Foreigners urged to convey 'better understanding' of Thai politics

[slygeeza]

thai people dont litter and they dont scam and if you dont believe me I will hit you with a bottle, see it every day ( the rest are very nice)

[thaimlord]

i think they know already that the full political system in thailand is corrupt

The political systems in ALL countries are corrupt. Politics attracts a certain type of person. The rest of us couldn't be bothered with all the pretense, posturing and dishonesty.

TL

[tim armstrong]

So much negativity. If you choose to live here, and make this country your home, how about a few positive suggestions, rather than endless moaning about how Thailand has to change this or that. Most expats have chosen to live here, so its up to us to adapt to Thailand, or go and live somewhere else.

[Thailand]

Good luck with that one!

[Mango Bob]

I wonder how many of those crying the blues now supported the Junta and are now getting stabbed in the back by the same Junta. This makes me so very happy

And believe me it's not over yet, they will get the rest of you soon or later.

Edited July 16, 2014 by Mango Bob

[soalbundy]

So much negativity. If you choose to live here, and make this country your home, how about a few positive suggestions, rather than endless moaning about how Thailand has to change this or that. Most expats have chosen to live here, so its up to us to adapt to Thailand, or go and live somewhere else.

You can't make this country your home because you have no right of abode,but you can live here,observe and comment because nobody takes any notice of what a farang say's,so positive or negative, mai pen rai.

[soalbundy]

I wonder how many of those crying the blues now supported the Junta and are now getting stabbed in the back by the same Junta. This makes me so very happy

And believe me it's not over yet, they will get the rest of you soon or later.

I don't quite understand your post but if it makes you happy.... If it wasn't for the Bangkok Post i wouldn't have known a coup was on.

[Lupatria]

I’m getting old now. On a first sight I misread the headline and kinda liked it:

Foreigners urged Thais to convey 'better understanding' politics

[robertthebruce]

Like most things in Thailand... It needs to move on to the 21st Century.....

It's a big world out there...

People are walking with there feet in lots of,respects....

[jcisco]

My country,U.S.A. only supports countries that are a democracy. Thailand is not currently a democracy.

The U.S.A does not support any country that permits slavery. Thailand permits slavery.

What's left to explain?

Oh yeah...come to Thailand and spend your money...but good luck getting a visa!!!!!!!!!!!!

Interesting how you imply the U.S.A. to be your country..... and then you speak of it in the third person.

I'm gonna run with it as an it. As soon as I figure out what IT you are talking about, the label, the government, the commonwealths, the people.....

Start with explaining that, might get something worth reading, you know contributing to the discussion...

In short, your example is a my way, moralistic, possessive, personal etc point, it sits on no foundation that is worth a discussion. Give us something better a comparison

[belg]

everybody happy politics ?

[gopis108]

Wow-the flippin nerve to ask us for help in understanding-perhaps the Thai Government should try listening to our complaints and suggestions just once,on how we feel about living in Thailand and how the Farangs lot could be improved,then we might think of helping them,as it is I would have zero impetus to praise Thailand in any way.Presently the country seems to be imploding and little wonder.Perhaps the Thais should begin with really following Buddhas teachings ,at least the monks could observe AHIMSA and no eating of animal flesh,rather than just make meditate on all the excuses why they can.Most other Buddhists properly follow Buddha and observe vegetarianism(China-Taiwan-India)The disease should be rooted out at the core.The proof is in the pudding ...so immediately now ,some of the the readers of this text ,especially the Thais, will be saying to themselves"then why dont you just go back home if you dont like it."Perhaps we would like to make Thailand our home-the whole world belongs to God,not to Thais or Americans etc.etc.How long will we be Thais or Europeans-100 years max then maybe animals or trees.Will nationality matter when we are trotting throughout Chiang mai in a dogs body.Get it together folks,you are half way there-why spoil it now.

[catweazle]

So who is going to be the expert mind reading clairvoyant in this campaign one must ask?

Thailand needs to realise this is 21st century and as such the Thai's need to understand that this country has to move wiith the rest of the world if it wishes to develop further.

