Thailand protests: how Hong Kong and the Hunger Games inspired revolution of Thais

With a three-fingered salute from the Hunger Games, and a playbook from Hong Kong, Thai protesters say now is the time to take on authoritarianism

But they are political novices armed with smartphones, vastly outgunned by an army-backed opponent

Reading Time:9 minutes

Thai protesters make the three-fingered Hunger Games salute. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:00am, 25 Jul 2020Updated: 9:36pm, 25 Nov 2020

At the “Bad Student Union”, 18-year-old Min harvests complaints received through Twitter and Instagram from pupils across Thailand, decrying how their public school teachers have made them suffer everything from corporal punishment to mandatory haircuts to markdowns for minor breaches of school rules.

But most complaints Min posts on the @BadStudent_ Twitter handle centre on the dreaded student haircut – the song nak rien in Thai. For boys, it leaves them with a sheer grade zero on the back and sides, with a military-style buzz-cut on top. Girls are left with an unflattering ear-lobe-level bob.

It has become a metaphor for the strict hierarchy which shapes Thai society – from a king who sits at the top of the Thai power pyramid to the military that orchestrates its politics and the Poo Yai (“senior”) culture that values age and status over initiative at school and work.

Protesters defy coronavirus restrictions to demonstrate in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: Reuters

Over the past week, Thailand’s youth, united by social media and fuelled by a defiance of authority, have been pushing back in anti-government protests that have taken place in at least six provinces and the Thai capital.

They say now is the time to ignite a movement against authoritarianism, with the hashtags #removetheyoke and #thismustendinourgeneration trending in Thai on Twitter, even as the country struggles to get its tourism-dependent economy, battered by the coronavirus, back on track.

“We’re doing this now because we see no future and we don’t want the next generation to have to fight any more. This ends with us,” said Tatthep “Ford” Ruangprapaiserikit of the Free Youth movement.

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Thailand protests: how Hong Kong and the Hunger Games inspired revolution of Thais

With a three-fingered salute from the Hunger Games, and a playbook from Hong Kong, Thai protesters say now is the time to take on authoritarianism But they are political novices armed with smartphones, vastly outgunned by an army-backed opponent

With a three-fingered salute from the Hunger Games, and a playbook from Hong Kong, Thai protesters say now is the time to take on authoritarianism

But they are political novices armed with smartphones, vastly outgunned by an army-backed opponent