Showing 1 - 10 of 34
A fond farewell to the poster people
Oped, Roger Crutchley, Published on 08/02/2026
» For a couple of months the streets in Bangkok and throughout Thailand have been decorated with posters of political candidates. But now the Big Day has arrived and soon the posters will disappear. In a strange sort of way, I will miss their presence as they were at least something to look at when stuck in the traffic. They generally appeared to be a cheerful lot, beaming at us with big cheesy grins as one would expect in the Land of Smiles.
Waste scheme falters
Oped, Editorial, Published on 02/10/2025
» Public confusion and registration system glitches beset the launch of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's "No Mixed Waste" programme that took effect yesterday.
When Labubu dolls transform into a protest symbol
Oped, Jackie Mansky, Published on 17/09/2025
» I was surprised to see Labubus, the mega-popular toy monsters with Puck-like grins, staring at me in the crowd at anti-ICE demonstrations in Los Angeles in June.
Vietnam steps up as a regional leader
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 19/08/2025
» Vietnam wisely chose South Korea to showcase a new strategic-economic partnership in the region, focusing on growing trade, investment, and diplomatic cooperation. As the first country to dispatch a top leader to meet newly elected President Lee Jae-myung, the Hanoi government sends a clear signal to both Northeast and Southeast Asia that South Korea and Vietnam are emerging together as a driving force of regional connectivity and economic growth.
Why is North Korea courting Russian tourists?
Oped, Saahil Menon, Published on 13/08/2025
» Hoping to replenish state coffers with much-needed foreign exchange reserves and offset the sharp post-Covid decline in Chinese tour groups, the Hermit Kingdom has set its sights on inquisitive holiday-makers from an ideologically aligned Russia.
Not so pretty
Oped, Postbag, Published on 13/05/2025
» Re: "'White Lotus' boon yet to materialise", (Business, May 10).
China's 'grey zone' tactics pressure Taiwan
Oped, John J. Metzler, Published on 10/04/2025
» China's growing naval power is regularly and systematically harassing the waters around Taiwan in what appears to be rehearsal exercises for a future invasion of the self-ruled democratic island. Units of the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), as well as swarms of military aircraft, regularly probe the waters and skies near Taiwan, often crossing into the island's sovereign airspace and waters.
Tower collapse puts builder in spotlight
Oped, Philip J Cunningham, Published on 02/04/2025
» Even before the dust settled in Bangkok after the March 28 quake, China Railway's 10th Bureau was deleting posts and photos about its key role in constructing the infamous collapsed building.
Agent of insurrection Trump's 'Cultural Revolution'
Oped, Orville Schell, Published on 21/02/2025
» When US President Donald Trump's factotum, JD Vance, held forth on Europe's "threat from within" at the recent Munich Security Conference, his audience was left struggling to make sense of America's confounding new approach to foreign policy. Chinese President Xi Jinping, for his part, has been relatively silent since Mr Trump's return to the White House -- but that doesn't mean he is any less vexed by what it portends. Nor could he have been reassured by Mr Trump's brazen response to a question last October about what he would do if Mr Xi blockaded Taiwan: "Xi knows I'm f***ing crazy!"
Fujimori's Peru and the price of neoliberal success
Oped, Antara Haldar, Published on 10/10/2024
» The script of Latin American politics too often reads like a "dictator novel," and on Sept 11, another chapter drew to a close with the death of Alberto Fujimori. As the president who most defined -- and divided -- modern Peru, his legacy remains a topic of heated debate. One version of Fujimori's epitaph would commend his economics and condemn his politics, but the deeper lesson his life story offers may be that it is impossible to separate the two.