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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40024583

Bangkok’s New Chinatown bustling again as Chinese tourists return

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 03, 2023

Eateries, shops and street stalls in Bangkok’s New Chinatown area are once again bustling with customers after having been quiet for two years due to the pandemic.

The New Chinatown (not to be confused with the original Chinatown in Yaowarat area) stretches from Huai Khwang intersection to Pracha Uthit Road.

Most of the people spotted in the area this past week were Chinese nationals who had arrived to mark the Lunar New Year and decided to extend their vacation.

Chinese tourists have started returning to Thailand after Beijing lifted its stringent Covid-related travel restrictions on January 8. Thanks to this, the Tourism Authority of Thailand expects some 300,000 arrivals from China in the first quarter and at least 5 million for the whole year. This should push up the number of arrivals this year to at least 25 million.

Scholar Chada Triamvithaya, who has studied the settlement of modern Chinese in Thailand, believes that New Chinatown is mostly populated by immigrants from China’s Guangxi and Yunnan provinces, in the far south and southwest of the mainland, respectively.

According to Chada, Chinese nationals living in New Chinatown are temporary settlers, who are in Thailand for travel or education purposes. She said they prefer to stay in this neighbourhood because of the authentic cuisine on offer at eateries run by people from their country.

New Chinatown is also a haven for shoppers, and the most popular products among Chinese tourists are dried fruit, milk tablets, herbal liniments, honey and rubber pillows.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40024578

Bangkok disappearing under smog

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 03, 2023

Bangkokians awoke to a shroud of fine dust this week with over 70 areas reporting levels of PM2.5 had breached 90 micrograms per cubic metre of air (μg/m3).

Thailand’s safety limit is 50 μg/m3. High levels of PM2.5 pose health risks, especially for people with chronic lung disease.

The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) forecasts levels of PM2.5 – particles less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter – will rise across much of Thailand through Friday as the fine-dust pollution accumulates in stagnant air.

The government has advised people to wear face masks outdoors and consider working from home on Thursday and Friday.

Website iqair.com reported Bangkok’s air quality index (AQI) at 198 as of 9am on Thursday, making it the third-most polluted city in the world.

The Thai capital is behind only Mumbai in India (AQI 207) and Pakistan’s Lahore (202).

The smog eased on Friday, with iqair.com registering an air quality index of 102 for Bangkok as of 9am.

The TMD forecasts air pollution in the capital will reduce on Saturday with the arrival of stronger winds to disperse the smog.

Related stories:

Bangkok records third-highest air pollution in world on Thursday

Prayut wants people to work from home as PM2.5 hits danger level across Thailand

Air pollution worsens in Bangkok, rises to ‘red level’ at 4 sites

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40024570

Senior Myanmar military official turns up for repatriation of illegal immigrants from Ranong

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2023

Senior Myanmar officials made a rare appearance on Thursday at a ceremony in Thailand to send back around 670 illegal Myanmar immigrants who were detained at the Immigration Detention Centre in Ranong province.

Myanmar Navy’s Tanintharyi regional commander Commodore Thein Htoo, and the Myanmar ambassador to Thailand were among the most senior officials from the neighbouring country to join the repatriation ceremony held at the Ranong Customs House’s Lighthouse Pier.

Rear Admiral Suchart Thammapitakvej, deputy commander of Third Naval Area, and Ranong’s Immigration Police chief Colonel Pissanu Sithitoon were among Thai officials attending the event.

Pissanu said on Thursday that these Myanmar migrant workers had staged protests at the detention centre in late January, demanding to return to their country. They had served their term for illegal entry into Thailand but their detention continued as the migrants’ return was awaiting approval from Myanmar authorities.

He said that following the protests, Thai authorities had asked their Myanmar counterparts to expedite the process to take back the detained migrants.

Their return on Thursday came only after approval from high-level Myanmar authorities, according to the Ranong immigration chief.

A source from Ranong’s security circles said on Thursday that this was the first time that senior Myanmar officials, including the regional naval commander and ambassador, had attended a ceremony in the southern province to receive illegal migrants from their country.

According to the source, the approval took a long time because Myanmar authorities had to carefully check the migrants’ records for their possible involvement in the resistance movement in Myanmar.

Citing the Myanmar embassy in Thailand, Myanmar media reported on Wednesday that the detained migrants would return to Myanmar in three batches starting Thursday.

“They will be sent back on February 2, 8 and 15. There has been a few months’ delay because of the outbreak of Covid-19,” an official at the Myanmar embassy was quoted as saying.

The Myanmar migrants, who crossed the border illegally into Thailand, were waiting to be extradited to Kawthaung, the Myanmar town opposite Ranong.

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https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40024569

All 6 officers accused of shaking down actress insist they are innocent

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 2023

The six police officers accused of taking a bribe from a Taiwanese actress and her friends while they were visiting Bangkok early last month claimed they are innocent before being jailed on Thursday.

All six say they are innocent of the charges, the commander of the Metropolitan Police Bureau’s Investigation Division, Maj-General Teeradej Thumsutee, said.

The officers were seen being taken to the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases in Bangkok’s Taling Chan district.

Each one was accompanied by two officers from the Metropolitan Police Bureau.

While in their vehicle, the six officers were asked by reporters if they were guilty and whether they had a strong case against their accusers.

The stone-faced officers simply looked downward.

They face life in prison after being charged with dereliction of duty and taking bribes.

The lawyer for one of the accused, who declined to be identified, said the officer was distressed by the criminal charges.

The police requested that the court not only jail the accused but also opposed any bail applications because the offences carry severe penalties and the officers could interfere with evidence and witnesses if released, Teeradej said.

Teeradej said that despite the officers’ claims of innocence, investigators had compelling evidence to prove they accepted bribes.

The bribe-taking charges carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and a fine of up to 400,000 baht.

Initially, the six policemen were charged with dereliction of duty for failing to take legal action against a group of tourists from Taiwan and Singapore who were found to be carrying vaping devices, which are illegal in Thailand.

The policemen intercepted Taiwanese actress Charlene An’s group at a checkpoint on Ratchadaphisek Road in the early hours of January 5.

The actress subsequently sparked an international uproar with social-media posts accusing Thai police of planting a vaping device on her and demanding 27,000 baht in exchange for her freedom.

Her allegations caught the attention of netizens in Taiwan and Thailand, prompting the Metropolitan Police Bureau to issue an order on January 26 to set up a fact-finding committee.

The bribery charges were filed after a Singaporean man in An’s group told reporters on Wednesday that he paid 27,000 baht to the officers to let the group go free.