A strike meant to pile pressure on Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej fell flat yesterday, but thousands of protesters besieging his offices refused to back down on their demand for him to quit.
Meanwhile, Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag handed in his resignation yesterday but it has yet to be accepted by the prime minister, an aide said.
The aide, who refused to be named, said Tej had tendered his resignation because of his wife’s ill health.
TPBS TV, quoting unnamed government sources, said Tej quit after completing his mission to repair diplomatic relations with Cambodia following a temple dispute that forced out his predecessor.
Tej’s departure could add more pressure on Samak’s beleagured government.
With Bangkok under a state of emergency for a second day, Thailand’s political stalemate showed no sign of easing even as the strike threatened by utility workers flopped.
Unions representing 200,000 employees at state enterprises had threatened to make crippling cuts to water and power supplies nationwide. But few workers heeded their call.
Some workers who began disrupting train services last week returned to the job yesterday, the State Railway of Thailand said, adding that operations had actually improved, with trains suspended only in southern provinces.
Thai Airways reported no disruptions and transport authorities in Bangkok said public buses were running as usual.
But the thousands of activists who stormed Samak’s official compound 10 days ago refused to budge, raising fears of new violence after one man was killed and 44 injured in clashes between Samak’s opponents and supporters late on Monday.
The violence prompted Samak to invoke a state of emergency early on Tuesday, essentially giving control of Bangkok to the military. But the military has made no move to evict activists squatting in the Government House compound, and one of the key protest leaders said they would only open negotiations if Samak resigns.
One senior aide to Samak told reporters that the prime minister was surprised that General Anupong Paojinda had not taken any action against the protesters.
“Anupong should not be a mediator,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “What are the military playing at?”
Samak’s state of emergency has sharply split Thais, according to a survey of Thailand’s 16 biggest provinces by Assumption University, which found 50.8 percent of people who were questioned supported the decision.
The protesters, who call themselves the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), accuse Samak of acting as a puppet for Thaksin, who has has fled to Britain to escape corruption charges.
The PAD wants to weaken the voting power of the rural poor, who form the base of support for both Samak and Thaksin, by appointing rather than electing 70 percent of parliamentarians.
Such a change would undo most of Thailand’s democratic development over the last 30 years.
PLA MANEUVERS: Although Beijing has yet to formally announce military drills, its coast guard vessels have been spotted near and around Taiwan since Friday The Taiwanese military is on high alert and is closely monitoring the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) air and naval deployments after Beijing yesterday reserved seven airspace areas east of its Zhejiang and Fujian provinces through Wednesday. Beijing’s action was perceived as a precursor to a potential third “Joint Sword” military exercise, which national security experts said the PLA could launch following President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visits to the nation’s three Pacific allies and stopovers in Hawaii and Guam last week. Unlike the Joint Sword military exercises in May and October, when Beijing provided detailed information about the affected areas, it
CHINA: The activities come amid speculation that Beijing might launch military exercises in response to Lai’s recent visit to Pacific allies The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said China had nearly doubled the number of its warships operating around the nation in the previous 24 hours, ahead of what security sources expect would be a new round of war games. China’s military activities come amid speculation Beijing might organize military drills around the nation in response to President William Lai’s (賴清德) recent visit to Pacific allies, including stops in Hawaii and Guam, a US territory. Lai returned from the week-long trip on Friday night. Beijing has held two rounds of war games around Taiwan this year, and sends ships and military planes
Five flights have been arranged to help nearly 2,000 Taiwanese tourists return home from Okinawa after being stranded due to cruise ship maintenance issues, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced yesterday. China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) have arranged five flights with a total of 748 additional seats to transport 1,857 passengers from the MSC Bellissima back to Taiwan, the ministry said. The flights have been scheduled for yesterday and today by the Civil Aviation Administration, with the cruise operator covering all associated costs. The MSC Bellissima, carrying 4,341 passengers, departed from Keelung on Wednesday last week for Okinawa,
‘UNITED FRONT’: Some Taiwanese industry leaders had not initially planned to attend, but later agreed to do so after Beijing threatened them, a source said China hopes to rebuild its supply chain by wooing Taiwanese businesses at this year’s Cross-Strait CEO Summit (CSCS) to be held today in the Chinese city of Xiamen, a source said yesterday. This year’s summit would focus on “building a cross-strait industrial chain in the new era and promoting cross-strait economic integration and development,” promotional materials for the event said. The aim is to encourage Taiwanese businesspeople who have exited the Chinese market to return and invest there as a means of countering various technology export controls that China has been encountering, the source said. Former premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) and
RSS