Nothing to share
Re: "Thailand deserves congratulations for virtually eradicating Covid-19", BP, Sept 28).
"Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha tells the UN that Thailand is ready to share Covid knowledge," (BP, Sept 28) and a previous news report about Thai doctors' claim to have found a coronavirus breakthrough are all examples of the nonsense surrounding this Covid disease.
As to "virtually eradicating", the term virtual as in virtual reality offers a clue.
Thailand has tested 1% of its population for the virus with a demonstrably inaccurate testing method, so has no knowledge to share with other countries battling the virus.
It also has high humidity, few retirement homes and low levels of obesity; all by far the most important factors contributing to low morbidity from Covid.
About all that Gen Prayut has to share of any value is copious volumes of hot humid air ... but of course, there is no shortage of that at the UN.
Ban Bandit
Loosen the reins
Re: "Reforms need broadening of the agenda", (BP, Sept 25).
Recommending that protesters widen their agenda and allow for new circumstances to seep into the hitherto blinkered collective public consciousness are useful notions.
However, if backward-looking institutions show reluctance to adapt and continue to protect privilege and profits through authoritarian means, the very order they wish to preserve will not endure.
That Siam escaped colonialism and Thailand escaped communism was not just due to favourable circumstances.
In both cases, some astute policy befitting the moment helped circumstances flow fortuitously.
Do Thailand's people uniformly believe Thailand's institutions are making wise moves to protect their future?
The military government talks of armoured cars and submarines but how much action, let alone forward-looking discussion, has there been to reduce carbon emissions by creating a distributed and sustainable power supply using abundant solar resources, for example?
The young know it is well past time to widen the agenda but can the institutions listen and act wisely?
May the nation's young succeed in overcoming all obstacles, for it is not just the future of the nation's institutions that is at stake.
Kuntree Bumkhin
The truth will out
Re: "Thai big media forced to rethink unwritten rules", (Editorial, Sept 28).
Thailand has been greatly retarded by an anti-democratic law forced on the nation with intent to keep Thais profoundly ignorant of Thai affairs. The student protestors deserve high praise for questioning the taboos that have been abused to punish political opponents. As the good students know, knowledge trumps ignorance; reason beats ideology; and justice is better than injustice. Happily, the silent majority are learning from the good students.
Felix Qui
Trump card is joker
Re: "Don't underestimate the power of 'laughtivism', (Commentary, Sept 28).
The reason why laughing at Trump won't defeat him is that he is the biggest joker of all. This guy, who thinks that Finland is part of Russia, that Charles is Prince of Whales and that the flu epidemic of 1918 ended World War II, while pronouncing Thailand as Thighland, might well end up with another presidential term.
I'm no psephologist but I guess from videos of his rallies that half his supporters (the ho-ho-ho lot) actually want a fake-news ignoramus as their mob leader. The other half (the serious lot) crave cherished racist and ultra-right policies with a newly politicised Supreme Court to justify them.
Barry Kenyon
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