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From The Nation Voters around Thailand go to the polls this coming Sunday (December 20) to elect chiefs and other members of provincial administrative organisations (PAOs). The first local elections since 2012 come after political activities were suspended following the May 2014 military coup. Chiefs and other members of PAOs who completed their four-year terms while the post-coup junta was in power had their tenures extended, unless they were suspended on corruption or other charges. All 76 provinces go to the polls on Sunday, excluding Bangkok. A total of 331 candidates will vie for 76 PAO chief’s seats, while 8,070 candidates will contest for PAO member seats, which range from 24 to 48 per province depending on population size. As usual, candidates from locally influential political families are expected to secure their seats easily – though some will face a fresh challenge. Local political clans have long dominated provincial politics, thanks mainly to their strong connections with national parties and the powers-that-be. However, several of their incumbents are facing a serious challenge from candidates affiliated with the Progressive Movement – a popular political group led by tycoon-turned-politician Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit. The Progressive Movement is making its debut in local politics, fielding candidates for PAO chief in 42 provinces. The political group is aiming to repeat the success of Thanathorn’s Future Forward Party, which came third in last year’s general election, winning 81 of the 500 MP seats in its first campaign for office. Analysts say the Progressive Movement, relying on Thanathorn’s popularity, has livened up the PAO elections. And Thanathorn is betting on young voters to build a strong support base for his political future.

From The Nation Long-stay visas proposed for foreigners who buy Bt3m condos hai residency visas for foreigners who invest as little as Bt3 million in property is among five proposals being considered by the Finance Ministry. The proposals were put forward by Thai real estate associations in a bid to lift a property sector slumping under the impact of Covid-19. The Housing Business Association, Thai Real Estate Association and Thai Condominium Association (TCA) sent the proposals to Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith on December 9, TCA deputy chairman Chairat Thampeera revealed on Thursday. Under current rules, foreigners must spend at least Bt10 million on property to be eligible for a residency visa. However, under the proposed three-tier visa system, foreign purchasers of condos worth Bt3 million-Bt5 million would get a five-year visa. Meanwhile buyers of Bt5 million-Bt10 million condos would get 10-year visas, and those who bought condos for more than Bt10 million would be granted permanent residency.

From South China Morning Post Travel industry will die if Covid-19 vaccination is mandatory for trips overseas, world tourism chief says The roll out of vaccines against Covid-19 has intensified debate about whether they should be made mandatory, with the head of a major tourism lobby saying that doing so would cause irreparable harm to the struggling sector. “I don’t think governments will require vaccination next year” for travel, Gloria Guevara, head of the World Travel and Tourism Council, said. “If they do that they will kill their sector.” Those first in line to get the jabs include the elderly and vulnerable, who “are the last people who will travel”, she said. Instead, rules for virus testing before departure are likely to be bolstered. Alan Joyce, the chief executive of Qantas Airways, ignited an industry-wide debate last month when he said proof of vaccination would be a condition for travellers entering or leaving Australia on the carrier’s planes. So far, no country has made inoculation compulsory or said it would be required for people crossing borders. Airlines are among the hardest hit by the health crisis, with global airline lobby IATA forecasting combined losses of US$157 billion this year and next. When the broader tourism sector is added to the tally, the impact rises to US$3.8 trillion, Guevara said. She was speaking at an event organised by the Common Trust Network, a Swiss non-profit backed by the World Economic Forum that is rolling out a digital health system called CommonPass, designed to certify test results, to minimise the risk of fraud. The use of digital systems as a way to revive travel has had mixed results so far. Rome’s airport started a corridor with some US destinations this month, but one planned between Singapore and Hong Kong was postponed until next year amid a resurgence in Covid-19 cases. In addition to CommonPass, IATA is working on its own mobile app, the Travel Pass, and is planning a test programme with British Airways parent IAG this year. The AOKpass, from travel security firm International SOS, is being used on flights between Abu Dhabi and Karachi and Islamabad in Pakistan. Meanwhile, British cyber technology company VST Enterprises (VSTE) this week launched what it describes as “the world’s first public, secure health passport designed for air travel”. The V-Health Passport app – which, unlike other systems, eschews “unsecure” QR code technology – validates a passenger’s identity, authenticates their Covid-19 test result and vaccination/immunisation details, and offers contact tracing capabilities. “Both bar codes and QR codes … can be cloned and hacked,” says VSTE chief executive Louis-James Davis. “Therefore any suggestion of using this type of technology in a health passport for air travel has very real security risks.” Instead, the V-Health Passport employs a call-and-response system.

