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News and Views - March 2006
Komchadluek's statement
concerning their recent ceasing of publication: "Komchadluek
recommences publication - ready to serve all Thais"
- translated from Komchadluek, April 3, 2006
Komchadluek is now ready to recommence publication after its
recent picketing by the "Caravan of the Poor." The
protesters were displeased at the wording of one of our news
articles. Their action caused us to close for three days to
avoid any further violence arising. We still insist on our intention
to be "THE paper for the public."
It is unbelievable that should be subjected to such an action
with Thailand claiming to be a democratic society. Thousands
of protesters--under the banners of both the "Caravan of
the Poor" and the "Thai Loyalty Party"--aggressively
picketed our head office at the Nation Publishing Group Building,
located at the Bangna [Bangkok] end of the Bangna-Trad Highway.
The protest kept all of the buildings' entrances closed for
seven hours.
Our editorial team continually demonstrates its loyalty to Thailand's
royalty through its appreciation and understanding of that esteemed
institution. The protesters' encirclement of our head office
prevented our staff getting into and out of the building. Those
trapped in the building included a pregnant woman and some other
individuals experiencing illness. The protesters' verbal harassment
of our staff and passersby could only be described as illegal.
Komchadluek complied with the protesters' demands to avoid further
violence and to prevent any further complications. We were concerned
above all with the safety of our staff and the security of other
local companies.
We have obtained evidence that the protesters' were supported
by a group of politicians seeking to twist the truth. It is
also thought that this group wished to divert the public's attention
from political events happening elsewhere.
Komchadluek has already made a very sincere admission of its
mistakes with the intention of seeking a royal pardon. We also
submitted these admissions in a written letter to the Royal
Secretarial Office after our acceptance of the instant resignation
of the offending article's author.
Additionally, the management team of Komchadluek decided to
close the newspaper for three days [from March 31 to April 2].
Our closure decision was a painful one which failed to satisfy
the continuing heavy demands of the protesters' The protest
group kept demanding that Komchadluek close for a further two
days and even called for the offending reporter to come forward
to hear their complaints.
To avoid the incident providing even greater offense to our
country's highest institution, Komchadluek finally decided to
comply with the protesters' demands.
Though the police had a strong role in mediating the situation,
it is obvious that the authorities were unable to contain the
illegal violations that occurred during the incident.
We thank all our friends in the country's media for their kind
support during the situation we endured. We will not hesitate
in our promises to campaign for social justice whatever obstacles
fall in our way.
Signed: EDITORIAL TEAM
Komchadluek's
apology for inappropriate royal references -
March 31, 2006
Despite libels suits, the Thai press is freewheeling and brash
in what it reports. However, critical or personal references
to royal are illegal. Occasionally, these references do make
their way into the press. When this happens the publication
can be charged with a criminal offense. More often they voluntarily
cease publication for a time and apologies are printed like
the one above printed by Komchadluek on March 30, 2006.
The apology is difficult to translate because it is in very
formal language, but a summary is: Would you please give
us forgiveness? We beg the King, we, Komchadluek would like
to kindly inform the King that according to the Komchadluek
newspaper of March 24 we printed the sentence that could annoy
the King.
We would like to ask for forgiveness. We would like to kindly
inform that Komchadluek operates and reports news from royal
sources to maintain the King’s might always and will continue
this intention always.
Begging you to please kindly consider. It is up to the King.
- Komchadluek editorial team
Sondhi
faces deluge of lese majeste claims -
Bangkok Post, March 30, 2006
The complaint said Mr Sondhi's address to the anti-Thaksin
protest last week implied the King was responsible for the Supreme
Administrative Court quashing the two royal decrees on the public
listing of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand
(Egat) ...
Mr Sondhi defended his speech, saying he was just using a figure
of speech on March 23 in asking whether Mr Thaksin expected
the King to ''resign'' to take responsibility for the failed
royal decrees if he himself, as the caretaker prime minister,
refused to to show responsibility by resigning.
He said Kom Chad Luek dropped part of the sentence in question,
making it appear that he demanded the King abdicate to take
responsibility. ... The Department of Special Investigation
has issued arrest warrants for two Pattani men who are living
in Sweden, alleging their www.manusaya.com website contains
lese majeste messages.
Pol Col Yanpol Yangyuen, director of DSI's information and technology
crime division, said Abdulrosa Jeh-ngor, 39, and Chipley Putra
Jeh-ngor, 22, set up the website from their house in Lund City,
Sweden, after their www.pulo.org site was shut down. He said
Thailand and Sweden have no extradition treaty.
