OPINION

Skimming Thailand

Re: "Task force files cases against 400", (BP, April 5).

A Western woman running a daycare centre for foreign children and a Russian man renting out motorcycles were caught in the clampdown on foreign illegal businesses. A meagre result involving two people who probably don't know Thailand well or the art of bribing. This occurred in the western part of Thailand, where officials seemingly caught these two people randomly.

Time to go east to Pattaya, where you possibly get more regular than random catches, in a city where large areas are now taken over by people who come from a land that has some of the world's most skilled performers in the un-noble art of bribing. You find these master-bribers especially in tourist spots around the world where money is aplenty and shifting hands fast. And they use old tricks like bringing in their own people as special chefs, saying they are crucial to ensure their national dishes are cooked the right way. That's how they successfully circumvent immigration laws in countries all over the world and move their own people in, who are later transferred to other functions or businesses.

Thailand needs income from tourism for its own people and not for it to be sent abroad. It is sad to see how Thailand's economy is being skimmed by foreigners, not only in the tourist sector, but in other sectors too -- just look at all the foreign convenience stores on every corner. Maybe Thailand is too open to foreigners in businesses they can run themselves. Or is it about immigration officers becoming victims of very skilled foreigner master-bribers or "cat-skinners"?

Where is the love?

Re: "MFP may get more time to file its dissolution defence", (BP, April 11).

According to the news, the Move Forward Party has sought more time to submit its defence ahead of the court's dissolution verdict, and the court's president, Nakharin Mektrairat, has said it may agree to allow the party to do just that. I think if that is true, the court's decision should be lauded.

In arguing its case, the MFP must explain why it has encouraged some Thai people--especially the young--to hate, demean, and rebel against the Thai monarchy. It must also clarify why it has persistently campaigned both in and outside parliament to amend the lese majeste law and why its former leader, Pita Limjaroenrat, has applied for the court to grant bail for suspects in several lese majeste cases.

To sum up, the MFP must show it is a political party that loves this country -- not one that hates it and is consistently seeking to divide and tear it apart.

Exodus or influx?

Re: "Thailand braces for exodus", (BP, April 10).

The referred headline gave me a wrong perception at a glance as if there would be a mass departure of people from Thailand, as that is the meaning of the word "exodus". Why don't you put it as "Thailand braces for influx"? There is another funny way of writing; in the first paragraph, you put it as "… Myawaddy, a border town opposite Tak's Mae Sot district …". I wonder why you don't use "the" instead of "a", as Myawaddy is the one and only one.

Follow UN's lead

Re: "Dealing with Myanmar", and "Thailand braces for exodus", (BP, April 10).

Thailand should follow the UN's lead in handling relations with Myanmar and its citizens. For example: (a) The UN continues to recognise U Kyaw Moe Tun, the Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations, as the country's representative, who was appointed before the Tatmadaw's 2021 coup. Thus, we should continue to recognise Myanmar's pre-coup diplomats -- not the Tatmadaw's, as the military doesn't represent the citizens' collective will.

(b) We cannot bar entry to unarmed persons from either side who wish entry to Thailand, for doing so might expose them to danger. They should be offered a free choice of (i) Repatriation to a region which they consider to be safe, (ii) Employment at market rates, with an acculturation programme and merit-based path to citizenship, so they can help kick-start our economy out of lethargy while Thais receive subsidised productivity training, or (iii) Confinement in a refugee camp.

Tourism gamble

Re: "Otherwise Thailand will only have temples, for worship and merit-making", (InQuote, April 1).

According to Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, pushing for the development of casinos in Thailand is an effort to attract more tourists. Was this meant to be his April Fool's Day joke or does he really believe tens of millions of tourists just come to Thailand to visit temples (and in future casinos) only? He may be in for a surprise by enlightening himself at the Tourist Authority of Thailand.

Straight talker

Re: "Thin-skinned?", (PostBag, April 11) and "Beyond labels", (PostBag, April 3).

