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King Bhubimol Adulyadej
Hong KongSociety

Hong Kong’s Thai people pay tribute to late king Bhumibol Adulyadej

More than 3,000 from city’s 30,000-strong Thai community head to small temple in Yuen Long for sombre memorial

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A picture of the late Thai king Bhumibol Adulyadej, whose funeral is this week, shown at the service in Yuen Long. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Billy SK Wong

More than 3,000 of Hong Kong’s Thai people congregated at a small temple in the New Territories on Thursday, to pay tribute to their late king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, as their country prepared for his cremation.

Black-clad mourners thronged Wat Buddhadhamaram in Yuen Long, the city’s oldest Thai temple, to commemorate the revered monarch, who died last year aged 88 after a seven-decade reign.
The death of the “father” of the nation plunged Thai people around the world, including around 30,000 expatriates in the city, into a year of grieving.
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Mourners observed a moment of silence and offered sandalwood flowers to an altar with the late king’s photo. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Mourners observed a moment of silence and offered sandalwood flowers to an altar with the late king’s photo. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

In Yuen Long, from 2.30pm and into the early evening, the temple, four adjacent makeshift tents and the outdoor areas were all packed with mourners, most of whom had taken time off work to pay homage.

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Thailand’s consul general in the city, Asi Mamanee, presided over a memorial service at 4pm, where mourners observed a moment of silence and offered sandalwood flowers to an altar with the late king’s photo, Buddhist chants playing in the background.

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