reader

From The Thai Enquirer Sompong elected as the head of Pheu Thai Sompong Amornvivat, a close Thaksin ally, has been elected as the new head of the Pheu Thai party. The current head of the opposition will be charged with leading the party out of the doldrums and balance pro-democracy protests with the party’s relationship with Thailand’s conservative institutions. Sompong is seen as close to the party’s patriarch Thaksin and his election could signal the former prime minister’s reemergence and reassertion in the party’s politics. Somphong is a former ministry of industry, labour, transports, justice under previous Thaksin administrations. The long-standing MP from Chiang Mai was a former member of the People’s Power Party that was dissolved in 2008. He was banned from politics for 5 years. ============================================================================== Prayut and government willing to address charter amendment Prime Minister Prayut Chan-ocha will support the rewriting of the entire charter, the Deputy Prime Minister, Wissanu Krea-ngam, told reporters on Thursday. Prayut and his administration have been under pressure for the past several months as opposition parties in parliament and protestors on the streets push for a rewriting of the constitution. Even coalition partner, Thailand’s Democrat Party, has pushed for amendments to the current military-drafted charter. But so far the government has pushed back on amending the constitution voting last month to delay all motions to fix the charter and instead set up a research committee. The move prompted the opposition to walk out of parliament and drew an angry response from protesters. Some senators, including senator Tuang Antachai, said last week that any attempt to set up a charter drafting committee before a referendum was unconstitutional – possibly delaying mendments further. Paiboon Nititawan, an MP from the ruling party, then double-downed on the claim on Wednesday that a referendum would be needed if there was a proposal to amend the entire constitution. On Thursday, Wissanu said that the prime minister was willing to consider re-drafting the charter and said that the senate’s concern should be brought up with the investigative body. He said that any charter that is re-drafted must also pass a referendum and that would require the drafting of referendum laws as well.

From The Nation As many as 23 hotels in Koh Samui have been proposed as alternative local state quarantine (ALSQ) sites and most of them are expected to pass the grade, the tourism sector said. Thai Hotels Association – Southern Chapter East Cost said of the 23 hotels and resorts proposed to the ALSQ committee, eight had been checked on September 23, while the remainder will be checked in October. Ruengnam Chaikwang, the association’s president, said most of the proposed hotels had pool villas and were a fair distance from main streets and local communities. Hence, he said, it will be difficult for tourists to get away during their quarantine period. Also, he said, tourists’ movements will be monitored by the more than 1,000 CCTV cameras installed around the island. The Tourism Association of Koh Samui also said each of the proposed hotels had more than 70 rooms, and put together, they would have over 1,000 rooms. The association believes at least 90 per cent of the 23 hotels will pass the grade and some 200 tourists will visit Koh Samui initially.

From The Thaiger Viagra is facing stiff competition from the markets in Bangkok. Police last night arrested eight foreigners and five Thais for allegedly selling fake viagra and sex toys during a search of 17 locations along Bangkok’s Sukhumvit strip. Immigration Bureau chief Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn says the operation took place late last night and into this morning. Crime suppression police and tourist police searched 17 tourist locations on Sukhumvit Road along with Kevin Harrington, a representative of Pfizer, the makers of the erectile dysfunction drug ‘Viagra’. Harrington says that the fake Viagra was potentially dangerous as it was made of powder and dangerous chemicals. The fake Viagra was being sold for just 200 baht a box, compared to 3,000 baht for the real drug from a pharmacy, Surachate said. The operation seized 118 fake viagra boxes, 1,667 items of controlled medicine, 396 sex toys and 345 fake brand-name goods, Surachate said. Just in case you want to know the difference between real and fake Viagra, or were asking for a friend, firstly, you can’t buy real Viagra from street vendors at a market! The packaging is also different.

From Bangkok Post Thailand eyes 50,000 foreign tourists in Q4, down 99.5% hailand is expected to have 50,000 foreign tourists in the fourth quarter of 2020, down 99.5% from a year earlier, an industry body said on Wednesday, as the country tries to support its battered economy by gradually reopening to visitors. Foreign tourist receipts are seen at 4.5 billion baht in the quarter, down 99% year-on-year, Chairat Trirattanajarasporn, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand, told a briefing. The council predicts 6.74 million foreign tourists this year, down 83% from a year earlier, after a record 39.8 million visitors last year, he said. Next year's outlook remains uncertain, Mr Chairat said, although the official tourism agency predicts 20 million foreign tourist in 2021. "If there is no vaccine and we still have a 14-day quarantine, I expect only hundreds of thousands of tourists next year," he said.

