Showing 1 - 10 of 236
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.
When repressive states choose terror over death
News, Alan Clements, Published on 23/01/2026
» Fyodor Dostoevsky -- one of the few writers to survive state terror and return with a psychology sharp enough to indict it.
Parties silent on temple corruption
Editorial, Published on 18/01/2026
» The monk scandals that shocked Thailand in 2025 are not the result of moral lapses among clerics. They are the outcome of decades of governance failure. Addressing them requires political solutions. As the country prepares to form a new government in the coming months, there is hope for policy, not religious excuses.
PC Plod visits female monks
Oped, Editorial, Published on 30/11/2025
» Barely a week after the Anutin government issued its new ministerial regulations to "protect" Buddhism, police last week showed up at a Bhikkhuni monastery in Songkhla.
Myanmar junta readies for sham poll
News, Nay Phone Latt, Published on 11/10/2025
» Myanmar's military leader, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, who currently serves as both the army's commander in chief and the country's head of state, has reshuffled the government's administrative structure in preparation for planned elections later this year.
Dubious tax plan
Oped, Postbag, Published on 06/10/2025
» Re: "Minister pledges to finally implement B300 tourism tax", (Business, Oct 4).
Historic preservation needs you and me
Oped, Kanitha Kasina-Ubol, Published on 29/09/2025
» Thais deeply revere our heritage. Millions of us visit museums, temples, old towns, and monuments every year.
Honest monks hung out to dry
Editorial, Published on 28/09/2025
» A series of monk scandals and temple corruption cases in recent months has prompted the Ecclesiastical Council to order all temples to make their accounts transparent. But good intentions are not enough. Without systemic support, the order may prove hollow.
Windsor Castle back in the limelight
Roger Crutchley, Published on 21/09/2025
» Windsor Castle has been in the news this week for reasons that require no explanation. Suffice to say the Brits are still quite good at putting on a show with plenty of horses, hats and bagpipes.
Patients lost in temple scandal
Editorial, Published on 14/09/2025
» For the patients at Wat Phra Bat Namphu, the scandal around its former abbot has revived an old fear: being abandoned all over again.