Bangkok — Thailand is studying the idea of building a wall on part of its border with Cambodia to prevent illegal crossings, its government said on Monday, as a multi-national effort to dismantle a sprawling network of illicit scam centers mounts.

The crackdown is widening against scam centers responsible for using the internet to contact potential victims and carrying out massive financial fraud out of Southeast Asia, especially those on Thailand’s porous borders with Myanmar and Cambodia, where hundreds of thousands of people have been trafficked by criminal gangs in recent years, according to the United Nations.

At the weekend, Thai police received 119 Thai nationals from Cambodian authorities after a raid in the town of Poipet, pulled more than 215 people out from a scam compound.

“If it is done, how will it be done? What results and how will it solve problems? This is a study,” Thai government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub said of the wall proposal, without specifying its length.

A spokesperson for Cambodia’s government declined to comment on the wall proposal. Its foreign ministry spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Thailand and Cambodia share a border of 817 kilometers. The Thai defense ministry has previously proposed a wall to block off a 55 kilometer natural crossing between Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province and Poipet, which at present is only protected by razor wire.

Telecom fraud centers have been operating for years in Southeast Asia, ensnaring people of multiple countries, as far away as West Africa.

They have faced heightened scrutiny after the rescue in January of Chinese actor, Wang Xing, who was lured to Thailand with the promise of a job before being abducted and taken to a scam center in Myanmar.

In Myanmar’s Myawaddy, more than 7,000 foreigners – mostly from China – are waiting to cross into Thailand, which is coordinating with embassies to try to streamline their repatriations.

Hundreds of foreigners pulled out of the compounds are in limbo, in squalid conditions in a militia camp in Myanmar, and are struggling to secure a route home, according to some detainees. A top Thai lawmaker last week said the crackdown is insufficient, estimating 300,000 people have been operating in compounds in Myawaddy alone.
…

your ad here

China’s State Administration for Market Regulation and five other departments issued the “Three-Year Action Plan for Optimizing the Consumer Environment (2025-2027).” It states that in implementing the action to optimize consumer order, they will continue to carry out special actions to regulate the internet market and crack down on illegal activities, such as traffic fraud, order manipulation, vulgar sales, and illegal advertising in the internet market.

Click here for the full story in Mandarin. 
…

your ad here

WASHINGTON — A United Nations-hosted language technology conference has come under scrutiny after organizers abruptly canceled a scheduled presentation by Abduweli Ayup, a prominent Uyghur linguist and human rights advocate.

The cancellation, communicated just hours before Ayup’s Feb. 25 talk, has prompted speculation about external pressures, with Ayup and others suggesting China’s influence may have been a factor.

Ayup was invited to deliver a 10-minute talk and serve as a panelist and chair/rapporteur at the conference, hosted by the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) at its headquarters in Paris.

“We are pleased to invite you to deliver a talk at the 2nd International Conference on Language Technologies for All (LT4ALL 2025),” the organizer stated in an email Ayup shared with VOA.

“I saw my participation [as] a rare chance on the Uyghur language’s plight — an issue I’ve fought to preserve against Beijing’s relentless suppression,” Ayup told VOA.

He said his talk was canceled under pressure from China.

“I see the reason as very simple. It’s because of my critique of China’s systematic erasure of Uyghur language and culture and questioning the Chinese representatives about the Uyghur language ban in education,” Ayup told VOA.

A linguistics graduate of the University of Kansas, Ayup returned to China in 2011 to launch Uyghur-language schools in defiance of Mandarin-only mandates. Arrested in 2013 on “illegal fundraising” charges, he said he endured 15 months of torture before fleeing to Turkey in 2015 and resettling in Norway by 2019.

There, he founded Uyghur Hjelp to document China’s cultural crackdown — a work recognized with the 2024 Language Rights Defenders Award. His siblings remain detained in Xinjiang.

Beijing’s “bilingual education” policy in the Uyghur region of Xinjiang in northwest China was enacted in the early 2000s and promised dual-language instruction but was later criticized as a tool of assimilation. By 2017, schools began to ban Uyghur language instruction at schools, a pattern researchers and advocates criticize as linguistic genocide.

