Thailand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thailand (
// TY-land or
// TY-lənd;
[11] Thai:
ประเทศไทย,
RTGS:
Prathet Thai), officially the
Kingdom of Thailand (
Thai:
ราชอาณาจักรไทย,
RTGS:
Ratcha Anachak Thai;
IPA: [râːt.tɕʰā ʔāːnāːtɕàk tʰāj] (
listen)), formerly known as
Siam (
Thai:
สยาม;
RTGS:
Sayam), is a country at the centre of the
Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by
Burma and
Laos, to the east by Laos and
Cambodia, to the south by the
Gulf of Thailand and
Malaysia, and to the west by the
Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include
Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and
Indonesia and
India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
Thailand is a
monarchy headed by King
Bhumibol Adulyadej, Rama IX and governed by a
military junta that took power in May 2014. The king is the
ninth of the
House of Chakri, and has reigned since 1946 as the world's
longest-serving current
head of state and the country's
longest-reigning monarch.
[12] The King of Thailand's titles include Head of State, Head of the Armed Forces, Adherent of Buddhism, and Upholder of religions.
[13]
Although a constitutional system was established in 1932, the monarchy
and military have continued to intervene periodically in politics.
With a total area of approximately 513,000 km
2 (198,000 sq mi), Thailand is the world's
51st-largest country. It is the
21st-most-populous country in the world, with around 65 million people. The capital and largest city is
Bangkok, which is Thailand's political, commercial, industrial, and cultural hub. About 75–95% of the population is ethnically
Tai, which includes four major regional groups:
Central Thai (Khon Pak Klang): 30%;
Northeastern Thai (Khon [Lao] Isan): 22%,
[2] Northern Thai (Khon Lanna): 9%; and
Southern Thai (Khon Tai): 7%.
Thai Chinese, those of significant Chinese heritage, are 14% of the population,
[5] while Thais with partial Chinese ancestry comprise up to 40% of the population.
[14] Thai Malays represent 3% of the population, with the remainder consisting of
Mons,
Khmers and various "
hill tribes". The country's official language is
Thai and the primary religion is
Buddhism, which is practised by around 95% of the population.
Thailand experienced rapid economic growth between 1985 and 1996, becoming a
newly industrialized country and a major exporter. Manufacturing, agriculture, and
tourism are leading sectors of the economy.
[15][16] Among the ten
ASEAN countries, Thailand ranked second in the best quality of life in ASEAN.
[17] and the country's HDI had been rated as 'high'. Its large population and growing economic influence have made it a
middle power in the region and around the world.
[18]
Etymology
The country has always been called
Mueang Thai by her citizens; but by others, by the
exonym Siam (
Thai:
สยาม RTGS:
Sayam,
pronounced [sàjǎːm]). Also spelled
Siem,
Syâm or
Syâma, it has been identified with the
Sanskrit Śyāma (
श्याम, meaning "dark" or "brown"). The names
Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word, and Śyâma is possibly not its origin but a learned and artificial distortion.
[19]
SPPM Mongkut Rex Siamensium
The signature of King
Mongkut (r. 1851 – 1868) reads
SPPM (Somdet Phra Poramenthra Maha)
Mongkut King of Siam, giving it official status until 23 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand.
[20] Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it again reverted to Thailand.
The word
Thai (
ไทย) is not, as commonly believed,
[citation needed] derived from the word
Thai (
ไท) meaning "independence" in the Thai language; it is, however, the name of an
ethnic group from the central plains (the
Thai people).
[citation needed]
A famous Thai scholar argued that Thai (ไท) simply means "people" or
"human being" since his investigation shows that in some rural areas the
word "Thai" was used instead of the usual Thai word "khon" (
คน) for people.
[21]
The Thai use the phrase "land of the freedom" to express pride in the
fact that Thailand is the only country in Southeast Asia never
colonized by a European power.
While the Thai people will often refer to their country using the polite form
Prathet Thai (Thai: ประเทศไทย), they most commonly use the more colloquial word
Mueang Thai (Thai: เมืองไทย) or simply
Thai (Thai: ไทย); the word
mueang (Thai: เมือง) meaning nation but most commonly used to refer to a city or town.
Ratcha Anachak Thai (
Thai:
ราชอาณาจักรไทย) means "Kingdom of Thailand" or "Kingdom of Thai".
Etymologically, its components are:
-Ratcha- (from Sanskrit
raja, meaning "king, royal, realm") ;
-ana- (from
Pāli āṇā, "authority, command, power", itself from Sanskrit
ājñā, same meaning)
-chak (from Sanskrit
cakra or
cakraṃ meaning "wheel", a symbol of power and rule). The
Thai National Anthem (
Thai:
เพลงชาติ), composed and written by
Peter Feit
during the extremely "patriotic" 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as:
prathet-thai (Thai: ประเทศไทย). The first line of the national anthem
is:
prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai (Thai:
ประเทศไทยรวมเลือดเนื้อชาติเชื้อไทย) and was translated in 1939 by
Colonel Luang Saranuprabhandi as: "Thailand is the unity of Thai blood
and body."
History
There is evidence of human habitation in Thailand that has been dated
at 40,000 years before the present, with stone artefacts dated to this
period at
Tham Lod Rockshelter in
Mae Hong Son. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the
culture and religions of India, starting with the
Kingdom of Funan around the 1st century
CE to the
Khmer Empire.
[22]
Indian influence on Siamese culture was partly the result of direct
contact with Indian settlers, but mainly it was brought about indirectly
via the Indianized kingdoms of Dvaravati, Srivijaya and Cambodia.
[23] E:A Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Siam from India in the time of the Indian Emperor
Ashoka of the
Maurya Empire and far on into the first millennium after Christ.
[23] Later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian
Pallava dynasty and north Indian
Gupta Empire.
[23]
After the fall of the Khmer Empire in the 13th century, various states thrived there, such as the various
Tai,
Mon,
Khmer and
Malay
kingdoms, as seen through the numerous archaeological sites and
artifacts that are scattered throughout the Siamese landscape. Prior to
the 12th century however, the first Thai or Siamese state is
traditionally considered to be the
Buddhist kingdom of
Sukhothai, which was founded in 1238.
Following the decline and fall of the Khmer empire in the 13th–15th century, the Buddhist Tai kingdoms of Sukhothai,
Lanna and
Lan Xang (now Laos) were on the ascension. However, a century later, the power of Sukhothai was overshadowed by the new
kingdom of Ayutthaya, established in the mid-14th century in the lower
Chao Phraya River or
Menam area.
Ayutthaya's expansion centred along the Menam while in the northern
valley the Lanna Kingdom and other small Tai city-states ruled the area.
In 1431, the Khmer abandoned
Angkor after the Ayutthaya forces invaded the city.