From CNN Travel (CNN) — An overweight dog naps by an open-air som tam (papaya salad) shop. The scent of chicken grilling over charcoal fills the lane. A chorus of children's voices rings out from a schoolhouse. No one is wearing a mask, though an old man dons a straw hat on his bicycle. Here in the village of Ban Nong Doen Tha on the Mekong River in northeast Thailand, it's almost like the pandemic never happened. A week earlier, as our first chance to travel beyond Bangkok in six months approached, my partner and I asked ourselves questions that never would have crossed our minds before the pandemic. Where can we go that will relax, excite and uplift us in ways that we used to take for granted when traveling? We wanted to help businesses that have struggled under Thailand's ban on foreign tourist entries, which began in late March and remains in place, save for those who are willing to quarantine in a hotel for two weeks before entering the country. Thailand's Covid-19 control measures have worked so far, but the drastic reduction in tourists from abroad is sinking the economy in a country that drew 39.8 million of them last year. But before shoving off for popular destinations like Koh Samui or Phuket, we realized we longed for something very simple: normalcy. At the last minute, we set off on an 850-mile road trip around the northeastern region, also known as Isaan. Despite delivering an intensely flavorful cuisine to go with serene Mekong valley scenery and a strong list of natural and historical attractions, Isaan drew only a small fraction of the numbers of foreign tourists who flocked to other Thai regions before the pandemic. It is not on the "banana pancake trail." The lack of interest from foreign tourists may partly explain why the coronavirus barely touched Isaan, when infections surfaced frequently in provinces like Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket back in April. Despite being in Thailand's most populous region with more than 22 million residents, Isaan's 20 provinces have reported just over 100 infections since the pandemic began. A young boy shows off his catch one morning on the riverfront in Khong Chiam, the easternmost district of Ubon Ratchathani province. David Luekens/CNN Most of the region's tourism industry now relies on Thai travelers, who reemerged after a nationwide lockdown and restrictions on domestic travel were lifted in June. Several hotel managers in Isaan tell us that occupancy rates are almost as high nowadays as they were over the same period last year. Of course, the northeast has not been spared entirely. Before the pandemic, many households relied on money sent from family members working as tour guides, tuk tuk drivers, receptionists, chefs and sex workers in areas that are popular with foreign tourists. Everyone knows someone, it seems, who returned home to Isaan after losing a job in the tourism industry. "Life here is pretty much pre-pandemic normal for most people, but we haven't done a tour since mid-February," says Tim Bewer of Khon Kaen-based Isan Explorer, one of the few tour companies that focuses on sharing the region with a foreign clientele. "Over the years we've had a few Thai guests and school trips, but they're a very small part of our business." The situation is similarly dire for guesthouse owners who used to earn modest incomes from accommodating foreign travelers in some of Isaan's cities. Beloved backpacker spots like Mut Mee Guesthouse in Nong Khai, The Outside Inn in Ubon Ratchathani and Moon River Resort in Phimai are all missing the revenue that foreign tourists used to bring in. Unlike in Thailand's big-name destinations, however, the streets throughout Isaan are not plastered with "For Rent" signs. And the region is not without its businesses that depend on the small yet reliable numbers of foreign travelers who visited before the pandemic. Continues with photo gallery https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/isaan-thailand-northeast-road-trip/index.html

