TOM PLATE WRITES — Watch Thailand carefully. It may be that the only major element in the country that truly understands one-person, one-vote democracy is the Pheu Thai Party and its former elected Prime Ministers Thaksin (2001-2006) and younger sister Yingluck Shinawatra (2011-2014). Their political formula is simplicity itself: get…
The famous Southeast Asian, media commentator and political analyst “Pavin” visited LMU Friday (8 Oct.) to offer informal but deeply informed observations about the politics and government of contemporary Thailand. He was not optimistic that the current government could succeed; nor was he optimistic that a new government could easily…
THAILAND’S LEASDING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER BANGKOK POST REPORTS: “A former MP has filed a lese majeste complaint against Thaksin Shinawatra and two other people, as well as Matichon Plc, in connection with a translated book. ‘Jub Khao Kui Thaksin Shinawatra’ has been available in the local market for more than…
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST TOM PLATE WRITES (7 May) — More than almost any political crisis on the face of the earth today – more than in Russia, Ukraine and Crimea; even more, in a way, than in dreadfully miserable Syria – it is the crisis in Thailand that seems so sad.…
TOM PLATE WRITES: The stakes in the outcome of the ongoing Thai Crisis are huge and go beyond the strict parameters of the country itself. Geopolitically, Thailand has been a solid U.S. ally, particularly during the Cold War and the Vietnam War. Economically, it has been a vital force amid…
TOM PLATE WRITES IN HIS INTERNATIONALLY SYNDICATED COLUMN: – A country of beauty is in danger of turning into a beast. The Kingdom of Thailand, the land of the smiling people, the gorgeous countryside and a storied history as the once-upon-a-time Siam, now has a severe case of the political…
They’re at it again in Bangkok, reports the highly respected political website PRACHATAI. As its journalist Suluck Lamubol, writing for the site, tells us: “Asia Books, Thailand’s largest English language bookstore, on Thursday withdrew from their bookshelves two academic titles on Thai history, citing “political sensitivity.” The books concern the…
