Thai Pm On Hard Talk?

[grtaylor]

I have never liked the whole atmosphere of Hard Talk. I don't like the aggressive and rude interviewers who do not give the interviewee chance to answer their questions.

Having said that, I'm just watching Abhisit now on BBC, and I'm quite impressed with the way he is handling the "interrogation". I only wish he had come to power through the proper electoral process, and could be really given a fair chance to run this country properly.

[eek]

Im having a problem getting the http://www.bbcworldnews.com/Pages/Schedules.aspx link to load.

Can someone please post the schedule. Although, I have a feeling i missed the last airing. If so, a link to the interview online would be great.

[jbowman1993]

Im having a problem getting the http://www.bbcworldnews.com/Pages/Schedules.aspx link to load.

Can someone please post the schedule. Although, I have a feeling i missed the last airing. If so, a link to the interview online would be great.

Was on today at 930 bkk time. Will be repeated at 330 am bkk time.

[eek]

Thanks.

[Moonrakers]

I have never liked the whole atmosphere of Hard Talk. I don't like the aggressive and rude interviewers who do not give the interviewee chance to answer their questions.

Having said that, I'm just watching Abhisit now on BBC, and I'm quite impressed with the way he is handling the "interrogation". I only wish he had come to power through the proper electoral process, and could be really given a fair chance to run this country properly.

I think that's the whole point mate, no doubt it is called hard talk for a reason.

[thithi]

Then I would die to see him sweating on show.

[grtaylor]

I have never liked the whole atmosphere of Hard Talk. I don't like the aggressive and rude interviewers who do not give the interviewee chance to answer their questions.

Having said that, I'm just watching Abhisit now on BBC, and I'm quite impressed with the way he is handling the "interrogation". I only wish he had come to power through the proper electoral process, and could be really given a fair chance to run this country properly.

I think that's the whole point mate, no doubt it is called hard talk for a reason.

Disagree - I think there is a real difference between hard questioning, and not actually giving the person the chance to answer!

[yabaaaa]

So waht did they ask and what were the responses?

[caf]

Correct. He is not even scheduled to appear. This thread is just misinformation. Check with the BBC as I have just done.

No the the thread is a repeat of what was stated on the Thai News.

There are a couple of possible reasons why what the news stated v what occurs might not be the same thing.

1. Thai news overstating the reception of the Thai PM.

2. The Thai PM's advisors doing their job and keeping him off Hard-Talk.

Of course a third option is that I might have given a false report of the news item.

I'll let the board decide on what is more likely and what motives might drive the choice of any of the three options above.

I'm not blaming posters form posting what they believe to be true from sources they rely on. Nothing wrong with that at all

What I am saying is that I checked with the Beeb; and it seemed like the Abhisit propaganda machine spinning in overtime mode.

[Pdaz]

I watched it yesterday and recorded it to show my girlfriend when she returned from the office.

I thought he came across very well. The interview style is annoying as the guest isn't really given enough chance to speak. It breaks the interview into a series of 'sound bytes' rather than a concise dialogue.

I would have to say his command of English has to be the best of any Thai Prime Minister and he came projected and image of confidence, honesty and normality.. Very refreshing.

Best part of the interview ?

When he was told that he wasn't properly elected by the people.. ''Nor was Gordon Brown'' was hs reply

My girlfriend was pretty shocked by the format.. She said the politicians and other high profile types would never submit to an interview of this type in Thailand.. She was impressed that he was able to handle it and was unflustered.. By the end of the interview it seemed that the host had run out of steam.

To my mind it was typical BBC (tree hugging and human rights obsessed) They could resist trying to create sensation over the Burmese Muslim illegal migrants. Or to exaggerate the oposition and Thaksin's support at grass root level ( they never mentioned his conviction for corruption or the vote buying)

He certainly seemed less full of himself than that blustering windbag Gormless Brown..

[LannaTai]

You guys can watch the interview on Yahoo.

news.yahoo.com/i/3136

[Changian]

( they never mentioned his conviction for corruption or the vote buying)

Looks like you've been reading The Nation too much. No mention of it by the BBC because they are a real news outlet and so know that Thaksin was never convicted of corruption or vote buying.

He was convicted for violating a ban on officials and spouses making contracts with the government. i.e. he was convicted of being a politician at the time his wife bought some land owned by the government. The court ruled there was nothing wrong with the actual land sale, the land wasn't seized, no conviction relating to the bidding process or price paid.

[TonySoprano]

he was also guilty of not paying income tax even though legally he was not required to do so.

[unforgiven]

i am shocked. did you see the last interviews he gave with the BBC and CNN? He came off as a complete fool, a very bad liar, and looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole. I would be very surprised if it does not fall through, or if it does go, I imagine it will be softball questions like "Do you want Thai people to join together?".. "Will there be peace in Thailand?"... "Do you want to improve the standard of living?"

And not questions like, "Do you feel it inappropriate for the leader of the army to setup meetings between different political parties in an attempt to unseat the political party with the majority of the seats".... "Why did you choose a PAD leader as your Foreign Minister?", "Is Prem involved in politics?" etc etc etc

Sounds to me that you have an indepth understanding of Thai politics. Could you please explain that comment in detai ,as to the whats and whys and the motivation. Thanks

[sassienie]

Watch the hardtalk interview on UTube.

