https://www.scmp.com/rss/315713/feed Born and raised in Spain, Laura Villadiego is a freelance journalist specialized in human rights, labour issues and the environment. Based in Thailand, she has been covering Southeast Asia since 2009. Her work has been published in international media outlets, such as Al Jazeera, The Guardian or the Spanish News Agency EFE. She has also co-authored two books focused on supply chains. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com When Samrit Boranmun heard that a Chinese company was planning to open a potash mine near her village in northeast Thailand she was determined to stop it. “I’m not going to allow that to happen,” the mother of two said. In environmental terms, such a project would be disastrous for the community, she said. Locals had already had to suffer a contaminated water supply and subsidence after salt mines were opened in the area, and the scale of the potash project was much bigger, she said. China seeks... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3002973/thai-villagers-continue-fight-chinese-plans-potash-mine?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3002973/thai-villagers-continue-fight-chinese-plans-potash-mine?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Mar 2019 04:30:07 +0000 Rice is once again at the centre of Thai politics after a controversial bill was postponed indefinitely due to opposition from farmers who make up one of the country’s most influential voting blocs. The proposed rice bill would have established a board controlled by the government to oversee the industry, granting the state sole authority to license certain strains of rice seeds for sale. The bill passed the first reading in the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) in January but was postponed... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2188841/thailand-delays-rice-bill-over-farmers-objections-will-it-open?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2188841/thailand-delays-rice-bill-over-farmers-objections-will-it-open?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Mar 2019 11:03:42 +0000 Peace talks to end a 15-year war in Thailand’s southernmost provinces between Muslim guerilla fighters and the army hit a snag last weekend, when Bangkok’s new peace negotiator did not turn up for a scheduled meeting. But analysts are still hopeful that a resolution to the long-running insurgency is in sight – and they are pinning their hope on Malaysia’s role in the talks. After he returned to power last year, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed expressed his commitment to the peace... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2185535/malaysia-could-play-vital-role-mediating-conflict-between?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2185535/malaysia-could-play-vital-role-mediating-conflict-between?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Feb 2019 08:30:45 +0000 More than 400 schools in Bangkok were ordered to close on Wednesday, according to local media, as the Thai capital’s air pollution intensified. Officials said the pollution exceeded acceptable levels in 39 separate areas and the city’s governor, Aswin Kwanmuang, warned “children might be harmed”. Concentration of harmful fine particles known as PM2.5 increased at the end of December and has since remained above the World Health Organisation’s safe threshold of 50 microgrammes per cubic... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2184265/bangkoks-smog-crisis-forces-437-schools-close-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2184265/bangkoks-smog-crisis-forces-437-schools-close-after?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jan 2019 06:00:00 +0000 Australia’s foreign minister lobbied Thai authorities on Thursday to free a refugee soccer player who has been languishing in a Bangkok jail since November. Hakeem al-Araibi fled Bahrain in 2014 after he says he was arrested and tortured. He was granted refugee status by Australia in 2017. “We are, as I’ve said, very concerned about his detention, very concerned about any potential for [the] return of Mr Araibi to Bahrain,” said Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne after meeting her Thai... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2181567/after-case-saudi-runaway-australia-urges-thailand-release?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2181567/after-case-saudi-runaway-australia-urges-thailand-release?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 10 Jan 2019 11:48:04 +0000 The case of the 18-year-old Saudi woman who made a desperate call for asylum from an airport in Thailand may be fast tracked as her renunciation of Islam could put her in danger should she be returned home, according to activists. Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun is now being evaluated by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) to assess her need for international protection, a process that usually takes months. If you sent her back to Saudi Arabia after[renouncing Islam], forget about her Phil... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2181228/saudi-teenager-seeking-asylum-thailand-may-get-fast-tracked?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2181228/saudi-teenager-seeking-asylum-thailand-may-get-fast-tracked?