Showing 1 - 10 of 27
The art of persuasion
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 10/02/2026
» Following the Siamese Revolution, the country held its first general election and only indirect vote on Nov 15, 1933. Voters chose village representatives, who then elected candidates in their province to enter parliament. In the run-up to the country's first poll, Samran I-machai, an MP candidate in Ayutthaya, handed out booklets to voters.
Getting soft power right
Life, Prof Apinan Poshyananda, 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.
Very soft Thai power in the making
Life, Apinan Poshyananda, Published on 20/09/2023
» Since the recent return of Thaksin Shinawatra after 15 years of self-exile to Bangkok and the parliamentary selection of Srettha Thavisin as Thailand's 30th prime minister on the same day, politics and culture have unfolded with drama and excitement.
The tough road to democratisation
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 03/10/2022
» Taiwan has been hailed as a textbook example of a successful transition to democracy. At the end of the civil war in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Kuomintang (KMT), lost to Mao Zedong's communist forces and fled to the island. After almost four decades of martial law until 1987, Taiwan eventually held its first presidential election in 1996.
Calls made for Bob Marley to be named Jamaican hero
Life, Reuters, Published on 06/06/2022
» A Jamaican legislator is asking the country's parliament to name reggae legend Bob Marley a national hero, an effort that comes amid rising nationalism in English-speaking Caribbean countries that are distancing themselves from their colonial past.
Malaysian rapper defends controversial China satire Fragile as views hit 30m
Life, AFP, Published on 17/11/2021
» A rapper who penned a viral Mandarin pop song poking fun at Chinese nationalists said on Monday he had no regrets about being blacklisted by Beijing as his track hit more than 30 million views on YouTube.
Pawns in a hellish blame game
Life, Thana Boonlert, Published on 02/02/2021
» Two decades ago, Sar left her bleak rural village in Myanmar's Mon State for Thailand. In those days, she was taught by her mother to do chores only. She cooked and cleaned day in and day out. Her mother did not allow her to go outside alone. She discouraged her daughter from going to the cinema with friends out of fear she would "stray from the course".
Nakhon Phanom: More than meets the eye
Life, Karnjana Karnjanatawe, Published on 07/01/2021
» The public space along the Mekong in the town of Nakhon Phanom was quite bright. It was illuminated by the yellow light of street lamps and colourful decorative lights to celebrate Christmas and the New Year. The ambience highly contrasted with the other side of the river, a quiet scene of the reserved forest of the Phou Hin Poun National Protected Area in Khammouane Province in Laos.
How real is reel?
Life, Aditya Pareek, Published on 17/07/2020
» Veteran journalist and professor of journalism Narendra Kaushik has tried to tackle a very niche subject in his book Mahatma Gandhi In Cinema. The book primarily deals with the portrayal of Gandhi in Hindi cinema and how in sync the filmmakers' version of Gandhi is to the real life all too human, flesh and blood Mahatma as he is recorded in the pages of history.
A unity of none
Life, Sawarin Suwichakornpong, Published on 17/04/2020
» In the morning of Aug 25, 2017, a group of militants belonging to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) unco-ordinatedly attacked police and border guards in northern Arakan (Rakhine) state, killing at least 12 officers. The Myanmar Armed Forces, known as the Tatmadaw, retaliated by launching a military counter-insurgency campaign in order to capture the perpetrators who attacked the border garrisons.