Showing 1 - 10 of 11
Bringing books back to life
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 06/09/2025
» Ketsarin Pramuanpat admits 150 patients every month to her clinic. Her day is more or less the same. She checks their health and treats injuries, whether minor or serious. But these patients are not humans -- they are books.
Rising rents threaten the vibrant street food scene of the once-booming Banthat Thong Road
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 09/06/2025
» As night fell, neon signs gradually lit up Instagrammable restaurants and cafes. Despite pouring rain, tourists were taking photos of a dessert shop's logo of a boy holding a bun at an iconic intersection. Some eateries were teeming with customers, with a long queue of them spilling onto the sidewalk. Some, less popular, saw staff sitting idle. Others put up advertisement for lease.
Equality still a dream
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 09/01/2023
» In the lead-up to its second reading, the civil partnership draft bill marks a decade since its inception, dating back to a gay couple who were denied legal recognition in 2012 because the law limits marriage to a man and a woman. Given the conservatism of earlier decades, civil partnership was "the first brick" at a time when marriage equality was almost inconceivable. However, history is often ignored. Despite its long journey in conjunction with the new bill, the uphill push for marriage rights will remain an unfinished business under the current government.
On the road to equality
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 13/09/2022
» Joyce Teng remembers the day when Taiwan's parliament passed the same-sex marriage bill in 2019, making it the first country in Asia to recognise such a union. Thousands of supporters erupted in joy outside the parliament building in the capital.
Graffiti artist follows his rebellious roots
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 06/06/2022
» A daubed wall marks off a rundown area where makeshift houses were put up for rent, a stone's throw from a luxury condominium in the heart of Bangkok's Sathon. A 40-year-old man exits his car with pink luggage. He puts on a black hat and ties a small cloth around his head. He's wearing a long-sleeve checked shirt, shorts, and black sneakers and his socks are printed with cannabis patterns. Mue Bon, literally translated as "restless hands", opens his arsenal and begins to spray paint a rough sketch of the flightless black bird on the wall.
Regulate in moderation
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 14/03/2022
» 'Section 32 has been very painful to me," said Wichian Inkraidee, an owner of Kacha Kacha, a Japanese restaurant. He was blacklisted and faced a hefty fine for breaking the draconian alcohol law. In the last hour of 2014, an inspector on patrol found an image of a glass of beer on the menu, which was claimed to promote drinking.
For all mankind
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 04/08/2021
» Over 60 years ago, Moscow launched a beach ball-sized aluminium satellite, Sputnik 1, into space for the first time in history. Its beep radio signal kicked off the space race between the Soviet Union and America at the height of the Cold War. When US astronaut Neil Armstrong landed on the Moon, his small step became "one giant leap for mankind".
The fight for equality continues
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 21/06/2021
» All eyes are set on the Constitutional Court who will soon decide whether to accept a watershed case in the battle for marriage equality. Permsap Sae-Ung and Puangphet Hengkham have lived together for over 10 years but their marriage registration request was rejected by the Phasi Charoen District Office. In response to this, they filed a complaint with the Central Juvenile and Family Court, which forwarded the case to the Constitutional Court for ruling on Section 1448 of the Civil and Commercial Code that allows only heterosexual couples to tie the knot.
Cancellation of period tax proposal in limbo
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 10/06/2021
» A gender advocacy group fears that a campaign for scrapping the tax on period products will stall due to political instability.
Storekeepers see silver lining
News, Thana Boonlert, Published on 29/04/2020
» Many business operators in Bangkok who will be allowed to reopen are jumping for joy as they prepare to start pulling in money, albeit under the shadow of Covid-19.