https://www.scmp.com/rss/507524/feed Since July 2020, thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators have gathered on Bangkok’s streets and university campuses to demand curbs on the power of Thailand's King Maha Vajiralongkorn, fresh elections and constitutional reforms. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Campaigning for Thailand’s February 8 general election has begun with a frenetic three-way battle defined by corruption allegations, a tense border conflict with Cambodia and the emergence of a new frontman for the once all-conquering Shinawatra political dynasty. But the caravans of politicians criss-crossing the nation and blitzing social media have so far failed to inspire a public, which has seen its electoral choices repeatedly nullified by courts and coups, as conservatives find ways to... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338090/thai-election-border-row-aids-anutin-shinawatra-clan-fights-survival-reformists-chase?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3338090/thai-election-border-row-aids-anutin-shinawatra-clan-fights-survival-reformists-chase?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 30 Dec 2025 04:30:08 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Thailand’s Supreme Court ordered jailed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Monday to pay back taxes over the sale of his telecoms firm, the judiciary said, with reports putting the sum due at around half a billion dollars. In 2006, Thaksin was dogged by corruption allegations and mired in controversy over the tax-free sale of shares in his company, Shin Corporation. Later that year he was ousted as prime minister in a coup and then went into exile for more than a decade. The 76-year-old... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3333153/thai-ex-pm-thaksin-faces-us540-million-bill-over-shin-corporation-sale-singapores-temasek?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3333153/thai-ex-pm-thaksin-faces-us540-million-bill-over-shin-corporation-sale-singapores-temasek?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 17 Nov 2025 22:00:15 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse A Thai court jailed 11 former leaders of the “red-shirt movement” protest on Tuesday over their role in 2010 anti-government demonstrations which culminated in an army crackdown that left scores dead. The supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, were found guilty of violating state of emergency rules imposed during the protests, which sought to oust then prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Tens of thousands of red-shirt movement protesters, known by the colour of their attire, took... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3328126/thai-court-jails-11-thaksin-supporters-over-2010-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3328126/thai-court-jails-11-thaksin-supporters-over-2010-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Oct 2025 10:18:07 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was cleared on Friday of royal defamation charges, relieving one of the threats to his embattled dynasty, which has dominated Thai politics for two decades. Thaksin’s family has long jousted with the nation’s pro-military, pro-monarchy elite, who view their populist movement as a threat to Thailand’s traditional social order. Their tenure as a defining force in Thai politics has unfolded in a saga of coups, street protests and court cases as they... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3322797/thai-ex-pm-thaksin-cleared-royal-insult-charges-political-dynastys-future-uncertain?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3322797/thai-ex-pm-thaksin-cleared-royal-insult-charges-political-dynastys-future-uncertain?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 22 Aug 2025 08:10:28 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thailand’s besieged Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra scrambled on Saturday to shore up her wobbling coalition after a leaked phone call drove defections from her government and rekindled resentments against her family, threatening to end her time in office after less than a year. Compounding her woes, Paetongtarn is set to face a court challenge from Thai senators and planned street protests demanding her ouster. Thailand’s youngest ever leader at 38 and the daughter of divisive two-time... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3315331/thailands-pm-digs-defections-and-legal-challenge-threaten-her-power?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3315331/thailands-pm-digs-defections-and-legal-challenge-threaten-her-power?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Jun 2025 08:44:57 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Thailand’s Medical Council suspended two doctors on Thursday over alleged ethical violations linked to treatment given to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra following his return from exile. Thaksin, 75, returned to Thailand in August 2023 after more than a decade overseas and was sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption and abuse of power upon arrival. However, he was transferred almost immediately from a detention centre to a private room in Bangkok’s Police General Hospital for... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3309605/thailand-suspends-2-doctors-over-ex-pm-thaksins-hospital-stay?