[24] Thailand retained a tradition of trade with its neighbouring states, from China to India,
Persia and
Arab
lands. Ayutthaya became one of the most vibrant trading centres in
Asia. European traders arrived in the 16th century, beginning with the
Portuguese, followed by the French, Dutch and English.
After the fall of Ayutthaya in 1767 to the Burmese, King
Taksin the Great moved the capital of Thailand to
Thonburi for approximately 15 years. The current Rattanakosin era of Thai history began in 1782, following the establishment of
Bangkok as capital of the
Chakri dynasty under King
Rama I the Great. According to
Encyclopædia Britannica, "A quarter to a third of the population of some areas of Thailand and Burma were
slaves in the 17th through the 19th centuries."
[25][26]
Despite European pressure, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian nation that has never been colonized.
[27]
This has been ascribed to the long succession of able rulers in the
past four centuries who exploited the rivalry and tension between
French Indochina and the
British Empire. As a result, the country remained a
buffer state
between parts of Southeast Asia that were colonized by the two
colonizing powers, Great Britain and France. Western influence
nevertheless led to many reforms in the 19th century and major
concessions, most notably being the loss of a large territory on the
east side of the
Mekong to the French and the step-by-step absorption by Britain of the
Malay Peninsula.
20th century
The losses initially included Penang and eventually culminated in the
loss of four predominantly ethnic-Malay southern provinces, which later
became
Malaysia's four northern states, under the
Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909.
In 1932, a
bloodless revolution carried out by the
Khana Ratsadon group of military and civilian officials resulted in a transition of power, when King
Prajadhipok was forced to grant the people of Siam their first constitution, thereby ending centuries of
absolute monarchy.
In 1939, the name of the kingdom, 'Siam', was changed to 'Thailand'.
During World War II, the
Empire of Japan demanded the right to move troops across Thailand to the Malayan frontier.
Japan invaded the country and engaged the
Thai Army for six to eight hours before
Plaek Pibulsonggram ordered an
armistice.
Shortly thereafter Japan was granted free passage, and on 21 December
1941, Thailand and Japan signed a military alliance with a secret
protocol wherein Tokyo agreed to help Thailand regain territories lost
to the British and French. Subsequently, Thailand declared war on the
United States and the United Kingdom on 25 January 1942 and undertook to
'assist' Japan in its war against the Allies, while at the same time
maintaining an active anti-Japanese resistance movement known as the
Seri Thai. Approximately 200,000 Asian labourers (mainly
romusha) and 60,000
Allied POWs worked on the Thailand–Burma
Death Railway.
[28]
After the war, Thailand emerged as an ally of the United States. As with many of the developing nations during the
Cold War, Thailand then went through decades of political instability characterised by
coups d'état as one military regime replaced another, but eventually progressed towards a stable prosperity and democracy in the 1980s.
[citation needed]
-
An example of pottery discovered near
Ban Chiang in Udon Thani province, the earliest dating to 2100 BCE.
-
-
The immense 19 metre high gilded statue of a seated Buddha in
Wat Phanan Choeng, the latter from 1324, pre-dates the founding of the city.
-
15 metre high Buddha image in
Sukhothai, Phra Achana , built in 13th Century
-
-
Kosa Pan presents King Narai's letter to Louis XIV at Versailles, 1 September 1686.
Politics and government
The politics of Thailand is currently conducted within the framework of a
constitutional monarchy, whereby the
Prime Minister is the
head of government and a
hereditary monarch is
head of state. The
judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislative branches.
Constitutional history
Since the
political reform of the
absolute monarchy in 1932, Thailand has had 17 constitutions and charters.
[29][30]
Throughout this time, the form of government has ranged from military
dictatorship to electoral democracy, but all governments have
acknowledged a
hereditary monarch as the head of state.
[31][32]
28 June 1932
Prior to 1932, the Kingdom of
Siam
did not possess a legislature, as all legislative powers were vested
within the person of the monarch. This had been the case since the
foundation of the
Sukhothai Kingdom in the 12th century: as the king was seen as a "Dharmaraja" or "King who rules in accordance with
Dharma"
(the Buddhist law of righteousness). However on 24 June 1932 a group of
civilians and military officers, calling themselves the
Khana Ratsadon (or People's Party) carried out a bloodless revolution, in which the 150 years of absolute rule of the
House of Chakri was ended.
In its stead the group advocated a constitutional form of monarchy with an elected legislature.
The "Draft Constitution" of 1932 signed by King
Prajadhipok, created Thailand's first legislature, a
People's Assembly with 70 appointed members. The assembly met for the first time on 28 June 1932, in the
Ananda Samakhom Throne Hall.
The Khana Ratsadon decided that the people were not yet ready for an
elected assembly; however they later changed their minds. By the time
the "permanent" constitution came into force in December of that year,
elections were scheduled for 15 November 1933. The new constitution also
changed the composition of the assembly to 78 directly elected and 78
appointed (by the Khana Ratsadon) together compromising 156 members.
1932 to 1972
The
history of Thailand from 1932 to 1973 was dominated by
military dictatorships which were in power for much of the period. The main personalities of the period were the
dictator Luang Phibunsongkhram (better known as Phibun), who allied the country with Japan during the Second World War, and the civilian
politician Pridi Phanomyong, who founded
Thammasat University and was briefly the prime minister after the war. The Japanese invasion of Thailand occurred on December 8, 1941.
A succession of military dictators followed Pridi's ousting — Phibun again,
Sarit Dhanarajata and
Thanom Kittikachorn — under whom traditional,
authoritarian rule was combined with increasing
modernisation and
westernisation under the influence of the
U.S. The end of the period was marked by Thanom's resignation, following a massacre of pro-
democracy
protesters led by Thammasat students. Thanom misread the situation as a
coup d'état, and fled, leaving the country leaderless. HM appointed
Thammasat University chancellor Sanya Dharmasakti PM by royal command.
For events subsequent to the abdication of the king, including the name
change of 1939, up to the coup d'état of 1957, see
Plaek Pibulsonggram.
Thailand helped the USA and South Vietnam in the Vietnam war between
1965–1971. Thai forces also saw heavy action in the covert war in Laos
that occurred between 1964 to 1972.
1973 to 1997
The 1997 Constitution was the first constitution to be drafted by
popularly elected Constitutional Drafting Assembly, and was popularly
called the "People's Constitution".
[33] The 1997 Constitution created a
bicameral legislature consisting of a 500-seat
House of Representatives (สภาผู้แทนราษฎร, sapha phu thaen ratsadon) and a 200-seat
Senate (วุฒิสภา, wutthisapha). For the first time in Thai history, both houses were directly elected.