Direct link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLVjZeNAIyE

[Moonrakers]

That's not the hardtalk interview sassienie.

[scorecard]

I also agree, Abhisit did OK on hardtalk.

Howecver i'll say again, i have little respect for the show anyway.

And to the poster who suggested that "Abhisit is in the PM seat illegally, and Samak was elected by a majority mandate", my response is:

- Abhisit and his collation have come together and formed a legitimate government through the appropriate Thai laws and electoral processes.

- Samak came to power through massive vote buying, as did Thaksin.

[cmsally]

You can watch it by going to link on Bangkok Pundit.

I thought it was a bitty, with most of the interview being in denial and relying on economic and political generalisations to carry through. For me there wasn't anything of actual substance and I found it rather boring.

One presumes that the govt spin machine is looking for more international legitimacy as it is rather lacking domestically.

I thought the fact of denying that the Democrat party stance was not to back the PAD, when in fact they had members up there gallivanting on the stage, was rather unconvincing.

The interviewer (not the best choice of person, I don't think she is persistent enough) looked about as bored as I did by the end.

[FarangCravings]

Deny Deny Deny was all he did I would of preffered for him to be truthful and say yes the military has a part in making me PM but it was a neccesity of the perceived situation at the time and I am trying to change that so it does not happen again

all he did was argue the clear truth of how he got to power and to imply he is the same as gordon Brown well that really hurt his credibility as no military were involved with G Browns situation plus his party was actually elected by the people unlike the yellow shirts.

Also he sounded really bad where the Rohingo migrants were concerned, I felt the presenter did not do her homework very well as he kept saying there was no abuse when you can pull it up off the internet

I would of prefered to have the other presenter who I feel would of done a better job

All in all he came over ok but you cannot give credibility to someone who denys all the questions

[FarangCravings]

I also agree, Abhisit did OK on hardtalk.

Howecver i'll say again, i have little respect for the show anyway.

And to the poster who suggested that "Abhisit is in the PM seat illegally, and Samak was elected by a majority mandate", my response is:

- Abhisit and his collation have come together and formed a legitimate government through the appropriate Thai laws and electoral processes.

- Samak came to power through massive vote buying, as did Thaksin.

B.S mate ya havin a laugh

[rixalex]

Correct. He is not even scheduled to appear. This thread is just misinformation. Check with the BBC as I have just done.

No the the thread is a repeat of what was stated on the Thai News.

There are a couple of possible reasons why what the news stated v what occurs might not be the same thing.

1. Thai news overstating the reception of the Thai PM.

2. The Thai PM's advisors doing their job and keeping him off Hard-Talk.

Of course a third option is that I might have given a false report of the news item.

I'll let the board decide on what is more likely and what motives might drive the choice of any of the three options above.

I'm not blaming posters form posting what they believe to be true from sources they rely on. Nothing wrong with that at all

What I am saying is that I checked with the Beeb; and it seemed like the Abhisit propaganda machine spinning in overtime mode.

Missed the bit where you apologized for smugly pronouncing this thread was just misinformation.

[TonySoprano]

"- Abhisit and his collation have come together and formed a legitimate government through the appropriate Thai laws and electoral processes."

Yeah, its a Military orchestrated legitimate government. Nothing funny about politicians being kipnapped by members of the Military and being "told" what to do. Nah, that's totally normal.

Vote buying, now that's something terrible. Good thing that the Democrats are the only party that don't participate in this act.

[henryalleman]

A few comments from other members, could not find even one negative comment.

henryalleman

Just saw Hard Talk. I can only say that Abhisit is not an idiot, he answered straight to the point, had clear ideas about the future of his country, and even clear ideas about ASEAN, IMHO a PM every country will be proud of.

jbowman1993

2nd - He took the interviewers punches well, explained them from his perspective, and layed out his visions. Too bad it wasn't Samak up there, drooling and ranting like an imbecile. Or better yet - Charlerm!!!!!

All the wannabe Reds are out tonight - lets see if any of them will dare to answer the only pertinent question.

Who do you want as PM? Abhisit or Charlerm? Those are your only choices, and you have to pick one. Can you answer the question honestly?

h90

I would love to see Mak there!!!!!!!

"He you no speak me that way, I Premier Master of Thailand big country you know?" The few interviews he gave were already the best comedies I have ever seen.

Charlem for sure is also a smart guy!

wolf5370

Just watched a download of it - agree completely. She really tried to throw everything at him and he had clear answers to everything she quizzen him on. From boat people to protestors, his appoitment, millitary, ecconomy, his appointments in the cabinet and so on.

I like when she said "You haven't been tested by General Election though have you?" and he replied "Neither has Gordon Brown". On the coalition, he said what about Belgium and Israel?

"Why are you only giving 3.4Billion to help the ecconomy - Indonesia is giving 16B?"

"We will give more but we have run up against the legal limits. We are working on it right now."

"If its a law why not just change it?"