Those protectionist business practices will throttle Thai business entities and the outdated antquated laws that sit on the statute book and have been reactivated are in the majority of cases detrimental to Thailand in the long term.I do not include the current visa matters in this matter though.

An updated education scheme which educates as opposed to indoctrinates along with the understanding of work ethics, that course of action will though be some time ere it bears fruit if ever.

With all due respect though, I would suggest that Stanley Kang takes a long hard look at the realities of conducting business in Thailand along perhaps with a break from his daily toil which indeed seems to have distorted his view on the realities of business activities in Thailand.

However the most amusing statement is that the Thai 's wish those ''foreigners'' who don't understand Thainess and in the Thai mind present a threat to the Thainess of the country to present the Thai case.

Very good post, SiamPolee !!! Couldn't have said it better myself. The OP basically says that everyone who refuses to invest, live and work in Thailand without wearing blinders is a threat to Thailand's further development - what a piece of crap that text is, how superficial and narrow-minded must be the person who wrote it...

Edited July 16, 2014 by catweazle

[djjamie]

Democracy through dictatorship.

Am I missing something?

Yes, reconciliation, reform then elections.

The 3 fingered salute.

[Thai at Heart]

So much negativity. If you choose to live here, and make this country your home, how about a few positive suggestions, rather than endless moaning about how Thailand has to change this or that. Most expats have chosen to live here, so its up to us to adapt to Thailand, or go and live somewhere else.

Come on then. Let's have some positives about the current political situation from a geo politic perspective.

[BlackJack]

I would like to see 90 year leases on house and land

this would do away with a lot of uncertainties and skirting around the Law

[kuiburi]

A country is like a company , goal of a company is making profit and keep ur employees happy .

The company we live in was running to bankruptcy , so a new board of directors stepped in to figure out the mess .

Well the CEO that we have now is doing some radical changes .

IMHO they are doing pretty well the past few month's .

The nations abroad should look further then the word democracy .

Besides in many of the nation that condemn Thailand democracy is just a word

[rwdrwdrwd]

My country,U.S.A. only supports countries that are a democracy.

555

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_support_of_authoritarian_regimes

Edited July 16, 2014 by rwdrwdrwd

[Yann55]

Democracy through dictatorship.

Am I missing something?

You are indeed. And it's because, along with most Western journalists and politicians, you are reacting to words rather than facts.

In Western minds, words like 'military coup', 'junta', 'dictatorship' have the power to conjure up some very disturbing references, such as Pinochet (1973), Mussolini, Franco, the Greek Colonels (1967), Ceaucescu, etc. But if we look at the facts, what happened here has nothing in common with those historical (and indeed tragic) events. Thailand was clearly spiralling down into senseless violence, anger was mounting, pathetic egos on both sides were blocking all possibilities of compromise and understanding at the cost of human lives, the ugly face of civil war was becoming more of a possibility with every new senseless death, and the coup put an end to all this, without hurting anyone. That. Is. A. Fact.

Democracy, no one will deny, is one beautiful and promising concept. But there is a huge gap between what real democracy is supposed to be like, and the noxious political environment which allowed the Thaksin family to seize power in this country. Incidentally in Western countries where elections are basically won with massive amounts of money by manipulating the voters minds through the media, I believe that democracy is also becoming more and more of a demockracy. Read Al Gore's The Assault on Reason for first hand confirmation as to how electoral campaigns really work in the country that never ceases to pose as the ultimate and universal champion of democracy.

Almost all the Western comments about the Thai situation repeatedly oppose the 2 concepts as if it were understood by all that these concepts are clear and self-evident in the context of recent events. Well, they are not. The former government had not been 'democratically elected' because the level of manipulation was outrageous and the 'coup' was not a bloody takeover staged by some power-thirsty military group or person in order to subdue and utilise this country for their personal benefit.

Edited July 16, 2014 by Yann55

[PhilipCook]

My country,U.S.A. only supports countries that are a democracy. Thailand is not currently a democracy.

The U.S.A does not support any country that permits slavery. Thailand permits slavery.

What's left to explain?

