Netiwit and fellow activists handed out the cookies to passersby in Siam Square and Chinatown before also attempting to present them at the Chinese Embassy.

Hundreds of protesters were reportedly killed on June 4, 1989, when Chinese troops launched a crackdown on a largely peaceful rally for basic rights being held in the Beijing square.

“We hope that eating the cookies will help [Chinese authorities] to feel remorse for violating basic human rights and learn from the Tiananmen massacre so they give up oppressing Tibetan, Uighur, and Hong Kong people as well as building dams to destroy the Mekong River,” he said.

The cookies feature a picture of Tiananmen Square and “Tank Man”, the unarmed protester photographed standing in front of a column of tanks. The flavour is milk tea, to represent the so-called “Milk Tea Alliance” of countries that China is allegedly trying to dominate, such as Thailand, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Netiwit also used the opportunity to promote a fund established to protect the Mekong River from China’s programme of dam-building.

Earlier this week, police banned Netiwit and other activists from holding a vigil outside the Chinese Embassy to mark the massacre, citing the Emergency Decree and risk of Covid-19 infection. The move drew criticism from some observers, who said the government was using the state of emergency to suppress free speech instead of the virus.

Rumours that Palang Pracharat members are unsatisfied with their current leader, Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana, have been circulating for months and were confirmed a few days ago. The mass resignation triggered a process to select a new board and leader, which must be completed within 45 days.

PPRP is said to be riven by infighting between several different groups, with the military faction led by the party’s chief strategist, Prawit, seeking to oust Uttama and his economic technocrats from Cabinet.

The move comes as Cabinet members prepare to vie for a slice of the Bt1 trillion budget allocated for economic recovery from the virus crisis.

Political observers say most party members want Prawit as their party leader, while PPRP secretary-general Sontirat Sontijirawong will be replaced by Deputy Finance Minister Santi Promphat.

The Palang Pracharat Party has always been seen as a military party, since it was formed as a political vehicle for high-ranking military officers, namely Prawit, Prayut Chan-o-cha and Anupong Paochinda.

Its purpose is similar to that of another military-based party, the Justice Unity Party, which was established in 1992 but ended up falling apart after its members resigned.

He said the matter is the party’s business and was not related to him, adding that he will be the one to decide whether the Cabinet requires new adjustments or not in the future.

Prayut said he has not thought about any reshuffle at the moment since the government’s priority is to solve many social issues that have emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It’s quite normal to establish a set of board members,” the PM pointed out. “I have seen many parties do that. And you must not forget, the Palang Pracharat Party was created long before the election so it is the choice of the party’s members whether they need a change or not. Also, I am not a member of Palang Pracharat, so the matter of the Cabinet make-up is not related to a political party.”

On his part, Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said he did not know about the establishment of a new executive board as he was not a member. But when asked if he was prepared to become the new Palang Pracharat Party leader, he just smiled.

Meanwhile, 11 board members who have not resigned have reassured soon-to-be former party leader Uttama Savanayana that he still has their support.

With most of the executive board resigning, party leader Uttama Savanayana and secretary-general Sontirat Sontijirawong are automatically removed from their positions.

The party has 45 days to elect a new board, though the remaining 16 board members can continue with their work until a new board is chosen.

It has been rumoured for the past several months that a party reshuffle was being planned.

Uttama also holds the post of finance minister while Sontirat is energy minister. Rumours have swirled for weeks that Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan is bidding to become PPRP leader ahead of a Cabinet reshuffle that could see Uttama and Sontirat ousted from Cabinet.

Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin, a PPRP board member, said today (June 1) that rumours of a party reshuffle in the board would become clearer this afternoon if the legal team filed a letter on the matter to the Election Commission.

However, any change inside the party must be detailed, considered and approved in the meeting, while the party leader will be the one who guides the new direction, Somsak added.

A PPRP source indicated that the rumour was true and that 26 of the 34 board members would resign.

The source said the 26 will make an announcement this afternoon at the new Palang Pracharat Party office on Ratchadapisek Road.

The premier said the loan decrees will bring back confidence in the nation, and the government must take immediate action to improve the situation. The government aims to borrow Bt1 trillion, which can only be done under special decrees.

Of the Bt1 trillion, Bt450 billion will be allocated to the medical sector, Bt550 billion for the agriculture sector and Bt400 billion to fix economic damages caused by the outbreak.

“These decrees will not affect public debt and the law on the Finance Ministry’s discipline. The ratio of public debt versus GDP is 57.6 per cent, and should not exceed the limit of 60 per cent,” Prayut said.

The premier was backed by Finance Minister Uttama Savanayana, who took the House floor providing details on the loan decrees.

Uttama said these loans were only 6 per cent of the GDP or 31 per cent of the national budget. The ratio of the government’s debt versus income is 31.2 per cent, well below the limit of 35 per cent, the ratio of foreign currency debt and public debt, which is limited to 10 per cent, stands at 2.53 per cent, while the ratio of external debt versus export incomes, which should be no more than 5 per cent, is only 0.19 per cent.

Pheu Thai’s Phinit Chantharasurin was set to run in the by-election after his son Itthirat, who won by 42,984 votes in last year’s election, passed away. Palang Pracharath’s Wattana Sithiwang, who came in second with 30,368 votes last year, was set to be his No 1 opponent.

However, Phinit decided not to run because he said there was no benefit. He also seems to be leaning more towards Palang Pracharath Party, especially after Deputy Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompao called on Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan to let Phinit apply for the post of chief executive of provincial administrative organisations.