Earlier: Komchadluek
in trouble - March 29, 2006
What were the "1,000
angry protesters" at The Nation building mad
about? Page 8 of Komchadluek on Friday March 24, 2006
has a peculiar sentence near some statements by Sondhi. It is
not clear who is being quoted, but the sentence seems independent
or separate from the rest of the article (perhaps a notation
by the reporter?).
The sentence says, "You send the law to the King to sign.
If the King is involved and there is the mistake, the PM should
be responsible and quit. If he doesn't quit [censored]."
There are also reports that the Caravan of the Poor wants to
sue Fa Diew Kun (a
Thai-language political quarterly) because of some statements
about royalty.
Magazine
banned for articles on monarchy - Bangkok
Post, March 31, 2006
The editor of Fah Diew Kan (Under the Same Sky), a left-leaning
magazine, is planning legal action against caretaker Interior
Minister Kongsak Wantana for having ordered a ban on the distribution
of the quarterly magazine. A notice signed by national police
chief Pol Gen Kowit Wattana was sent to editor Thanapol Eawsakul
yesterday, instructing him to stop selling the Oct-Dec 2005
edition, which contains articles and comments on the monarchy
and Thai society by prominent scholars including social critic
Sulak Sivaraksa.
The order was issued shortly after leaders of the Caravan of
the Poor read the articles to thousands of farmers gathered
at Chatuchak park in support of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra...
This was the second act of intimidation against the magazine
by security officials, he said. In late 2004, the
magazine was told to stop distributing copies of its Dec 2004
edition, which contained investigative reports on the Thaksin
administration's mishandling of southern unrest. A free video
CD on the Tak Bai tragedy was offered along with a copy of that
edition.
Firms
vie for embassy land - Bangkok
Post, March 31, 2006
...The nine-rai site in front of the British Embassy on Ploenchit
Road could fetch as much as one million baht per square wah,
say industry executives. That would far outstrip prices paid
for prime land on Silom and Sathorn roads, which have been known
to fetch between 200,000 and 400,000 baht per square wah.
Two years ago a plot of land on Sathorn Road belonging to the
United States Information Services (USIS) fetched 260,000 baht
per square wah at an auction.
It was purchased by Singapore's Hotel Properties Limited (HPL)
and is being developed into a high-end condominium, The Met...
If it succeeds, LH has said that it plans to invest around 13.5
billion baht in the plot over four years to develop three kinds
of property: a serviced apartment building, an office building
and a hotel, on 150,000 square metres...
Google
Earth Placemark showing the site - Download
Google Earth
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Right: One of the
remaining sculptures at the Silom intersection that
was not stolen.
Eleven
folk statues missing, believed stolen -
Bangkok Post, March 30, 2006
... The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration spent
about 10 million baht allocated by the government on
commissioning the 20 sculptures. ''I believe they were
stolen on Saturday or Sunday night. I have asked Jor
Sor 100 radio station and motorcycle taxi drivers to
help look for them,'' Mr Sanob said. Khunying Nathanon
said the two districts would set up a committee to investigate.
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(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
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Interesting photos
- March 28, 2006
Nils points out interesting galleries from ezprezzo.com: world's
largest diesel engine and freaky
bicycles.
This
land is Thailand - Nashville City
Paper, March 26, 2004
...It turns out that the photo of a DHL van chugging through
a flooded country road against a hilly backdrop wasn't shot
anywhere near Nashville.
It was shot in a rice paddy in Thailand, Baker said...
Book
on Vietnamese nationals in Thailand honoured -
Viet Nam News Agency, March 26, 2006
...Published in October 2005, the book consists of six chapters,
focusing on Immigration of Vietnamese people to Thailand; Patriotic
movement of Vietnamese people in late 19th and early 20th century;
Policy of Thai government towards Vietnamese nationals in Thailand;
Repatriation of overseas Vietnamese; and other areas.
The author reserves a part of his book for President Ho Chi
Minh and his life in Thailand.
Homo
erectus found in Thailand - ITV.com, March
24, 2006
Researchers have found remains of Homo erectus, a part-human,
part-ape creature, in Thailand for the first time. Four pieces
from the top part of a Homo erectus skull, one of the earliest
ancestors of mankind, were unearthed by members of a Thai archaeological
expedition...
