Opinion pieces and commentary on Thailand's current affairs, in English, from Thai PBS World contributors.
For millions of students in Thailand, 2021 has been a year of online classes as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt their schooling. When virus cases began surging earlier this year, most schools in Bangkok and other provinces with high infection rates chose to suspend on-site classes. This meant that students had to study online
Politicians and activists have attempted to change the Thai Constitution repeatedly over the past year, but only one of the 21 amendment bills managed to clear the obstacle course set by the charter. The first efforts came in November 2020, when seven draft revisions were submitted separately by coalition and opposition parties, as well as
Cannabis and kratom completed their long journeys to legalization this year, in what was seen as an uncharacteristically liberal move by conservative Thai authorities. Given that alcohol and cigarettes remain tightly controlled in Thailand, these once-banned herbs have come a long way in a short space of time. The newly amended Narcotics Code, which went
More than 6 weeks of advance, meticulous planning by the US, which saw an advance team of over 80 people descend on Bangkok, following the visit of US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Kritenbrink and in anticipation of an official visit by his boss, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Thailand during his
Anchilee Scott-Kemmis came home empty-handed from the Miss Universe contest but thanks to her, the hearts of many women are today a great deal fuller. As the Miss Universe 2021 pageant ended on Monday, Thai people took to social media to express their support for the Thai beauty queen even though she failed to advance
Anchilee Scott-Kemmis became a huge source of hope for many Thais, by being declared Miss Universe Thailand 2021 back in October, and having a social impact by breaking existing beauty ideals, which women and young girls have felt pressured to meet for way too long. It was, however, a surprise when the Thai-Australian beauty queen and
For viewers of foreign media, available through Thai cable TV packages, it has become the norm to see unscheduled messages filling the screen and blocking content for several minutes, a tool used to censor content which may be deemed to be touching upon the highly sensitive topic of the monarchy or to be unfavourable to
Thailand needs to have a lèse majesté law for national security. It acts as a defamation law for the royal family. The existing version is, however, too short and needs to be amended to make it more descriptive, specific and clear, said Dr. Arnond Sakworawich, a staunch supporter of the royal family. Dr. Arnond has
Shreya Singh, a 21 year-old college student in New Delhi, has spoken courageously about being the target of online harassment after someone set up a fake Facebook account in her name. It was not the first time she had been bullied; a pre-internet experience, dating back to her pre-teen years, was another occasion. This time
The news of the demise of eminent economist Virabongsa Ramangkura on November 7 was received with a deep sense of loss across the country. Numerous Facebook pages were filled with condolences. Virabongsa succumbed to cancer at 78. He enjoyed respect across the board for his capabilities and role in public life. In particular, he was regarded highly by
The coronavirus pandemic has reflected a broken world defined by inequality, division and a lack of accountability, causing a failure to put an end to the outbreak that so far killed more than 4.95 million people around the globe, a report by a World Health Organisation (WHO) panel says. “If the first year of the
Thailand’s main opposition party is undergoing a rebrand as it bids to return to power after seven years – five years under the post-coup junta and two years of this elected government. But Pheu Thai is hampered by a lack of charismatic leaders, both to head its election campaign and to serve as prime ministerial