Many human rights are explicitly acknowledged, and measures were
established to increase the stability of elected governments. The House
was elected by the
first past the post
system, where only one candidate with a simple majority could be
elected in one constituency. The Senate was elected based on the
province system, where one province can return more than one senator
depending on its population size.
The two houses of the National Assembly have two different terms. In
accordance with the constitution the Senate is elected to a six-year
term, while the House is elected to a four-year term. Overall the term
of the National Assembly is based on that of the House. The National
Assembly each year will sit in two sessions an "ordinary session" and a
"legislative session". The first session of the National Assembly must
take place within thirty days after the general election of the House of
Representatives. The first session must be opened by the
king in person by reading a
Speech from the Throne; this ceremony is held in the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall. He may also appoint the
crown prince or a representative to carry out this duty. It is also the duty of the king to prorogue sessions through a
Royal Decree when the House term expires. The king also has the
prerogative to call extraordinary sessions and prolong sessions upon advice of the House of Representatives.
The National Assembly may host a "Joint-sitting" of both Houses under
several circumstances. These include: The appointment of a regent, any
alteration to the
1924 Palace Law of Succession, the opening of the first session, the announcement of policies by the
Cabinet of Thailand, the approval of the
declaration of war, the hearing of explanations and approval of a
treaty and the amendment of the Constitution.
Members of the House of Representatives served four-year terms, while
senators served six-year terms. The 1997 People's Constitution also
promoted human rights more than any other constitutions. The court
system (ศาล, san) included a
constitutional court with jurisdiction over the constitutionality of parliamentary acts, royal decrees, and political matters.
2001 – 2008
The
January 2001 general election, the first election under the 1997 Constitution, was called the most open, corruption-free election in Thai history.
[34] Thai Rak Thai Party, led by
Thaksin Shinawatra won the election. The Thaksin government was the first in Thai history to complete a four-year term. The
2005 election had the highest voter turnout in Thai history,
[35][36]
and Thai Rak Thai Party won an absolute majority. However, despite
efforts to clean up the system, vote buying and electoral violence
remained problems of electoral quality in 2005.
[37]
The PollWatch Foundation, Thailand's most prominent election
watchdog, declared that vote buying in this election, specifically in
the North and the Northeast, was more serious than in the 2001 election.
The organization also accused the government of violating the election
law by abusing state power in presenting new projects in a bid to seek
votes.
2006 coup d'état
Without meeting much resistance, a
military junta overthrew the interim government of
Thaksin Shinawatra on 19 September 2006. The
junta abrogated
the constitution, dissolved Parliament and the Constitutional Court,
detained and later removed several members of the government, declared
martial law, and appointed one of the king's Privy Counselors, General
Surayud Chulanont, as the Prime Minister. The junta later wrote a highly abbreviated
interim constitution
and appointed a panel to draft a new permanent constitution. The junta
also appointed a 250-member legislature, called by some critics a
"chamber of generals" while others claimed that it lacks representatives
from the poor majority. On May 26th 2014, the King of Thailand
officially approved General Prayuth, who lead the coup d'état. Despite
the fact that the coup removed an elected government, for the
foreseeable future the temporary government lead by the soldiers of the
coup d'état have legitimacy.
[38][39]
In this interim constitution draft, the head of the junta was allowed
to remove the prime minister at any time. The legislature was not
allowed to hold a vote of confidence against the cabinet and the public
was not allowed to file comments on bills.
[40] This interim constitution was later surpassed by
the permanent constitution on 24 August 2007. Martial law was partially revoked in January 2007. The ban on political activities was lifted in July 2007,
[41] following the
30 May dissolution of the
Thai Rak Thai party. The new constitution was approved by referendum on 19 August, which led to a return to a
democratic general election on 23 December 2007.
2008–2010 political crisis
The
People's Power Party (Thailand), led by
Samak Sundaravej
formed a government with five smaller parties. Following several court
rulings against him in a variety of scandals, and surviving a vote of no
confidence, and protesters blockading government buildings and
airports, in September 2008, Sundaravej was found guilty of conflict of
interest by the
Constitutional Court of Thailand (due to being a host in a TV cooking program),
[42] and thus, ended his term in office.
He was replaced by PPP member
Somchai Wongsawat. As of October 2008, Wongsawat was unable to gain access to his offices, which were occupied by protesters from the
People's Alliance for Democracy. On 2 December 2008, Thailand's Constitutional Court in a highly controversial ruling found the Peoples Power Party
[43]
guilty of electoral fraud, which led to the dissolution of the party
according to the law. It was later alleged in media reports that at
least one member of the judiciary had a telephone conversation with
officials working for the Office of the Privy Council and one other. The
phone call was taped and has since circulated on the Internet. In it,
the callers discuss finding a way to ensure the ruling PPP party would
be disbanded. Accusations of judicial interference were levelled in the
media but the recorded call was dismissed as a hoax. However, in June
2010, supporters of the eventually disbanded PPP were charged with
tapping a judge's phone.
Immediately following what many media described as a "judicial coup",
a senior member of the Armed Forces met with factions of the governing
coalition to get their members to join the opposition and the
Democrat Party
was able to form a government, a first for the party since 2001. The
leader of the Democrat party, and former leader of the opposition,
Abhisit Vejjajiva was appointed and sworn-in as the 27th
Prime Minister, together with the new cabinet on 17 December 2008.
In April 2009, protests by the
National United Front of Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD, or "Red Shirts") forced the cancellation of the
Fourth East Asia Summit
after protesters stormed the Royal Cliff hotel venue in Pattaya,
smashing the glass doors of the venue to gain entry, and a blockade
prevented the Chinese premier at the time,
Wen Jiabao, from attending. The summit was eventually held in Thailand in October 2009.
[44][45]
About a year later, a set of new
"Red Shirts" protests resulted in 87 deaths (mostly civilian and some military) and 1,378 injured.
[46]
When the army tried to disperse the protesters on 10 April 2010, the
army was met with automatic gunfire, grenades, and fire bombs from the
opposition faction in the army, known as the "watermelon". This resulted
in the army returning fire with rubber bullets and some live
ammunition. During the time of the "red shirt" protests against the
government, there have been numerous grenade and bomb attacks against
government offices and the homes of government officials. Gas grenades
were fired at "yellow-shirt" protesters, that were protesting against
the "red-shirts" and in favor of the government, by unknown gunmen
killing one pro-government protester, the government stated that the Red
Shirts were firing the weapons at civilians.
[47][48][49][50] Red-shirts continued to hold a position in the business district of Bangkok and it was shut down for several weeks.