Late on Feb. 24, Ayup received an email from the LT4ALL Organizing Committee stating, “We regret to inform you that we only received notice this evening that we were unable to secure approval to include your presentation in tomorrow’s program.”

The email sent by the summit organizers and later shared with VOA by Ayup continued, “Unfortunately, we were informed at the last minute, and this decision is beyond our control.” No further details were provided regarding who denied approval or why.

Speaking to Voice of America (VOA), Ayup suggested the cancellation was linked to his criticism of China’s language policies during the summit, which Ayup attended even though he could not deliver his presentation.

Earlier that day, he had directly questioned Chinese presenters — including a representative of iFlytek, a tech firm linked to Uyghur surveillance — about Beijing’s restrictions on minority languages.

The iFlytek representative who attended the summit did not respond to VOA’s inquiry regarding Ayup’s claim about why his presentation was canceled by the time of this report’s publication.

iFlytek, a China-based company specializing in voice recognition, has supplied Xinjiang police with voiceprint systems since at least 2016 and partnered with security agencies to build a national database used in the region’s mass surveillance, according to Human Rights Watch.

The U.S. sanctioned iFlytek in 2019 for its role in “high-technology surveillance” aiding China’s repression of Uyghurs, which includes detaining over 1 million since 2017, per U.N. estimates.

Ayup told VOA he asked Chinese representatives why China banned Uyghur language from education — a policy enacted first in parts of Xinjiang about 2017 — but received no answer.

Following the session, Ayup recounted being confronted by a few Chinese delegates, who questioned why he spoke in English rather than Mandarin and asked about his family’s whereabouts. When he revealed that his brother and sister were detained in Chinese internment camps — possibly now in prisons — the delegates dismissed his claims, labeling his relatives “terrorists.”

“I believe my encounters with the Chinese representatives have contributed to the exclusion of my presentation from the conference program,” Ayup said.

UNESCO’s response

UNESCO confirmed the cancellation, attributing it to “chaotic” planning.

In an email response to VOA, a UNESCO official stated that the cancellation only applied to a “scientific poster” presentation scheduled for a midday break on Feb. 25, not his broader participation in the event.

“UNESCO regrets that no space was available on Tuesday to accommodate Mr. Ayup’s scientific poster. However, this was possible the following day,” the UNESCO official wrote, adding, “[T]his logistical setback did not prevent him from participating in the Conference as such and from raising the issue of the Uyghur language.”

UNESCO noted that Ayup spoke freely during roundtables and was given the floor whenever he requested it. The organization attributed the issue to “chaotic” planning by academic co-organizers, who extended invitations without full coordination.

Ayup disputes that account, arguing that UNESCO, under pressure from China — a member of the U.N. Security Council — may have sought to limit his platform.

Other prominent human rights activists echoed those concerns on the social media platform X.

Former World Uyghur Congress President Dolkun Isa denounced the “last-minute cancellation of linguist Abduweli Ayup’s presentation on the Uyghur language without any explanation,” calling it “seemingly influenced by Chinese interests.

Maya Wang, associate China director at Human Rights Watch, also weighed in, pointing to iFlytek’s presence at the conference. “UNESCO abruptly cancelled his presentation but allowed a Chinese voice recognition/surveillance company iFlytek + Hunan state TV to whitewash China’s erasure of minority languages,” she wrote.

Ayup’s ordeal didn’t end with cancellation. He told VOA an unidentified Chinese man shadowed him, filming him during breaks — a claim backed by an attendee’s video, later shared with VOA.

Ayup told VOA he’s not the first to face restrictions at a U.N.-related event, stating, “There are precedents.”

He pointed to Tove Skutnabb-Kangas, an expert at the 2019 U.N. Forum on Minority Issues in Geneva, who claimed her speech on “linguistic and cultural genocide” naming Uyghurs and China was censored by organizers fearing state backlash.

“Freedom of speech denied at the U.N.!” she wrote, later sharing her original text online after it was altered. Ayup sees this as part of a pattern limiting discussion of Uyghur repression at U.N. forums.
…

your ad here

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — Conservative South Korean lawmaker Kim Sang-wook has received so many threats since December that his children no longer tell classmates who their father is.

