The pre-arranged three-day trip to Xinjiang to meet repatriated members of the Uyghur community shows that the Thai government is struggling to fix the country's human rights reputation after it sent 40 of them back on Feb 27.
No matter how Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who headed the team to Xinjiang, has prodded and cajoled the public into thinking that the government had made the right decision, the trip looks like a hectic public relations campaign.
It is impossible for the three-day visit, half of which was spent on travelling, to provide a resolution to the matter.
What the public sees in "pool" photos and videos from Xinjiang are ministers frantically going in and out of vans to travel to various places to attend briefings by the Chinese government and meet religious leaders.
Of course, members of the Thai delegation met some of the Uyghurs who were sent back three weeks ago. Footage shows Mr Phumtham hugging them and telling the media that the government had made the right decision by sending them back.
Despite the smiles on the faces of the Uyghurs, the encounter was brief and seemed rather official. If that were not enough, the fact that the Chinese government blurred the images of four Uyghurs being interviewed only enhanced the clandestine effect.
Meanwhile, those who wish for information about the 100 Uyghurs that the Prayut government sent back over a decade ago will feel let down. The short trip only shows Mr Phumtham conducting a brief Zoom interview with one of the Uyghurs, who said he is now happily married and had been lured to leave China a decade ago.
Make no mistake, the government in Beijing, known for its tight media control, is seen as trying to tell its own version of the story. For a decade, Beijing has denied accusations that it had committed atrocities against its Muslim citizens in Xinjiang.
Despite this, such a structured trip does little for Beijing in telling the world its side of the story. It can only be hoped that Bangkok and Beijing will work together to allow open and conducive access to Xinjiang so independent media and even rights groups can learn about the Uyghurs.
It is a relief that Mr Phumtham has admitted that the three-day visit might not have been sufficient. He has announced that another Thai delegation, headed by Foreign Affairs Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, will go to Xinjiang later this year as a follow-up.
One can only hope that the next fact-finding mission will be scheduled differently than this one.
It is also imperative that the Thai government make an effort to allow critics of the deportation, such as Senator Angkhana Neelapaijit and MP Kannavee Suebsaeng, to join the next mission.
Above all, the government needs to include the commissioners of the National Human Rights Commission in the team. It is indeed the task of our rights commissioners to inspect the status of repatriated Uyghurs and tell the public whether they are safe or not.
To convince the public to believe that they are safe, the government needs to include critical media workers with experience in covering human trafficking and refugees on the next visit.
Without opposing views and criticism, any press trip or fact-finding mission to Xinjiang will only end up as an advert -- seemingly like this one.