Showing 1 - 10 of 22
Real barriers to temple reform
Editorial, Published on 01/02/2026
» After a year of temple scandals, Thailand's top monks have promised a great clean-up. The orders sound bold. The question is whether a feudal system built on censorship, obedience and patronage can truly reform itself.
Power with no sensitivity
Oped, Editorial, Published on 26/12/2025
» The border may be contested, but the message sent by bulldozing a Hindu god was unmistakable -- and damaging.
Uyghurs questioned
Oped, Editorial, Published on 01/03/2025
» The Paetongtarn Shinawatra government has dismissed the local and global outcry over the repatriation of 40 Uyghurs to China, insisting -- albeit unconvincingly -- it's a "happy ending" for all. Really?
Temple row stirs rivalry
Oped, Editorial, Published on 22/02/2025
» A fresh dispute over an ancient temple on the Thai-Cambodian border in Surin requires all those involved to keep cool heads.
Reform, or repeat monk scandals
Editorial, Published on 27/10/2024
» A senior monk promoting what is alleged to be a pyramid scheme disguised as an online direct sales company reveals just how far the clergy has strayed from Buddha's teachings.
Bdap's arrest a litmus test
Oped, Editorial, Published on 15/06/2024
» As Thailand vies for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for the 2025-2027 term -- something the previous Prayut government failed to do -- the arrest of Y Quynh Bdap, a Vietnamese political activist with UN refugee status, will serve as a litmus test for Thailand's human rights standards.
Saffron swindlers
Oped, Editorial, Published on 22/03/2024
» The news of the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct this week handing a 480-year-plus jail term to a former abbot for embezzling temple donations is shocking enough. But the story gets even more convoluted.
Air quality vs tradition
Oped, Editorial, Published on 10/02/2024
» Over the past few years, government agencies have tried, with limited success, to convince worshippers to stop burning incense during Chinese New Year in Thailand.
School feuds flare
News, Editorial, Published on 16/11/2023
» The senseless death of a schoolteacher killed by a stray bullet fired by a suspect believed to be involved in rivalry between vocational students highlights an urgent need to address the toxic enmity between such vocational institutes.
Time to solve Uighur saga
Oped, Editorial, Published on 24/02/2023
» The death of Aziz Abdullah, a Uighur detainee at Bangkok's Immigration Detention Centre, is the epitome of the government's mishandling of those escaping China's southwestern Xinjiang region as well as the Muslim minority group's long-forgotten plight on Thai soil.