Already sidelined in the ruling party, many colleagues want Kim expelled altogether. In his home district of Ulsan, he finds himself shunned by former friends and allies.

Welcome to the life of a conservative politician who has chosen to break ranks with the People Power Party, or PPP, which has swung sharply to the right as it rallies around impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol.

Once a low-profile figure, the 45-year-old first-term lawmaker has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of Yoon, whose short-lived martial law declaration in early December triggered South Korea’s worst political crisis in decades.

At times, Kim has quite literally stood alone. Ahead of Yoon’s impeachment, he staged a one-man protest on the top steps of the National Assembly, holding a giant placard imploring fellow conservatives to abandon the president. Hours later, the impeachment motion passed with the support of just 11 other conservatives, out of a total of 108.

If fully implemented, Yoon’s decree would have outlawed all political activity and required journalists to report to martial law command – measures not seen since South Korea emerged from a military dictatorship in the 1980s.

That hasn’t prevented the overwhelming majority of the PPP from defending Yoon — a trend Kim blames on “extreme partisan logic” that has come to define both sides of the country’s politics.

“It’s like everything is justified by the belief that ‘we’ are right and ‘they’ are wrong,” Kim told VOA in an interview at his National Assembly office. “Is that conservatism? I don’t think so.”

Kim’s defiance highlights a broader reckoning within the PPP. As the Constitutional Court decides Yoon’s fate, the party must decide whether to uphold his populist legacy or choose a different path.

Fighting back

Few would deny that Yoon’s more combative approach has galvanized the conservative base, as indicated by the size and intensity of street protests.

Throughout the frigid Seoul winter, large crowds, including many young people, have rallied in Yoon’s defense. His arrest for alleged insurrection, which carries a possible death penalty, only added to their outrage.

That anger deepened when the opposition, using its legislative supermajority, ousted acting President Han Duck-soo less than two weeks after impeaching Yoon, reinforcing conservative concerns about political overreach.

The result was a scene unthinkable just months ago — Koreans packing streets in support of a leader who, however briefly, had just attempted to restore military rule.

“The whole situation just naturally evolved in a way that Yoon Suk Yeol became the symbol of this movement of freedom and liberal democracy, vis-a-vis communism, socialism, and tyranny,” said Lee Jung-hoon, a conservative legal scholar and dean at Seoul’s Yonsei University.

Lee served in the administration of the country’s last conservative president, Park Geun-hye, who was removed from office in 2017 and jailed on corruption-related charges.

In Lee’s view, Park was too passive in challenging her impeachment, which may have contributed to her downfall. By contrast, former prosecutor Yoon has vowed to “fight to the end,” further energizing his supporters, Lee said.

Yoon has defended his martial law decree as a tough but necessary response to an opposition he says crippled his administration with budget cuts and repeated impeachments of senior leaders.

At his final impeachment hearing this week, Yoon argued the decree was never meant to be enforced as written — insisting that if he had intended to follow through, he would have deployed more troops and used greater force.

Yoon has also defended martial law as necessary to investigate what he claims is election fraud.

Those comments helped bring once-fringe allegations into the conservative mainstream, where many now openly question the integrity of South Korea’s electoral system.

Some have gone further, attacking the credibility of judges they see as left-leaning, with a small group of conservative protesters even ransacking a court that had issued an arrest warrant for Yoon.

Underlying fears

Some of the hardening behind Yoon stems from deep distrust of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung. Lee is seen as the likely successor if Yoon is removed from office.

Conservatives view Lee as too soft on China and likely to pursue what they see as futile engagement with North Korea. Others fear he is seeking the presidency to shield himself from legal battles, as he faces five separate trials on corruption and other charges.

Hahm Sung-deuk, a professor of political science at Kyonggi University outside Seoul, said many conservatives are also eager to prevent a repeat of Park’s impeachment, which fractured the party and paved the way for a left-leaning president to take power.

“Conservatives have a painful memory. They feel that if they let this situation get out of hand, they might not regain power for not just five years, but maybe 10, 15, or even 20 years,” Hahm told VOA.