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3309605/thailand-suspends-2-doctors-over-ex-pm-thaksins-hospital-stay?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 May 2025 11:14:58 +0000 The US State Department on Wednesday reacted to the arrest of a leading American academic based in Thailand, saying it was “alarmed” at his detention for alleged infringement of the country’s hardline royal insult law. Paul Chambers, a political analyst at the Naresuan University who has written several books on the Thai military and the kingdom’s complex power arrangements, was arrested on Tuesday after reporting to police to face charges of lèse-majesté – or royal defamation – and violating... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3305810/us-alarmed-arrest-american-academic-thailand-alleged-royal-defamation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3305810/us-alarmed-arrest-american-academic-thailand-alleged-royal-defamation?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 09 Apr 2025 06:32:43 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Thailand’s main opposition party leader has overtaken incumbent Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in a prominent opinion poll as the most preferred leader of Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut, leader of the People’s Party, was selected by 29.9 per cent of 2,000 respondents as the person they “would support to become prime minister today,” according to the quarterly survey result issued on Sunday by the National Institute of Development Administration. He was... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3292672/thai-opposition-leader-outpolls-incumbent-preferred-pm-survey?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3292672/thai-opposition-leader-outpolls-incumbent-preferred-pm-survey?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:49:17 +0000 Thailand’s anti-corruption body on Friday said it was investigating 44 members of the disbanded Move Forward party, following a complaint seeking their lifetime bans from politics for backing legislation aimed at amending a law against royal insults. It comes less than a month after a court ordered the dissolution of the popular Move Forward, the surprise winners of last year’s election, over its campaign pledge to amend the law, which shields the powerful crown from criticism. Among the 44... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3276635/thailands-anti-corruption-body-opens-new-probe-embattled-move-forward-party?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3276635/thailands-anti-corruption-body-opens-new-probe-embattled-move-forward-party?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 30 Aug 2024 12:25:43 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Proud father to Thailand’s youngest-ever prime minister, a billionaire returned from the wilderness to the top of Thai power, and a one-time electoral star writing a sequel to one of Southeast Asia’s most remarkable modern political sagas – at the ripe old age of 75, Thaksin Shinawatra is back. He’s been pardoned from the convictions that drove him into 15 years of self-exile, with a third person bearing his surname – his daughter Paetongtarn – in the prime minister’s office. But experts warn... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3275669/back-square-one-thailand-confronts-ghosts-its-past-shinawatra-restoration?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3275669/back-square-one-thailand-confronts-ghosts-its-past-shinawatra-restoration?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Aug 2024 04:30:10 +0000 On August 7, the Thai Constitutional Court announced its unanimous decision to dissolve the Move Forward Party (MFP). The last dissolution of a popular progressive party in 2020 kicked off a large youth-led pro-democracy movement that lasted months. However, a similar response this time around seems unlikely. MFP won both the popular vote and the largest number of seats in the May 2023 general election. Despite this victory, the party was blocked from forming a government. A year after the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3274814/will-dissolution-thailands-move-forward-party-reignite-wave-youth-led-protests?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3274814/will-dissolution-thailands-move-forward-party-reignite-wave-youth-led-protests?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Aug 2024 02:30:21 +0000 Maria Siow Maria Siow The appointment of Paetongtarn Shinawatra – a politically inexperienced novice – as Thailand’s new prime minister will mean that she will remain under the tutelage and in the “shadow” of her father, former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who will “hold sway” over policymaking, analysts have said. On Friday, Thailand’s parliament voted the 37-year-old Paetongtarn to be the country’s next prime minister after the ruling Pheu Thai party nominated her to replace dismissed leader Srettha Thavisin. The... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3274786/puppet-her-dad-thailands-new-pm-paetongtarn-remain-thaksins-shadow-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3274786/puppet-her-dad-thailands-new-pm-paetongtarn-remain-thaksins-shadow-analysts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Aug 2024 09:30:20 +0000 Zhao Ziwen Zhao Ziwen The sudden ousting of Thailand’s prime minister could drag the country further into political turmoil but China is expected to be able to weather the uncertainty, observers say. In a 5-4 decision on Wednesday, Thailand’s Constitutional Court ruled that prime minister Srettha Thavisin, who took office almost one year ago, breached ethics standards for appointing a cabinet member who served a jail term 16 years ago. The decision came a day after Beijing announced that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3274646/china-ties-strong-enough-weather-thailands-political-turmoil-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3274646/china-ties-strong-enough-weather-thailands-political-turmoil-analysts?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Aug 2024 13:00:16 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Thailand’s Pheu Thai party has chosen 37-year-old Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, as its candidate for prime minister, it announced on Thursday, a day after a court dismissed the incumbent premier in an ethics case. “We decide to nominate Paetongtarn Shinawatra,” party secretary general Sorawong Thienthong told a press conference in Bangkok. Lawmakers will vote on Friday in parliament – where Pheu Thai heads a governing coalition – on... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3274633/thailands-pheu-thai-party-chooses-paetongtarn-shinawatra-pm-candidate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3274633/thailands-pheu-thai-party-chooses-paetongtarn-shinawatra-pm-candidate?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Aug 2024 10:46:27 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thailand’s Constitutional Court dissolved the pro-democracy Move Forward Party (MFP) and slapped a 10-year political ban on its executives on Wednesday for attempting to reform the country’s royal defamation law during its winning campaign for last year’s general election. The ruling effectively wipes out the votes of 14 million people who had hoped for sweeping changes to one of Asia’s least equal societies; stubs out the political career of party frontman Pita Limjaroenrat and nudges Thailand... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3273585/thai-court-dissolves-election-winning-move-forward-party-bans-its-leaders-politics?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3273585/thai-court-dissolves-election-winning-move-forward-party-bans-its-leaders-politics?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 07 Aug 2024 09:52:27 +0000 Napon Jatusripitak Napon Jatusripitak When important political events coincide, they inevitably seem intertwined. A case in point is Thaksin Shinawatra’s return to Thailand from self-imposed exile on August 22 last year. Just hours after Thaksin landed at Don Mueang airport, Srettha Thavisin was elected prime minister, endorsed by both establishment-leaning political parties and a significant number of junta-appointed senators. It is now a foregone conclusion that a grand compromise was made to facilitate Thaksin’s safe return and... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3270216/thailands-grand-compromise-between-thaksin-and-his-political-foes-risk-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3270216/thailands-grand-compromise-between-thaksin-and-his-political-foes-risk-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 13 Jul 2024 03:00:10 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand’s divisive two-time former prime minister, will be indicted for royal defamation over media comments made nearly a decade ago, a potential sign of a conservative backlash against a government dominated by his loyalists. The 74-year-old billionaire, the nation’s most influential politician over the last two decades, faces the kingdom’s tough lese-majeste law, which shields the powerful monarchy from criticism, over an allegation that he defamed the monarchy in an... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3264528/thailands-ex-pm-thaksin-face-trial-royal-defamation-amid-conservative-backlash-against-his-influence?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3264528/thailands-ex-pm-thaksin-face-trial-royal-defamation-amid-conservative-backlash-against-his-influence?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 29 May 2024 06:51:03 +0000 Associated Press Associated Press A young Thai activist who went on a hunger strike after being jailed for advocating reform of the country’s system of monarchy died on Tuesday in a prison hospital, officials said. Netiporn Sanesangkhom, 28, was a member of the activist group Thaluwang, known for their bold and aggressive campaigns demanding reform of the monarchy and abolition of the law that makes it illegal to defame members of the royal family. The group’s name can be loosely translated to “breaking through the palace”, a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3262692/thai-monarchy-reform-activist-dies-detention-after-months-hunger-strike?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3262692/thai-monarchy-reform-activist-dies-detention-after-months-hunger-strike?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 May 2024 13:45:11 +0000 A court in Thailand on Monday sentenced one of the kingdom’s leading democracy activists to a further two years imprisonment on royal insult charges. It is the latest charge levelled against prominent human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, who now faces more than 10 years in prison. He is currently in jail after he was handed down a four-year sentence in January over three messages posted on Facebook in 2021, adding to the four years he was already serving for a prior lèse-majesté conviction. Critics... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3260773/thai-rights-lawyer-arnon-nampa-jailed-2-more-years-over-royal-insult-fined-us4-using-loudspeaker?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3260773/thai-rights-lawyer-arnon-nampa-jailed-2-more-years-over-royal-insult-fined-us4-using-loudspeaker?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 Apr 2024 07:26:09 +0000 Termsak Chalermpalanupap Termsak Chalermpalanupap How many prime ministers does Thailand have now? One, if you ask Srettha Thavisin. In theory, the 62-year-old real estate tycoon is the prime minister. Nominally, he leads a government coalition of 11 parties with 314 MPs in Thailand’s 500-member House of Representatives. But whether he is actually fully or partially in charge is another matter altogether. In practice, Srettha is neither an MP nor the leader of Pheu Thai, the chief party in the ruling coalition. He has confessed to knowing a few... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3254717/thailand-srettha-thavisin-prime-minister-he-really-charge?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3254717/thailand-srettha-thavisin-prime-minister-he-really-charge?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Mar 2024 03:00:15 +0000 Aidan Jones Aidan Jones The parole of ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is proving as divisive as his time in power, with critics on the left and right of Thai politics saying justice has not been served by the release of a man who has turned the wheels of the kingdom’s chaotic politics more than any other figure over the last 20 years. The 74-year-old’s circuitous journey from a political star and champion of the poor to a fugitive nemesis of the elite – and now an elderly returnee to Thailand allowed to live at... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3252442/thaksins-parole-stirs-anger-thailand-double-standards-across-political-spectrum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3252442/thaksins-parole-stirs-anger-thailand-double-standards-across-political-spectrum?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Feb 2024 10:00:50 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived back at his Bangkok home from police hospital early on Sunday, just six months after his dramatic return to the kingdom from 15 years of self-imposed exile. The controversial billionaire, twice elected premier and ousted in a 2006 military coup, was jailed for eight years on graft and abuse-of-power charges upon his return in August. But his sentence was cut to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn within days of his return, and the government... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3252308/thailands-ex-pm-thaksin-leaves-police-hospital-day-parole?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3252308/thailands-ex-pm-thaksin-leaves-police-hospital-day-parole?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 18 Feb 2024 00:05:23 +0000 Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse Jailed former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be freed on Sunday, the kingdom’s prime minister has said, just six months after returning from 15 years of self-imposed exile. The controversial billionaire, twice elected prime minister and ousted in a 2006 military coup, was jailed for eight years on graft and abuse-of-power charges upon his return to Thailand in August, but within days had his sentence cut to one year by King Maha Vajiralongkorn. Speaking to reporters on Saturday... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3252267/jailed-ex-thai-leader-thaksin-be-released-sunday-pm-srettha-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3252267/jailed-ex-thai-leader-thaksin-be-released-sunday-pm-srettha-says?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Feb 2024 03:49:31 +0000 Agence France-Presse,Reuters Agence France-Presse,Reuters Thai police have charged former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra with lèse-majesté over comments he made almost a decade ago, officials said on Tuesday, though it is not clear if the case will go to court. Thailand has some of the world’s strictest royal defamation laws protecting King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his close family, with each charge bringing a potential 15-year prison sentence. The constitution states the king must be held in a position of “revered worship”. Thai king reduces former... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3251126/former-thai-pm-thaksin-shinawatra-charged-royal-insult?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3251126/former-thai-pm-thaksin-shinawatra-charged-royal-insult?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 06 Feb 2024 09:00:12 +0000 A Thai man was given a 50-year prison sentence on Thursday for criticising the monarchy – the longest jail term ever handed down under the kingdom’s strict royal insult laws, a legal rights group said. The record-breaking sentence comes after several years in which Thailand has ramped up use of the controversial legislation against pro-democracy protesters in what critics say is a tactic to silence dissent. An appeal court in the northern city of Chiang Rai sentenced Mongkol Thirakot, 30, a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3248939/thailand-jails-pro-democracy-activist-record-50-years-royal-insults-facebook?