Showing 1 - 10 of 18
Jimmy Lai, the HK tycoon who stood up to China
News, James Pomfret & Jessie Pang, Published on 17/12/2025
» Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media mogul and China critic, was found guilty on Monday on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of sedition under a China-imposed national security law that could see him jailed for life.
Abbot's dramatic fall from grace
Oped, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 01/09/2025
» Faith built his empire. Fraud destroyed it. Luang Por Alongkot's fall from grace leaves Thai Buddhism reeling, demanding long-overdue reform.
Violence tests peace hopes
Oped, Editorial, Published on 08/05/2025
» The escalating violence in the restive South in recent weeks is abominable. The random killings of almost a dozen people, mostly civilians, have seen the office of Chularajmontri -- the highest-ranking Thai Muslim cleric, who generally stays neutral -- joining condemnation of such acts.
Bizarre temple practices under fire
Oped, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 27/12/2024
» Seventy-one corpses; that's what police found in two forest monasteries, thrusting them into the public eye for all the wrong reasons.
Temple graft must stop
Oped, Editorial, Published on 03/10/2023
» The recent violent confrontation at Bang Khlan Temple in Pichit province was caused by one thing and one thing only: money. Last month, clerics, divided into two factions, protested in front of the famous temple.
Clergy reform long overdue
Oped, Editorial, Published on 09/05/2023
» The recent downfall of a well-known monk has again exposed a darker reality beneath the serene surface of Thai Buddhism: monks' sexual misconduct and the theft of temple funds.
The naked Ayatollah: A detour from Islamic theology
Oped, Reza Aslan, Published on 22/10/2022
» The nationwide protests in Iran over women's rights and abuses by the religious morality police have once again shone a light on the country's ruling clerical class and the seemingly limitless powers of the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
High-speed rail dilemma
Oped, Editorial, Published on 14/06/2022
» The medieval Dutch canonical cleric Thomas van Kempen once said, "The loftier the building, the deeper must the foundation be laid." Kempen the cleric was obviously talking in a metaphorical sense, using basic construction jargon to drive home his point on spiritual development.
Sex, money and monkhood don't mix
Oped, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 12/05/2022
» The latest sex scandal of a popular preacher "Luang Pi Kato" once again reveals how rotten the cleric system is.
Temple graft shows need for reform
News, Sanitsuda Ekachai, Published on 11/04/2022
» The country's latest temple corruption scandal occurred at a first-class royal monastery; the centre of a sect founded by reformist monarch King Mongkut to clean up the clergy. What an irony!