From Bangkok Post / AFP GENEVA: Despite significant progress on gay rights around the world, dozens of countries still criminalise consensual same-sex activity, including six where being gay is punishable by death, campaigners said Tuesday. In a fresh report, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) found "considerable progress" in legal protections for LGBTI people worldwide. Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has created significant additional challenges for LGBTI and other minority communities, "positive developments have taken place," the organisation said. But while the trend is towards acceptance, a full 69 UN member states continue to criminalise consensual sex between people of the same gender, the report found. That is one fewer than last year, after Gabon backtracked from a 2019 law -- "the shortest-lived law of its kind in modern history," ILGA research coordinator and lead author of the report Lucas Ramon Mendos said in a statement. More urgently than laws on the books, ILGA verified that 34 countries -- more than half of those with criminalising laws -- have actively enforced them in the past five years. In six UN member states, the death penalty is the legally prescribed punishment for consensual homosexual sex: Brunei, Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, as well as across 12 northern states of Nigeria. And the report said sources indicated that the death penalty could potentially be used in such cases in five other countries -- Afghanistan, Pakistan, Qatar, Somalia and the United Arab Emirates -- although there was less legal certainty. Another 42 countries have erected legal barriers to freedom of expression and sexual orientation and gender identity issues, while 51 have legal barriers to setting up NGOs that work on LGBTI issues. ILGA's head of programmes Julia Ehrt voiced concern that some governments had taken advantage of the coronavirus crisis to step up efforts to "oppress, persecute, scapegoat and violently discriminate against us." The organisation also voiced concern over the proliferation of so-called "LGBT-free zones" in places like Poland and Indonesia, and renewed support for "conversion therapies". But even as anti-gay rights forces seem to gain ground in a number of places, ILGA said its latest report showed "how our global community has collectively achieved progress in every single legal category tracked." It highlighted that Sudan in July repealed the death penalty for consensual same-sex sexual acts, and hailed that Germany had become one of four UN member states which ban conversion therapies at the national level. A number of jurisdictions within Australia, Canada, Mexico and the United States have also done so. And it celebrated that Costa Rica had joined the growing number of countries that have introduced marriage equality, bringing the total to 28. Another 34 countries provide for some partnership recognition for same-sex couples, it pointed out. Tuesday's report also showed that as of this month, same-sex sexual acts are legal in 124 countries -- 64 percent of UN member states.

From Bangkok Post More frequent Covid-19 testing in preparation for shorter quarantine The government has changed its Covid-19 testing procedure for arrivals, and is studying whether mandatory quarantine can be shortened from 14 to 10 days. Dr Thaweesilp Visanuyothin, spokesman for the Centre for Covid-19 Situation Administration (CCSA), said on Thursday that health officials this month changed Covid-19 testing for arrivals from twice to three times. Earlier, each arrival was tested twice during 14-day quarantine, first 3-5 days after arrival, and then again on days 11-13. Each arrival is now tested three times, on day 0-1, day 9-10 and day 13-14. The changed testing process would continue until Jan 15. Health officials would then study the results and assess whether quarantine could be reduced to 10 days, Dr Thaweesilp said.

If you enjoy spy novels, consider one of the oldest British entries. T.S. Elliot hailed Rudyard Kipling's Kim as his "greatest book". Set in British India at the height of the raj, an orphaned boy is recruited into what was to become the British Secret Service. Kipling follows the street-wise urchin on a journey that encompasses intrigue of all sorts. He is mentored by an Afghanistan horse dealer (working as a British intelligence agent) and a Tibetan lama, who is searching for a river of healing. He comes to the attention of the colonel in charge of British intelligence and is sent off to the best secondary school in India for three years. What follows is wonderful coming of age novel. Kim's parents were from northern Ireland but he identifies more as a local. The horse trader and the lama he considers his mother and father and he maintains fierce loyalty to both. Even before he finishes his schooling, his training in the intelligence arts gets underway during school breaks. Once he finishes his education, he is almost immediately drawn into the work of a spy in which he proves himself most capable. Yet throughout the novel he experiences a search for his true nature. I continue to revisit it for the joy of Kipling's vivid prose and imagination.

