Selatan

Thailand land borders are rather porous. Malaysian fugitives often choose to cross into Thailand by land illegally to escape from the law. If criminal gangs want to set up shop in another country, they would go for some kind of a long term residency visa or even try to gain citizenship. In recent crackdowns on money laundering in Singapore, many of the Chinese suspects have Cambodian citizenships. So, if Thailand really wants to clamp down on criminals coming in from China, it better tightens up regulations on long-term visas instead.

Visitors from Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines and Indonesia can enter Thailand visa-free. Are you trying to say that the people from those few countries are richer and better educated than the Chinese?

Is the system in Malaysia that was set up by the British democratic? Over here in Malaysia, our senators are also appointed, not elected. And only the Malaysian king can decide who becomes the prime minister, not the members of parliament of both the lower house and the senate. Every country in the world is entitled to its own style of political system. Westerners do not have a monopoly on wisdom.

Don't talk nonsense. I'm a Malaysian. The 1MDB scandal didn't involve China. The US bank Goldman Sachs had to pay billions to Malaysia to avoid prosecution for its role in the 1MDB scandal.

Convicted criminals who have served their sentences don't have the right to travel?

Why should a commercial company listed in Hong Kong with shareholders from all over the world hand back a 99-year port concession for free if it has paid for it? Mind you, this company also owns ports all over the world, such as Miami and Houston in North America, Antwerp and Rotterdam in Europe and Busan and Singapore in Asia. It also owns another port in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Are you suggesting that this commercial company stupidly give away all its assets for free to every country that it has acquired from? China Merchant Port Holdings Co. Ltd.

You didn't bother to read the article by the Atlantic that I have provided?

Here's a good read: The Chinese ‘Debt Trap’ Is a Myth And here's a fact that many didn't know - that Sri Lanka's Hambantota port project were supported by two Western feasibility studies - first by a Canadian firm, then later by a Danish firm. Another fact is that the Sri Lanka had no problem servicing the Hambantota port loan - it was having a problem servicing other loans

If you want a project to be completed quicker and cheaper, you need more Chinese workers. In Malaysia, the local workers working on the Chinese-funded East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) complained that they could barely keep up with their Chinese counterparts. And if you want a project to begin earlier, you need Chinese loans, or else wait for years for your own funds to become available.

Hat Yai is a popular destination for those Malaysians who live in the northern states of Penang, Perak, Kedah and Perlis. Most of them arrive by road though. Most of the ethnic Chinese that I know, go there for the food and shopping. For Kuala Lumpur residents, Bangkok, Phuket and Chiang Mai are their favourite Thai destinations, not Hat Yai.

Prices in Thailand used to be cheap for us, Malaysians, but not for many years already. Prices alone do not deter us from visiting other countries. It's all about how attractive in terms of scenery, culture and food to many of us. Although some of us are attracted to the nightlife, generally speaking, most of the ethnic Chinese like me that I know, are not interested in that. The ethnic Malays, who have all sorts of religious restrictions imposed on them, may go there for the nightlife, but again, generally speaking, most ethnic Malays are also not interested in that too.

Haha. Never knew Joke stands for porridge in Thai. All the while I thought his nickname meant "laughing stock". The Thai word for porridge is definitely a Cantonese loanword, 粥 (jok, zuk) which stands for porridge. In Mandarin it is pronounced as zhou.

Chinese group tour travel starts again to 20 countries, but independent travellers have more choices than ever

You don't have to worry about the "junk" Sinovac/Sinopharm. Better for you to worry about mRNA vaccines instead: https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/1-severely-ill-sporean-china-travel-moh-ready-step-border-measures-2082726 SINGAPORE — Travellers from China account for about 1 to 1.5 per cent of arrivals to Singapore by air, or about 700 to 1,000 travellers each day. Of these, 40 to 80 Covid-19 cases are detected on a weekly basis. All have had mild symptoms except for one Singaporean who is "severely ill" with the coronavirus. For your information, Singaporeans are mostly vaccinated with mRNA vaccines.

https://codeblue.galencentre.org/2022/12/30/no-border-closures-or-mandatory-covid-tests-for-china-travellers/ KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 – The government has decided not to suspend the entry of visitors from China into Malaysia or to subject them to pre-departure or on-arrival Covid-19 testing. All arrivals are only screened for fever.

BF7 Omicron has an extremely high R0, from 10 to as high as 18, meaning one infected person can potential spread to 18 people. Most Chinese have caught Omicron only in the past few weeks. Due to the very high R0, China's infection peak may happen in just the next 2 weeks and then infection numbers will go down from then onwards.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/inactivated-vaccines-like-sinovac-may-prevent-severe-disease-in-covid-19-patients-study SINGAPORE - Though often considered inferior due to their induction of a lower antibody response compared with their mRNA counterparts, inactivated virus vaccines can play a role in preventing the development of severe Covid-19, a recent study has found. This research came out from Singapore, a country which mainly use mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer and Moderna.

Are you proposing that as a native Thai?

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-29/italy-has-not-found-new-covid-variants-in-first-tests Italy Says Covid Cases on China Arrivals Are Omicron

Looking back, I think I might have caught Covid 19 back in November 2019, in Malaysia. I had a terrible cold, the worse ever in my life, coughing terribly. I had to sleep on a chair and couldn't sleep on my bed. My neighbours had it too, because I could hear them coughing away the whole night. So, did Covid-19 originate from Wuhan? No idea.

Maybe you didn't like Chinese people? Nearly 80% of Singapore's population is ethnic Chinese. The rest are mostly Malays and Indians.

In Malaysia, when I deal with government departments, I use Malay and sometimes English. In business, I use mostly English. If the customer is an ethnic Chinese, I might use English, Mandarin or a Chinese dialect. If the customer is an ethnic Malay, I might use Malay or English. If the customer is an ethnic Indian, I might use English or Malay. Among family members, I use various Chinese dialects and English. When dealing with foreign workers, I use Malay.

Who are the top tourists to Thailand right now? Malaysians. Most Malaysians are bilingual and many are trilingual. A Chinese Malaysian like me can speak Malay, English and Mandarin. Most Singaporeans can speak English and Mandarin.

Traditional vaccines like Sinovac may prevent severe disease in Covid-19 patients: Study