Experts:
Bioterrorism should worry Asia - AP, March
25, 2006
Hot weather. Crowded communities. Weak public health systems.
Conditions like these have turned Southeast Asia into a breeding
ground for SARS and bird flu. Now experts warn that the region's
vulnerability to infectious disease could prove devastating
in the event of a bioterror attack...
Sign language for babies comes to Thailand?
- March 27, 2006
Dear Mr. Ron,
I am the Creative Director for Baby Hands Productions, a company
based in the US with an award winning and bestselling DVD series
for babies from 10 to 36 months. We are pleased to announce
our partnership with Thai Soonthorn International Trading Co.
and the introduction of the My Baby Can Talk DVD series into
Thailand. I have attached a press release that will be placed
on the wire on Monday.
One of the most popular parenting trends today is teaching hearing
babies to use sign language to communicate before they can speak
and My Baby Can Talk is the most popular baby sign language
series available....
www.MyBabyCanTalk.com
The
fraternal order of fraud victims - Business
Week, March 27, 2006
Investment scams targeting social, religious, and ethnic
groups are on the rise...
Gallery
of overloaded vehicles - ezprezzo.com,
March 20, 2006
Yao Defen, the tallest woman in the world
- March 25, 2006
Yahoo
photos - Shanghaiist
- via Friskodude
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2Bangkok.com booms - March
22, 2006
With 16,000 unique visitors a day 2Bangkok.com is becoming
the most popular source for Thai news you cannot find
anywhere else... and we are also blowing our bandwidth
limit every day. If any well-off readers are interested
in providing 2Bangkok.com with a grant to maintain this
site online please contact ron@angkor.com.
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China's
competitiveness hit by energy and labour costs -
Financial Times, March 22, 2006
The competitiveness of China's manufacturing industries
has suffered serious erosion over the past year, according
to one of the world's largest trade sourcing companies...
Black and white Bangkok -
March 21, 2006
Check out Steve's great gallery of black and white photos
of Bangkok. There is a low
and high
bandwidth version.
EU
bans 'flying coffin' airlines -
CNN, March 22, 2006
Thanks to Conor for pointing this out...
...The EU blacklist also includes Ariana Afghan Airlines,
North Korea's Air Koryo and Thailand's Phuket Airlines...
Councillors
'missing' in Bangkok - Gulf Daily
News, March 15, 2006
Twenty municipal councillors have reportedly gone AWOL
in Bangkok, Thailand, instead of returning to work in Bahrain.
Twenty-five councillors went on an official visit to Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, last week, but only five returned, a top
municipal source told the GDN.
The rest booked tickets to Bangkok where they are on an unscheduled
vacation - even though they were supposed to be back at work
on Saturday...
Interesting articles -
March 21, 2006
Thanks to Danny for pointing out these articles...
World
support fading for private water aid - New York Times,
March 20, 2006
In the past decade, according to a private water suppliers'
trade group, private companies have managed to extend water
service to just 10 million people, less than 1 percent of
those who need it...
In
the drive to end polio, a plague of doubt and exhaustion
- New York Times, March 20, 2006
Six years beyond the deadline for the elimination of polio,
even optimists warn that total eradication is far from assured...
Nils point out: Both
Supinya and Prachachart Thurakij were acquitted
and a strange satire from The Nation: THE
CAPITAL HAS FALLEN!
Thanks to Danny for pointing these out...
A
new Gandhian vision: Liberating India's universities -
International Herald Tribune, March 15, 2006
In the 21 months that he has been a member of Parliament,
Rahul Gandhi, a scion of India's most powerful political family,
has largely kept quiet...
Viceroys
long gone, EU grows in Asia - International Herald
Tribune, March 16, 2006
A combination of factors in recent years have today given
rise to a quiet but growing European presence in Asia...
Weekend reading from Danny...
Secret
avian flu archive - New York Times, March 16, 2006
Academic and national pride must not be allowed to slow
potentially crucial research on the avian flu...
Russia,
South Korea Close to Railroad Agreement - mos news, 27.02.2006
Dam
project brings Laos cash and controversy - International
Herald Tribune, March 15, 2006
Near this dusty village of 51 houses, amid remote hills
in the center of landlocked Laos, a country where electricity
and running water are scarce and 80 percent of people still
live on subsistence farming, a giant project is taking shape
that has multinational companies and lenders buzzing...