From Coconuts Bangkok Thailand urged to defend Mekong against Sanakham dam project The Mekong River in Chiang Khan district, Thailand. Photo: Engdao Wichitpunya / Alamy By Ryn Jirenuwat and Tyler Roney “Water rises so fast and drops so fast because the water doesn’t flow naturally… It has huge impacts on us. It’s hard to catch any fish, and the fish cannot lay eggs,” said Prayoon Saen-ae, 62, head of a local fishermen group in Chiang Khan district, northern Thailand. The Mekong River Commission officially began a six-month prior consultation phase for the China-backed Sanakham dam on July 30. Thai activists find themselves fighting against the hydropower project just two kilometers from the border with Laos. The 684MW project is to be developed by a subsidiary of Datang International Power Generation, a state-owned Chinese power company, and is slated for completion in 2028. With seven planned Mekong mainstream dam projects in Laos, excluding the already operational Xayaburi dam, Sanakham is the sixth Lower Mekong dam to undergo prior consultation, a process in which affected nations can weigh in with nonbinding feedback. “We protested against the Xayaburi project, and it is hard to protest because it is on their soil – not ours” said Prayoon, a lifelong resident of Chiang Khan. He said he’s “slightly mad at [the Thai government] because we can’t do anything about it. When we protested against the Xayaburi dam, the Thai government couldn’t help us with anything. They always come up with excuses.” He said NGOs are the only ones who come to talk to him about the dam. The Mekong commission’s Joint Committee Working Group rejected documents for the prior consultation step and sent them back to the Laos government for revision, citing “out of date” information, but neither the MRC nor the Thai authorities can stop the dam. “The villagers are aware of this dam, but they just don’t know what to do about it,” said Channarong Wongla, 50, of the Rak Chiang Khan Conservation Group. “We exchange information and inform the villagers through the messaging app Line and on Facebook groups.” Laos’ use of the Mekong and its tributaries to become the “battery of Asia” has caused difficulties in the transboundary governance of water resources. There are several new dams proposed upstream of Sanakham, including China-backed projects at Pak Lay and Pak Beng, and the Vietnam-funded Luang Prabang dam. On the Nam Ou, a tributary responsible for important sediment reaching the Mekong, Laos has a cascade of seven planned and completed hydropower projects with little environmental oversight. The lack of press freedom and civil society in Laos has put Thailand’s activists in a unique position to speak out against the construction of the $2 billion Sanakham dam. Continues at https://coconuts.co/bangkok/news/thailand-urged-to-defend-mekong-against-sanakham-dam-project/