In return, Phinit was asked to withdraw from the by-election and clear the path for Wattana to become a representative of Lampang.

Now Phinit has to decide whether he takes up the chief executive’s job as a member of Pheu Thai or of Palang Pracharath. Rumour also has it that his bond with Pheu Thai leader Sudarat Keyuraphan is breaking.

Besides, Phinit has indicated that he would not hesitate to join Palang Pracharath if it wins in Lampang.

Another factor believed to influencing his decision is the internal conflict in Pheu Thai, which first reared its head at the end of last year when the party lost in the Khon Kaen by-election.

The party’s loss in its long-standing stronghold was blamed on Sudarat, and the expected loss in Lampang is

The party’s vice secretary-general, Paopoom Rojanasakul, said that according to the estimates of the International Monetary Fund the Thai economy will contract 6.7 per cent, the country most affected by Covid-19 in the region and among the worst negative GDP forecasts in the world.

“The question that arises is, if Thailand has controlled the outbreak quicker than the other others, why is its economy worse hit than the others?” he posed.

He pointed out three reasons. He said while it is true that the Thai economy is highly dependent on the world economy, especially exports and services which have been hit hard by Covid-19, it was only partially true.

The more important issue is the poor measures in the first phase of the outbreak and the decision to freeze economic activities.

In order to achieve a turnaround, he said the government must prevent businesses from collapsing, stop job losses, and prevent damage to financial institutions.

He said the government had made a mistake by allowing employers to terminate the services of their employees.

Pheu Thai is proposing state help so that employers maintain employment, or offer loans for supporting employment. Unemployment is a huge problem whose impact on the economy is high, the party said.

He slammed the government’s move to freeze the economy, saying a smart state is not one which fights the epidemic paying an enormous economic price or a state that pays no price to control the outbreak. “The winner of this battle is a balanced state that can control the outbreak while also sustaining the economy until the world has a vaccine.”

He said it was “sad” that the sacrifices of the people on the frontlines fighting the virus, and the dedication of doctors, were completely undone by counter-productive government measures.

Speaking on the anniversary of the 2014 coup, Assist Prof Anusorn Tamajai,  president of Associate  for Democratic Constitution, said there had been no concrete evidence of reforms in the country over the past six years.

The 2014 coup-makers led by then-Army chief Prayut Chan-o-cha vowed to implement changes that would halt corruption and heal the political divide.

Prof Anusorn, who is also a pro-democracy campaigner, said the government should use the current crisis to reform the nation and restore harmony as the 2017 Constitution has no clear context or mechanism to shape Thailand into a developed democratic country.

He said the Constitution is meant to be an institution that brings harmony, fraternity and peace to society.

The Covid-19 crisis had laid bare the huge social gap that exists in Thailand, he added. The lockdown has revealed deep problems with household debts, lack of savings and social insecurity, which the semi-democratic system spawned by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) had done nothing to solve.

Weaknesses in the economy were being gradually revealed by the Finance Ministry, said Prof Anusorn, while the loss of 8-10 million jobs in the virus crisis was creating more risks.

After the state of emergency was lifted, the government would likely face political pressure from both the coalition parties and the opposition as there would not be enough budget to solve all the problems.

The government should give more weight to the decisions made in Parliament since the House of Representatives was elected by the people to represent their interests, he said.

Tension between coalition parties over a rumoured upcoming Cabinet reshuffle during the crisis could see ministers grab big chunks of the national budget, meaning the government must be on guard against corruption.

Anusorn said that despite strong management of the virus crisis thanks to public cooperation and the well-planned public health structure, economic hardship could drive society into another phase of instability.

The spirit of generosity in the “society of service” created by the public and the private sectors would not be enough to cope with massive level of unemployment, he said, adding the government must instead institute a welfare state.

To solve the crisis, all sides – government and opposition, progressives and conservatives, authoritarian and pro-democracy – must put the people’s suffering first and stop using their hardship as a tool to gain political power, said Anusorn.

The stability Thailand needs cannot be delivered by government, but only by full cooperation across the political spectrum, so that the emergency decree is used to curb the contagion rather than basic rights.

The government also needs to study the consequences of lockdown measures in other countries to find a compromise with citizens, he added, and employ people who are knowledgeable, capable, honest and diligent to govern.

Governance should also be more open to opinions from opposition voices on resolving the economic crisis, while authorities should not seek to centralise power via a coup or other means as this would add a political crisis to the list of national difficulties and lead to national catastrophe.

Anusorn also urged the government to launch reforms guided by the participatory and democratic spirit of the 1997 “People’s Constitution”.

The election law in the 2017 Constitution of 2017 must be amended so that the National Assembly can formulate a Constitution for national reformation and a Constitution Drafting Assembly can be established, he said.

Then the House of Representatives should be dissolved and a new election held so that the Constitution Drafting Assembly can write a new charter and put it to a public a referendum in the same period, so as to save on national budget.

The new Constitution would represent the mutual interest of all citizens, enabling Thailand to develop into a democratic developed nation where quality of life and the rule of law could grow strong, he said.

The Indo-Pacific Landpower Conference held via video link on May 20-21 was joined by Army chief General Apirat Kongsompong, the Army said.

Hosted by AUSA, the conference was attended by representatives from 21 countries in the Indo-Pacific. Topics discussed focused on the balance between security and competition in the region and active measures to prevent Covid-19, using South Korea as a study case.

AUSA praised the Army for participating in a military exercise and managing to keep soldiers free from Covid-19 infection.

The conference is a replacement for the annual LANPAC Symposium & Exposition established in 2013.