A way forward
Artist Vichaya Mukdamanee's exhibition 'Expected Unforeseen'. It seems as if the political uprising has come at a time when we feel most unprepared to tackle it. From the government to the public, I suppose all felt a sense of complacency when it came to addressing these issues. "At times it was an emotional roller coaster for me as I channelled my artistic flow onto the canvas. "My work begins with a narrative, however, along the way it changes direction and what is left is the fragment of the brushstrokes I leave behind."
Source:Bangkok Post
November 24, 2020 23:26 UTC
Partnering to support the needy
Partnering to support the needyBangkok Post Editor Soonruth Bunyamanee, sixth from left, and Sirima Limviriyalers, Senior executive vice president of Bangkok Post Plc, fifth from left, pose with CK Power staff who helped to make papier mache furniture and toys for charity at the Bangkok Post Building yesterday. The Bangkok Post Group this month joined hands with CK Power Plc in a campaign to turn old newspapers and magazines into tables, chairs and toys for schools in remote areas across the country. The Bangkok Post's "Chairs for a Good Cause" campaign is a joint corporate social responsibility collaboration in which the Bangkok Post supplies old newspapers and magazines to be transformed by teams from both companies into papier mache tables, chairs and toys for classroom use in schools in outreach communities. This special CSR initiative is a charitable exercise aimed at supporting education, disadvantaged youngsters, the disabled and the poor -- a mutual objective of the two companies.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 24, 2020 23:15 UTC
Legal threats need rethink
Legal threats need rethinkGovernment supporters may have cheered loudly when Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha declared he would apply "all laws and articles" against pro-reform demonstrators. Those laws include Section 112 of the criminal code, also known as the lese majeste law, which punishes people who defame or insult the King, Queen, heir apparent, or the regent. At worst, the PM's attempt to bring the lese majeste law into the political conflict could spin it in a more dangerous direction, if not out of control altogether. The lese majeste law has been viewed as "problematic" in the eyes of law experts and human rights groups both here and internationally. A stricter application of the law, especially a controversial one like lese majeste, is not the solution.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 24, 2020 23:15 UTC
Abuse against women still prevalent
Abuse against women still prevalentActivists hold up placards with messages against domestic violence during a campaign in the capital. Despite having such significant roles in their families, many women in Thailand are still facing domestic violence in their homes. Statistics from the 1300 hotline of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security shows that, more than 40% of domestic violence cases reported to the hotline involved women survivors. Women survivors made up 41% of domestic violence cases reported during February to June 2018, then increased to 43% in the same period in 2019, and continued to rise to 46% in 2020. However, it should be carefully noted that these reported cases are just the tip of the iceberg of violence against women.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 24, 2020 23:15 UTC
Govt to discuss scrapping O-Net test | Bangkok Post: learning
The permanent secretary for education, Supat Chumpathong, said there have been several proposals to replace O-Net with a different type of test to assess the quality of students. O-Net measures students' basic knowledge in four subjects — mathematics, sciences, English and Thai languages. The permanent secretary admitted that there are still students who have not participated in O-Net. The Education Ministry is considering scrapping the Ordinary National Education Test (O-Net). Students take the O-Net test in this photo from February 2020Click "play" to listen to Govt to discuss scrapping O-Net test and "Download" to keep this file for educational purpose.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 24, 2020 05:26 UTC
Tuesday: baby girl among 2 new Covid cases | Bangkok Post: learning
(AFP)The government on Tuesday recorded two new cases of the novel coronavirus, quarantined arrivals from India and Pakistan, raising the accumulated total to 3,922. The case from India was a five-month-old Indian baby girl who arrived on Nov 11 on the same flight as two previously confirmed cases. The infant tested positive for Covid-19 on Nov 16, five days after arrival, while having a fever and vomiting. She had been staying at an alternative state quarantine facility in Bangkok and was later sent to a private hospital and then the Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health in Bangkok. He arrived on Nov 16 via Dubai and tested positive on day 5 while asymptomatic.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 24, 2020 05:26 UTC
Woman alleging school sex abuse faces criticism | Bangkok Post: learning
Nalinrat Tuthubthim, 20, who claims she was sexually abused by a high school teacher, has her mouth covered with tape as pro-democracy protesters rally in Bangkok on Saturday. (Reuters photo)A row over a woman who held up a sign alleging sexual abuse in schools has put a spotlight on harassment in the education system. Ms Nalinrat, now a university student, had made allegations on social media of being sexually harassed at school several years ago. A YouGov poll in 2019 found that one in five Thais had experienced sexual harassment, with men almost as likely to face it as women. The most common form of sexual harassment was sexual assault — reported by 44% of those who had suffered harassment.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 24, 2020 03:33 UTC
'Laws, articles' won't end desire for change