Popular newspapers
- March 18, 2006
Newspaper vendors around town report that nowadays people
like to read Matichon and Thaipost over Thai
Rath because they want to monitor the political situation.
Thai Rath sells much less than the past.
Nothing
but gray skies... - The New York Times,
March 6, 2006
[Thanks to Danny for pointing this out...]
With half the seats in U.S. airliners run by companies either
in bankruptcy or limping out of it, airline pilots are facing
a new world...
UFO
may have been a meteor - Bangkok Post,
March 13, 2006
The sighting of what appeared to be an unidentified flying
object (UFO) over Ayutthaya recently has left experts scratching
their heads over exactly what it might have been. Morakot Areeya,
head of Uttaradit's astronomy learning centre and the chairman
of the People's Network for Elections (P-Net), said he saw a burning
object speeding across the sky at about 6.20pm on March 4 in Ayutthaya's
Nakhon Si Ayutthaya district...
War
on opium gives Golden Triangle a different hue -
Reuters, March 9, 2006
The mountains of northern Laos have changed color. In the past
five years, the opium poppy fields that for the last two centuries
lent splashes of color to the pervading green of the jungle have
become a thing of the past...
Google
Mars - March 13, 2006
Oddball Guru -
March 13, 2006
Despite its stogy layout, Guru has plenty oddball content
like the advice at the top right of a recent cover and info on
using the f-word in rap songs. 2Bangkok.com has even received
several emails from British DJs wondering how to get into the
magazine. Too bad the magazine does not a website.
Chinese
garment quotas breathing life into vulnerable Asian textile sectors
- AFP, March 11, 2006
Asia's most vulnerable garment sectors have survived -- even
flourished -- and proved the nay-sayers wrong during their first
year without the protection of the global quota system...
Tsunami
watch cancelled - Bangkok Post,
March 12, 2006
Disaster
centre issue warning of possible tsunami by undersea volcano
- The Nation, March 11, 2006
The National Disaster Warning Centre issued an urgent warning
asking the people to monitor announcements from the centre constantly
following 31 earthquakes under the Andaman Sea off Ranong's coast.
The centre issued an announcement on TV saying 31 earthquakes
measured at 4.0 to 5.3 on Richter scale happened on the seedbed
about 400 to 600 kilometres west of Ranong's coast...
Map
of the earthquake cluster
Ranking
of world's billionaires by Forbes -
breitbart, March 9, 2006
214. Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, Thailand, 61, $3.2, alcohol
292. Chaleo Yoovidhya, Thailand, 74, $2.5, Red Bull
317. Dhanin Chearavanont and family, Thailand, 66, $2.4, agriculture
Rat-squirrel
back after 11-million-year absence - CNN,
March 9, 2006
The
gallery of transport loss - March
11, 2006
Thanks to Jack for pointing out this gallery of transport loss.
Reprocessed
Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) and Administrative Review
Board (ARB) - U.S. Department of Defense,
March 3, 2006
These are documents that reveal in a roundabout way the identities
and testimony of prisoners being held at Guantanamo
Bay. We have been slowly looking them over to find any mention
of Thailand...
Sultan’s
School kids collect ring pulls to help Thai amputees -
Times of Oman, March 9, 2006
[Is this an urban legend?]
...The scheme involves collecting ring pulls from soft drinks
cans and recycling them to extract the small amount of titanium
which is used to manufacture these aids...
Abandoned
places - March 10, 2006
Indonesian
truck tipping over? - neatorama, March 2,
2006
Giant
squid on display - BBC, February
28, 2006
Virtual drive
through Seattle and San Francisco - March
10, 2006
Odd turns of phrase from TNA -
March 10, 2006
Nils points out these oddly humorous items from TNA:
1. Government
plans lower death toll during Songkran Festival holiday
2. ...Those who have died will each receive Bt215,900,
while those who have become physically disabled or mentally disordered
will each receive Bt1.45 million... (Cabinet
approves compensations for victims of 1973 student uprising
- TNA, March 8, 2006)
U.S.,
Malaysia to Launch Free-Trade Talks -
AP, March 8, 2006
Now that the U.S./Thai FTA is stalled: ...The agreement will
be announced publicly later in the day by U.S. Trade Representative
Rob Portman and his Malaysian counterpart, Rafidah Aziz, according
to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because
the announcement had not yet been made...
U.S.