[51]
On 3 July 2011, the oppositional
Pheu Thai Party, led by
Yingluck Shinawatra (the youngest sister of Thaksin Shinawatra), won the
general election by a landslide (265 seats in the
House of Representatives,
out of 500). She had never previously been involved in politics, Pheu
Thai campaigning for her with the slogan 'Thaksin thinks, Pheu Thai
acts'. Yingluck is the nation's first female prime minister and her role
was officially endorsed in a ceremony presided over by King Bhumibol
Adulyadej. The Pheu Thai Party is a continuation of Thaksin's Thai Rak
Thai party.
[52]
2013–2014 political crisis
Protests recommenced in late 2013, as a broad alliance of protestors, led by former opposition deputy leader
Suthep Thaugsuban, demanded an end to the so-called Thaksin regime, and the
Bangkok Post says Suthep wants dictatorship by himself.
[53]
A blanket amnesty for people involved in the 2010 protests, altered at
the last minute to include all political crimes – including all
convictions against Thaksin – triggered a mass show of discontent, with
numbers variously estimated between 98,500 (the police) and 400,000 (an
aerial photo survey done by the Bangkok Post), taking to the streets.
The Senate was urged to reject the bill to quell the reaction, but the
measure failed. A newly named group, the
People's Democratic Reform Committee
(PDRC) along with allied groups, escalated the pressure, with the
opposition Democrat party resigning en masse to create a parliamentary
vacuum. Protesters demands variously evolved as the movement's numbers
grew, extending a number of deadlines and demands that became
increasingly unreasonable or unrealistic, yet attracting a groundswell
of support. They called for the establishment of an unelected “people’s
council”—in place of Yingluck's government—that will cleanse Thai
politics and eradicate the Thaksin regime.
[54]
In response to the intensive protests, Yinluck dissolved parliament on 9
December 2013 and proposed a new election for 2 February 2014, a date
that was later approved by the election commission.
[55]
The PDRC insisted that the prime minister stand down within 24 hours,
regardless of her actions, with 160,000 protesters in attendance at
Government House on 9 December. Yingluck insisted that she would
continue her duties until
the scheduled election in February 2014,
urging the protesters to accept her proposal: "Now that the government
has dissolved parliament, I ask that you stop protesting and that all
sides work towards elections. I have backed down to the point where I
don't know how to back down any further."
[56]
In response to the Electoral Commission (EC)'s registration process
for party-list candidates—for the scheduled election in February
2014—anti-government protesters marched to the Thai-Japanese sports
stadium, the venue of the registration process, on 22 December 2013.
Suthep and the PDRC led the protest, estimating that 3.5 million people
participated in the march; however, security forces claimed that
approximately 270,000 protesters joined the rally. Yingluck and the Pheu
Thai Party reiterated their election plan and anticipate presenting a
list of 125 party-list candidates to the EC.
[57]
On 7 May 2014, the Constitutional Court ruled that Yingluck would
have to step down as the Prime Minister as she was deemed to have abused
her power in transferring a high-level government official.
[58]
2014 coup d'état
On 20 May 2014 the Thai army declared martial law, however denied
that this was a coup attempt and began to deploy troops in the capital.
[59][60]
On 22 May, the Army announced that it was a coup and that it was taking
control of the country and suspending the country's constitution.
[61][62]
Also on the same day, the military announced they were imposing a
curfew between the hours of 10 pm and 5 am local Thai time requiring no
resident or tourist go outside without approval of military authorities.
[63][64][65][66][67]
Administrative divisions
Thailand is divided into 76
provinces
(จังหวัด, changwat), which are gathered into 5 groups of provinces by
location. There are also 2 special governed districts: the capital
Bangkok (Krung Thep Maha Nakhon) and
Pattaya, of which Bangkok is at provincial level and thus often counted as a province.
Each province is divided into
districts
and the districts are further divided into sub-districts (tambons). As
of 2006 there are 877 districts (อำเภอ, amphoe) and the 50
districts of Bangkok (เขต, khet). Some parts of the provinces bordering Bangkok are also referred to as
Greater Bangkok (ปริมณฑล, pari monthon). These provinces include
Nonthaburi,
Pathum Thani,
Samut Prakan,
Nakhon Pathom and
Samut Sakhon.
The name of each province's capital city (เมือง, mueang) is the same as
that of the province. For example, the capital of Chiang Mai province (
Changwat Chiang Mai) is
Mueang Chiang Mai or
Chiang Mai.
The southern provinces of Thailand showing the Malay-Muslim majority areas.
Thailand controlled the
Malay Peninsula as far as Malacca in the 1400s and held much of the peninsula, including Temasek (Singapore) some of the
Andaman Islands and a colony on
Java, but eventually failed when the British used force to guarantee their
suzerainty over the sultanate.
Mostly the northern states of the Malay Sultanate presented annual gifts to the Thai king in the form of a
golden flower—a gesture of tribute and an acknowledgement of vassalage. The British intervened in the Malay State and with the
Anglo-Siamese Treaty
tried to build a railway from the south to Bangkok. Thailand
relinquished sovereignty over what are now the northern Malay provinces
of
Kedah,
Perlis,
Kelantan and
Terengganu to the British. Satun and Pattani provinces were given to Thailand.
The Malay peninsula provinces were infiltrated by the Japanese during World War II, and by the
Malayan Communist Party
(CPM) from 1942 to 2008, when they decided to sue for peace with the
Malaysian and Thai governments after the CPM lost its support from
Vietnam and China subsequent to the
Cultural Revolution.
Recent insurgent uprisings may be a continuation of separatist fighting
which started after World War II with Sukarno's support for the
PULO, and the intensification. Most victims since the uprisings have been Buddhist and Muslim bystanders.
Foreign relations
The foreign relations of Thailand are handled by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
Thailand participates fully in international and regional organizations. It is a
major non-NATO ally and Priority Watch List
Special 301 Report of the United States. The country remains an active member of
ASEAN
(Association of South East Asian Nations). Thailand has developed
increasingly close ties with other ASEAN members: Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, and Vietnam,
whose foreign and economic ministers hold annual meetings.
Regional
cooperation is progressing in economic, trade, banking, political, and
cultural matters. In 2003, Thailand served as APEC host. Dr. Supachai
Panitchpakdi, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, currently
serves as Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development (UNCTAD). In 2005 Thailand attended the inaugural East
Asia Summit.
In recent years, Thailand has taken an increasingly active role on
the international stage. When East Timor gained independence from
Indonesia, Thailand, for the first time in its history, contributed
troops to the international peacekeeping effort. Its troops remain there
today as part of a UN peacekeeping force. As part of its effort to
increase international ties, Thailand has reached out to such regional
organizations as the Organization of American States (OAS) and the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Thailand has
contributed troops to reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Thaksin initiated negotiations for several
free trade agreements
with China, Australia, Bahrain, India, and the US. The latter
especially was criticized, with claims that high-cost Thai industries
could be wiped out.