"We are. That's exactly what we are doing"

I think he was very good, and has obviously thought about, and has plans for, just about every thing she could throw at him. No waffle, no vague answers and no avoiding the questions. If only the British politicians were so open!

Insight

The parts you mentioned are also the ones I enjoyed the most during the whole interview.

Is there anybody who didn't think "what if this was Samak" when watching it? The timing is also quite convenient - adds some much needed balance to the situation being reported.

kurtgruen

Yes, I watched it a second time, when my wife got home. He looked nervous, but handled himself extremely well. My wife had a few choice words for the woman interviewing PM Abhisit. (I think she would have gone and beat her up, if she was in Thailand) lol... Started talking about foreigners having no respect for Thailand and how rude it was to keep cutting the PM off.

I felt the interviewer was really on the offensive against Abhisit and his government, under the circumstances, PM Abhisit did really well, I think.

jayboy

The programme is called Hardtalk, geddit?

Actually Abhisit got an easy ride (I have already posted on this) and Zeina Badawi was tough but polite.Did I detect a batsqueak of sexual attraction there by the way?

But your wife's comment is interesting.Thais of high status aren't used to intense questioning without freaking out.Abhisit was a bit petulant but he knows English intellectual/upper class culture backwards.He know how to play the game.

And yes I'm proud he's Thailand's PM.

thailien8

I also caught Abhisit on Hardtalk's 9:30 replay. Why do I think of him as Thailand's Obama, representing the change that Thailand needs so badly? Why does Thaxin remind me of Hitler?

I really liked what Abhisit had to say, in the short times between interruptions by the striking female interviewer. I suppose her aggressive questioning is the Hardtalk style, but it reminds me too much of the disrespectful treatment dished out to his guests by the likes of O'Reilly on FoxNews. Larry King on CNN would have let Abhisit talk, which he does very well indeed in English, and probably even better in Thai.

Most Thais don't realize the value of a PM like Abhisit. Didn't they see the photo on the front page of Bkk. Post last week, and in vernacular rags as well, of Abhisit's handsome face right behind Obama at the G-20 summit meeting? I imagine Abhisit made a number of valuable contacts with other world leaders, that could help Thailand in future, if he's still around

[Loaded]

on youtube now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXJDTtoGIMc

[samgrowth]

on youtube now

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXJDTtoGIMc

Haha. Everything is under control. I am in control. Make me want to laugh.

[daveb1]

i am shocked. did you see the last interviews he gave with the BBC and CNN? He came off as a complete fool, a very bad liar, and looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole. I would be very surprised if it does not fall through, or if it does go, I imagine it will be softball questions like "Do you want Thai people to join together?".. "Will there be peace in Thailand?"... "Do you want to improve the standard of living?"

And not questions like, "Do you feel it inappropriate for the leader of the army to setup meetings between different political parties in an attempt to unseat the political party with the majority of the seats".... "Why did you choose a PAD leader as your Foreign Minister?", "Is Prem involved in politics?" etc etc etc

"He came off as a complete fool, a very bad liar, and looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole."

Were you watching the same interview as me because i dont think he came over as any of those things, I hope he does do Hardtalk it would be interesting. By the way I am for or against him just think your comments were unfair.

[rixalex]

I hope he does do Hardtalk it would be interesting.

He's already done it.

Tip: Always a good idea to read the whole thread before adding a comment.

[onthewire]

i am shocked. did you see the last interviews he gave with the BBC and CNN? He came off as a complete fool, a very bad liar, and looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole. I would be very surprised if it does not fall through, or if it does go, I imagine it will be softball questions like "Do you want Thai people to join together?".. "Will there be peace in Thailand?"... "Do you want to improve the standard of living?"

And not questions like, "Do you feel it inappropriate for the leader of the army to setup meetings between different political parties in an attempt to unseat the political party with the majority of the seats".... "Why did you choose a PAD leader as your Foreign Minister?", "Is Prem involved in politics?" etc etc etc

So bored of people like you go on and on about this is not fair and this is not fair get a life its not fair too... thats why now I follow twitter more ...it is up to date with real news and no more boring comments...... long live twitter down with the blogs...

[lannarebirth]

i am shocked. did you see the last interviews he gave with the BBC and CNN? He came off as a complete fool, a very bad liar, and looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole. I would be very surprised if it does not fall through, or if it does go, I imagine it will be softball questions like "Do you want Thai people to join together?".. "Will there be peace in Thailand?"... "Do you want to improve the standard of living?"

And not questions like, "Do you feel it inappropriate for the leader of the army to setup meetings between different political parties in an attempt to unseat the political party with the majority of the seats".... "Why did you choose a PAD leader as your Foreign Minister?", "Is Prem involved in politics?" etc etc etc

So bored of people like you go on and on about this is not fair and this is not fair get a life its not fair too... thats why now I follow twitter more ...it is up to date with real news and no more boring comments...... long live twitter down with the blogs...

On Thai Visa or Twitter, responding to year old threads is probably not going to very productive.

[Ijustwannateach]

Thanks for the relevant links, but since the thread has degenerated into the predictable bipolarity, I'm closing it.