From The Diplomat In January of 2020, Fang Tianyu, an employee of a state-owned company in China, moved home to the city of Chengdu because of COVID-19. Fang’s family had made it a point not to speak about her love life since she came out as lesbian two years prior, but quarantine at home changed that. “Since being in quarantine, my dad has had very serious quarrels with me almost every day about my girlfriend or marriage,” she told the authors. As a result of these arguments, Fang broke up with her girlfriend to search for a male partner. “If the pandemic had never happened and we hadn’t broken up, we would be celebrating our three year anniversary,” Fang said at the end of our interview. During quarantine, many people have experienced increased familial tension. However, Fang’s story depicts the unique pressure that members of the LGBTQ+ community have faced in returning home. In an August study, researchers noted that depression rates among British LGBTQ+ people have skyrocketed during quarantine. Not only that, but one in six respondents experienced an increase in homophobia and transphobia. This number doubled if said respondents were closeted. Homosexuality was decriminalized in China in 1997, but gay marriage remains illegal. The picture on trans and other queer rights is mixed. Censorship of LGBTQ+ themes in entertainment is common — but just last month an employee of an e-commerce firm successfully won a case against her employer who had discriminated against her on the basis of sex, specifically for being transgender. However, China is not a common law nation. Technically courts are not meant to interpret law and court precedent does not equal law, although the mechanics of this are vague. Because there are no clear protections against homophobia and transphobia in China’s employment protection legislation, the actual status of trans rights is still unclear, despite the court win. During COVID-19, existing problems have been compounded. The stigmatization of homosexuality in China has made it difficult for individuals living with HIV and AIDS to receive basic medical care. A recent report in the Southern Urban Daily describes one such situation. Shan is a homosexual man living with AIDS who had managed to keep his diagnosis a secret from his family. When Shan returned home for quarantine, he only brought medicine sufficient for a one-week stay and soon realized it wouldn’t be enough. “Hopeless, helpless, and waiting for death,” he responded when asked by Southern Urban Daily reporters to describe his situation. “Every route out of the village was locked, and the only place I could try my luck was at the clinic in the rural marketplace.” As dire as his circumstance was, he was still reluctant to speak about his situation with local doctors. He worried that even if he did, they still might not understand what type of medication he needed. In 2015, 82 percent of new HIV infections in adults age 18 to 24 occurred among what scientists call the “men having sex with men” (MSM) population. Statistics like this fuel the overwhelming social stigmatization of HIV as a “gay” disease. High new infection rates amongst the gay community combined with the perception that only gay people are affected by the disease make it difficult for people like Shan to be open about their diagnosis. A Family Struggle The first wave of COVID-19 in China coincided with the country’s largest annual holiday — the Lunar New Year — which added additional strain to an already precarious situation. Many young people returned home for the holidays and subsequently found themselves stranded away from urban centers when quarantine clamped down. This opened up many young people to be subjected to the tradition of xiangqin (相亲), in which parents arrange for their children to meet suitable marriage partners. Xiangqin creates a uniquely difficult pressure for LGBTQ+ youth, who must navigate either conforming to or resisting their parents’ expectation that they be in a heterosexual relationship. During COVID-19, existing problems have been compounded. The stigmatization of homosexuality in China has made it difficult for individuals living with HIV and AIDS to receive basic medical care. A recent report in the Southern Urban Daily describes one such situation. Shan is a homosexual man living with AIDS who had managed to keep his diagnosis a secret from his family. When Shan returned home for quarantine, he only brought medicine sufficient for a one-week stay and soon realized it wouldn’t be enough. “Hopeless, helpless, and waiting for death,” he responded when asked by Southern Urban Daily reporters to describe his situation. “Every route out of the village was locked, and the only place I could try my luck was at the clinic in the rural marketplace.” As dire as his circumstance was, he was still reluctant to speak about his situation with local doctors. He worried that even if he did, they still might not understand what type of medication he needed. In 2015, 82 percent of new HIV infections in adults age 18 to 24 occurred among what scientists call the “men having sex with men” (MSM) population. Statistics like this fuel the overwhelming social stigmatization of HIV as a “gay” disease. High new infection rates amongst the gay community combined with the perception that only gay people are affected by the disease make it difficult for people like Shan to be open about their diagnosis. The first wave of COVID-19 in China coincided with the country’s largest annual holiday — the Lunar New Year — which added additional strain to an already precarious situation. Many young people returned home for the holidays and subsequently found themselves stranded away from urban centers when quarantine clamped down. This opened up many young people to be subjected to the tradition of xiangqin (相亲), in which parents arrange for their children to meet suitable marriage partners. Xiangqin creates a uniquely difficult pressure for LGBTQ+ youth, who must navigate either conforming to or resisting their parents’ expectation that they be in a heterosexual relationship. Continues at https://thediplomat.com/2020/09/covid-19-is-further-disenfranchising-chinas-queer-youth/

From Thai Enquirer Government coalition rife with rumors about Thaksin comeback Following an audience that was granted by His Majesty King Vajiralongkorn to the ex-wife and children of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, speculation and paranoia has increased in the government about a possible return for the exiled prime minister. For the past six years, the government of Prayut Chan-ocha has tried to eradicate the complicated legacy of Thaksin. The Prayut administration has prosecuted Thaksin allies, rewritten history books to omit Thaksin and has accused the exiled prime minister of trying to topple the country’s revered monarchy system. However, an audience granted by his majesty the king to Thaksin’s ex-wife last week where she donated ambulances to Siriraj Hospital has the ruling government coalition running amok with rumors. Sources inside the Palang Pracharat and Democrat Party told Thai Enquirer that numerous theories have been floating around inside the cabinet and among senior members since the audience was granted. The conspiracy theories have ranged from the plausible, Thaksin might receive a royal pardon, to the incredible, Thaksin might force Pheu Thai to join the government coalition. While chances are the audience was just to receive a generous philanthropic gift, the rumors show that the government coalition are on a knife edge and feeling embattled after three months of pro-democracy protests. That is not to say that the opposition has been free of rumors. The audience has sparked as many rumors as well including students accusing Thaksin and Pheu Thai of abandoning their cause to join the establishment. ====================================================== From Khaosod English Pheu Thai Dismisses ‘Unity Gov’t’ Rumor in Wake of Sudarat’s Resignation BANGKOK — The caretaker of the Pheu Thai Party on Monday said the abrupt resignations of its leaders are strictly a tactical move and not a sign of a “takeover” by any individual. Pheu Thai Party acting chairman Chusak Sirinial said the departures of party leader Sompong Amornvivat and chief strategist Sudarat Keyuraphan, among several others, will open an opportunity for younger politicians to have bigger roles in party leadership. “The new generations will be given a chance in administering the party more than before,” Chusak said. “This will show that we listen to the voices of the new generations.” Chusak also discounted the speculations on social media that the resignations are part of a deal to form a “national unity government, and that Potjaman Pombejra, ex-wife of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, would take over the party.

