.
Stagingmy own protest
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 06/12/2013
» Sundays have always been my time of repose. My perfect Sunday is comprised of staying home and watching television mindlessly _ game shows, variety shows, slapstick gigs and low-budget soaps. Anything. But my bubble of carefree Thailand was pierced and blown away last Sunday, after protesters from the People's Democratic Reform Committee attempted to take control of free TV stations. PDRC protesters demanded that channels 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 and Thai PBS run only news of political protests and link up their signal to Bluesky, the mouthpiece of the Democrat party and de facto backer of the protests.
Blackout reveals no shortage of protest energy
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 31/05/2013
» Because of the recent epic blackout in the southern region of Thailand, Energy Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal told us that we need a new coal-fired power plant in Krabi and other provinces.
Don't speak: the art of toeing the line in China
Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 19/10/2012
» The most-heard line across China in the past week was ''Have you ever read a Mo Yan book?'' The question echoed in walkways, elevators and my office canteen. In Beijing, his books have been sold out since last Friday, shortly after he was announced the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Wall Street Journal immediately ran an excerpt of his new book which will be launched in January, while the share price of Xinhua Media, a partner of Shanghai Literature & Art, one of Mo's publishers, rose 10% in a single day's trade.