[68]
Thaksin also announced that Thailand would forsake foreign aid, and
work with donor countries to assist in the development of neighbors in
the Greater Mekong Sub-region.
[69]
Thaksin was ambitious to position Thailand as a regional leader,
initiating various development projects in poorer neighbouring countries
like Laos. More controversially, he established close, friendly ties
with the Burmese dictatorship.
[70]
Thailand joined the US-led invasion of Iraq, sending a 423-strong
humanitarian contingent. It withdrew its troops on 10 September 2004.
Two Thai soldiers died in Iraq in an insurgent attack.
Abhisit appointed Peoples Alliance for Democracy leader Kasit Piromya
as Foreign Minister. Prior to his appointment, Kasit had led
anti-Cambodia protests and called Cambodian Prime Minister
Hun Sen a "gangster minded (ใจนักเลง
chai nak leng)"
(he later claimed the word he used actually meant "a person who is
lionhearted, a courageous and magnanimous gentleman"). In April 2009,
"large-scale fighting" erupted between Thai and Cambodian troops on
territory immediately adjacent to the 900-year-old ruins of Cambodia's
Preah Vihear
Hindu temple near the border. The Cambodian government claimed its army
had killed at least four Thais and captured 10 more, although the Thai
government denied that any Thai soldiers were killed or injured. Two
Cambodian soldiers were killed and three Thai soldiers were killed. Both
armies blamed the other for firing first and denied entering the
other's territory.
[71][72]
Military
The Royal Thai Armed Forces (
Thai:
กองทัพไทย, Kong Thap Thai) constitute the military of the Kingdom of Thailand. They consist of the
Royal Thai Army (กองทัพบกไทย), the
Royal Thai Navy (กองทัพเรือไทย), and the
Royal Thai Air Force (กองทัพอากาศไทย). It also incorporates various
paramilitary forces.
Currently, the Royal Thai Armed Forces has a combined manpower of 305,860 active duty personnel. The
Head of the Thai Armed Forces (จอมทัพไทย,
Chom Thap Thai) is
King Bhumibol Adulyadej (Rama IX),
[73] although this position is only nominal. The Armed Forces is managed by the
Ministry of Defence of Thailand, which is headed by the Minister of Defence (a member of the
Cabinet of Thailand) and commanded by the
Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters, which in turn is headed by the
Chief of Defence Forces of Thailand.
[74] In 2011, Thailand's known
military expenditure totalled approximately US$5.1 billion.
[75]
According to the constitution, serving in the Armed Forces is a duty of all Thai citizens.
[76] However, only males over the age of 21, who have not gone through reserve training of the
Army Reserve Force Students,
are given the option of whether they want to volunteer for the armed
forces, or choose the random draft. The candidates are subjected to
varying lengths of training, from six months to two years of full-time
service, depending on their education, whether they have partially
completed the reserve training course, and whether they volunteered
prior to the drafting date (usually 1 April every year).
Candidates with a recognized bachelor's degree will be subjected to
one year of full-time service if they chose the random draft, or six
months if they volunteer at their respective district office (สัสดี,
satsadi).
Likewise, the training length is also reduced for those who have
partially completed the three-year reserve training course (ร.ด.,
ro do).
A person who completed one year out of three will only have to serve
full-time for one year. Those who completed two years of reserve
training will only have to do six months of full-time training, while
those who complete three years or more of reserve training will be
exempted entirely.
The
Royal Thai Armed Forces Day is celebrated on 18 January, commemorating the victory of King
Naresuan the Great in battle against the Crown Prince of
Burma in 1593.
[citation needed]
Geography
Totalling 513,120 square kilometres (198,120 sq mi),
[1] Thailand is the world's
51st-largest country by total area. It is slightly smaller than
Yemen and slightly larger than
Spain.
Satellite image of flooding in Thailand in October 2011.
Thailand is home to several distinct geographic regions, partly
corresponding to the provincial groups. The north of the country is the
mountainous area of the
Thai highlands, with the highest point being
Doi Inthanon in the
Thanon Thong Chai Range at 2,565 metres (8,415 ft)
above sea level. The northeast,
Isan, consists of the
Khorat Plateau, bordered to the east by the
Mekong River. The centre of the country is dominated by the predominantly flat
Chao Phraya river valley, which runs into the
Gulf of Thailand.
Southern Thailand consists of the narrow
Kra Isthmus that widens into the
Malay Peninsula.
Politically, there are six geographical regions which differ from the
others in population, basic resources, natural features, and level of
social and economic development. The diversity of the regions is the
most pronounced attribute of Thailand's physical setting.
The Chao Phraya and the Mekong River are the sustainable resource of
rural Thailand. Industrial scale production of crops use both rivers and
their tributaries. The Gulf of Thailand covers 320,000 square
kilometres (124,000 sq mi) and is fed by the Chao Phraya,
Mae Klong,
Bang Pakong and
Tapi
Rivers. It contributes to the tourism sector owing to its clear shallow
waters along the coasts in the Southern Region and the Kra Isthmus. The
Gulf of Thailand is also an industrial centre of Thailand with the
kingdom's main port in
Sattahip along with being the entry gates for
Bangkok's Inland Seaport.
The
Andaman Sea is regarded as Thailand's most precious natural resource as it hosts the most popular and luxurious resorts in Asia.
Phuket,
Krabi,
Ranong,
Phang Nga and
Trang and their lush islands all lay along the coasts of the Andaman Sea and despite the
2004 Tsunami, they continue to be and ever more so, the playground of the rich and elite of Asia and the world.
Plans have resurfaced of a logistical connection of the two bodies of water which would be coined the
Thai Canal, analogous to the
Suez and the
Panama Canal. Such an idea has been greeted with positive accounts by Thai politicians as it would cut fees charged by the
Ports of Singapore, improve ties with China and India, lower shipping times and increase ship safety owing to pirate fears in the
Strait of Melaka and, support the Thai government's policy of being the logistical hub for Southeast Asia.
The ports would improve economic conditions in the south of Thailand,
which relies heavily on tourism income, and it would also change the
structure of the Thai economy moving it closer to a services centre of
Asia. The canal would be a major engineering project and has expected
costs of 20–30 billion dollars.
The local climate is tropical and characterized by
monsoons.
There is a rainy, warm, and cloudy southwest monsoon from mid-May to
September, as well as a dry, cool northeast monsoon from November to
mid-March. The southern isthmus is always hot and humid.
This article incorporates
public domain material from websites or documents of the
CIA World Factbook.
Education
Primary school students in Thailand
In 2014 the literacy rate is 93.5%,
[77]
and education is provided by a well-organized school system of
kindergartens, primary, lower secondary and upper secondary schools,
numerous vocational colleges, and universities. The private sector of
education is well developed and significantly contributes to the overall
provision of education which the government would not be able to meet
through the public establishments. Education is compulsory up to and
including age group 14, and the government provides free education
through to age group 17.