Oh yeah...come to Thailand and spend your money...but good luck getting a visa!!!!!!!!!!!!

Give up glue sniffing my friend, the US supports countries that it decides are in its best interest to do so, has nothing to do with whether they are democratic or not, nice to have but not a deal breaker.

[KhnomKhnom]

I honestly do not understand the typists on this message and on thaivisa generally.

Only two of the 23 comments I read were vaguely ok with Thailand; the rest were profoundly dissatisfied and had lots of ideas how it is bad.

Can those typists tell me why, if they dislike Thailand so much, why do they have anything to do with it? Especially why want to live here? And, with every complaint about Thailand faults there are concomitantly a similar number complaining that the visa rules will not allow them to stay here.

It seems more than a little wacky strongly to complain about a place and also to complain that rules keep them from living here. Saying, "Thailand, you are a terrible place and also terrible for keeping me out of Thailand."

Usually, asserting that kind of contradiction inside the same brain is called madness. I could be wrong.

I know that venting is helpful sometimes, but venting as a way of life seems strange.

[John1thru10]

The visa crackdown is an integral part of the coup, in that they are blaming westerners for having inspired the poorer Thai's to demand better conditions for themselves, and they want to rid Thailand of that influence. I can point to the speech the Junta gave on television at the beginning of the coup. In it, towards the end, he began to speak at length urging Thai's to not emulate the west anymore. He referenced western movies as having been (supposedly) responsible for the problems, and expressed many views which blamed the west for poorer Thai's becoming 'less Thai' - meaning, to him, more demanding of equal rights for themselves.

Edited July 16, 2014 by John1thru10

[Thai at Heart]

I honestly do not understand the typists on this message and on thaivisa generally.

Only two of the 23 comments I read were vaguely ok with Thailand; the rest were profoundly dissatisfied and had lots of ideas how it is bad.

Can those typists tell me why, if they dislike Thailand so much, why do they have anything to do with it? Especially why want to live here? And, with every complaint about Thailand faults there are concomitantly a similar number complaining that the visa rules will not allow them to stay here.

It seems more than a little wacky strongly to complain about a place and also to complain that rules keep them from living here. Saying, "Thailand, you are a terrible place and also terrible for keeping me out of Thailand."

Usually, asserting that kind of contradiction inside the same brain is called madness. I could be wrong.

I know that venting is helpful sometimes, but venting as a way of life seems strange.

Parking your brain and your voice at immigration could also be likened to a kind of voluntary vegatitive state.

[John1thru10]

"They certainly want Thailand to move forward to democracy but stability and consistent policy are much more important for doing business," he said.

In other words, money trumps democracy. It couldn't be clearer.

[tonypace02]

What the Thai Foreign Minister does not understand and few foreigners are willing to admit is that foreign businesses love corruption. The corporate power structure of the Anglo-American Empire was built on it during the industrial revolution and it feeds on it. During the last century it nurtured it and honed it to a fine edge.The history post World War II years is replete with glaring examples. After IT&T offed Allende, Pinochet was made Chilean President. How long did the USA support Marcos, Papa Doc, Sandanistas, Battista, Chiang Kai Chek, the Diems in S. Vietnam, ... and that ilk? When you can buy whomever you want, you have all the stability you will ever need. Democratic governments are the enemy of capitalism. They are motivated by such arbitrary values as morality, popularism, rules of law, effects of cultural diversity, economic movements and trends. Corruption has only one motivation, greed. And that is stable and dependable. So, while the Junta’s ambitions, vis-à-vis the elimination of corruption, is admirable and deserving of our hopes for their success, the outcome of that program could eventually spell economic pain as foreign businesses begin looking for labor markets under the control of buyable political leaders.

Edited July 16, 2014 by tonypace02

[soalbundy]

I formulated a post of some length to reply to the OP, and decided to delete it. frack it....

How to explain to the world that thailand has a weak police force, that fails to protect the people and the peace and uphold the laws fo the nation, leading to an open door policy with the Army to step in..... It will happen again and again and again, so get used to, and understand its not a coup its a hostile takeover of upper management.