Owing to his depth of perception and skills in bluntly articulating what others fail to see, Ray Ban would be a valuable moderator in the interminable international calls for a ceasefire and the resumption of effective humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip that backfire every time due to human intransigence.

Is it hot in here?

Re: "Swords drawn", (PostBag, April 6) and "Postbag gladiators", (PostBag, April 5).

After reading the recent disputes between Eric Bahrt and various others, a popular English saying comes to mind: "If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen"!

Barrier to peace

Re: "Yellen's warnings: Russian invasion of Ukraine", (World, April 9).

US complaints about the invasion ring hollow when the US provoked it and scuppered peace talks at the outset to make sure it happened. It's their proxy war on Russia, to damage Russia, with Ukraine taking all the pain.

The provocation was the US insisting that Ukraine be brought into Nato. To secure Russia's agreement to German re-unification (1990), the US promised Gorbachev that "the West will not move ..an inch East". They later broke that promise. But they were warned by their ambassador in Moscow at the time (now the CIA director) that Ukraine in Nato would be perceived by any Russian leader as an unacceptable threat to Russian national security, and would provoke a reaction. A glance at the map explains why. Before the invasion, Russia warned repeatedly that this was their red line.

The US ignored the warnings. Peace talks were on offer from the outset brokered by Turkey; when Volodymyr Zelensky expressed interest in joining them, Boris Johnson appeared in Kiev to talk him out of it. And succeeded. We don't know what he said, or what it had to do with Mr Johnson -- but probably he was just a messenger for Biden (who wanted to preserve the illusion that the war was nothing to do with him). Mr Zelensky missed a chance to save his country.

The likely outcome seems to be that Russia has been strengthened militarily; that Ukraine is on the brink of destruction; and that the US will have sacrificed Ukraine for an unachievable objective.

Historical context

The horrific conflict in Palestine continues and will continue for one simple reason: Israel's creation was sanctioned by the United Nations in 1917.

Israel was created as a result of the 1917 Balfour Declaration, an agreement made between the British Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour, and Lionel Rothschild. Lionel Rothschild assured the British he would get the United States involved in World War I to help them if they agreed to create a Jewish homeland in Palestine that was then under British control.

Geographically and literally, Palestinian people were displaced. The heart of their country was taken over by a new state called Israel. One must wonder how England would have responded to a German state being planted in the middle of England. Of course, we know the answer. It resulted in two world wars.

So what was to be expected following this agreement sanctioned by the UN. Now, it seems Israel intends to expand across the whole of Palestine. At the outset, there seems to have been a lack of wisdom and foresight. The Palestinian people are paying the price.

Change priorities

Re: "China's EV boom fuels demand for new ships", (Business, April 11).

In just a few short years China has emerged as the world's number one exporter of automobiles, overtaking even Japan. Recently, Janet Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary, visited China to discuss what she claims is China's automotive manufacturing "overcapacity".

Ms Yellen, a distinguished economist, understands well the cornerstone principle of supply and demand. In an efficient market, "overcapacity" tends to resolve itself naturally without necessitating intervention. Market intervention is never a long-term solution. Yet Ms Yellen blamed the rapid decline of the US automobile industry on China's "overcapacity".

While the traditional ICE US automobile industry is in trouble, Tesla has become the world's No.1 automobile manufacturer. It needed no help from the federal government. So, it is not the ingenuity of American engineers that is in question. It is the US government policy that is in question.

For the US to compete with China in the EV industry, the US government must realign its priorities. It should stop spending billions on international conflicts, unnecessary wars and sanctions, imposing Western norms on other nations, and interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries. Instead, these resources could be more effectively channelled into enhancing US industrial competitiveness, infrastructure rebuilding, and better social welfare.

The global community is waiting to see if the US government will help make the US automotive industry competitive again in the long term. Healthy manufacturing competition benefits consumers worldwide.

It is hard to imagine America without an automobile industry. In many ways, the identity of America is deeply intertwined, and its image is often synonymous with its iconic automobiles.