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 08 Jan 2019 11:45:00 +0000 Thailand’s decision to legalise marijuana for medical purposes has raised concerns over deliberate exploitation of the new law and warnings to the public not to forget that general use of the drug is still very much illegal. Last Tuesday, Thailand’s National Legislative Assembly passed a bill allowing the use of cannabis and kratom, a local plant with opioid properties native to Southeast Asia. It grants use for several purposes, including patient treatment, growing for export and sale, research... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2180137/will-thailands-legal-medical-marijuana-seed-new-black-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2180137/will-thailands-legal-medical-marijuana-seed-new-black-market?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Jan 2019 04:15:45 +0000 A Thai man who felt slighted by his in-laws shot dead six family members including his two young children at a New Year’s Eve party before turning the gun on himself, police said on Tuesday. The mass shooting took place 10 minutes after midnight as Sucheep Sornsung joined his wife’s family to ring in the New Year in the southern province of Chumphon. Sucheep was “heavily” drunk when he pulled out his pistol at the table in the beauty parlour where the party was being hosted in Phato district,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2180232/thai-man-guns-down-six-family-members-including-his?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2180232/thai-man-guns-down-six-family-members-including-his?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Jan 2019 03:57:34 +0000 It’s an uneasy time for Asian nations as the rivalry between China and the United States intensifies and it remains uncertain whether they can resolve their trade war when the 90-day truce expires. In this special series the South China Morning Post explores how the China-US rivalry is affecting four countries in Asia. In part three, Laura Villadiego looks at Thailand. If the trade war between the United States and China escalates, Thailand is poised to enjoy some short-term benefits as... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2178373/thailand-can-cash-us-china-trade-war-theres-no-gain-without?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2178373/thailand-can-cash-us-china-trade-war-theres-no-gain-without?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Dec 2018 22:00:45 +0000 The Thai military junta this week announced that the country’s long-awaited elections will be held on February 24, 2019 – but while the government has lifted a ban on political activity, political parties and analysts say the measures are not enough to ensure the process will be democratic. “Partially relaxing control over political parties is not enough to guarantee that elections will be free and fair,” said Sunai Pasuk, a Thailand-based researcher for Human Rights Watch. Thailand has been run... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2177841/thailand-goes-polls-february-theres-still-bumpy-road-political?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2177841/thailand-goes-polls-february-theres-still-bumpy-road-political?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Dec 2018 09:45:15 +0000 Thailand could become the first country in Asia to recognise same-sex civil unions under a law that is expected to be approved by the end of the year, but activists say the bill fails to grant them the same rights as heterosexual couples. “We need LGBTIQ to be included and not [to have] a separate law that creates second-class citizens,” said activist Matcha Phorn-in, using the acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and questioning. Activists are demanding the bill be dropped... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/2174312/thailand-leads-same-sex-unions-so-why-lgbt-complaints?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/2174312/thailand-leads-same-sex-unions-so-why-lgbt-complaints?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 22 Nov 2018 01:00:45 +0000 Fatima, 48, thought she would find safety in Thailand when she fled war-torn Syria almost six years ago. “We came to Thailand because it was the only country that gave us a visa,” says Fatima, who was born in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, near Damascus. However, the visa expired before her or her husband were able to find a legal job, rendering them illegal migrants. A few months later, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recognised their refugee status, but they... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2171481/refugees-collateral-damage-thailands-illegal-migrant-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2171481/refugees-collateral-damage-thailands-illegal-migrant-crackdown?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Nov 2018 05:00:45 +0000 The Thai government is trying to arrest the slide in Chinese tourist numbers after a string of controversies, including a boat accident that resulted in dozens of fatalities. The Association of Thai Travels Agents (ATTA) estimates the number of Chinese tourists dropped by 36 per cent during the recent “golden week” holiday compared with last year. “We think we are going to lose around 5 per cent of Chinese travellers over the year.”, said Adith Chairattananon, honorary secretary general of the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2168224/how-thailand-plans-lure-chinese-tourists-back-after-fatal-boat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/2168224/how-thailand-plans-lure-chinese-tourists-back-after-fatal-boat?