I wish everyone all the best in this hostile job market

The job application didn't quite work out as you had hoped? Retire,its so much easier.

[soalbundy]

"They certainly want Thailand to move forward to democracy but stability and consistent policy are much more important for doing business," he said.

In other words, money trumps democracy. It couldn't be clearer.

or more honest, and let us be frank,or more logical.Democracy,such as it is, has to be affordable

[John1thru10]

I honestly do not understand the typists on this message and on thaivisa generally.

Only two of the 23 comments I read were vaguely ok with Thailand; the rest were profoundly dissatisfied and had lots of ideas how it is bad.

Can those typists tell me why, if they dislike Thailand so much, why do they have anything to do with it? Especially why want to live here? And, with every complaint about Thailand faults there are concomitantly a similar number complaining that the visa rules will not allow them to stay here.

It seems more than a little wacky strongly to complain about a place and also to complain that rules keep them from living here. Saying, "Thailand, you are a terrible place and also terrible for keeping me out of Thailand."

Usually, asserting that kind of contradiction inside the same brain is called madness. I could be wrong.

I know that venting is helpful sometimes, but venting as a way of life seems strange.

The problem you are having in understanding that, is because you try to describe Thailand as if were a single person - which is absurdly childish. The assumption which causes your misunderstanding, is that because two people are Thai they both have the same feelings and goals - and in essence, that reflects a type of racism on your part. If you cannot regognize the difference between the point of view of a military takeover of a country, and an average citizen of that country - and after that, the different sociopolitcal cultures within that population - then you really have no opinion worth noting about the situation. It's as if your point of view is based on an image in a travel advertisement, and not real world experience.

Edited July 16, 2014 by John1thru10

[Thai at Heart]

What the Thai Foreign Minister does not understand and few foreigners are willing to admit is that foreign businesses love corruption. The corporate power structure of the Anglo-American Empire was built on it during the industrial revolution and it feeds on it. During the last century it nurtured it and honed it to a fine edge.The history post World War II years is replete with glaring examples. After IT&T offed Allende, Pinochet was made Chilean President. How long did the USA support Marcos, Papa Doc, Sandanistas, Battista, Chiang Kai Chek, the Diems in S. Vietnam, ... and that ilk? When you can buy whomever you want, you have all the stability you will ever need. Democratic governments are the enemy of capitalism. They are motivated by such arbitrary values as morality, popularism, rules of law, effects of cultural diversity, economic movements and trends. Corruption has only one motivation, greed. And that is stable and dependable. So, while the Juntas ambitions, vis-à-vis the elimination of corruption, is admirable and deserving of our hopes for their success, the outcome of that program could eventually spell economic pain as foreign businesses begin looking for labor markets under the control of buyable political leaders.

Yeah its great.

These days foreigners go to jail under the foreign corrupt business acts.

Those days are gone.

[gemini81]

I honestly do not understand the typists on this message and on thaivisa generally.

Only two of the 23 comments I read were vaguely ok with Thailand; the rest were profoundly dissatisfied and had lots of ideas how it is bad.

Can those typists tell me why, if they dislike Thailand so much, why do they have anything to do with it? Especially why want to live here? And, with every complaint about Thailand faults there are concomitantly a similar number complaining that the visa rules will not allow them to stay here.

It seems more than a little wacky strongly to complain about a place and also to complain that rules keep them from living here. Saying, "Thailand, you are a terrible place and also terrible for keeping me out of Thailand."

Usually, asserting that kind of contradiction inside the same brain is called madness. I could be wrong.

I know that venting is helpful sometimes, but venting as a way of life seems strange.

The problem you are having in understanding that, is because you try to see Thailand as if were a single person. Your assumption which causes your misunderstanding, is that because two people are Thai they both have the same feelings and goals - and in essence, that reflects a type of racism on your part. If you cannot regognize the different aspects of Thailand, and the reasons behind them, then you should not be shaming others for doing so.

Sheesh, why does everything these days you say get deemed 'racist' Is it the hip new trend? Nothing he mentioned is racist. Guess some are still watching too much CNN or FOX???