That anxiety may help explain the fierce backlash against lawmakers like Kim, the renegade conservative who has been accused of betraying conservative values after breaking with Yoon.

But Hahm insists the party’s divide isn’t about ideology but is about loyalty.

“This is not a policy debate,” he said. “It’s centered around whether … you support or oppose Yoon Suk Yeol.”

If Yoon is impeached, some fear that protests will once again turn violent. But in Yoon’s absence, party moderates may likely prevail, said Hahm, who is well-connected among elite conservatives.

“Deep down, both the far-right and moderates know that Yoon Suk Yeol made mistakes,” said Hahm, who believes the party will eventually unite around a steadier candidate to block Lee from taking power.

Uncertain future

As he withstands attacks from fellow conservatives, Kim is less confident about the party’s future. Once a rising figure in local conservative politics, he now acknowledges he may not win reelection.

But even if his stance costs him his political career, Kim says he will keep making decisions based on his principles, convinced this is what conservatism should be about.

“I have no regrets,” he said of voting to impeach Yoon. “I believe this was the best decision I have made in my entire life.”
…

your ad here

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un supervised a test-launch of strategic cruise missiles and ordered full readiness to use nuclear attack capability to ensure the most effective defense for the country, state media announced Friday.

The test was designed to warn “enemies, who are seriously violating the security environment of the (country) and fostering and escalating the confrontation environment” and to demonstrate “readiness of its various nuke operation means,” KCNA news agency said.

“What is guaranteed by powerful striking ability is the most perfect deterrence and defense capacity,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying.

The missile launch was conducted on Wednesday over the sea off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, it said.

South Korea’s military said on Friday it had detected signs of missile launch preparations on Wednesday and tracked several cruise missiles after they were launched around 8 a.m. local time (2300 GMT Tuesday) over the sea.

North Korea has pursued the development of strategic cruise missiles over several years, intended to deliver nuclear warheads.

That type of missile tends to bring less alarm and condemnation from the international community than ballistic missiles because they are not formally banned under U.N. Security Council resolutions.

The Security Council has banned the North from ballistic missile and nuclear weapons development and imposed a number of sanctions for violations.

The report of the missile test came in the same week that Kim made back-to-back visits to military schools, driving home the message of loyalty and the importance of ideological and tactical training of young military officers.

Kim did not mention any country by name when he spoke of warning the enemies but has kept up harsh rhetoric against the United States and South Korea despite comments by U.S. President Donald Trump that he would be reaching out to him.

Trump and Kim held unprecedented summit meetings during the U.S. president’s first term.  
…

your ad here

WASHINGTON — As U.S. President Donald Trump moves forward with an expanding net of tariffs, including an additional 10% for Chinese imports starting next week, industry insiders and experts say closing existing loopholes and workarounds that companies use to avoid trade taxes is also key.

One practice that so far has helped companies from China — and others — to avoid being hit with tariffs is transshipment, or the transfer of goods to a second country, where the “Made in China” label is switched for another.

Berwick Offray, a ribbon manufacturer in the northeastern state of Pennsylvania, has first-hand experience with the practice. Founded in 1945, the company prides itself on its pledge to keep its products “Made in the USA” and its position as one of the largest manufacturers of ribbons in the world.

Earlier this month, the company sued a U.S. importer, TriMar Ribbon, for allegedly buying ribbons produced in China that were shipped to the United States through India to illegally avoid being subject to tariffs.

Ribbons made in China are cheaper and sold at below market value prices in the United States.

“The current allegations allege that TriMar imported ribbons from China into the United States through transshipment in India, and did not declare the correct country of origin upon entry,” said a notice issued from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, when the agency agreed to investigate the case.

Daniel Pickard, an expert on international trade and an attorney at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, which represents Berwick Offray, said there have been numerous cases of transshipment, especially when it comes to products from China.

“We have assisted several clients in submitting allegations to CBP against importers of products that have been transshipped from China through third countries such as Thailand, India and Canada,” Pickard told VOA. “Our clients typically are the U.S. manufacturers of those products that are competing against the Chinese imports that are engaged in evasion of duties.”

According to CBP data, there are currently 221 investigations of Chinese-made products suspected of transshipment tariff evasion.

