Over at Asia Sentinel, Pavin Chachavalpongpun provides some tips for royal endurance in Southeast Asia:
[T]hese guides to longevity of the monarchies in Southeast Asia do not automatically offer a rosy picture for their future. New factors emerge periodically to challenge the integrity of their rule. Using illegitimate weapons, such as manipulating the legal system to fight against such challenges, may prove counterproductive.
The monarchical system has been around for thousands of years. The ultimate key to the survival of the monarchical institution, therefore, rests on the way in which it acts and reacts in a complementary manner to the rising desire of the people for democracy.
12 responses so far ↓
1 hrk // Oct 13, 2009 at 6:16 am
Spain might serve as an interesting example. The dictator Franco ruled that after his death the monarchy should be re-established with Juan Carlos as king. In 1975 after Franco finally died Juan Carlos thus became king of Spain. His genealogy (Habsburg) dates back to the middle ages with some famous ancestors as Isabella or Philippe 2 etc. Soon after taking up the position a constitution was promulgated. He saw his main task in helping Spain to transform towards a modern democracy. During the coup in 1981 Juan Carlos announced on TV that loyal citizens should support the elected government and not the usurpers of power! Afterwards the leader of teh communists said. “God save the king”!
There was an interesting incident in 1956. Under still unclear circumstances his younger brother died from gun-shot. Juan Carlos was the only other person in the room when the accident happened.
2 Susie Wong // Oct 13, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Mass movement is occurring across Thailand ushering a new era of democracy. Majority of Thai people want change. They are disgusting with the status quo old politics because it produces injustice, incompetency and inequality.
The country is now openly discuss about the U.S. presidential system among others for the future of the country. Also, for the first time, the public openly read about Phumipon’s brother death. All the evidences, especially the layout of the bedrooms in relation to each other, had shown clearly what was going on at the time. Now, the elite as well wake up to reality. The propaganda machine of the past 60 years is crumbling.
These are indicators of change. People gather across the land because they have chosen hope over fear. They are united in the purpose of equality, liberty and fraternity — the spirit of the 1932 Coup d’etat— that gave birth to the country’s democracy. I think this generation intends to realize democracy in its sense of the term.
Sex tourism as the main industry in the land of the richest man in the world is morally wrong and unfair. Patriotic Thai have to flee the country while opportunistic men rule. This is wrong and it needed to be end. Young talented Thai are being put in jail for speaking truth and wanting democracy. There is no reason why the country has to tolerate barbaric law that violates the universal right that every human beings should be able to speak their conscience.
Siam’s mass movement is moving forward in its modernization and democracy.
3 MongerSEA // Oct 13, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Sex tourism may be the most notorious or at least visible commercial activity, Susie Wong, but its economic impact is almost negligible.
Beginning with perhaps 1 million male sex tourists (as suggested but not assured by the male majority in overall tourism numbers — we should take it as a maximum) multiplied by an average length of stay of 14 days (again a figure from the broader tourism market) and multiplying again by a monger’s average spend of 8000 baht per day in all segments (hotel, food, entertainments), one arrives at a figure just slightly above 100,000,000,000 (100 billion) baht.
This is almost certainly an inflated estimate and while the actual probable figure would be a lower but still considerable sum, there are enough additional strong sectors of the economy that sex tourism would be hard pressed to even place in the top 10. As an example, the value of the food export business for example is well in excess of 700 billion baht per year.
4 Demasking // Oct 14, 2009 at 11:52 am
A transcultural psychiatric reflection:
Joke by a ‘psychiatric’ patient: Neurotics build castles in the air, psychotics live in them and psychiatrists collect the rent!!!
Isn’t this just like Thai rule? Built on illusion which makes Thais delusional and schizoid: people know the truth of the evil of Thainess-royalism but nevertheless deny it going on because fear, to tell the truth and change, has been bred into them
5 sam-deedes // Oct 15, 2009 at 1:58 am
I personally find Susie Wong’s contributions quite progressive. It’s a bit disingenuous of mongerSEA to zero in on sex tourism when Susie’s post covered so many important issues.
6 MongerSEA // Oct 15, 2009 at 4:50 pm
sam-deedes, you find it inappropriate to address the one glaring misstatement in an otherwise admirable comment? Wouldn’t factuality and philosophy working together more neatly conform to the definition of progressive?