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 12 Oct 2018 03:44:50 +0000 In contrast to many of Thailand’s most popular islands, Koh Ha’s charms lie exclusively beneath the water. The frenzy of boats that surrounds the rocky archipelago begins each day at about 10am, as divers and snorkellers arrive and make ready to marvel at what coral still remains in the area, some 35km (22 miles) to the southeast of the Phi Phi islands. Amid the hustle and bustle of tourists, however, some are here with a different purpose. They are intent not only on admiring the corals, but on... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2164177/coral-reefs-divers-volunteer-gardeners-restore?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2164177/coral-reefs-divers-volunteer-gardeners-restore?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Sep 2018 08:00:30 +0000 It is a country known to the world for its gay parties and transgender beauty pageants, a Land of Smiles that is welcoming to all. But tell that to members of Thailand’s LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) community and you might receive a puzzled frown. While Thailand is one of the most progressive countries in Asia regarding LGBTI rights, and its capital Bangkok often tops lists of gay-friendly tourist destinations, activists in the country say the gay community suffers... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/2163544/land-lady-boys-thailand-not-gay-paradise-it-appears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/2163544/land-lady-boys-thailand-not-gay-paradise-it-appears?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Sep 2018 02:48:06 +0000 Gender equality advocates criticised a major Thai police training academy this week as “ignorant” and “on the wrong side of history” for its decision to ban women from its programmes next year. The Royal Police Cadet Academy (RPCA), on the western edge of the capital, Bangkok, declined to explain why women candidates would no longer be accepted. It is considered the country’s main commissioning institute for budding law enforcement officers, particularly those hoping to be considered for top... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/2163233/arrested-development-womens-rights-hit-roadblock-thailand-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/2163233/arrested-development-womens-rights-hit-roadblock-thailand-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 08 Sep 2018 05:45:30 +0000 Since Thaksin Shinawatra became prime minister in Thailand in 2001, every party aligned with the ousted leader has won every election held in the country. However, in its determination to dominate next year’s general election, the junta-ruled government may be now luring high-profile members of the tycoon’s Pheu Thai party to its side while banning meetings of its political rivals. The defection of Pheu Thai MPs has the party facing some of its most difficult days yet. The move is led by the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2158472/thai-election-any-government-you-long-its-junta?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2158472/thai-election-any-government-you-long-its-junta?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Aug 2018 06:30:00 +0000 While Thailand holds its collective breath as rescuers attempt to save 12 boys and their soccer coach trapped in a cave in the northern province of Chiang Rai, the country’s ruling military junta has more reason than most to pray for a happy ending. A successful rescue of the boys could give the junta – which seized power in a coup d’etat in May 2014 – a timely popularity boost as it comes under intense pressure to hold elections. “Thai authorities are trying to use [the rescue] for political... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2153874/will-thai-junta-use-cave-rescue-soccer-team-save-itself?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2153874/will-thai-junta-use-cave-rescue-soccer-team-save-itself?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Jul 2018 08:00:30 +0000 In Thailand, it is often said that Buddhist monks should not get involved in politics. However, today they are front and centre as the junta launches a campaign to clean the monkhood’s tarnished image following years of scandals involving corruption, drugs, sex and even murder. But far from an altruistic effort, the junta’s campaign is seen as a political strategy to win hearts and minds amid mounting pressure to hold elections after four years of military rule. Looking within: what’s behind... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2150196/thailands-monks-run-amok-will-juntas-crackdown-answer-its-prayers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2150196/thailands-monks-run-amok-will-juntas-crackdown-answer-its-prayers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 24 Jun 2018 05:02:52 +0000 Four years since a junta-led coup brought General Prayuth Chan-ocha to power in Thailand, the military government appears to have found an unlikely role model for some lessons in democracy: exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra. With the junta under growing pressure to hold elections – it has promised a vote in February 2019, but has postponed polls on several occasions – it has ramped up spending in controversial development policies that appear tailor-made to appeal to rural voters,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2147862/what-thai-army-took-thaksin-shinawatras-playbook?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2147862/what-thai-army-took-thaksin-shinawatras-playbook?