Tariffs and loopholes

In early February, the Trump administration rolled out 10% blanket tariffs on all Chinese goods. On March 4, Chinese imports will face an additional 10% tariff.

While Trump has worked to reduce potential workarounds, including his executive order on reciprocal tariffs on trading partners, U.S. lawmakers have introduced measures to close the loopholes that would allow Chinese products to evade the president’s increased fees.

Republican Senator Rick Scott introduced the Stopping Adversarial Tariff Evasion Act on Jan. 31, aiming to strengthen enforcement mechanisms to ensure foreign manufacturers comply with customs and duties.

The legislation builds on efforts from Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, who introduced a bill in December intended to hold China accountable for tariff evasion by establishing a task force and reporting mechanisms to deal with instances of financial crime.

Jayant Menon, a senior fellow at the ISEAS Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, said the second Trump presidency will foster even more efforts to monitor tariff evasion and inspect products for compliance.

“While it is increasingly difficult to determine where a product is really made these days, given increasing globalization and widespread production under global supply chain, increased scrutiny can help with identifying bypass attempts,” Menon said.

“If bypass attempts are suspected, rightly or wrongly, then the country as a whole may be penalized with new tariffs,” he said.

Pickard said he expects more investigations will be launched by the new administration. He also looks forward to more efforts to counter discriminatory practices affecting U.S. companies.

“We anticipate CBP will increase its enforcement efforts as to the widespread customs fraud involving Chinese products,” he said.

Many stakeholders in the industry, Pickard said, are hoping to see these issues met with criminal prosecutions.
…

your ad here

TOKYO — The number of babies born in Japan fell to a record low of 720,988 in 2024 for a ninth consecutive year of decline, the health ministry said on Thursday, underscoring the rapid aging and dwindling of the population.

Births were down 5% on the year, despite measures in 2023 by former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government to boost child-bearing, while a record number of 1.62 million deaths meant that more than two people died for every new baby born.

Although the fertility rate in neighboring South Korea rose in 2024 for the first time in nine years, thanks to measures to spur young people to marry and have children, the trend in Japan has yet to show an upturn.

Behind Japan’s childbirth decline are fewer marriages in recent years, stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, said Takumi Fujinami, an economist at the Japan Research Institute.

Although the number of marriages edged up 2.2% to 499,999 in 2024, that came only after steep declines, such as a plunge of 12.7% in 2020.

“The impact could linger on in 2025 as well,” Fujinami said.

Unlike some Western countries, only a few of every 100 babies in Japan are born out of wedlock, suggesting a stronger correlation between marriages and births.

News this week that South Korea’s fertility rate rose to 0.75 in 2024 from 0.72 in 2023 suggested the neighboring nation’s demographic crisis might have turned a corner.

In Japan, the most recent data shows the corresponding figure for the average number of babies a woman is expected to have during her reproductive life came in at 1.20 in 2023.

While it was too early for any meaningful comparison between the figures in the two countries, Fujinami warned, it was important for both to improve job opportunities and close the gender gap to encourage young people to marry and have children.

Experts believe South Korea’s positive turn resulted from government support in the three areas of work-family balance, childcare and housing, as well as a campaign for businesses to nudge employees towards parenthood. 
…

your ad here

WASHINGTON — Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent meeting with tech executives, including Jack Ma, signals a shift from regulatory crackdowns to a more supportive stance toward China’s private sector.

This follows China’s cyclical pattern of tech regulation: initial leniency, strict crackdowns, and eventual relaxation to restore market confidence.

The policy shift stems from economic concerns as China faces slowing growth and needs for the private sector to drive innovation and employment. While the tech sector enters a period of regulatory easing, the duration remains uncertain as China’s regulatory pendulum could swing back if new economic or political concerns emerge.

Click here for the full story in Mandarin.
…

your ad here

BANGKOK — At least 18 people were killed and 23 injured in eastern Thailand on Wednesday after the brakes failed on a tour bus and it rolled upside down into a ditch, police said.

“It was a downhill road and the brakes failed, and the driver lost control of the vehicle before it overturned,” said Colonel Sophon Phramaneehe, adding that those who died were adults on a study trip.