They didn't think to ask PaulSF, but if they did I think I can hear him say "any Saturday night on Soi Twlight." From The Thaiger When did Bangkok have its golden era? Of course it depends on when you were visiting, how long you were here, where you stayed, and what you were doing at the time. But the city has certainly had some ‘eras’ in the past that people nostalgically and whimsically recall as ‘special’. Here’s a few of the responses about when Bangkok really hit its straps, when we asked people on The Thaiger Facebook page. Everyone falls into the trap of remembering the ‘good old days’, but was there a time when Bangkok really did have a golden era? Denny says that it was definitely in the 1970s when he first came to Bangkok with his wife. He said his friends thought it was a ‘very exotic’ choice at the time. Denny, from Massachusetts in the US, returned in the 1990s to live in the Big Mango but says it had lost a certain visceral appeal and was beginning to be ‘moulded’ as a tourist destination. “Whilst I stood out in the 1970s no one really took much notice of me. By the 1990s some of the ‘ugly tourists’ had already made a reputation and we didn’t feel quite as welcome as we used to. Whilst in the 1970s there were still plenty of bicycles’d been completely replaced by the 1990s by the ubiquitous ‘motorcy’. ‘Simone’ said… “Late 80’s and the beginning of the 90’s, when the highest building was the Dusit Thani and the first disco was The Palace. You could just put a Motorola phone on a table at The Bubble and all girls were yours while the DJ was playing ‘One night in Bangkok’. You can write a book about those times.” Another writer ‘Retire’ thought the golden era was a few decades earlier. “I think Bangkok really came to life in the 60s when it started developing it’s own pop culture style in clothing, furniture, music and cinema. It sort of regressed into a bad version of everything western later or. But there was a bright, glimmering decade when Bangkok was the hip Asian city.” ‘Helmer’ and his wife were posted to Thailand as for a large foreign company in the late 50s. “When I first visited Thailand in the late 1950s I would stand out and people would stop me in the street to take a photo with me. It was very ‘Thai’ then and very few people had any English skills at all. It was a very difficult place to live as a foreigner at that stage and things slowly improved during the 60s until we had to leave in 1969. There was no high-rise in those days and shopping was all at local markets. The only cars driving around those days were all imported and they had just started filling in the old klongs to make new roads.” Continues with photos and video https://thethaiger.com/news/bangkok/bangkoks-golden-era-according-to-expats

From Chanel News Asia Thailand extends visa renewal grace period for foreigners stranded due to COVID-19 BANGKOK: Thailand on Monday (Sep 28) said it will extend a grace period for visa renewals for foreigners stranded in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic until the end of October, as travel restrictions remain in place and new infections climb globally. The extension will allow foreigners to remain in Thailand until Oct 31, a spokesman for the government's coronavirus taskforce Taweesin Wisanuyothin told Reuters. After October, a new immigration regulation will allow foreigners to apply for 60-day extensions to remain in the country if they are unable to leave due to limited flights or other issues, Pornchai Kuntee, deputy commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, told Reuters. Previously, extensions required documentation from their respective embassies and were limited to 30 days. Authorities on Monday also extended an emergency decree until the end of October.