From South China Morning Post Seven people in Hong Kong were arrested on Monday in connection with a job scam in which men were offered large sums to work as performers for gay pornographic videos and exclusive live shows, only to find themselves allegedly threatened with blackmail after having their pay withheld. Male spectators who shelled out HK$700 (US$90) each to watch the men take part in sex shows in four- and five-star hotels could also purportedly pay for sex with performers afterwards, according to police. The live performances were held four days a month, with about eight shows a day, each lasting about an hour. “Each show could involve as many as four actors, but no more than two spectators were allowed,” said Senior Inspector Ku Man-kai, of the New Territories South regional crime unit. He said the victims were promised as much as HK$1,000 an hour for filming and live performances, and were told they could earn as much as HK$50,000 a month when they were enticed into signing contracts with an internet user who claimed to be in charge of a bogus pornography production company called iSexParty. “The victims were also told that the videos of their sex acts would be provided to a small group of clients for viewing,” Superintendent Chen Chi-cheong said. The scam came to light after one of the victims said he did not receive payment and refused to do the show, only to be told that he would have to pay compensation for violating the contract and that videos of his sex acts would be circulated online. “According to the contract, spectators could choose an actor in the live show for sex and the actor could not refuse, otherwise they would have to pay compensation for violating the contract,” Chen said.

From Bangkok Post Travel subsidy promotion paused, widespread false claims exposed The second phase of the government's Rao Tiew Duay Kan (We Travel Together) tourism promotion campaign has been postponed after widespread corruption was found in the first stage. More than 500 participating hotels and shops were found to have profited from abusing the scheme. Tourism Authority of Thailand governor Yuthasak Supasorn said the TAT had acted after receiving complaints. The investigation found that 312 hotels and 202 shops participating in the state-backed promotion were involved in alleged irregularities. The TAT decided to postpone traveller-registration for the second phase of the We Travel Together campaign, which was due to start on Wednesday, he said. It was planned that up to one million travellers would benefit. Travellers who registered for the first phase can still claim unused benefits. According to media reports, the alleged abuse included - Hotel rooms were booked at cheaper prices via phone apps. There were check-ins without people staying there, but benefits claimed from cash coupons. - Hotels increased room rates and colluded with restaurants in claiming benefits. No travel occurred. Those who sold their benefits would send the last four numbers on their ID cards and their mobile phone numbers for use in hotel check-ins. They did not not stay. - Hotels existed and registered to participate in the tourism campaign, but did not open for business. The operators had sought state subsidies for fake room bookings. - Groups of registrants checked in and stayed at hotels, but the hotels set the room rates higher than normal rates. - Participating hotels gave false information about the number of rooms they had. For example, a hotel had 100 rooms but claimed it had 300 rooms.

It's one of the more encouraging signs of our time. I'm confident that Lucky Boys will reopen this spring after the effects of the vaccines begin to be felt and foreign tourists find their way back. Given its size and staff requirements, it can't sustain itself without a good volume coming through the doors. And to match the the usual 35-50 guys on stage on a typical night, it badly needs the Cambodian, Myanmar and Vietnamese to round out the selection.

I'm reminded by Peter's post of the wondrous role that works of fiction can play in our lives, and no more so as this particular years comes to a close. Many, I think, have one or two favorite novels we continually return to for escape or simply comfort. They transport into the lives of characters who become as real to us as those we know in our everyday lives. It's a good time to celebrate those books--and their authors--at a moment when little in the new seems worthy of celebrating.

From Channel News Asia Thai protesters to pause for now and return next year BANGKOK: Thai protesters will take a break and return stronger next year, one protest leader said on Monday (Dec 14) after months of demonstrations to remove the government and to demand reforms to curb the monarchy's powers. "This year has been just an overture," said Arnon Nampa, a rights lawyer who has become one of the most prominent faces of a movement that has posed the biggest challenge to the Thai establishment in years. "We'll take a break during New Year's holidays and will come back next year with more intensity and bigger turnout," Arnon told reporters at a police station, where he reported to face charges related to his involvement in the protests. Thailand's youth-led protest movement initially sought the removal of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, accusing him of engineering last year's election to keep hold of power he had seized in a 2014 coup. He says the vote was fair.

From Vietnam News HÀ NỘI — The long-delayed Cát Linh-Hà Đông urban rail project, the first metro in Hà Nội, entered a 20-day whole-system trial run on Saturday. At 5am on Saturday morning, the first train left Cát Linh station. Another train also left Yên Nghĩa station in the outlying district of Hà Đông at about the same time. Nine trains of the project’s total of 13 are to be used in the trial, with the wait for a train at any station set at about 6-7 minutes, which might be shortened to 2-3 minutes during rush hours, according to the Hà Nội Metro One Member Company Limited (HMC). There will be about 287 train trips per day, the company said. Each train has four carriages and a capacity of 900 people, with a designed speed of 80km/h and a speed during commercial runs of about 35km/h. The company said it has mobilised all of its 700 officials and workers and employees to work on the line during the trial, with safety, technical maintenance and security sectors staffed around the clock.. The trains will run non-stop from 5am to 11pm on the 13km urban rail line, with each stop lasting for 30 seconds to pick up and drop off passengers just like it would during commercial runs.