[citation needed]
Teaching relies heavily on
rote
rather than on student-centred methodology. The establishment of
reliable and coherent curricula for its primary and secondary schools is
subject to such rapid changes that schools and their teachers are not
always sure what they are supposed to be teaching, and authors and
publishers of textbooks are unable to write and print new editions
quickly enough to keep up with the volatile situation. The issue
concerning university entrance has therefore also been in constant
upheaval for a number of years. Nevertheless, education has seen its
greatest progress in the years since 2001. Most of the present
generation of students are computer literate. Thailand was ranked 54th
out of 56 countries globally for English proficiency, the second-lowest
in Asia.
[78]
Students in ethnic minority areas score consistently lower in standardized national and international tests.
[79] [80] [81]
This is likely due to unequal allocation of educational resources, weak
teacher training, socio-economic factors (poverty) and lower ability in
the Thai language, the language of the tests.
[79] [82] [83]
Extensive nationwide IQ tests were carried out in December 2010 to
January 2011 on 72,780 Thai students. The average IQ was found to be at
98.59, which is higher than previous studies have found. The IQ levels
are not consistent throughout the country though, with the lowest
average of 88.07 found in the southern region of Narathiwat and the
highest average of 108.91 reported in Nonthaburi province. The Thai
Ministry of Public Health blames the discrepancies on iodine deficiency
and steps are being taken to require that iodine be added to table salt,
a practice common in many Western countries.
[84]
In 2013, the
Ministry of ICT announced that 27,231 schools would receive classroom-level access to
high-speed internet.
[85]
Changes during military rule, 2014
A 2014
Bangkok Post
article said that some are questioning the usefulness of morning
assemblies "under the sun" while standing for 30–45 minutes, and the
usefulness of having a student's Thai-language grades cut if the student
does not sing General
Prayuth Chan-ocha's tune,
Return Happiness to Thailand.
[86]
The education ministry said it would ask the military for a list of
patriotic marches to play to primary and high school students nationwide
two times a day—before morning classes and during lunch break—in order
to strengthen their love for the country.
[87]) According to the
Bangkok Post,
"What the [education] ministry has been doing since the coup—the
ultra-nationalism bombardment, the focus on parroting moral values, the
extremely superficial definition of good deeds and morality—cannot teach
our children anything about goodness. If anything, it only teaches them
the art of taking credit and
kowtowing".
[87]
Science and technology
The
National Science and Technology Development Agency is an
agency of the government of Thailand which supports research in science and technology and their application in the
Thai economy.
[citation needed]
The
Synchrotron Light Research Institute (SLRI) is a Thai
synchrotron light source for physics, chemistry, material science and life sciences. It is located on the
Suranaree University of Technology (SUT), in
Nakhon Ratchasima,
about 300 km north east of Bangkok. The Institute, financed by the
Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), houses the only large scale
synchrotron in Southeast Asia. It was originally built as the SORTEC
synchrotron in Japan and later moved to Thailand and modified for 1.2
GeV operation. It provides users with regularly scheduled light.
[citation needed]
Internet
In Bangkok, there are 23,000 free public
Wi-Fi Internet hotspots.
[88] The
Internet in Thailand also consists of 10
Gbit/s high speed fiber-optic lines that can be leased and ISPs such as KIRZ that provide residential Internet services.
[citation needed]
The Internet is
censored by the Thai government, making some sites unreachable. Organisations responsible are the
Royal Thai Police, the
Communications Authority of Thailand, and the
Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (
MICT).
[citation needed]
Energy
There are no nuclear power plants in Thailand, although the
development of one may occur in 2026. Presently, 80% of the country's
total energy comes from
fossil fuels.
[89]
Economy
Bangkok, the largest city, business and industrial centre of the country.
Graphical depiction of Thailand's product exports in 28 color-coded categories.
Thailand generally uses the
metric system,
but traditional units of measurement for land area are used, and
imperial units of measurement are occasionally used for building
materials, such as wood and plumbing sizes. Years are numbered as B.E. (
Buddhist Era) in educational settings, the civil service, government, and on contracts and newspaper
datelines;
however, in banking, and increasingly in industry and commerce,
standard Western year (Christian or Common Era) counting is the standard
practice.
[90]
Thailand is an
emerging economy and is considered a
newly industrialized country.
After experiencing the world's highest growth rate from 1985 to 1996 —
averaging 12.4% annually — increased pressure on Thailand's currency,
the
baht,
in 1997, the year in which the economy contracted by 1.9%, led to a
crisis that uncovered financial sector weaknesses and forced the
Chavalit Yongchaiyudh
administration to float the currency. However, Prime Minister Chavalit
Yongchaiyudh was forced to resign after his cabinet came under fire for
its slow response to the crisis. The baht was pegged at 25 to the US
dollar from 1978 to 1997; however, the baht reached its lowest point of
56 to the US dollar in January 1998 and the economy contracted by 10.8%
that year, triggering the
Asian financial crisis.
Thailand's economy started to recover in 1999, expanding 4.2% and
4.4% in 2000, thanks largely to strong exports. Growth (2.2%) was
dampened by the softening of the global economy in 2001, but picked up
in the subsequent years owing to strong growth in Asia, a relatively
weak baht encouraging exports and increasing domestic spending as a
result of several mega projects and incentives of Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra, known as
Thaksinomics.
Growth in 2002, 2003 and 2004 was 5–7% annually. Growth in 2005, 2006
and 2007 hovered around 4–5%. Due both to the weakening of the US dollar
and an increasingly strong Thai currency, by March 2008, the dollar was
hovering around the 33 baht mark. While Thaksinomics has received
criticism, official economic data reveals that between 2001 and 2011,
Isaan's GDP per capita more than doubled to US$1,475, while, over the
same period, GDP in the Bangkok area increased from US$7,900 to nearly
US$13,000.
[91]
Thailand exports an increasing value of over $105 billion worth of goods and services annually.
[1] Major exports include
Thai rice,
textiles and footwear, fishery products, rubber, jewellery, cars,
computers and electrical appliances. Rice is the most important crop in
the country and Thailand had long been the world's no.1 exporter of
rice, until recently falling behind both India and Vietnam.
[92] Thailand has the highest percentage of arable land, 27.25%, of any nation in the
Greater Mekong Subregion.
[93] About 55% of the arable land area is used for rice production.
[94]
Substantial industries include electric appliances, components, computer parts and cars, while
tourism in Thailand makes up about 6% of the economy.
