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  • LIFE

    Getting soft power right

    Life, Published on 08/01/2024

    » After three months in office, the Srettha Thavisin government has raved on about populist policies in the guise of digital wallets and soft power projects that will create income to boost our declining economy. With optimism, we learned that Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Pheu Thai party leader and head of the National Soft Power Strategy Committee (NSPSC), has drafted a budget of 5.1 billion baht to boost festivals and creative industries. It is welcoming news to hear this government is priortising art, music, literature, design, fashion, film, food, games, sports and festivals as essential sources for the creative economy. Where this enormous chunk of budget will come from, like digital wallets, remains to be seen.

  • OPINION

    And we're off again

    Oped, Postbag, Published on 06/12/2023

    » Re: "Festival wins Unesco recognition", (BP, Dec 2).

  • LIFE

    Death by a thousand cuts

    Life, Chris Baker, Published on 09/07/2021

    » The film director Apichatpong Weerasethakul, is the most celebrated Thai creative artist in the world today, awarded the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2010 and a string of other international prizes. After wrestling with the Thai censors, he decided first to stop showing his films in Thailand, and then to stop making his films here. He has recently been making a film with an international star cast in Colombia, almost exactly the opposite point on the globe, the farthest possible distance from Thailand on the planet.

  • THAILAND

    Thais 'yet to recover' from bloodshed, says Abhisit

    News, Nattaya Chetchotiros, Published on 17/05/2020

    » Former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says he always feels a deep sadness whenever the May 19 anniversary of the 2010 protest crackdown rolls around, as it marks the culmination of one of the darkest chapters in the country's political history; a chapter that fuels bitter divisions in society to this day.

  • LIFE

    Eyes wide open

    Life, Kong Rithdee, Published on 08/05/2020

    » The literature about modern Thai politics is not abundant, and by this I mean a narrative that grounds its characters in the double-whammy of coup d'etat and street protest that characterised the mid-2000s to mid-2010s. The period, plus a few years earlier when Thaksin Shinawatra rose to power, contains some of the most convulsive and era-defining moments that continue to shape the visible and invisible dimensions of Thai society in the present time, and it's astonishing that not more writers find it a rich wellspring of artistic expression (on the contrary, visual artists and theatre artists seem more responsive to the political currents of the same period).

  • OPINION

    Wake Up And Smell the Durian

    Guru, Pornchai Sereemongkonpol, Published on 21/05/2021

    » You know it's summer when boob/moob sweat stains appear on your clothes when you go out for a quick lunch. You know it's summer when khao chae floods your newsfeed and 7-Eleven feels like a sanctuary from the sunlight. You also know the hottest time of the year has arrived when you smell the durian.

  • OPINION

    Crisis of faith is reaching a crescendo

    Oped, Chairith Yonpiam, Published on 31/07/2021

    » The harsh words by MC Chulcherm Yugala, a staunch royalist, against the Prayut Chan-o-cha government, denouncing its poor handling of the Covid-19 outbreak, have stunned political observers and supporters of the prime minister. Given his senior royal status, the prince's criticism has triggered wild speculation over a possible new prime minister endorsed by the palace.

  • THAILAND

    Straying from the course

    News, Thana Boonlert, Published on 02/12/2020

    » Learning history from new sources has led to the "political awakening" underlying the youth-led movement's stance against "royalist nationalism", academics say.

  • OPINION

    Army unwilling to yield to democracy

    News, Erich Parpart, Published on 31/07/2019

    » For the country like Thailand where the military staged two putsches within the past 13 years, a coup d'état should no longer be necessary.

  • THAILAND

    Political turmoil blamed for GDP losses

    Business, Somruedi Banchongduang, Published on 28/08/2018

    » Thailand's political uncertainty over the past 20 years took a toll on the country's economic growth, shaving off 0.4 percentage points per year on average and depressing growth below its potential, according to a joint survey by the Bank of Thailand's Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research's (Pier).

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