7 Taro Mongkoltip // Oct 19, 2009 at 3:42 am
Susie Wong // Oct 13, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Mass movement is occurring across Thailand ushering a new era of democracy. Majority of Thai people want change
—————————————————————–
Susie Wong, please don’t speak for the whole country. You don’t have any evidence that the majority of the country want change at all. Majority means more than 50%. Do you have a solid evidence for it? I don’t think so.
Next time just represent yourself and only your opinion(s), don’t speak for the whole country. Don’t assume thing you certainly don’t know for sure. It makes you look like a fool.
8 Susie Wong // Oct 20, 2009 at 11:11 am
Majority of Thais want economic democracy and political democracy. Let’s stick to the issues, freedom of speech, and equal distribution of wealth.
Phumipon has so many things that he does not want others to talk about i.e. his brother’s death, monarchy network, pulling strings behind the scene, personal wealth, divide and rule strategy, etc.
Using lese majeste law to shut the whole country up is not an acceptable norms. It violates universal human rights.
Change is happening.. democratic society is what majority of Thais want. Democratization is coming to Siam. One family, Phumipon’s family, controls legislative, administrative, and judicial, is an absolute grip of power. Phumipon is above the law and above the constitution. It is a dangerous form of governance. When there is no checks and balances, it corrupts absolutely and it hinders progress.
9 Taro Mongkoltip // Oct 20, 2009 at 11:41 am
Ahh.. freedom of speech, huh?
So it’s ok if I said yesterday I saw a girl at ANU had three guys came to her house at different time. She must be a protitute. And it’s ok if I actually state her name and post it on a public website. Freedom of Speech?
Freedome of speech doesn’t mean that you can deflame anyone without any proof.
You can believe in anything you want. But you can’t deflame any one based on your believe.
Yes change is need for Siam. But not the way you’re trying to do. Sorry.
10 Taro Mongkoltip // Oct 20, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Sorry about my misspelling.
Anyway, here is something I have found on the internet. There are some options in there telling you how to write a story without defame anyone.
http://www.uow.edu.au/~bmartin/dissent/documents/defamation.html
11 R. N. England // Oct 20, 2009 at 6:39 pm
This is why you are quite wrong, Taro Mongkoltip. In genuine democracies, political leaders stand up and take the kind of mud Suzie Wong is throwing, and think nothing of it. Throwing political mud at any political player is allowed in a democracy. And do not come out with that worn-out lie that the King of Thailand is above politics. The Queen of England may be above politics, but the King of Thailand is still a big-time player in the great political struggle between monarchy (the rule of men) and constitutionalism (the rule of law). Genuine constitutional monarchs, who can justly claim to be above politics, have all gracefully admitted defeat in that struggle.
However, I think Suzie Wong is a bit over the top heaping blame on an individual rather than on the system, which is incurably corrupt. The King is human, and it is hard to expect him to willingly give up political power, some of which he used to do good. In his heyday, the King’s particular influence was to transmit the values of Buddhist kingship into policy, for which he was justly esteemed. Now he is old and frail, and more-or-less out of it, it is unfair to pin much of the blame for the train wreck on him personally.
12 Chris Beale // Oct 21, 2009 at 9:58 pm
It is great to see at the top of these postings, a mention of King Juan Carlos and Spain.
I’ve talked awhile among Thai and farang friends about whether there could be some hope for Thailand in the example of Juan Carlos’ Spain, which I re-visited some years ago – after having been there during the Franco era (including the day Chile’s Allende was overthrown).
Spain’s monarchy is now stronger than ever, due to :
1) the King’s support of democracy, and rejection of fascism.
2) his support for limited regional autonomy – eg. Catalonia, etc.
This has not stopped a few continuing separatist outrage bombings, etc. from Basque ETA extremists – Spain’s equivalent of Pattani murderers. But it has won over the huge majority of Spaniards.
Is it too much to hope that His Royal Highness The Crown Prince will be wisely guided, perhaps by Her Majesty The Queen and General Prem, in this modernising direction. ?
After all, it was Nixon who went to China.
Or are Thais going to face October 1976-style reaction, which this time will split Thailand to smithereens ?
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