From Bangkok Post The Satellite Terminal 1 (SAT-1) extension to Suvarnabhumi Airport is now more than 95 per cent complete while its transport link with the existing terminal should be ready by April next year, said Airports of Thailand (AOT) president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn on Monday. SAT-1 will service 28 parking bays and relieve overcrowding by boosting Suvarnabhumi’s capacity by about 15 million passengers per year. “The building [structure] itself is now 100 per cent complete, with only some interior design and landscape work now being finalised,” he said. “AOT is also working on the APM [Automated People Mover] system, whose installation in the Satellite 1 Building is now over 70 per cent complete.”

From Thai Enquirer Thailand will be unlivable if protestors topple me, Prayut says Prime Minister Prayut Chan o-cha said on Monday that he personally does not want a pro-democracy rally to take place on October 14 but he will follow the law. “In regards of allowing it, I do not want to allow it but the law is the law,” he told reporters when asked if the government would allow a rally led by United Front of Thammasat and Demonstration (UFTD) on October 14, with demands to lower the power of the monarchy. “If we do not allow it, they will not accept it. If we try to stop it, they will resist. When we enforce the law, they will say that we are putting pressure on them,” he added. The PM said what could happen if he ordered the security officers to use full force would be based on “the people who do not want to respect the law”. “Let me ask you this, if these people succeeded, how will their management of the country be like? I do not understand because the conflict is escalating and in the end, the country will be unlivable,” he said. When asked what would happen if the pro-monarchy protestors decided to confront the pro-democracy supporters, the PM said the government will try to make sure that the two groups do not come face to face with one another. He said the government will continue to provide spaces for pro-democracy rallies, as long as protestors follow the law. “Today might look like we are being too soft,” the PM added. “But there is a need to see what their terms and conditions are, as they want this outcome [use of force] to happen and that could be playing into their way.”

Point taken. I should have said the bars, and massage shops, of course, are the biggest part of gay Bangkok to me. Wish I was young enough to take advantage of those other options.

The "bars" are the biggest part of gay Bangkok. I think we all wish we were there to do the same.

From Channel News Asia Bangkok's canal communities fear they are living on borrowed time BANGKOK: Bang Prathun is like a miniature water world. A spiderweb of canals splays out through a rare green landscape of coconut and fruit trees, alongside paths that connect an enduring community. This place dates back to the late Ayutthaya period, or more than 200 years. Its people have lived around the water for generations and their fortunes have ebbed on the tides of the meandering Chao Phraya. Wisdom has been inherited from the generations past; how water moves, how it drains and how it sustains. Now, as modernity creeps closer all around this patch of green, an outlier amid the grey of Bangkok’s sprawl, its residents wonder if their old knowledge can still keep them safe. It is a challenge being posed to many of the Thai capital’s poorest communities, those living on the fringes - and often, around water. They are the most vulnerable. Bangkok has long faced the threat of flooding, but climate change is threatening to amplify the risks. Nawin Meebunjong grew up here, exploring the intricate canals. “I’ve been here since I was little. I grew up with the water, swimming in the canal. I went to school by boat. I go to the market by boat. Everything involves water,” he said. “After that, I changed my thinking from being a city office man to a community-concerned person. Why did I never take care of the things I had? If these things were gone one day, what would I do? “Like my mother. I did not have time to take care of her. I only made money and worked. Finally, when she passed away, it was too late to look after her. Like the canal. This is why I became interested in the canal. It’s also a mother, the mother of the water. The mother that we should look after,” he said. Nawin became the founder of the Rak Bang Prathun group, which works within the community to educate local people and help preserve the environment. Residents have focused their efforts on maintaining traditional houses designed to withstand flooding, shaping drainage ditches to control the movement of water and retaining it through greenery and gardens. It was a moment of turmoil in his life that turned him from someone who took his home for granted, to one of its most passionate protectors. Continues with excellent video and photos https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asia/flood-bangkok-canal-communities-climate-change-13114672

