Selatan

Well too bad the Thais swallowed the Western narrative that the Chinese loans were "debt traps" and so they decided to finance it on their own. Only problem was that they didn't really have the money, and so the project progresses at a snail's pace. China doesn't mind if the borrowers default on their loans. The loans were given as a way to divert the huge USD holdings away from the US without strengthening the yuan, which would be bad for exports. Which is better? US defaulted or 100 countries defaulted?

Infidels like me in Malaysia simply ignore the fidels. Ethnic Malay politicians use religion to gain votes, so they often try to outdo each other in showing off who is the bigger defender of Islam. We can eat non-halal food, drink and gamble legally. Non-Malays like me are discriminated from entering public universities and the civil service, so we simply go into business or join the private sector and study at private universities.

Of course he had googled for the exact quote, but he definitely knew some history about the project in the first place.

You must be the rare farang that knew about the whole story, and/or very interested in a better rail infrastructure in Thailand.

I am rather surprised that most farangs here did not know that Chinese companies were not involved in the HSR construction in Thailand. The level of hatred for China is unbelievable.

Many EV manufacturers in China have switched to the much safer LFP battery. Scooter batteries however, are mostly of the older lithium ion NCM/NCA battery type. Older BYD hybrids also used NCM batteries but newest BYD hybrids have switched to LFPs. And of course BYD EVs use mainly LFPs.

My guess is automotive parts. Here in Malaysia, in the past, whenever I need to replace any car part, my mechanic usually propose parts from either Malaysia or Thailand. Nowadays? Almost always, parts from China, because they are cheaper and surprisingly better quality than the Thai and Malaysian versions.

Tesla and other foreign automakers also received subsidies from China. It depends on how many EVs that they have sold. Because BYD sold more EVs than Tesla, it received more subsidies. EU Concerns About Chinese Subsidies: What the Evidence Suggests

Pakistan's Hangor class submarines use CHD620 engines. Hangor class submarines are of the same class of submarines ordered by Thailand. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangor-class_submarine The CHD620 is a licensed version of the German MTU 396. China had produced CHD620 engines for export to Germany. https://www.defensemirror.com/news/35501/Chinese_Submarine_Engine_is_a_Licensed_produced_German_Powerplant__Thai_Navy_Chief

Please read some history books, will you? China had saved Thailand's ass twice. First time was after the fall of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. China attacked Burma from the North which forced the invading Burmese army to retreat from Siam. The second time was during Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia, which was putting Thailand at risk. China attacked Vietnam from the North which forced some Vietnamese forces to pull back from Cambodia. Both Myanmar and Vietnam had been at war with Thailand many times in the past. China? Never.

Thailand did not borrow any money from China for this project. That's probably the reason why it is progressing at a snail's pace.

Laos is stuck in a poverty trap since forever and this railway is a way out of this trap but it takes time. At the moment, most of the goods moving up and down this railroad are either Chinese or Thai goods because Laos has nothing much to sell to China. Because Laos was land-locked, its people mostly practiced subsistence agriculture. What it needs are foreign entrepreneurs and investors.

The Confederates were allowed to secede or not? That was the question. Not who fired the first shot. History is full of false flag operations and misunderstandings. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident marks the point of the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War. If Japan was not intending to conquer China, that incident would have been a minor issue, but it was used to justify a full-scale war with China. The same with the Fort Sumter shooting - it's just one bloody excuse. Ditto the Gulf of Tonkin incident and the Vietnam War. It's not up to Taiwan to agree or not. Taiwan has an even bigger fertility problem than on the mainland. Its barracks are emptying out. It just doesn't have enough men to defend the island in the future. Also, more and more sectors of Taiwan's economy have been lost to the mainland. Semiconductors is next. And no, China is not going to invade Taiwan to seize the TSMC factories, contrary to popular Western opinion. All China needs to do is wait, until Taiwan's economy goes down the drain, because it will, due to Taiwan's very low fertility rate and ageing population.

What was the reason Beijing opposed that 1996 amendment? So that the LegCo may be given the opportunity to legislate the laws on its own after the 1997 handover?

Who are these "many" that you are referring to? So-called "China experts" from the West? Didn't you notice that so many predictions about China have been wrong in the past? Look at how desperate the US is in trying to contain the rise of China. How come? Because their "China experts" have mostly been wrong in their predictions. One thing I noticed about China is that their government is pretty good at solving problems. Air pollution problems? Huge improvement in their cities already. Poverty problems? Extreme poverty mostly gone.