Democracy
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How Thais value freedom Thailand’s culture often confounds outsiders. What appears to be indifference or idleness is, on closer inspection, a deliberate and deeply rooted approach to how Thais value life. This is especially true when it comes to how they view work, happiness, and how Thais value freedom. To understand those Thai values, one…
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Today, there are local elections in all 76 provinces (chiangwat) in Thailand. Each province is split into amphurs (the UK equivalent would, broadly, be a county. Each amphur has several tambons, comparable to a UK municipal district, town or city. And each tambon has several moobahns, villages or parishes. Normally, elections are held on a…
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Most Thais have not been abroad, so have never “tasted” democracy. They do not understand its meaning. There are exceptions, of course. Thaksin Shinawatra won several elections by claiming he would run Thailand according to democratic principles with free elections. Pita Limjaroenrat makes the same claims, won the last election, but has been stopped from…