Traffic accidents in the Kingdom are an occasional topic of discussion of the board but this one is particularly disturbing. From Bangkok Post Rescue workers try to retrieve injured and dead victims from a double-decker tour bus that overturned after ramming into a trailer truck in Muang district of Nakhon Ratchasima early Saturday. (Photo: Prasit Tangprasert) NAKHON RATCHASIMA: Seven people were killed and 40 others injured when a double-decker bus carrying health volunteers on a study trip to Pattaya rammed into a trailer lorry loaded with cassava roots at an intersection in Muang district early on Saturday. The fatal crash happened at the Chai Mongkhol bypass on the Ratchasima-Pak Thong Chai route in Muang district, said Pol Lt Anucha Khammuang, a duty officer at the Pho Klang police station, who was alerted at 3.48am. The tourist bus with Kalasin licence plates was carrying 47 health volunteers from Ban Nam Sai village in Chaturaphak Phiman district of Roi Et on a study trip to Pattaya. Police and rescue workers who arrived at the scene found the bus overturned, with many passengers injured and screaming for help as they were trapped in the wreckage. About 50 metres away, a 22-wheel trailer with Lop Buri licence plates lay overturned with cassava roots scattered over the road. One survivor on the bus told police that it was travelling at such a high speed that the passengers could not sleep. Before the crash, the driver briefly dozed off at the wheel and some passengers urged him to stop for a rest. The driver said he could not do so because he had arranged to meet the drivers of the two other buses near the Hinson hill, said the survivor, according to the passenger. As it sped toward the intersection, the bus rammed into the trailer truck. The driver lost control and the bus overturned.

The thumping music, the profusion of flesh. it's as if the pandemic never happened. There's a lot of hope in that six minutes.

From Thai Enquirer Lawmakers Put off Vote on Constitutional Amendments BANGKOK (AP) — Scheduled voting by Thai lawmakers on six proposed amendments to the country’s military-backed constitution was canceled at the last minute Thursday as Parliament voted instead to set up a committee to further consider such proposals. The action, taken after two days of debate, means any vote on constitutional amendments is likely to be postponed for at least a month, and likely longer. At least 1,000 protesters pushing for charter reform gathered outside the Parliament building, and were angered when they heard that the voting might be postponed. They issued three demands for changes to the charter, including reform of the monarchy, limits to the powers of the unelected senators, and the election, not appointment, of any constitutional drafting committee’s members. Protest leaders threatened that they would hold another rally in October if their demands are not met by Sept. 30.

From Bangkok Post 7-day quarantine if tourist test succeeds A seven-day quarantine for foreign tourists can be put into effect in November if the first batch of inbound tourists in October is clear of coronavirus infections, says the Tourism and Sports Ministry. After next Tuesday's cabinet meeting, the government will announce more details of the special tourist visa (STV) that will allow long-stay visitors, the first international arrivals in almost six months, to enter the country by Oct 1, said Tourism and Sports Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn. If the first two groups of 300 foreigners complete the 14-day quarantine on Oct 15 and Oct 21 without a positive case, then the ministry plans to propose an increase in the number of tourists per week by Nov 1. "Only 300 tourists per week will not be enough to fill up the whole supply chain and help operators," Mr Phiphat said. "However, the figure has to comply with the capacity of the healthcare workforce from the Public Health Ministry to prepare swab tests." For instance, the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office can provide swab testing services of up to 1,000 tests per day. The ministry has spoken with private hospitals about providing more health personnel to support the virus testing process at airports, or allowing groups of tourists to get the test at alternative state quarantine facilities instead to disperse the flow of tourists at the terminal. If the tourism plan runs smoothly, the ministry will consider shortening the quarantine period to seven days in mid-November, Mr Phiphat said.

Not that i can go there at the moment, but where is this place for my fantasy purposes?

From Khaosod English BANGKOK (Xinhua) — Thailand planned to provide the so-called wellness quarantine for foreign visitors under the anti-pandemic measures at hotels alongside massage and spa parlors, confirmed a senior government official on Tuesday. Health Service Support Department Director General Tares Krassanairawiwong said foreign tourists will be provided the 14-day wellness quarantine at the hotels where they will stay and concurrently visit massage and spa parlors in their neighborhood. Nevertheless, all foreigners visiting the massage and spa parlors will be strictly separated from Thai customers under social distancing and anti-pandemic measures, the director general said. That will be part of the government’s Medical and Wellness Program for foreign tourists, who will be obliged to carry a health insurance package upon arrival to Thailand, Tares said. Many foreign tourists are expected to use the massage and spa services, such as those in southern coastal provinces of Thailand, and may be given a Special Tourist Visa for a long stay allowing a maximum of nine-month stay in this country, he said. However, the government-run Center for the COVID-19 Situation Administration and the cabinet of ministers are yet to approve the Wellness Quarantine plan for foreigners.

