Do as King Rama IX
Re: “2 activists get bail as lives at risk”, (BP, Feb 8). The Criminal Court approved bail for the two political activists, “Tawan” and “Bam”, who are on hunger strike to ensure human rights, freedom of expression, and the ending of Sections 112 and 116 concerning lese majeste and sedition, respectively. However, the two young girls insist on continuing their strike.
I salute the strikers for their moral courage in literally putting their lives on the line for what they believe is right. But Prayut cannot afford to lose face by giving in completely. I urge the strikers to thank the court and accept the olive branch offered them. Accept bail — on condition that Prayut immediately join them in honouring our national father’s sage advice on lese majeste and doing as King Rama IX would have done.
Central Investigation Bureau commissioner Jirabhop Bhuridej, right, inspects e-cigarettes smuggled from China in December. A total of 883,000 e-cigarettes valued at 130 million baht were seized from two locations in Lat Krabang district of Bangkok. (Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya)
What would our beloved national father have done? As Grossman and Faulder put it in their palace-approved book: “Thailand’s law of lèse-majesté has one very prominent critic: King Bhumibol… In 2005... King Bhumibol used his annual televised birthday address to convey three concerns: (a) ‘The king,’ he said, ‘is a human being and as such should be subject to criticism. (b) Charges against those accused of lèse-majesté should be dropped, and those held in jail for lèse-majesté should be released, and (c) The use of the lèse-majesté law ultimately damages the monarchy.’”
Your proposal to follow King Rama IX’s advice would be very difficult for Prayut and the courts to ignore, as they themselves would benefit significantly from so doing, and greatly lower the political temperature.
Burin Kantabutra
Regulate e-cigarettes
Re: “Vape issue has no easy fix”, (Editorial, Feb 8) & “Actress’ vaping case sparks debate”, (BP, Feb 6).
The health-protection NGO, Action on Smoking and Health Foundation, has finally seen the light and understands that the only mature and sensible way forward in the e-cigarette debate is regulation. They should then stop arguing about the safety of e-cigarettes, their use among children and the absence of lab tests in the country and find a solution.
Many health organisations, including the UK, confirm vaping is less harmful than cigarettes. Because of this, more than 70 countries impose balanced policies to offer smokers alternatives while preventing the usage of underground vaping products among adolescents. Just as the USFDA, China and EU do, their efforts have resulted in unqualified products being banned from sale in the US, China and the EU. If properly regulated traditional cigarettes can prevent kids and teenagers from starting to smoke, why do we leave alternatives like e-cigarettes or vapes unregulated?
According to the USFDA, adult smokers may benefit from vaping as a substitute for conventional cigarettes, and this benefit outweighs the risk that young people will start using them provided that regulations to reduce access to them among youth are in place.
This means, with regulation, the government and health authorities would be able to ensure they are fit for purpose. Keeping people safe from illegal products while also earning the country tax revenue seems a good enough reason alone to finally legalise e-cigarettes.
Ministry of Digital Economy and Society Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn is correct that regulating e-cigarettes is the right course of action. It is interesting to see that the party thinks about adopting a distinctive stance in order to win over voters ahead of the next election.
Asa SaliguptaRepresentative of Ends Cigerettes Smoke Thailand (ECST)
Weighing priorities
Re: “Vaping-bribe cop suspended”, (BP, Feb 9) & “Checkpoint cameras aim to discourage police corruption”, (BP, Feb 4).
In all of the letters published in PostBag regarding recent reports of bribes being paid to government officials, one matter has been totally unaddressed, and a second issue has been addressed only obliquely if at all.
The first pertains to the people paying the bribes. In many, if not most, countries, it is illegal not only to solicit or accept a bribe but also to offer or pay one. None of the reporting on the recent cases here in Thailand indicates that the alleged payers have been investigated or arrested for bribing public officials.
The second issue is the circumstances which encourage the payment of bribes. When rather trivial violations of law, such as possession of a vaping device, can result in outrageously disproportionate penalties (years in a horrible Thai prison), is it any wonder that persons caught breaking the law would offer huge amounts of bribes to avoid the legal consequences of their own actions? If Thailand wants to discourage the payment of bribes, then one of the things it should do is re-examine the excessive penalties that can be imposed upon those convicted of minor offences. If possession of a vaping device were punishable on a first offence by a fine of, say, 1,000 baht, it is far less likely that unscrupulous police would be demanding bribes of tens of thousands of baht to avoid bringing charges. So, it is a matter of weighing priorities: is preventing police corruption less, or more, important than stamping out vaping (or other minor transgressions) in the kingdom?
Finally, I would note in passing that it is illegal for people from many countries (eg, the United States) to pay a bribe to a foreign official, no matter the circumstances. Thus, if Thailand declines to prosecute a foreigner for paying a bribe to a Thai official, the RTP could still provide relevant information to the foreigner’s government so that the foreigner could be prosecuted upon returning home.
George Rothschild
Balloons of peril
Re: “Balloon overblown”, (PostBag, Feb 10) & “New China spy balloon ‘transits’ Lat Am,” (BP, Feb 5).
ML Saksiri Kridakorn would have us believe the CCP military’s comprehensive high-altitude balloon programme, carried out over more than 40 countries across five continents for years, was merely a fleet of weather balloons. Satellites perform that task admirably well.
It has, however, been reported in Western media, including CNN, that high-resolution imagery from U-2 flybys has revealed the high-altitude balloon was capable of conducting signals intelligence collection operations.
Furthermore, the balloon’s size and payload are believed to be future deployment of Electronic Magnetic Field (EMF)-disrupting technology which could take down the US power grid.
Whether plausible or highly implausible, the CCP has sternly denied it. Where they go is always “accidental”. It is this effort which ML Saksiri openly supports and which most readers familiar with geopolitics can smell from an altitude of 55,000 feet.
Michael Setter
Sour Pisco grapes
Re: “Peru pushes pisco to deepen ties”, (BP, Feb 9).
I wholeheartedly agree with Peru’s ambassador Cecilia Galarreta that Pisco, especially Pisco Sour is a heavenly drink and should be widely consumed. Yes, let’s bring it to Thailand!
However, I am rather concerned that she may start a third world war with Chile, which is at loggerheads aka sour grapes, with Peru about the origin of the tipple. The rivalry is perhaps more fierce than that of Thailand and Cambodia over the origin and thus the name of kickboxing, be it Muay Thai or Kun Khmer.
There is no difference in the name, nor the taste, just the origin is disputed and in such a manner that to take sides may land you with a bloody nose.
I strongly recommend you the drink, but stay away from the dispute, especially when in one of the above countries’ bars.
Miro King, the pisco sour man
Misdirected outrage
Re: “Living off welfare”, (PostBag, Feb 8).
I have to take issue with an expat in Thailand who grossly exaggerates the support given to refugees in the UK. They do not receive full benefits, they get less than seven pounds per day per person to cover food, clothing and toiletries. They do get accommodation, but lurid headlines in the tabloids of five-star hotels are very wide of the test mark. The UK is so slow at processing the applications that there is a significant backlog, and in very limited circumstances, emergency hotel use is required.
Refugees don’t work because it is not allowed. Given the dire shortage of labour in the UK, it would seem simple to give them a temporary National Insurance number and allow them to pay their own way while their case is being processed.
It is easy for an expat to hide behind a pen name and complain, but any anger, however uninformed, should be directed towards the system rather than the vulnerable. Where is the outrage about child migrants being seized from temporary accommodation or the daily demonisation of Afghan refugees that the UK government abandoned?
Paul Sumner