State Department's 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
- March 8, 2006
In past years Prime Minister Thaksin has reacted vigorously
to these reports. This year's report
on Thailand:
* arbitrary and unlawful killings by both security force
personnel and insurgents as well as deaths in police custody
* torture and excessive use of force by police
* poor conditions in some prisons and immigrant detention facilities
* arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention without charge
* impunity for human rights abusers
* intimidation of the press leading to self-censorship
* widespread corruption
* violence and discrimination against women trafficking in persons
* discrimination against hill tribes and other minorities
* inadequate protection of worker rights
* forced labor and child labor
* mistreatment of foreign migrant workers
Future
extinction hotspots unveiled -
Nature, March 6, 2006
And a map...
The
wild web of China: Sex and drugs, not reform -
NYT, March 8, 2006
Sugar
prices allowed to rise after 22 long years -
IHT, March 7, 2006
Do
elephants run? - March 9, 2006
Outsourcing
work not coming in - Bangkok
Post, March 1, 2006
Opportunities for Thailand around ICT and to provide IT and
business process outsourcing (BPO) services to a global marketplace
are offset by shortcomings that include limited access to investment
capital, a lack of government vision and support, and lack of
regulations governing security or privacy...
Bangkok
set to be user-friendly city for women -
TNA, March 8, 2006
Malaysia
promotes Bigfoot hunt - AP, March
8, 2005
Apparently, nobody wants to meet Bigfoot. The Malaysian Forestry
Department says there are no takers for permits on offer to explore
a protected forest for the mythical creature...
Thailand's "northern border with China"
- March 9, 2006
Don Entz notes the mention of Thailand's "northern border
with China" in the Asia Security Monitor article:
Thailand has no border with China.
Thailand struggles with North Korean refugees - Asia
Security Monitor, No. 155, March 1, 2006
February 19: Thai officials are now seeking to boost security
on their country's northern border with China in an effort to
block a steady stream of illegal North Korean immigrants. According
to the Bangkok Post, after gaining entry most of the refugees
surrender to local Thai police in hopes of being processed by
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and sent to
South Korea. Since 2003, authorities in the Thai province of Chiang
Rai have arrested 227 North Korean defectors, shipping 166 of
the 227 to Seoul and keeping the rest under detention. According
to police reports based on interviews with the detainees, most
of them slipped into China before boarding Chinese cargo ships
to take them along the Mekong River to Muang Mom across the river
in Laos' Bokeo Province. Police have warned boat-owners that their
vessels will be seized if they are caught aiding the defectors
and workers on Chinese cargo ships could face imprisonment.
iTV
to blare its news in elevators, mass transit stations
- The Nation, March 8, 2006
Love it or hate it, Bangkokians will find it harder to avoid
watching iTV from now own. The channel yesterday announced it
had made a deal with five partners that would air its news service
in public places...
"From your home [to work], while riding the BTS and subway,
or going up in elevators, or when you go shopping, you won't
be missing important news," said Songsak Premsuk, iTV's
managing director...
Mass
transit is a victim of its own terms of reference -
The Nation, March 3, 2006
...Ever since it was conceptualised, the project has drawn
criticism, first for an over-ambitious 300-kilometre system
and then over financing terms. On top of that the map was redrawn
several times. The straw that broke the camel's back, however,
seemed to be the proposal to trade Thai chicken, rice and shrimp
for the heavy machinery and other investment.
Yet the biggest braking factor was conceivably the complicated
nature of the terms of reference...
Selling ads to raise money--again
- March 5, 2006
We noted a press release about a Thai version of the "sell
tiny blocks for ads to make money" scheme (Thai
Student Entrepreneur Launches $10 Million Homepage to Pay For
Family Debt, March 5, PR Web). It is funny to see the header
note "All new idea - first and original" and "no
bullxxxx." As the press release notes: "Find out more
about Supadet Jitthamma and his wonderful business idea at http://www.milliondollartoyou.com."
Seven
parties register 252 candidates -
The Nation, March 5, 2006
BIMSTEC's
FTA-India, Thailand locked in battle over rules of origin (ROO)
- News From Bangladesh, March 3, 2006
Two big economies in BIMSTEC - India and Thailand - have become
locked in a battle over the rules of origin (ROO) issue in talks
on creating a free trade zone among member states, reports BSS...