Prostitution in Thailand
and sex tourism also form a de facto part of the economy. Cultural
milieu combined with poverty and the lure of money have caused
prostitution and sex tourism in particular to flourish in Thailand. One
estimate published in 2003 placed the trade at US$4.3 billion per year
or about 3% of the Thai economy.
[95] According to research by
Chulalongkorn University on the Thai illegal economy, prostitution in Thailand in the period between 1993 and 1995, made up around 2.7% of the GDP.
[96] It is believed that
at least 10% of tourist dollars are spent on the sex trade.
[97]
The economy of Thailand is an emerging economy which is heavily
export-dependent, with exports accounting for more than two-thirds of
gross domestic product (GDP) The exchange rate was THB30.90 = US$1 as of
26 April 2012.
[98]
Thailand has a GDP worth US$602 billion (on a purchasing power parity
(PPP) basis). This classifies Thailand as the 2nd largest economy in
Southeast Asia, after Indonesia. Despite this, Thailand ranks midway in
the wealth spread in Southeast Asia as it is the 4th richest nation
according to GDP per capita, after Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia.
It functions as an anchor economy for the neighboring developing
economies of Laos, Burma, and Cambodia. Thailand's recovery from the
1997–1998 Asian financial crisis depended mainly on exports, among
various other factors. Thailand ranks high among the world's automotive
export industries along with manufacturing of electronic goods.
Between 1997 and 2010, 4,306
mergers & acquisitions with a total known value of US$81 billion with the involvement of Thai firms were announced.
[99]
The year 2010 was a new record in terms of value with US$12 billion of
transactions. The largest transaction with involvement of Thai companies
has been: PTT Chemical PCL merged with PTT Aromatics and Refining PCL
valued at US$3.8 billion in 2011.
[100]
Forty-nine per cent of Thailand's labor force is employed in
agriculture, however this is less than the 70% employed in 1980.
[101]
Agriculture has been experiencing a transition from labour-intensive
and transitional methods into a more industrialised and competitive
sector.
[101]
Between 1962 and 1983, the agricultural sector grew by 4.1% per year on
average and continued to grow at 2.2% between 1983 and 2007.
[101]
However, the relative contribution of agriculture to GDP has declined
while exports of goods and services have increased. As of December 2011,
the unemployment rate in Thailand stood at 0.4%.
With the instability surrounding the major 2010 protests, the GDP
growth of Thailand settled at around 4–5%, from highs of 5–7% under the
previous civilian administration. Political uncertainty was identified
as the primary cause of a decline in investor and consumer confidence.
The IMF predicted that the Thai economy would rebound strongly from the
low 0.1% GDP growth in 2011, to 5.5% in 2012 and then 7.5% in 2013, due
to the accommodative monetary policy of the Bank of Thailand, as well as
a package of fiscal stimulus measures introduced by the incumbent
Yingluck Shinawatra government.
[102]
Following the Thai military coup on 22 May 2014, the AFP global news
agency published an article that claimed that the nation was on the
"verge of recession". The article focused on the departure of nearly
180,000 Cambodians from Thailand due to fears of an immigration
"clampdown", but concludes with information on the Thai economy's
contraction of 2.1% quarter-on-quarter, from January to the end of March
2014.
[103]
Demographics
Ethnic Thais make up the majority of Thailand's population, 95.9% in 2010. This number includes
Thai Chinese,
a historically and economically important minority. The remaining 4.1%
of the population are Burmese (2.0%), others 1.3%, and unspecified 0.9%.
[1]
Thailand is home to a large expatriate community of around 200,000 foreigners, mostly from Europe and North America.
[104]
Increasing numbers of migrants from neighboring Burma, Laos, and
Cambodia, as well as from Nepal and India, have pushed the total number
of non-national residents to around 3.5 million as of 2009, up from an
estimated 2 million in 2008, and about 1.3 million in the year 2000.
[105] The growing number of both legal and undocumented migrants has raised awareness regarding the treatment of minorities.
Thailand's population is largely rural, concentrated in the
rice-growing areas of the central, northeastern, and northern regions.
Its urban population is only around 45.7% as of 2010, concentrated
mostly in and around the
Bangkok Metropolitan Area.
The country's successful government-sponsored family planning program
has resulted in a dramatic decline in population growth from 3.1% in
1960 to around 0.4% today. In 1970, an average of 5.7 persons lived in a
Thai household. At the time of the 2010 census, the figure was down to
3.2 persons.
|
Largest Municipalities of Thailand
See template
|
|
Rank |
Name |
Province |
Pop. |
Rank |
Name |
Province |
Pop. |
|
Bangkok
Nonthaburi |
1 |
Bangkok |
Krung Thep Maha Nakhon |
5,658,953
(2005)[106] |
11 |
Pattaya |
Chonburi |
104,318
(2007)[107] |
Pak Kret
Hat Yai |
| 2 |
Nonthaburi |
Nonthaburi |
260,555
(2011)[108] |
12 |
Nakhon Sawan |
Nakhon Sawan |
90,412 |
| 3 |
Pak Kret |
Nonthaburi |
168,763
(2008)[109] |
13 |
Ubon Ratchathani |
Ubon Ratchathani |
84,509 |
| 4 |
Hat Yai |
Songkhla |
157,682
(2008)[110] |
14 |
Nakhon Pathom |
Nakhon Pathom |
83,007 |
| 5 |
Nakhon Ratchasima |
Nakhon Ratchasima |
135,357
(2013)[111] |
15 |
Phitsanulok |
Phitsanulok |
79,535 |
| 6 |
Chiang Mai |
Chiang Mai |
141,361
(2011)[112] |
16 |
Phuket |
Phuket |
74,218 |
| 7 |
Udon Thani |
Udon Thani |
141,953
(2010)[113] |
17 |
Songkhla |
Songkhla |
73,170 |
| 8 |
Surat Thani |
Surat Thani |
127,496
(2008)[114] |
18 |
Chiang Rai |
Chiang Rai |
67,176 |
| 9 |
Khon Kaen |
Khon Kaen |
113,754 |
19 |
Laem Chabang |
Chonburi |
64,607 |
| 10 |
Nakhon Si Thammarat |
Nakhon Si Thammarat |
109,353 |
20 |
Yala |
Yala |
62,896 |
Language
The official language of Thailand is
Thai, a
Tai–Kadai language closely related to
Lao,
Shan in Burma, and numerous smaller languages spoken in an arc from
Hainan and
Yunnan
south to the Chinese border. It is the principal language of education
and government and spoken throughout the country. The standard is based
on the dialect of the central Thai people, and it is written in the
Thai alphabet, an
abugida script that evolved from the
Khmer script. Several other dialects exist, and coincide with the regional designations.
Southern Thai is spoken in the southern provinces, and
Northern Thai is spoken in the provinces that were formerly part of the independent kingdom of
Lannathai.