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3248939/thailand-jails-pro-democracy-activist-record-50-years-royal-insults-facebook?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Jan 2024 11:00:26 +0000 Reuters Reuters Thailand’s jailed former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra qualifies for release on parole next month due to his age and health, a corrections department official said on Wednesday. Billionaire Thaksin, 74, was hospitalised with high blood pressure and chest tightness within hours of his dramatic return to Thailand in August from 15 years of self-imposed exile to serve an eight-year sentence for abuse of power. His sentence was commuted to a year following a royal pardon. ‘Most popular’ Thaksin... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3248807/jailed-thai-ex-pm-thaksin-qualifies-special-parole-next-month-due-age-health?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3248807/jailed-thai-ex-pm-thaksin-qualifies-special-parole-next-month-due-age-health?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 17 Jan 2024 13:00:18 +0000 An activist and lawyer made famous for his open calls for reform of Thailand’s powerful monarchy was on Tuesday sentenced to four years in prison for royal insults, a judge said, in one of the country’s most high profile lèse-majesté cases. Human rights lawyer Arnon Nampa, 39, is widely known for his taboo-breaking speech during pro-democracy protests in 2020 during which he called for public debate on the role of Thailand’s king. Arnon denies wrongdoing. Thailand’s lèse-majesté law shields King... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3235827/thailand-jails-top-protest-leader-arnon-nampa-insulting-monarchy-worthwhile-personal-sacrifice?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3235827/thailand-jails-top-protest-leader-arnon-nampa-insulting-monarchy-worthwhile-personal-sacrifice?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Sep 2023 07:03:14 +0000 Thailand’s opposition Move Forward named a new leader on Saturday after Pita Limjaroenrat, who led the party to a stunning election victory in May, was thwarted in his efforts to become premier. Chaithawat Tulathon, a former political magazine editor, will head Move Forward, which won the most seats in parliament on a wave of youth and urban support over its anti-establishment policies. The progressive party will lead the opposition after conservative lawmakers and an unelected senate blocked... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3235580/thailands-opposition-move-forward-party-names-new-leader-amid-temporary-restructuring?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3235580/thailands-opposition-move-forward-party-names-new-leader-amid-temporary-restructuring?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 23 Sep 2023 09:00:43 +0000 Pita Limjaroenrat, whose reformist party won the most seats at Thailand’s national elections in May, resigned as its leader on Friday. The young challenger led the Move Forward Party (MFP) to the top spot in the polls, capitalising on a swell of voters furious at a near-decade of junta-backed rule. However, he was stopped from becoming prime minister by entrenched conservative blocs in parliament, and was later suspended as a member of parliament. Harvard-educated Pita, 43, was blocked from the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3234665/thailand-pita-limjaroenrat-resigns-move-forward-partys-leader-remain-involved-mfp?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3234665/thailand-pita-limjaroenrat-resigns-move-forward-partys-leader-remain-involved-mfp?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Sep 2023 07:24:51 +0000 Bloomberg Bloomberg Thailand’s new government is set to unveil a number of fiscal stimulus measures next week that will include debt suspension for millions of farmers and small businesses, and a cut in energy prices to bolster growth in an economy still reeling from the pandemic. Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, a former property mogul, will reveal his coalition’s policy priorities to the parliament on Monday. The main highlight will be a planned cash handout of 10,000 baht (US$280) each through a so-called... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3233615/new-thai-pm-unleash-stimulus-bolster-economy-still-reeling-pandemic-thailand-sick-person?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3233615/new-thai-pm-unleash-stimulus-bolster-economy-still-reeling-pandemic-thailand-sick-person?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Sep 2023 09:29:05 +0000 A Thai architect has been pelted with cow faeces in an unusual performance art piece inspired by an opposition party’s controversial decision to form a coalition government with army-backed parties. Thailand has endured months of political deadlock following May’s elections, when the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) triumphed only to be blocked from power by the kingdom’s conservative establishment. Former MFP partners Pheu Thai stepped forward to lead, forging an 11-party coalition with... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3233236/thai-artist-pelted-faeces-show-protest-against-army-linked-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3233236/thai-artist-pelted-faeces-show-protest-against-army-linked-government?