Baht's
strength will not endure forever - IHT,
March 3, 2006
...Another factor possibly fueling the baht's appreciation is Singapore-based
Temasek Holdings shifting approximately US$700 million for its tender
offer of Shin Corp shares. Analysts have speculated that Temasek is
transferring the money this week before the tender offer expires on
March 9.
"It is hard to pin the baht
strength on the Temasek deal, but there is capital inflow and I think
this is more on regional factors," like the BoJ announcement
and yuan speculation, said Usara Wilaipitch, senior economist at Standard
Chartered (Thailand)...
Top
20 Thai Rak Thai party-list candidates - The
Nation, March 2, 2006
The top 20 candidates on the Thai Rak Thai's party-list are:
1 Thaksin Shinawatra
2 Suriya Jungrungreangkit
3 Sudarat Keyuraphan
4 Somkid Jatusripitak
5 Bhokin Bhalakula
6 Suwat Liptapanlop
7 Pinij Jarusombat
8 Pongthep Thepkanchana
9 Sora-at Klinpratoom
10 Wan Muhamad Noor Matha |
11 Yaowapha Wongsawat
12 Thamarak Isarangura
13 Somsak Thepsuthin
14 Sonthaya Kunplume
15 Yongyuth Tiyapairat
16 Somchai Sunthornwat
17 Chaturon Chaisang
18 Adisai Potharamic
19 Promin Lertsuridej
20 Phumtham Vejjayachai |
Alliant
energy sells three power plants - AP, March
1, 2006
Alliant Energy Corp. said Wednesday it has completed the sale of
three power plants in China to a company in Thailand...
(Photo: 2Bangkok.com) |
Removing advertisements
- March 3, 2006
Two men on hanging swings remove giant advertising panels
from the outside of Chartered Square Building in the Sathorn
area.
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(Photo: 2Bangkok.com)
No
pink bird meat - stickyrice, March 1, 2006
Thailand struggles with North Korean refugees
- Asia Security Monitor, No. 155, March 1, 2006
February 19: Thai officials are now seeking to boost security
on their country's northern border with China in an effort to
block a steady stream of illegal North Korean immigrants. According
to the Bangkok Post, after gaining entry most of the refugees
surrender to local Thai police in hopes of being processed by
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and sent to
South Korea. Since 2003, authorities in the Thai province of Chiang
Rai have arrested 227 North Korean defectors, shipping 166 of
the 227 to Seoul and keeping the rest under detention. According
to police reports based on interviews with the detainees, most
of them slipped into China before boarding Chinese cargo ships
to take them along the Mekong River to Muang Mom across the river
in Laos' Bokeo Province. Police have warned boat-owners that their
vessels will be seized if they are caught aiding the defectors
and workers on Chinese cargo ships could face imprisonment.
Tributes
paid to judge's daughter killed in Thailand road accident -
Yorkshire Post, March 1, 2006
Tributes were paid yesterday to a judge's daughter killed in a
road accident in Thailand...
Pizza
magnate seeks Catholic-governed town - AP, March
1, 2006
Nothing to do with Thailand, but interesting... Thanks to Nils for
sending this link along with the proposed town's homepage: www.avemaria.com
'Social
order' takes the life out of night life - March
1, 2006
[It has been pointed out to 2Bangkok that only foreign-owned/affiliated
nightclubs have been repeatedly targeted and hounded into closing...]
...But nothing deflates a thriving club scene like repeated unheralded
visits by a local constabulary intent on upholding "social order."
And that is exactly what has been happening over the last four years.
Sometimes the raiding police are accompanied by local TV crews. Exits
are barred, music grinds to sudden silence, lights flash on. Confused
and scared patrons who a moment before were partying down are suddenly
confronted by brown-uniformed police officers who demand to see their
ID's, frisk them or occasionally force them to urinate in a cup to
test for drug use. The raids often last far beyond the 1 or 2 a.m.
closing hours. They have rarely netted any violators.
But these attempts to regulate Thai teenagers' behavior have severely
limited the nocturnal activities of over-20 clubbers and have of course
been devastating for the clubs they frequent. Ministry of Sound, Tantra
and Mystique have closed, and 87 is dead. Only Q Bar and Bed Supperclub
remain active, and David Jacobson, co-owner of Q Bar, says that they
survive partly because no new international investors will risk coming
onto such an unpredictable club scene to provide competition. "Bangkok
is a dead town," he said. "It was one of the most fun places
in Asia." In March Q Bar is opening a branch in Singapore where
it can stay open 24/7, though closing hour will be 4 a.m...
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