There were 49 people on the bus, all Thai, including the driver, the police official told Reuters.

Social media posts showed rescue and medical workers at the scene in Prachinburi province, 155 km east of the capital Bangkok, helping victims near the bus with its undercarriage exposed.

Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra expressed her condolences to the victims’ families and said an investigation was taking place.

“If it is found that there is a violation of the use of vehicles that do not meet the standards or are involved in reckless use of vehicles, legal action will be taken,” she said in a post on X.

“Inspection of vehicles must be safe and pass the specified standards before they are put into use to prevent accidents and reduce losses like this again,” she said.

Road accidents and fatalities are common in Thailand due to weak enforcement of vehicle safety standards and poorly maintained roads. The Southeast Asian nation ranked ninth out of 175 World Health Organization member countries for road traffic deaths, according to its 2023 report.

Last year, a school bus caught fire due to a gas cylinder leak, killing 23 people, including 16 students.
…

your ad here

BANGKOK — Thailand is emerging as one of Russia’s main pipelines for machine and computer parts with the potential for military use, with a growing number of local companies accused of helping Moscow evade Western export controls meant to cripple its war on Ukraine. 

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the United States has imposed sanctions on seven companies in Thailand for exporting these “high priority items” to Russia, the last of them in December. 

Trade data published last year by S&P Global, a financial analytics and services firm based in New York, also show a huge spike in these exports out of Thailand since 2022. 

Thailand eluded mention when the U.S. Treasury and Commerce departments started warning in mid-2023 of third countries being used to funnel high-priority items to Russia as a way of skirting the West’s export controls. 

“So, it was a surprise to see them … as a new country or a new location which had been involved in this type of goods transaction,” Byron McKinney, a sanctions risk and supply chain expert at S&P Global Market Intelligence, told VOA of his team’s research. 

Supply chains hit by sanctions, McKinney said, are “a little like water in a stream — if you try damming in one place, it will try and move around. So, Thailand kind of appeared in this way, as a country which wasn’t there originally for the transshipment or transit of these goods but has appeared later on.”  

Within days of the 2022 invasion, the U.S. Commerce Department placed export controls on dozens of high-priority items it said Russia needed most “to sustain its brutal attack on Ukraine,” from ball bearings to microchips. These are commonly known as dual-use goods for their potential to be put to both civilian and military use. 

A 2024 report by McKinney and his team shows China exporting or reexporting the vast majority of these goods to Russia since the invasion — over $6 billion worth in 2023 alone. It also shows countries funneling more such goods to Russia than Thailand. 

But of the 14 countries whose exports and reexports to Russia that the report breaks down, Thailand saw the sharpest spike of any, from $8.3 million in 2022 to $98.7 million in 2023, a jump of over 1,000%. 

Thailand’s 2023 shipments also included an especially large proportion of the most sensitive, high-priority goods such as microchips, designated by U.S. Customs as Tier 1. 

More recent data shared with VOA by S&P Global show Thailand’s exports and reexports of high-priority goods to Russia again topping $90 million in 2024. 

McKinney said the trade routes on which the goods are shipped are in constant flux. 

But for the time being, he added, “Thailand just happens to be in an area where there’s the possibility to transit these goods easier or quicker because maybe the regulation is a bit more light touch, for example, than it would be in other locations. So, it kind of gets picked on from that particular perspective and … turns up as a particular transit or transshipment hub.” 

The U.S. has put sanctions on seven Thailand-registered companies in the past 13 months.  

The first was NAL Solutions in January 2024. In announcing the sanctions, the U.S. Treasury Department said NAL was part of a network of companies controlled by Russian national Nikolai Aleksandrovich Levin channeling electronics and other goods from the United States and other countries to Russia. 

Washington sanctioned another five firms in Thailand in October, including Intracorp, which Treasury accused of setting up other companies that send high-priority goods to Russia. 

Treasury also tied Thailand’s Siam Expert Trading — added to the sanctions list in December — to the TGR Group, which it described as “a sprawling international network of businesses and employees that have facilitated significant sanctions circumvention on behalf of Russian elites.” 