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Sep 2023 02:55:23 +0000 Reuters Reuters Thailand’s former premier Thaksin Shinawatra has submitted a request for a royal pardon, outgoing Justice Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said on Thursday, his latest move in a long-running power struggle with the country’s establishment. Thaksin, Thailand’s most famous politician, made a dramatic homecoming last week after 15 years abroad where he lived in self-exile to avoid prison. Thaksin arrived on a private jet and greeted supporters before being moved to a prison to serve an eight-year... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3232986/thailands-billionaire-ex-pm-thaksin-submits-royal-pardon-request?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3232986/thailands-billionaire-ex-pm-thaksin-submits-royal-pardon-request?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Aug 2023 11:38:41 +0000 Thailand’s jailed former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was moved to hospital overnight, officials said on Wednesday, over concern about his heart and high blood pressure on his first night in jail following his historic return from self-exile. The latest condition of 74-year-old Thaksin, the billionaire founder of the populist juggernaut Pheu Thai party, was not clear on Wednesday and his representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Corrections Department said in... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3231972/thailands-jailed-ex-pm-thaksin-moved-hospital-1-day-after-return-exile?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3231972/thailands-jailed-ex-pm-thaksin-moved-hospital-1-day-after-return-exile?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 23 Aug 2023 02:09:43 +0000 Thailand’s former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is set to return to the kingdom on Tuesday, the same day as a key parliamentary vote that could end a political deadlock, his daughter said. The 74-year-old billionaire was ousted in a 2006 military coup and has spent 15 years in self-exile. Thaksin has long said he wished to return home, but faces multiple criminal charges that he says are politically motivated. “On Tuesday, August 22, 9am I will pick up my father Thaksin at Don Muang... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3231630/thailands-ex-pm-thaksin-shinawatra-return-tuesday-same-day-political-stand-vote-daughter?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3231630/thailands-ex-pm-thaksin-shinawatra-return-tuesday-same-day-political-stand-vote-daughter?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 19 Aug 2023 04:21:16 +0000 Thailand’s Pheu Thai Party on Thursday gained support from a rival military-backed party, potentially boosting it in its bid to form a government ahead of a prime ministerial vote in parliament next week. The United Thai Nation Party or UTN, the party that fielded former coup leader Prayuth Chan-ocha as its prime ministerial candidate in the May election, said on Thursday that it will help Pheu Thai form a government. Prayuth, who is currently caretaker prime minister, first came to power in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3231444/thailands-pheu-thai-gain-backing-rival-party-form-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3231444/thailands-pheu-thai-gain-backing-rival-party-form-government?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Aug 2023 13:08:04 +0000 Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday rejected a request from the election-winning Move Forward Party to review a parliamentary decision that blocked its prime ministerial candidate from being renominated. The move all but kills off any hope of the progressive Move Forward leading the next government and paves the way for the legislature to hold another vote on a prime minister as soon as this week. Thailand has been under a caretaker government for five months and its biggest parties in... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3231271/move-forwards-hopes-leading-thailands-government-dashed-court-challenge-rejection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3231271/move-forwards-hopes-leading-thailands-government-dashed-court-challenge-rejection?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 16 Aug 2023 09:00:14 +0000 Move Forward Party, the surprise winner in Thailand’s May election, is in a quandary over whether to back or oppose a former ally’s candidate for prime minister after its own leader was rejected in his bids for the position. A new coalition that’s being formed by Pheu Thai Party plans to nominate property tycoon Srettha Thavisin as its choice for prime minister. Voting against Srettha risks pushing Pheu Thai toward conservative adversaries and pro-royalist senators, who thwarted Move Forward’s... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3230891/thai-poll-winner-faces-dilemma-over-support-tycoons-pm-bid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3230891/thai-poll-winner-faces-dilemma-over-support-tycoons-pm-bid?