From South China Morning Post Thailand’s famous jasmine rice claimed yet another top prize on the world stage this month, marking the sixth such honour the World Rice Conference has bestowed on the fluffy, fragrant and full-bodied grain since 2009. The “Khao Dawk Mali 105” – a code name for the most renowned Thai jasmine rice variety – defeated rivals from Cambodia, China, the United States and Vietnam with “its combination of aroma, texture, and flavour”, said the judging panel at the annual forum for rice suppliers and policymakers. Thai growers attributed the win to an early onset of cool winds that swept’s northeast earlier this year, making the grains “particularly shiny, strong and fragrant”, said Charoen Laothamatas, president of the Thai Rice Exporters Association. But the recognition caps a difficult year for Thailand, which is set to see the lowest rice exports in two decades due to falling global demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the baht’s strength and export competition from the likes of India, Vietnam and China. In 2015, India dethroned Thailand as the world’s top rice exporter, a position it had held for 35 years. India is set to export about 14 million tonnes of rice this year, up from 9.9 million tonnes last year. This year, Thailand fell to No. 3, with Vietnam snatching the second spot. From January to October, Thailand exported 4.4 million tonnes of rice, down 31 per cent from a year before. In comparison, Vietnam shipped 5.3 million tonnes of rice in the same period, down 8 per cent from last year. Thailand’s rice exports to China, one of its biggest markets, also fell by 39 per cent this year. Thai white rice this year also lost out to cheaper grades offered by Vietnam in key Asian markets like the Philippines. China was also beating Thailand in key African markets with cheaper prices. However, sales of Thai premium-grade jasmine rice rose by 63 per cent this year, benefiting from panic buying in wealthier markets like Singapore, Hong Kong, the US and Canada, Reuters reported in July. Thailand has been mulling ways to avert its rice export crisis, this year releasing a five-year plan to regain world dominance in the rice trade. The strategy includes accelerated support for the development of 12 new rice varieties, such as hard- and soft-textured varieties of white rice, several more hom mali varieties, and two varieties of high-nutrition rice. In a November report, Bloomberg said the RD79, a variety of soft-grain rice, could be Thailand’s new hope down the line, with its supple texture and long grain similar to jasmine rice, minus the fragrant scent. It could be marketed at a cheaper price than the hom mali, while being more resistant against disease and drought.

From Pattaya Mail Three Thai men marry in unusual group wedding Thanawat Pumthong, Sanchai Subchan, and Tinnapob Butwat tied the knot in a religious ceremony in Khlong Narai of Muang District Dec. 8. Three men turned what could have been a love triangle into a marriage at an unusual group wedding in Chanthaburi. Thanawat Pumthong, 30, Sanchai Subchan, 22, and Tinnapob Butwat, 24, tied the knot in the religious ceremony in Khlong Narai of Muang District Dec. 8. While not legally recognized by Thailand, the marriage ceremony was attended by friends and family members who said they fully supported the three-way domestic partnership. Thanawat, a nutritionist at a private hospital in Chanthaburi, said he started dating Sanchai seven years ago after seeing the dancer on Facebook. Later on, Sanchai introduced Thanawat to Tinnapob, a dancer he worked with, and the three of them began a group relationship. Sanchai’s mother, Thanayarat Phontem, 48, said she was happy for the trio and proud that he had a traditional wedding ceremony. She wishes all three happiness. In addition to getting married, the three have formed a dance band and will work together.

