• OPINION

  Who wants a child amid such instability?

  Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 01/03/2021

  » A few weeks ago, the Ministry of Public Health launched a programme titled "Life Balance Smart Family" to pair singles and support soon-to-wed couples in childbearing. The policy came after Thailand was found to have the lowest total fertility rate in its history, dropping below 600,000 infant births for the first time last year. This has brought the birth rate down to 1.51, which is far below the World Health Organisation's recommendation of 2.1.

• OPINION

  Always spread your bets around

  Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 03/05/2021

  » The World Health Organisation had hailed Thailand's handling of the novel coronavirus at its peak early last year, noting that cooperation and health measures are the keys to success. However, the third wave of the viral pandemic has thrown us into chaos. It has raised the number of infections to over 65,000 and deaths to more than 200, stretching the country's public health system to its limit. What can we learn from this?

• OPINION

  Rebel courage can be a force for needed change

  Oped, Thana Boonlert, Published on 03/09/2021

  » Clad in khaki uniform, a civil servant gave a three-finger salute even though he knew he could face a disciplinary probe. Nevertheless, he made a moral choice in defiance of the rules and norms that expect bureaucrats to remain politically impartial.

• OPINION

  A cult of nothingness

  Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 06/09/2021

  » Last week, coup-installed senators convened in the corridors of power. When one senator tabled a motion for the virtuous council, I felt like we had travelled back in time to the Second World War. In 1939, the government of Field Marshal Plaek Phibunsongkhram issued cultural mandates to strengthen Siam in the context of the global war.

• OPINION

  No one benefits as old regime drags out its end

  Oped, Thana Boonlert, Published on 01/10/2021

  » Standing together in a space demarcated as a forbidden area, two actors began to spread red paint over their bodies and create flags out of ropes and twigs. When they ran wild and cried out "Long live the people!" the message could not be clearer. Performed by the Layyim Theatre group, the gig was a part of the rally held by the United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration (UFTD) to commemorate the first year of the movement. It was held in front of the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre on Sunday.

• OPINION

  Will liberal arts perish much like razed Scala?

  Oped, Thana Boonlert, Published on 13/11/2021

  » Surrounded by a tall fence, the once-grand Scala, the last stand-alone cinema in Bangkok -- a quasi Cinema Paradiso for movie buffs -- was razed to rubble and thus no more.

• OPINION

  Migrants seek better times close to home

  Oped, Thana Boonlert, Published on 07/01/2022

  » Carrying a large rucksack, I bought a ticket and walked into a crowded bus terminal in Ekamai where thousands of passengers, wearing face masks, were counting down the clock to return home for the long holidays. The vast station was packed as New Year drew closer. When I got on the bus, a familiar luk thung song was being played, evoking memories.

• OPINION

  Euthanasia a service not a sin for the elderly

  Oped, Thana Boonlert, Published on 04/02/2022

  » Have you ever imagined how you might die in old age? I remember once telling a close friend that I would use a "sleeping pod" -- if euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide were legal. But in Thailand, it is only terminally ill patients who have the right to forgo treatment in such a way that allows them to die "naturally". Under Section 12 of the Public Health Act, they can make a will denying the use of public health services that would prolong the end stage of their illness.

• OPINION

  Pitfalls on path to equality

  Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 28/02/2022

  » In the future, the family frontier will be expanded. The declining population is posing a challenge to the country in the midst of a brain drain due to political conflict. Given the demographic crisis, public health officials are seeking an amendment to allow commercial surrogacy. However, the slow progress of the marriage law for same-sex couples can put their desire for parenthood on hold.

• OPINION

  Heritage is not soft power

  Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 02/05/2022

  » Harvard University Professor Joseph Nye coined the term "soft power", or the ability to obtain preferred outcomes by attraction, rather than coercion or payment, in his book Bound To Lead in 1990. However, he has since seen his brainchild, scribbled out on his kitchen table, grow in scope of application and distance.

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