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 12 Aug 2023 09:31:44 +0000 Thailand’s political deadlock is turning potential homebuyers cautious in Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy, posing risks to the property market as some 50,000 flats are likely to be launched this year, analysts say. “The market is currently slow but quite stable in terms of supply and demand as local buyers are now adopting a more wait-and-see attitude, rather than making a decision,” said Wittaya Dave Apirakviriya, general manager of ThinkOfLiving.com and DDproperty, a unit of proptech... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3229572/pita-politics-and-policies-how-current-political-impasse-impacting-thailands-property-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3229572/pita-politics-and-policies-how-current-political-impasse-impacting-thailands-property-market?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 06 Aug 2023 04:30:07 +0000 Even in his absence, Thaksin Shinawatra has remained at the fulcrum of politics in Thailand. The ex-prime minister fled into self-exile in 2008, spending his time in London, Dubai and Hong Kong, as court cases stacked up against him, two years after a coup toppled his elected government. But in under two weeks, Thaksin – Thailand’s only civilian leader to finish a term and then be re-elected – appears poised to finally return home. If he does so on August 10 as expected, he will return to a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3229310/thailands-thaksin-plans-return-amid-rumours-super-deal-placing-move-forward-opposition?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3229310/thailands-thaksin-plans-return-amid-rumours-super-deal-placing-move-forward-opposition?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Jul 2023 03:30:15 +0000 Thailand’s billionaire former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will return to the kingdom on August 10 after 15 years in self-exile, his daughter said on Wednesday. The 74-year-old tycoon, twice elected prime minister but ousted by a military coup in 2006, has long spoken of his wish to come home, but faces multiple criminal charges – which he says are politically motivated. Thaksin is a bogeyman for Thailand’s pro-military and royalist establishment and his return could inflame an already... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3228963/thailands-thaksin-will-return-exile-august-10-says-daughter-paetongtarn-shinawatra?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3228963/thailands-thaksin-will-return-exile-august-10-says-daughter-paetongtarn-shinawatra?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 26 Jul 2023 06:42:06 +0000 Hundreds of people gathered in Thailand’s capital of Bangkok on Sunday to demand that conservative senators stop blocking the naming of a prime minister belonging to a winning coalition formed from May’s general election, a stance that risks a potentially destabilising political deadlock. Protesters braved heavy rain to show their anger and frustration toward the members of the Senate, who were appointed by the military and pride themselves as defenders of traditional royalist values, which they... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3228665/protesters-bangkok-call-senators-approve-vote-winners-choice-prime-minister?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3228665/protesters-bangkok-call-senators-approve-vote-winners-choice-prime-minister?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 23 Jul 2023 18:20:29 +0000 Thailand’s parliament will hold another vote for a prime minister next week which cannot include the leader of election winners Move Forward, a deputy speaker said on Thursday, after his renomination was blocked. Parliament’s move to deny Pita Limjaroenrat after a marathon debate on his eligibility on Wednesday triggered angry street protests, as a post-election crisis deepens two months after his party trounced military-backed rivals in an election. “A candidate can only be nominated once in... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3228312/deputy-speaker-says-pitas-pm-bid-over-thailand-braces-more-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3228312/deputy-speaker-says-pitas-pm-bid-over-thailand-braces-more-turmoil?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 20 Jul 2023 05:50:36 +0000 Thailand’s parliament voted in favour on Wednesday of voiding the prime ministerial nomination of Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat, after political rivals challenged the use of a rule under which he was put forward as a candidate. Pita was seeking to contest a second legislative vote on the premiership after failing to win the backing of the bicameral parliament last week. Thailand’s constitutional court suspended reformist Pita Limjaroenrat earlier in the day, just as Pita was... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3228200/thailands-pita-suspended-parliament-high-court-probes-media-ownership?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3228200/thailands-pita-suspended-parliament-high-court-probes-media-ownership?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jul 2023 06:15:47 +0000 Thailand’s cheaper cost of living and more relaxed lifestyle are attracting more Hongkongers to make the move to the so-called land of smiles, boosting its property market as foreigners snap up flats. David Chan, 31, relocated to Thailand in 2019 and is now making a living as a real estate agent, helping other Hong Kong residents find property and settle into Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy. “My wife, a Thai, was not too happy with Hong Kong, so back in 2019, when the political unrest... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3227787/hongkongers-flock-thailand-snap-cheap-flats-southeast-asias-second-largest-economy-courts-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3227787/hongkongers-flock-thailand-snap-cheap-flats-southeast-asias-second-largest-economy-courts-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Jul 2023 02:00:20 +0000 The liberal front runner to become Thailand’s next prime minister said on Saturday he would withdraw his candidacy if parliament did not endorse him next week, after military-appointed lawmakers foiled his first attempt. Pita Limjaroenrat’s Move Forward Party (MFP) won the most seats in May elections, buoyed by young Thais eager for progressive reforms after nine years of army-backed rule in the kingdom. But the Harvard-educated millionaire’s campaign to lead the next government was knocked back... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3227837/last-chance-thailands-pita-who-says-only-one-more-shot-pm?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3227837/last-chance-thailands-pita-who-says-only-one-more-shot-pm?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 15 Jul 2023 10:52:53 +0000 Pita Limjaroenrat, leader of the election-winning Move Forward Party, failed in his first bid to gain the 376 votes from Thailand’s parliament he needs to become prime minister, after conservative lawmakers led by an unelected Senate blocked his bid for office. Pita had 324 endorsements, 52 short of the magic number. He said he “accepted” the result but would press on. “I have accepted that I couldn’t reach the 376 … but we got 324 with 200 abstentions,” he said, blaming “pressure” on a number... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3227551/thai-reformer-pita-limjaroenrat-seeks-votes-parliament-become-pm-millions-watching?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3227551/thai-reformer-pita-limjaroenrat-seeks-votes-parliament-become-pm-millions-watching?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Jul 2023 08:29:38 +0000 Thailand enters a crucial few days that will decide if a pro-democracy coalition led by Pita Limjaroenrat can form a government, or whether diehard conservatives will defy the votes of 14 million people and block his path to the prime minister’s office. The Thai electorate gave a withering verdict on nine years of the military-aligned government of Prayuth Chan-ocha in the May 14 elections, swinging behind the progressive Move Forward Party (MFP), which now leads a coalition of eight parties as... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3227405/thailand-pitas-pm-bid-stumbles-progressive-conservative-showdown-looms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3227405/thailand-pitas-pm-bid-stumbles-progressive-conservative-showdown-looms?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 12 Jul 2023 05:34:12 +0000 While some of its neighbours have discarded authoritarianism and military rule to become successful democracies, Thailand has since 1932 been struggling to transform itself from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one within a democratic setting. The current constitution, introduced in 2017 by the military junta, turned Thailand into a quasi-democracy. A move towards liberal democracy has not occurred because nobody in power has ventured out of their bubble to talk to other important... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3225159/thailand-rejected-old-ways-its-new-generation-move-democracy-forward?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3225159/thailand-rejected-old-ways-its-new-generation-move-democracy-forward?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Jun 2023 02:30:19 +0000 Thailand’s prime ministerial front runner Pita Limjareonrat will be investigated over whether he was qualified to run in last month’s election, a top official said on Monday, in another setback as he battles to win backing for his premiership. Pita, the 42-year-old leader of the progressive Move Forward party whose election victory stunned Thailand’s military-backed establishment, has faced multiple complaints from rivals, three of which the poll body has dismissed for late submission, while... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3223789/thailands-pm-front-runner-pita-faces-another-setback-poll-body-begins-investigation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3223789/thailands-pm-front-runner-pita-faces-another-setback-poll-body-begins-investigation?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Jun 2023 08:36:48 +0000 Did Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman and local creative studio AllRightsReserved decide to bring two of his giant rubber ducks to Hong Kong because they thought the city was twice as in need of happiness as when his whopping waterfowl visited a decade ago? Possibly. Back in 2013, a top 10 most-read Hong Kong story of the year on the Post’s website was about a five-year-old who upset fellow passengers by urinating inside an MTR train – an age of innocence compared with what’s in the news these... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3223258/what-lies-beneath-surface-hong-kongs-cheery-giant-rubber-ducks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3223258/what-lies-beneath-surface-hong-kongs-cheery-giant-rubber-ducks?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Jun 2023 00:15:11 +0000