From Bangkok Post Airports deploy rapid virus tests, sniffer dogs to unlock travel LONDON: A handful of European airports are implementing trials of quick-fire coronavirus tests, working with airlines to push technologies still being developed as a way to revive stunted international air travel. The tests, which can be carried out in 30 minutes, are seen as the best hope for the aviation industry to overcome new travel curbs that have brought a modest traffic rebound over summer to a shuddering halt. Other initiatives include a Finnish experiment with dogs that can sniff out the virus. Rome's Fiumicino hub became the first worldwide to introduce rapid screening, while London Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, has trialled three rival technologies. The International Air Transport Association is backing mandatory checks on departure to unlock flights before the arrival of a Covid vaccine, and Deutsche Lufthansa AG wants to use tests to reopen the trans-Atlantic market. The aviation industry is turning to a do-it-yourself approach after earlier efforts to rally global authorities around a united plan fell flat. A recent surge in virus cases triggered a haphazard set of fresh restrictions, upending a recovery in air traffic. Now companies are working to get pre-flight testing under way in a handful of markets in the expectation that other locations will follow. "We did not come to this decision lightly," IATA director general Alexandre de Juniac said of its support for universal checks. "Systematic testing will present logistical challenges and impact how people travel. But if you look at the reopening of borders, results have been dismally disappointing. Quarantine measures are killing the industry's recovery." The latest global traffic figures show long-haul markets are still largely grounded and that a recovery in domestic and regional operations has leveled off. Restrictions have been especially fluid in Europe, making it impossible for travellers to know whether they'll need to self-isolate when they return home. Heathrow, which sought to introduce PCR tests costing £150 (about 6,000 baht), had also proposed a second test five days later to allow for the virus’s incubation period, during which time people would need to self-isolate. Britain declined to ratify the plan, saying it was unlikely to entice travellers put off by an existing 14-day quarantine period for arrivals from at-risk countries. The airport is now pressing the case for rapid testing before departure, though Chief Executive Officer John Holland-Kaye cautioned Wednesday that it will be “more challenging” for the model to gain acceptance, since destination countries would need to take the accuracy of the checks on faith. Anyone found to be infected is denied boarding and will have to return home to self-isolate, having previously completed a form undertaking to do so in the event of a positive outcome. AdR said it is in talks with Lufthansa, Russia’s Aeroflot and Dubai-based Emirates about introducing the tests for their flights from Fiumicino. It is also keen to offer the procedure for services to New York, restoring a vital trans-Atlantic link that is currently closed to all but repatriating passengers. Lufthansa said separately Tuesday that it is planning to buy test kits from manufacturers including Roche Holding AG, after the Swiss company said the day before that its rapid antigen scan was available in Europe and that it would be filing for emergency authorization in the US. The German carrier said it is working with partners to use the tests to open up American routes. One, devised by GeneMe of Poland, can detect the Covid-19 genome in nose or throat swabs in about 30 minutes, while the other, from US-based Mologic, uses a saliva sample to identify viral antibodies in about 10 minutes. The hub also tested the less conventional Virolens system from British startup iAbra, which deploys a digital camera and microscope to produce a highly magnified hologram-style image of a sample in just 20 seconds. That can then be scanned for the distinctly shaped virus using artificial intelligence software.

From Bangkok Post BoT sees slower recovery in 2021 Thailand's economic recovery is expected to take longer than previously anticipated, mainly due to the drastic decline in foreign tourist numbers, says the Bank of Thailand. The central bank slashed its GDP growth forecast for 2021 from 5% to 3.6% as the pandemic continues to hamper international travel. The central bank has revised down its foreign arrivals forecast for next year from the previous 16.2 million to 9 million, said Titanun Mallikamas, secretary of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC). The outbreak situation and the offshore impact have been more severe than expected. Several countries have been facing higher infection cases, second-wave outbreaks and longer lockdown policies, Mr Titanun said. These factors will incur an impact on foreign travellers with plans to visit Thailand. "With this scenario [the slow recovery of foreign tourist figures], overall economic activity will take at least two years to return to pre-pandemic levels," he said. The central bank earlier warned that Thailand's tourism industry would face greater risks next year if the government continued to restrict foreign travellers from entering the country.