Five of the seven firms did not reply to VOA’s repeated requests for comment about the sanctions. The other two could not be reached. 

Spokespersons for the Thai government and Ministry of Commerce, which oversees the country’s exports and company licensing, did not reply to VOA’s requests for comment either. 

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Thailand has been keen to keep up warm diplomatic and economic ties with Russia. 

At an international summit on China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Beijing two years ago, Thailand’s prime minister at the time, Srettha Thavisin, hailed his country’s “close relations” with Russia, shook hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin and invited him to Thailand. 

“When Srettha became prime minister in 2023, he was focused like a laser on economic growth and viewed Russia as a useful economic partner,” Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, told VOA. “Visa-free entry was extended for Russian tourists, and the authorities turned a blind eye to incidents of antisocial behavior and illegal activities.” 

He said Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who replaced Srettha last year, has carried on both his fixation on economic growth and neutral stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. 

Just last month at Putin’s invitation, Thailand joined BRICS, a group of developing countries with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa at its core, focused on forging closer economic ties. 

And while bilateral trade between Russia and Thailand has been falling in recent years, Storey says Russians have become major players in Thailand’s property market. They have also helped boost Thailand’s tourism sector, a pillar of the economy. 

In an interview with Russia’s state-owned TASS news agency in 2023, Vitaly Kiselev, president of the Thai-Russian Chamber of Commerce, said Western sanctions on Moscow were also opening up more trade opportunities between Russia and Thailand. He said chamber membership was on the rise. 

Given Thailand’s priorities, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s approach to negotiating an end to the Russia-Ukraine war, Storey doubts that Thai authorities will step in to stop the country’s trade in dual-use goods. 

“If Bangkok hasn’t taken action to crack down on this trade three years after the war started, there’s little chance that it will do so now, especially as the Trump administration is making nice with Russia,” he said. 

Across Asia, only Japan, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan have imposed trade restrictions or other sanctions on Russia since the 2022 invasion. 
…

your ad here

HONG KONG — A Chinese national political adviser has recommended lowering the legal age for marriage to 18 to boost fertility chances in the face of a declining population and “unleash reproductive potential,” a state-backed newspaper said on Tuesday.

Chen Songxi, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), told the Global Times that he plans to submit a proposal on completely relaxing restrictions on childbirth in China and establish an “incentive system” for marriage and childbirth.

Chen’s comments come ahead of China’s annual parliamentary meeting next week where officials are expected to announce measures to offset the country’s declining population.

The legal age for marriage in China is 22 for men and 20 for women, amongst the highest in the world, compared with most developed countries where the legal marriage age is 18.

Chen said China’s legal marriage age should be lowered to 18 “to increase the fertility population base and unleash reproductive potential.”

It is to be consistent with international norms, Chen said.

China’s population fell for a third consecutive year in 2024, as marriages plummeted by a fifth, the biggest drop on record, despite efforts by authorities to encourage young couples to wed and have children.

Much of China’s demographic downturn is the result of its one-child policy imposed between 1980 and 2015. Couples have been allowed to have up to three children since 2021.

Chen said China should remove restrictions on the number of children a family can have to meet the “urgent needs of population development in the new era.”

However, a rising number of people are opting to not have children, put off by the high cost of childcare or an unwillingness to marry or put their careers on hold.

Authorities have tried to roll out incentives and measures to boost baby making including expanding maternity leave, financial and tax benefits for having children, as well as housing subsidies.

But China is one of the world’s most expensive places to bring up a child, relative to its GDP per capita, a prominent Chinese think tank said last year, detailing the time and opportunity cost for women who give birth.

CPPCC, a largely ceremonial advisory body, meets in parallel with parliament. It is made up of business magnates, artists, monks, non-communists and other representatives of broader society, but has no legislative power.
…

your ad here

President Donald Trump pledged last week to impose an additional 25% tariff on U.S.-bound imports of cars, semiconductors and medical products, possibly after April – a move that experts believe could significantly affect Taiwan.

TSMC, which is based in Taiwan and the world’s largest contract chipmaker, may suffer the most as 60% of its revenues are believed to be generated in the U.S.

Click here for the full story in Mandarin. 
…

your ad here