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  • LIFE

    Going bananas over Chinese investment

    Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 20/04/2016

    » Kluai hom -- or the Cavendish banana -- found itself in the spotlight recently on social media and in local news. The issue involves Chinese investors renting land in Chiang Rai to grow kluai hom. Local villagers complained about water because the farm sucked up a large volume of it, leaving so little for local farmers. Fears about the use of chemical fertilisers also arose. Another problem is that the practice might be against the law, which reserves the occupation of farmer for Thais. The public is alarmed because Chinese-backed kluai hom farming in Laos has already proved a disaster. Toxic pesticides are dumped into the river, while environmental management is below par.

  • OPINION

    Thais must face up to China reality

    News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 28/03/2016

    » There has always been a special bond between China and Thailand, which hosts the largest overseas Chinese community in the world. In Thai culture, the Chinese influence is easily traced, through descendants whose origins can be found in rural areas of the southern Chinese mainland, from where their ancestors fled poverty, communism and political oppression to the more hospitable environs of Thailand.

  • BUSINESS

    Open economy evangelist

    Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 14/08/2017

    » New Zealand has long been known for kiwi fruit, lamb and the invincible All Blacks, the fearsome national rugby team. But in the global economic sphere, the country is also known as a champion of open economies and free trade. Last year, the country was rated the world's second-best place to do business by Forbes magazine. That helps confirm its reputation in the field of trade -- and explains why the British government chose a New Zealander to head its post-Brexit trade negotiating team.

  • THAILAND

    Civic group seeks China green help to stymie dam

    News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 06/03/2018

    » Local civic groups will seek help from Friends of Nature (FON), a renowned conservation group in China, for its campaign against dam projects on the Mekong River.

  • BUSINESS

    The case for more female leaders

    Asia focus, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 10/04/2017

    » During a school swimming class, an East German girl with pale blonde hair stood at the edge of the high diving board, staring down at the pool below for 45 minutes. Just before the class bell rang, she finally jumped. Angela Merkel was determined to overcome her fears, no matter how long it took.

  • OPINION

    Forget coal and embrace Energy 3.0

    News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 20/02/2017

    » The protesters are clad in green T-shirts. They raise banners which read "No Coal", "Save the Environment". The place is Government House. The scene feels like deja vu. I have to pinch myself as it seems like I am back in the late 90s, a time when environmental protests were frequent across the country.

  • OPINION

    Double-edged sword called Section 44

    News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 06/03/2017

    » At first, the interim charter's Section 44 appears like a hidden sword that a knight in shining armour brings out only to fight a justifiable cause. Indeed, Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha makes us believe so. Power and force will be used when necessary and applied constructively, we are told.

  • LIFE

    Banana split

    Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 17/08/2016

    » High on the list of fruits Thais cannot live without is kluai namwa, or cultivated banana, a tropical strand only grown in South and Southeast Asia. The cultivated banana has long been an affordable, ubiquitous food staple for Thais, the same way apples are for Westerners.

  • LIFE

    Sojourn in Siam 

    Life, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 21/12/2015

    » The Siamese Trail Of Ho Chi Minh -- the third book by Bangkok-based writer Teddy Spha Palasthira -- has come out in an interesting time. Not only did Vietnam celebrate the 40th year of the country's reunification earlier this year, but the Asean Economic Community (AEC) is set to become active next month, with a promise to bring the relationships and history of the region into public attention.

  • THAILAND

    Thai youth leaders get to quiz Obama

    News, Anchalee Kongrut, Published on 07/09/2016

    » LUANG PRABANG - Two Thais will join some 200 youth leaders from Southeast Asia today in attending US President Barack Obama's town hall meeting in the historic town of Luang Prabang where they will have the chance to engage in a discussion with the president.

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