From Channel News Asia THIMPHU: Bhutan’s Parliament has voted to decriminalise same-sex relations, amending an existing law that penalised what it deemed “unnatural sex". The amendment was approved Thursday (Dec 10) by 63 out of 69 lawmakers, with six abstaining from voting. The amendment now needs to be approved by Bhutan's king to become law. The amendment changes two articles of the criminal code to clarify that “homosexuality between adults shall not be considered unnatural sex". The penalty for engaging in prohibited sexual conduct is up to a year in prison. "I haven’t stopped smiling since yesterday. I am eagerly awaiting His Majesty’s assent,” said Tashi Tsheten, a Bhutanese activist who has worked to change the law. He said the amendment means LGBTIQ people in Bhutan will be able to lead a better and more dignified life after facing stigma and discrimination for so long. Bhutan is a tiny landlocked country with a population of 770,000 people located in the southern foothills of the Himalayan mountains, sandwiched between China to the north and India to the south.

Agree that there's a segment of older Thai elites that would love to see the visible evidence (i.e., strip clubs, go-go's) in tourist areas disappear. They are, however, prepared to look the other way if some of their elite associates benefit from the business that those venues bring to silent partners and the non-sex business in their vicinity. I tend to think these venues will continue to exist if they are profitable. Elites may like to talk about their mores but nothing exerts a greater influence than that which perpetuates their position in society: money. It's the overriding common denominator in all elite social circles because the prevailing dogma is that those who die with the most gain ultimate face--even if it's frozen in time. To apply a more internationally understood principle: nothing succeeds like success.

From the AP, the Thaiger and The Nation Protesters gather at Bangkok’s United Nations Pro-democracy demonstrators in Bangkok marked United Nations Human Rights Day on Thursday with rallies calling for the abolition of Thailand's strict royal defamation law, which was recently revived to prosecute more than 20 of the protest movement's leaders. Bangkok police have advised motorists to avoid routes around the United Nations building located on Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue in Phra Nakhon district on Thursday due to a planned political protest on Constitution Day. Somyot Prueksakasemsuk, one of the leaders, submitted a letter to the United Nations on Thursday urging it to pressure the Thai government to stop using Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code, which forbids defamation of key members of the monarchy. Thursday's protests also coincided with Thailand's Constitution Day, a national holiday marking the country's adoption of its first constitution in 1932, which meant that many offices in the city were closed. The demonstrations drew significantly smaller crowds than other recent rallies, which have attracted tens of thousands of participants. Ahead of Thursday's protests, government security officials erected barricades using shipping containers and barbed wire, and police were deployed to prevent any possible move toward Chitralada Palace, the residence of King Maha Vajiralongkorn. By early afternoon the group that gathered outside the UN building had moved to join another one rallying beside a memorial to protesters killed by security forces in 1973. The royal defamation law had not been enforced for three years after King Maha Vajiralongkorn informed the government that he did not wish to see its use. But according to the group Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, 23 people have been charged under the law since Prayuth said last month that it would be among those used against demonstrators going forward. Many activists are now using the hashtag on social media #abolish112 to call for the end to the lèse majesté law which is Section 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code. Those who break the law face 3 to 15 years in prison.

From Channel News Asia MANILA: Daniel Auminto lost his job and then his home when the coronavirus pandemic sent the Philippines into lockdown. Now he and his family live on the street, relying on food handouts to survive. Charities are struggling to meet the ever-growing demand for food as millions of families go hungry across the country. COVID-19 restrictions have crippled the economy and thrown many out of work. "I've never seen hunger at this level before," said Jomar Fleras, executive director of Rise Against Hunger in the Philippines, which works with more than 40 partners to feed the poor. "If you go out there everybody will tell you that they're more afraid of dying from hunger than dying from COVID. They don't care about COVID anymore." The number of people going hungry has reached a record high during the pandemic, according to pollster Social Weather Stations. Nearly one-third of families - or 7.6 million households - did not have enough food to eat at least once in the previous three months, its September survey showed. Among them were 2.2 million families experiencing "severe hunger" - the highest ever. The numbers have been going up since May, two months after the country went into a severe lockdown - reversing a downward trend since 2012. Virus restrictions have been eased in recent months to allow more businesses to operate as the government seeks to revive the devastated economy, which is expected to shrink up to 9.5 percent this year. For the country's legions of poor, the pandemic is just another challenge in their lives - and not even the most serious.

