Thaksin thinks speech plan made HK and Beijing uncomfortable

Ousted Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said yesterday he believed the mainland and Hong Kong governments had felt uncomfortable about his plan to appear in the city to speak.

Via a video link from Dubai, he told a Hong Kong audience his future visits to the city would be low-profile.

The fugitive told a packed audience at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Central that he was not worried about coming to Hong Kong but wanted to protect Sino-Thai relations.

'I have had no conversations with the Chinese or Hong Kong governments, but I have some kind of feeling that they may feel uncomfortable because of their relationship [with Thailand],' he said. 'So I'd better stay away to protect that relationship.'

Thaksin initially planned to speak in person to the FCC on Monday last week but pulled out after Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva threatened to seek Beijing's help in extraditing Thaksin. In October the former billionaire telecoms tycoon was sentenced in absentia to two years' jail for abuse of power in a land deal while he was in office.

China has an extradition treaty with Thailand, but no such agreement exists between Hong Kong and Thailand, despite ongoing talks about securing such a pact.

Thaksin said he was aware there was no treaty with Hong Kong and felt he had 'nothing to worry about' during future visits, but stressed he would seek to make them 'quietly'.