Follow Thai politics in English — government policy, elections, parliament and political developments, with reporting and analysis from Thai PBS World.
Thailand’s students will be represented, for the first time, in the Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA), under a proposal by government whips, chief whip Wirat Rattanaseth said Monday, after a meeting of a working committee to design the structure of the assembly. According to the CDA structure, endorsed by the government whips, the assembly will consist
A group of 999 alumni of the all-girl Rajini School (Queen’s School) have submitted an open letter to the school’s administrators, voicing their disagreement with a recent order banning political expression by students on campus. In the letter, the group claimed that many alumni feel uneasy about the order, issued last Friday, which forbids students
Protest leader Panupong Jaadnok, alias Mike Rayong, was taken into police custody when he was holding a poster questioning the benefits of land reclamation in Rayong province, as Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha was visiting a market in the province on Monday afternoon. The political activist was arrested for his role in the protest held in
The opposition Kao Klai party has proposed three constitutional amendments, without touching the two chapters of the current Constitution concerning the Monarchy and Thai sovereignty. The proposed amendments include the setting of up a Constitution Drafting Assembly (CDA), to craft a new charter, revocation of Sections 269-272, to do away with an appointed Senate, and
The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) will explain its planned procurement of two Chinese-made submarines to the media on Monday. The project was endorsed by a panel of the House budget scrutiny Committee last week. An informed RTN source said Sunday that a clarification is necessary, because the opposition Pheu Thai party has given misleading information
Warong Dechgitvigrom is best remembered for his crucial role in exposing corruption in the rice-pledging scheme of the Yingluck government. And now the veteran politician is carving a niche for himself in leading a crusade against anti-government protesters and to protect the country’s most revered institution. “Throughout my life, I have never heard of the
Thailand’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovations (MHESRI) will hold a forum this Thursday where the first group of students will share their views on setting a roadmap for the future of Thailand. The Minister, Anek Laothammatas, said today that about 60 students, who are the presidents of student councils at various universities,
Thailand’s well-known political activist Sirawith Seritiwat, alias Ja New, reemerged from a long absence today when he gave a speech at the October 14th memorial on Rajdamnoen Avenue, to commemorate the victims of enforced disappearance. He said that such disappearances started in Thailand after the coup in 1947, when some politicians, allied with Khana Rassadorn,
Two musical video clips, posted on YouTube by the Thai Government’s Department of Public Relations (PRD), have been taken down after they were overwhelmingly “disliked” by netizens. The two clips are “Thong Chart” (National Flag) and “Rak Borisut Rak Jak Mae” (Innocent Love from Mum). Twitter users criticized the content of the “Thong Chart” lyrics
A former election candidate for the Kao Klai Party has offered a public apology for an incident, which occurred on Friday night during a rally held by a labour union in Samut Prakan province, when two men in black shirts tried to seize the microphone from a student activist as she was addressing the crowd.
A panel of the House Budget Scrutiny Committee has approved, by a slim majority, the Royal Thai Navy’s (RTN) plan to procure two Chinese-made submarines, at a cost of about 22.5 billion baht. Panel member and Pheu Thai MP for Maha Sarakham province, Mr. Yutthapong Charassathienn, said four members voted in support of the project,
Former top Trump strategist Steve Bannon, who was arrested this week for defrauding donors to a Mexico border wall fundraising campaign, has said he is the victim of a “political hit job”. “I’m in this for the long haul. I’m in this for the fight. I’m going to continue to fight,” he said Friday on