From NYTImes Vigilance against the coronavirus has been heightened in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, which sits directly across the Moei River from Myawaddy, Myanmar.Credit...Adam Dean for The New York Times By Hannah Beech MAE SOT, Thailand — The border between Thailand and Myanmar is more than 1,500 miles long, much of it thickly forested. Myanmar has suffered runaway transmission of the coronavirus. Thailand, so far, has not. But over the past couple of weeks, at least 19 Covid-19 cases in Thailand have been linked to migrant workers who slipped between the two countries undetected. The infections have spooked Thai officials, who have managed one of the world’s most successful coronavirus containment strategies. The health authorities in Thailand are now racing to trace the contacts of hundreds of people who may have been exposed to the virus. And the events have cast a spotlight on how regions like Southeast Asia that depend on porous borders are fighting to keep the virus out while allowing economic activity to continue. From Mexican farm workers in California to Ethiopian construction workers in the Persian Gulf and Zimbabwean domestic workers in South Africa, essential labor is often carried out by undocumented people who slip across borders for work. Yet several countries are now using the illicit flow of migrant labor to accuse their neighbors of virus outbreaks. In Southeast Asia alone, Myanmar has blamed people from Bangladesh, and Thailand has blamed Myanmar. Vietnam has pointed fingers at China. And China says its southwestern flank is suffering because of movement from Southeast Asia. The winding frontier between Myanmar and Thailand — separating one country that has managed the virus from one that has not — is putting the crisis in stark relief. “The border is very long,” said Col. Chatri Sanguantham, whose soldiers patrol the mountainous northern Thai region, near the town of Tachileik, Myanmar. “They will do anything, take any measure, to get what they want, including entering the country illegally,” he said of migrant workers from Myanmar. Compared with other countries, the total caseload in Thailand — a shade over 4,000 infections — seems absurdly low. But over the past few days, Thailand said it had fortified parts of its border, increased military patrols and uncoiled barbed wire at popular illegal crossing points to try and stop the recent spread of infections. The police have arrested those suspected of being people-smugglers, who are paid as little as $15 to help migrants cross the border illegally. Undocumented workers, who often labor in crowded conditions, are of particular concern to the authorities because their uncertain legal status also makes them less likely to admit when they are sick, increasing the odds that the virus could spread undetected. “Because these people came in illegally, they will lay low, work in hiding,” said Suthasinee Kaewleklai, a coordinator for the Migrant Workers Rights Network in Thailand. “If they get sick, they will never go to the doctor or hospital to get themselves checked.” The dangers of overlooking foreign laborers, even those who are registered with the government, was made clear in Singapore, where the virus spread fast in crowded dormitories for migrants. While meticulous contact tracing suppressed outbreaks in other communities, the laborers were not monitored as closely, making them more vulnerable, rights groups said. In Malaysia, thousands of foreign factory workers tested positive for the coronavirus at Top Glove, the world’s largest disposable glove maker, which went into overdrive to supply personal protective equipment. Malaysian authorities are now pursuing legal action against the company for keeping its workers in cramped conditions in which Covid proliferated. And in Saudi Arabia, the virus spread unchecked in filthy migrant detention centers filled with workers from Asia and Africa, who were often abused and deprived of wages. When migrants were eventually deported to their home countries, some took the coronavirus with them. Vigilance against the virus has been heightened in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, which sits directly across the Moei River from Myawaddy, Myanmar. Soldiers wearing camouflage and face masks patrol the riverbank. Before the pandemic, hundreds of thousands of people used to cross the river every year to work, study and play in Thailand, where roughly five million migrants normally find work, only about half of them legally. At the narrowest point of the river, children could toss a ball between the two countries. In the dry season, migrants wade across the Moei, and in the rainy season they hop on skiffs. Continues with photos https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/08/world/asia/covid-thailand-myanmar-migrants-border.htm

