Showing 1 - 10 of 46
Another wasted year in Thai politics
Oped, Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Published on 26/12/2025
» As Thailand winds down 2025 with an early election looming on Feb 8, the most consequential issue to watch in the coming year will be whether recent topsy-turvy political patterns of polls, protests, and military and judicial interventions give way to a compromise between the old guard clinging on to vested interests and the new generation clamouring for reform and change.
Three shocks that shook us in 2025
Oped, Yanis Varoufakis, Published on 24/12/2025
» This was the year that the remaining pillars of the late-20th-century order were shattered, exposing the hollow core of what passed for a global system. Three blows sufficed.
Baht headache
Oped, Postbag, Published on 18/12/2025
» Re: "BoT cracks down on surging baht", (Business, Dec 17). While the baht's currency strength is an ever-more concerning issue, as pointed out numerous times, what is rarely mentioned is the likely excess Thai foreign reserves, nearing an astonishing US$270 billion.
Artists resist repression in Thailand, US
Oped, Sally Tyler, Published on 08/12/2025
» In late August, two seemingly unrelated events occurred in Thailand and the US. The Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) altered a major exhibit it had recently opened and, a few weeks later, the comedian Jimmy Kimmel was temporarily taken off the air by the ABC television network. These events are linked as forms of artistic repression and perhaps more concerning, as examples of the growing use of intermediary censorship by authoritarian regimes.
Thai-Sino ties take new steps
Oped, Zhang Jianwei, Published on 13/11/2025
» In China's diplomacy with neighbouring countries, the friendly relations between China and Thailand have always sparkled. The many "firsts" created in this relationship have vividly demonstrated the special bond of "China and Thailand are as close as one family" as well as a firm belief of the two countries in working hand in hand for common development, bringing great benefits to the people, and setting a shining example of regional cooperation.
Forget the gloom
Oped, Postbag, Published on 03/11/2025
» Re: "Thailand now 'the sick man of Asean'", (Opinion, Oct 30).
The promise and peril of Bangladesh's 'youthquake'
Oped, M Niaz Asadullah, Published on 20/08/2025
» The past year has been marked by a series of revolutions and political shocks as young people across Asia and Africa have taken to the streets, demanding accountable governments, fairer societies, and economic opportunities -- a wave of resistance that Binaifer Nowrojee has aptly termed "youthquakes".
Art freedom under fire
Oped, Editorial, Published on 13/08/2025
» The Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (BACC) is in hot water after it succumbed to pressure from the Chinese embassy by censoring an art exhibition on its premises.
US-China trade truce didn't solve rare earths riddle
Oped, Imran Khalid, Published on 27/06/2025
» Amid the swirl of headlines about a US-China trade breakthrough in London on June 11, it is reported that US President Donald Trump said the US and China had made a "great deal" -- with China agreeing to supply US companies with magnets and rare earth metals, while the US would walk back its threats to revoke visas of Chinese students.
How might China manage Trump's tariff war?
Oped, Shang-Jin Wei, Published on 24/04/2025
» China has taken a tough stance against US President Donald Trump, matching the last two rounds of US tariffs with tariffs of its own. The US tariff on goods from China is now 145%, while China's is 125%. Why does China take such a position, and are there any off-ramps that would allow it to mitigate the costs of a prolonged trade war?