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 26 May 2018 02:04:23 +0000 Sai Tun Shwe is a worried man. After 13 years in Thailand, nine of them working at the same garment factory, his work permit is about to expire and for the first time he is unsure if he will be able to renew it. “If I cannot get it done on time, I will be in big trouble”, says the Myanmar-born worker, 41. Sai Tun Shwe is not alone. Two million migrant workers in Thailand are struggling to renew their work permits before the end of March after a new law threatened fines and even jail for those... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2137480/thailand-says-it-trying-protect-migrant-workers-so-why-are-they?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2137480/thailand-says-it-trying-protect-migrant-workers-so-why-are-they?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Mar 2018 02:30:00 +0000 The self-regulatory group charged with balancing the successes of the palm oil industry against its labour and environmental abuses has a big year ahead of it, as it tries to bolster its guiding principles without adding costs that price its product out of the market. In the late 1980s, a United Nations report “Our Common Future” set out what would become the most widely accepted definition of sustainable development, a process “that meets the needs of the present without compromising the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2129698/time-bomb-our-stir-fry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/geopolitics/article/2129698/time-bomb-our-stir-fry?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 22 Jan 2018 01:00:15 +0000 Kampot, in southern Cambodia, seemed an unlikely place for a development boom. Its quiet and idyllic streets and neighbourhoods nestled on along the Praek Tuek Chhu River made the rapid pace of so-called progress in other parts of South-east Asia feel worlds away. But that quiet was shattered seven years ago as a wave of infrastructure projects began to swell, including the restoration of a railway that linked to the capital, the refurbishment of colonial buildings and the construction of a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2126207/world-running-out-resource-and-its-not-oil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2126207/world-running-out-resource-and-its-not-oil?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 31 Dec 2017 02:00:00 +0000 More than one year since the passing of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand has said its final farewell to a revered monarch seen by many Thais as a demigod. Bhumibol’s cremation, which began on Thursday, symbolises the end of a 70-year reign during which the king – Rama IX – helped transform Thailand into a middle-income country. The sustained growth of the Thai economy under Bhumibol, which took place despite much political instability, has been attributed by many observers to the king’s ideas... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2117353/thailand-cremates-king-bhumibol-can-it-keep-lid-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/2117353/thailand-cremates-king-bhumibol-can-it-keep-lid-tensions?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Oct 2017 01:16:55 +0000 Somnuk Krodsua still remembers the layer of black dust that used to cover his garden every morning two decades ago. His house, located in the Thai southern province of Krabi, sat only a couple of kilometres from a coal plant that produced energy day and night. “There was a lot of pollution. Often we couldn’t see more than 20 metres ahead because there was a thick smoke,” said the lawyer. The plant closed 20 years ago, but when Somnuck heard in 2014 that the government was planning a new coal... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2102934/thailand-chases-chinese-money-what-cost?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/society/article/2102934/thailand-chases-chinese-money-what-cost?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Jul 2017 00:30:30 +0000 In 2009, as the financial crisis swept the world, Samart Senasuk, now 44, lost his job as a secu­rity guard in Bangkok. Unable to find work, he was preparing to return to his hometown, in Isaan, an impoverished region in the north­east of Thailand, when a friendly man invited him for a drink, to talk about a job on a fishing vessel. Samart turned down the job but, after a few sips of his drink, he says, he passed out. When he woke, he was on a boat off Singapore – how he got there remains a... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2102498/tackling-slavery-thai-fishing-industry-one-victim?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/long-reads/article/2102498/tackling-slavery-thai-fishing-industry-one-victim?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Jul 2017 06:15:45 +0000 With a smile, 62-year-old Sreng Talong remembers being deported from his home country. The expulsion saved his life. It was in late 1975, a few months after the Khmer Rouge had taken power in Cambodia, and the ultra-Maoist regime was sending ethnic Vietnamese, such as Sreng Talong, to neighbouring Vietnam. “I saw so many people die during the Pol Pot regime era that I was really happy to be sent out,” he says. The Khmer Rouge oversaw one of the largest genocides of the 20th century: an estimated... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1592212/hope-floats?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1592212/hope-floats?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 14 Sep 2014 02:30:15 +0000