The Thai Enquirer today begins a series of articles looking back at the little appreciated Free Thai resistance movement during the period of occupation during the Second World War. In this installment, it discusses the roles of the United Kingdom and the United States. From The Thai Enquirer An Oral History of the Seri Thai – Part One By Pear Maneechote And Jasmine Chia There are a few watershed events in Thai history that should be celebrated, honored, and remembered. This is definitely one of them. During World War II, Thai Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkram famously allied Thailand with the Japanese and the Axis Powers and declared war against the Allies. Yet, at the end of the war, Thailand somehow emerged as a friend of the Allied Powers – not exactly a victor, but not a defeated nation by any means. Most importantly, Thailand emerged from WW2 as a free and independent nation. This was the doing of Seri Thai, Thailand’s underground ‘Free Thai’ resistance movement, which worked with the US and UK against the Japanese occupation. The movement involved people from all walks of life — from anti-royalists, to purebred royals, schoolteachers, government officials, family members, to students. It was a coordinated resistance against the multiple oppressions that Thailand faced and continues to face today: the oppression of a nationalist military government, and the imperialist occupier that the military had invited to its doorstep. Although the Seri Thai movement is well remembered, it is not often remembered correctly. It was a movement driven as much by students as by politicians, young people who put their lives on the line to stand in defiance of a military government. Today, some of Seri Thai’s descendants are on the front lines of the democracy movement, as students drive their own open resistance against the current military dictatorship. 75 years after the declaration of peace, we revisit another pivotal turning point in Thai democratic history, as told through the words of direct participants and their descendants. Continues with photos https://www.thaienquirer.com/18327/an-oral-history-of-the-seri-thai-part-one/

Thai authorities estimate that there are about 150,000 people in the country who, for various reasons, have overstayed their visas. Saturday is the deadline for requesting extensions buy many are not expected to be able to complete the process. From the Thai Examiner Particular problems associated with long-stay Non-Immigrant B visa holders under the present extraordinary conditions are being identified as the closure of the kingdom’s borders has prevented expats from earning income and regularly travelling outside the kingdom while business owners with the visa in Thailand have seen their personal circumstances diminished to such an extent that many cannot comply with the normal conditions. The next few days, for thousands of these people, will be stressful as they weigh up and consider exiting Thailand to avoid ending up on the wrong side of the law while facing a highly uncertain future. A senior Immigration Bureau officer in Bangkok on Monday warned that the bureau would make use of its live database to track down visa overstayers from midnight on Saturday who failed to extend their visas as the Covid 19 visa amnesty finally comes to an end. As well as over 150,000 tourists believed to be still in Thailand since January, there are also many small business people, caught in peculiar circumstances, who now have a matter of days to decide whether to leave their life in Thailand behind them and return home or see if they can find a solution to their predicament as they can no longer meet extension requirements because of the disruption of their business and diminished financial circumstances. Senior Thai Immigration Bureau officers throughout Thailand are working frantically to process a deluge of last-minute applications as it becomes clear that the visa amnesty issued because of the Covid 19 crisis will not be renewed after it expires on Saturday next, September 26th, at midnight.

From Bloomberg News Universal coronavirus tests for departing passengers offer the only realistic hope of reviving demand for flights in the absence of a vaccine, the International Air Transport Association said. The 100% adoption of rapid antigen tests, which should be available next month, would remove any need for quarantines that are currently “killing” the market, IATA chief Alexandre de Juniac said on a media call Tuesday. While the call for testing isn’t new, the outlook has turned increasingly grim for airlines taking stock of a disappointing summer with rising infection rates and restrictions dashing hopes for a recovery. Just this week in Europe, Deutsche Lufthansa AG has said it will slash more jobs and planes from its fleet, the chief executive officer of Air France-KLM warned of further cost cuts, and tour operator TUI AG lowered its outlook for capacity through year-end. To date, the industry’s many calls for a unified approach to air travel have been hampered by individual countries loath to surrender health policy responsibilities to outsiders. Even proposals for so-called travel bubbles between pair of countries have run up against red tape and authority split among various agencies. IATA will seek to convince governments of the case for rapid testing through the United Nations-mandated International Civil Aviation Organization, De Juniac said, adding that all of its members back the proposal. The airline industry’s main trade group has repeatedly blamed travel restrictions for holding back demand. Tests would cost as little as $10, could be performed by staff without professional medical training, and would deliver a result in 15 minutes with 97% sensitivity, IATA said. As well as allowing nations to relax curbs on flying, a universal testing regime would provide people with reassurance that fellow passengers were Covid-free. Governments should fund the program, De Juniac said.