From the Bangkok Post Fishermen relying on the Mekong River are seen in Muang district of Nakhon Phanom. (Photo by Pattanapong Sripiachai) writer: Wassayos Ngamkham CHIANG RAI: After almost two decades of campaigning against hydro-dams and water projects built on the Mekong River, local civic groups and conservationists finally launched the "Mekong People's Forum," with the hope of moving their campaign to a policy level. The forum was held on Dec 1–2 in Chiang Khong district, and attended by 200 people including local villagers, conservationists, journalists, and the US and Australian embassies in Bangkok. The Mekong People's forum is the name not just of the event held last week but also a movement of civic groups located in eight provinces. In the past, these groups had no name but they have now come together under the general name "Mekong People's Forum." The organiser also had extended an invitation to the China embassy in Bangkok, as the country also built 11 dams on the upper stretch of the Mekong River, and the Lancang River in Chinese territory. The Chinese embassy, however, did not send anyone to attend the event, according to Niwat Roikaew, the head of a local conservation group known as Rak Chiang Khong and one of the activists who spearheaded the founding of the forum. "Local communities in eight provinces have campaigned against development schemes in the Mekong River for almost two decades," Mr Niwat said. "Those campaigns somehow went in different directions. The Mekong People's Forum will hopefully make campaigns move in a united direction and also leverage bargaining power with the authorities." There are eight Thai provinces located by the Mekong River. They are Chiang Rai, Loei, Nong Khai, Bueng Kan, Mukdahan, Amnat Charoen, Nakhon Phanom and Ubon Ratchathani. The resistance against infrastructure projects in the river started almost two decades ago when the Chinese government began blasting rapids in the upper Mekong River from Yunnan to Myanmar and Laos to clear the way for large commercial vessels. A protest campaign was started by Mr Niwat and another Chiang Rai conservationist, Somkiat Kuenwongsa. As the blasting got under way, the campaign ignited questions on the impact of projects on the river, and the movement snowballed into a bigger local campaign as more dams were built. China has built 11 dams on the upper Mekong River in its territory to generate power and Laos has built two hydro-dams and plans to develop several more on the Mekong. Over the past decade, local civic groups in eight provinces have campaigned against dam projects. Protest campaigns came in many forms including organising street protests, submitting petition letters, and raising local awareness, to systematic campaigns including filing lawsuits to the Administrative Court against the Thai government for buying power from dam projects. Early this year, the civic groups sent a proposal to the Bank of Thailand, asking it to impose tough regulations on Thai commercial banks that are now major creditors for dam projects in Laos. Chayan Vaddhanaphuti, an anthropologist from Faculty of Social Sciences at Chiang Mai University, said the movement of Mekong People's Forum could add more positive changes to the local conservation movement for the Mekong River. "The Mekong People's Forum group create a new platform that can put local people on the negotiation table with international organisations or even super power countries that play a major role in the Mekong Region, like the US and China," Mr Chayan said. PNPCA is an environmental impact hearing process used by the Mekong River Commission (MRC). Under this process, riparian countries are asked to review trans-boundary impacts yet any decision is not binding. Laos reportedly continued building the Xayaburi dam and Don Sahong dam despite criticism. Foreign ambassadors from countries located an ocean away from the Mekong River region also voiced their concerns at the forum. Michael G Heath, deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in Bangkok, said the US was worried about the environmental impact of projects on the river because, in terms of policy, the US has a partnership with Asean. "So the Mekong River matters for us in terms of protecting natural resources," he said, adding during the past 11 years the US has provided financial assistance to Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam for fair water resource sharing. David Braun, first secretary for the political and economic section at the Australian embassy in Bangkok, agreed with the villagers that the ecology of the Mekong River had been affected. He said the Australian government is worried about the issue as the country has a bilateral and regional partnership with countries in the Mekong River region on food security, water management and energy.

I'm sure your taking the opportunity to resurrect yet another grudge will come as great comfort to the loved ones of those killed in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania on 9/11.

No, I'm telling it to you. You have a deep disdain for anything American. We elect a loser and you decide that's carte blanche to rub in our face at every opportunity. You predicted that we'd surely re-elect him. Now you're pissed off because we didn't and proved you wrong. Get over it.

That may be true but it's my home, my country. I'm not going to disparage it because of one jackass who grew up to be president. Some will never let us forget. More than a few pundits predicted that we'd re-elect him but I'm proud that we didn't.

I don't believe that Vietnam offers a retirement visa. But if you're a citizen of one of the 13 countries with unilateral visa status, you can come close to similar benefits.