'Laws, articles' won't end desire for changeIf the use of "all laws and articles" could calm the protesters down and reunite the country, we wouldn't be here staring at yet another cataclysm. The PM did not spell it out but hinted that the controversial Section 112 of the criminal code, also known as the lese majeste law, will be applied too. The lese majeste law, which carries a sentence of three to 15 years in jail, is heavily contested as it allows anybody to file a complaint against anyone. Gen Prayut had earlier said His Majesty the King has "mercy" on people and instructed him not to use the lese majeste law against anyone. It should also be obvious that no laws or articles will can make people love the monarchy all the same.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 24, 2020 01:07 UTC
Condemn all sexual abuse
Condemn all sexual abuseA recent protest by a young woman in student uniform, who held up a sign which read "I am a victim of sexual harassment" and "school is not a safe place for students", triggered a public frenzy, but in different ways. The young protester insisted her action was a symbolic protest, and that she had experienced sexual harassment while in school a few years ago. There have been numerous high-profile sexual abuse cases committed by school teachers that shocked society this year. Their behaviour gives the impression that they believe as a pro-democracy activist, she deserved the sexual harassment. This is unfortunate as sexual abuse is simply not acceptable.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 23, 2020 23:03 UTC
Thailand no longer top overseas destination for Chinese tourists | Bangkok Post: learning
FILE PHOTO: Chinese tourists wear masks as they arrive at Suvarnabhumi Airport during a welcome ceremony of Chinese Lunar New Year travellers in Bangkok, Jan 22, 2020. (Reuters)Thailand has lost its spot as the most popular cross-border destination for tourists from mainland China, according to a survey by HSBC Holdings Plc, as neighbouring Japan and South Korea moved up the list. “Barring Hong Kong and Macau, Japan and Korea emerged as the top two preferred cross-border destinations,” analyst Parash Jain wrote in a report. Most survey respondents said they’d need at least six months after quarantine restrictions are relaxed to become comfortable with international travel, and an effective vaccine is key to boosting confidence, Jain said. The survey also showed people are more confident about domestic travel thanks to China’s success in containing the virus.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 23, 2020 07:52 UTC
LGBTQ support lends 'new taste' to Thai politics
LGBTQ support lends 'new taste' to Thai politicsPro-democracy protesters highlight the gender equality issue during a rally on Nov 7 that started from Samyan intersection and ended in Silom area. "If we can't get real democracy in Thailand, then the rights for the LGBTQ community wouldn't exist either," he tells AFP. 'The new taste of Thai politics'Reforming the monarchy is the most ambitious and shocking demand from the pro-democracy movement. "We are the new taste of Thai politics," she says. "We need the people to look beyond our make-up, wigs and dresses, and listen to what we want to say regarding the same-sex marriage and gender equality," she tells AFP.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 23, 2020 06:04 UTC
Monday: 7 imported Covid cases | Bangkok Post: learning
(AFP photo)The government recorded seven new imported cases of the novel coronavirus on Monday, bringing the accumulated total in Thailand to 3920. Six of the cases were asymptomatic Thai returnees, and the other a Syrian man. A Thai woman flew back from the United States via Doha on Nov 14 and tested positive last Wednesday, while a Thai man returned from Kosovo last Tuesday and tested positive on Friday. The only new foreign case was a Syrian man who flew in from Lebanon on Nov 8 after changing planes in Dubai. He developed a fever on Nov 13 and a test on Friday showed he had caught Covid-19.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 23, 2020 05:37 UTC
New local infection among new Covid cases | Bangkok Post: learning
A 17-year-old female Thai student was admitted to the same hospital after testing positive following her return from Myanmar. They were all in quarantine before testing positive. The other three new Covid-19 cases were foreigners in alternative state quarantine in Bangkok. The government on Sunday reported one local transmission among 11 new cases of the novel coronavirus, raising the total to 3,913. Anti-government protesters, many wearing face masks, gather in Pathumwan district, Bangkok, on Saturday, when the country logged 11 new Covid-19 cases.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 23, 2020 02:37 UTC
'Bad Students' rally against 'dinosaurs' | Bangkok Post: learning
“#Bye bye dinosaurs” was the theme of the event. In keeping with the theme, participants dressed in dinosaur costumes were being hit by inflatable meteorites launched at them from the crowd. But amid all the fun, there was a serious side to the rally. Police confirmed that organisers of the rally had informed them about their activity, which was given permission to go ahead. Protesters wearing dinosaur costumes try to flee from an approaching inflatable asteroid at the Bad Student rally at the Siam BTS station on Saturday.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 23, 2020 02:26 UTC
WTO aiming to net fishing deal
WTO aiming to net fishing dealTalks at the WTO on cutting fisheries subsidies are coming down to a year-end deadline. - Developing countries snag -One of the main stumbling blocks remains how developing countries and the poorest nations will be treated. That demand is difficult for everyone to accept, especially since the WTO system allows its members to self-identify as developing countries. Many of the major fishing nations are considered developing countries, including China, which has one of the biggest fishing fleets. An agreement "will benefit small-scale fishermen, because when we talk about fishing subsidies, approximately 80 or 85 percent goes to large-scale industrial fishing," Remi Parmentier, an advisor to the Friends of Ocean Action group, told AFP.
Source:Bangkok Post
November 23, 2020 02:03 UTC