All roads lead to Rome, or so it was once said. But today, it appears that all roads lead to Hong Kong with Pheu Thai Party members and their red-shirt supporters leaving Bangkok in droves to the shopping paradise to wish Thaksin Shinawatra a happy birthday. The fugitive former prime minister turns 64 on Thursday.
But not every well-wisher will be there just to wish the birthday boy many happy returns. Many have other motives, such as the under-performing cabinet ministers who have to be there in the hope they will get his blessing and will not be axed in the forthcoming cabinet reshuffle.
Also, there are those ambitious MPs who aspire to be included in the next cabinet lineup and who also have to show their faces to the big boss for his blessing.
The sudden presence of so many people in red in Hong Kong shopping along the famous Nathan Road in groups may cause a bit of a stir, with local residents wondering why these people are wearing red because the Chinese New Year is still many months away.
Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra (AFP Photo)
It was reported that the venue of the birthday celebration was shifted from Macau to Hong Kong because the hotel chosen in Macau was not big enough to accommodate all the well-wishers arriving from Thailand.
But Mother Nature seems to have spoiled the celebratory mood. Hong Kong has been battered by Typhoon Vincente, causing the cancellation of all flights in and out. Those followers who were still in Bangkok will have to wait there is an all-clear from the airlines that flights to Hong Kong are resuming.
Back here at home, many activities have been planned to celebrate Thaksin's birthday on Thursday. They include a religious ceremony at Wat Chao Fah in Nonthaburi, where many monks will be invited to pray for the birthday boy and 2.6 million amulets will be cast and 64,000 packets of doughnut will be distributed to underprivileged children.
Veteran Pheu Thai MP Sanoh Thienthong was an early bird. He was in Hong Kong to express his birthday wishes to Thaksin well in advance, so he would have more time with the fugitive former premier. He later told the media that Thaksin confided in him that he has no ambition to become prime minister of Thailand again because he had already served the country for so many years.
According to Mr Sanoh, Thaksin said he had already reached the pinnacle of his career and was comfortable enough to be away from his home country as he could travel to anywhere, as he wished.
If Thaksin is true to his own words about his shelving of political ambition it would be a blessing, especially for his younger sister, Prime Minister Yingluck, who would then be free to do her job more freely without being seen as Thaksin’s nominee, clone or puppet -- as she is described by her critics.
But the big question is: Can Thaksin’s words, this time, be trusted? Many of us may already believe we know the answer.