Thailand is also host to several other minority languages, the largest of which is the
Lao dialect of
Isan
spoken in the northeastern provinces. Although sometimes considered a
Thai dialect, it is a Lao dialect, and the region in where it is
traditionally spoken was historically part of the Lao kingdom of
Lan Xang. In the far south,
Yawi, a dialect of Malay, is the primary language of the Malay Muslims. Varieties of Chinese are also spoken by the large
Chinese population, with
Teochew being best represented.
Numerous tribal languages are also spoken, including those belonging to the
Mon–Khmer family, such as
Mon,
Khmer,
Viet,
Mlabri and
Orang Asli;
Austronesian family, such as
Cham and Moken;
Sino-Tibetan family such as Lawa,
Akhan, and
Karen; and other
Tai languages such as
Nyaw,
Phu Thai, and
Saek.
Hmong is a member of the
Hmong–Mien languages, which is now regarded as a language family of its own.
English is a mandatory school subject, but the number of fluent speakers remains very low, especially outside cities.
Religion
Thailand's prevalent religion is
Theravada Buddhism,
which is an integral part of Thai identity and culture. Active
participation in Buddhism is among the highest in the world; according
to the last census (2000), 94.6% of the country's population
self-identified as Buddhists of the Theravada tradition.
Muslims are the second largest religious group in Thailand, comprising 4.6% of the population.
[1][116] Islam is concentrated mostly in the country's southernmost provinces:
Pattani,
Yala,
Satun,
Narathiwat and part of
Songkhla Chumphon, which are predominantly
Malay, most of whom are
Sunni Muslims. Christians represent 0.7% of the population, with the remaining population consisting of
Sikhs and
Hindus, who live mostly in the country's cities. There is also a small but historically significant
Jewish community in Thailand dating back to the 17th century.
Culture
Thai culture has been shaped by many influences, including Indian, Lao, Burmese, Cambodian, and Chinese.
Its traditions incorporate a great deal of influence from India,
China, Cambodia, and the rest of Southeast Asia. Thailand's national
religion, Theravada Buddhism, is central to modern Thai identity.
Thai Buddhism has evolved over time to include many regional beliefs originating from
Hinduism,
animism, as well as ancestor worship. The
official calendar in Thailand is based on the Eastern version of the
Buddhist Era (BE), which is 543 years ahead of the
Gregorian (Western) calendar. Thus the year 2014 is 2557 BE in Thailand.
Several different ethnic groups, many of which are marginalized, populate Thailand. Some of these groups spill over into
Burma, Laos,
Cambodia, and
Malaysia and have mediated change between their traditional local culture, national Thai, and global cultural influences.
Overseas Chinese
also form a significant part of Thai society, particularly in and
around Bangkok. Their successful integration into Thai society has
allowed for this group to hold positions of economic and political
power. Thai Chinese businesses prosper as part of the larger
bamboo network, a network of
overseas Chinese businesses operating in the markets of Southeast Asia that share common family and cultural ties.
[117]
Khon Show is the most stylised form of Thai performance.
The traditional Thai greeting, the
wai,
is generally offered first by the younger of the two people meeting,
with their hands pressed together, fingertips pointing upwards as the
head is bowed to touch face to fingertips, usually coinciding with the
spoken word "sawasdee khrap" for male speakers, and "sawasdee ka" for
females. The elder may then respond in the same way. Social status and
position, such as in government, will also have an influence on who
performs the
wai first. For example, although one may be
considerably older than a provincial governor, when meeting it is
usually the visitor who pays respect first. When children leave to go to
school, they are taught to
wai their parents to indicate their respect. The wai is a sign of respect and reverence for another, similar to the
namaste greeting of India and Nepal.
As with other Asian cultures, respect towards ancestors is an
essential part of Thai spiritual practice. Thais have a strong sense of
hospitality and generosity, but also a strong sense of social hierarchy.
Seniority is paramount in Thai culture. Elders have by tradition ruled
in family decisions or ceremonies. Older siblings have duties to younger
ones.
Taboos in Thailand include touching someone's head or pointing with
the feet, as the head is considered the most sacred and the foot the
lowest part of the body.
Thai cuisine
blends five fundamental tastes: sweet, spicy, sour, bitter, and salty.
Some common ingredients used in Thai cuisine include garlic, chillies,
lime juice, lemon grass, and fish sauce. The staple food in Thailand is
rice, particularly
jasmine variety rice
(also known as "hom mali" rice) which is included at almost every meal.
Thailand was long the world's largest exporter of rice, and Thais
domestically consume over 100 kg of milled rice per person per year.
[94] Over 5,000 varieties of rice from Thailand are preserved in the rice gene bank of the
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), based in the Philippines. The king of Thailand is the official patron of IRRI.
[118]
Thai society has been influenced in recent years by its widely
available multi-language press and media. There are some English and
numerous Thai and Chinese newspapers in circulation. Most Thai popular
magazines use English headlines as a
chic glamour factor. Many large businesses in Bangkok operate in English as well as other languages.
Thailand is the largest newspaper market in Southeast Asia with an
estimated circulation of over 13 million copies daily in 2003. Even
upcountry, out of Bangkok, the media flourish. For example, according to
Thailand's Public Relations Department Media Directory 2003–2004, the
nineteen provinces of
Isan, Thailand's northeastern region, hosted 116 newspapers along with radio, TV, and cable.
Sports
Muay Thai (Thai: มวยไทย, RTGS: Muai Thai,
[muɛj tʰɑj],
lit. "Thai boxing") is a native form of kickboxing and Thailand's
national sport. It incorporates kicks, punches, knees and elbow strikes
in a ring with gloves similar to those used in Western boxing and this
has led to Thailand gaining medals at the Olympic Games in
boxing.
Football has possibly overtaken muay Thai as the most widely followed
sport in contemporary Thai society. It is not uncommon to see Thais
cheering their favourite English Premier League teams on television and
walking around in replica kit. Another widely enjoyed pastime, and once a
competitive sport, is
kite flying.
Takraw
(Thai: ตะกร้อ) is a sport native to Thailand, which the players hit a
rattan ball and only be allowed to use their feet, knees, chest and head
to touch the ball.
Sepak takraw
is a form of this sport which appears in volleyball style, the players
must volley a ball over a net and force it to hit the ground on
opponent's side. It is a popular in other countries in Southeast Asia
also. A rather similar game but played only with the feet is
Buka ball.
Rugby is also a growing sport in Thailand with the
Thailand national rugby union team rising to be ranked 61st in the world.
[119] Thailand became the first country in the world to host an international 80 kg welterweight rugby tournament in 2005.
[120] The national domestic Thailand Rugby Union (TRU) competition includes several universities and services teams such as
Chulalongkorn University,
Mahasarakham University,
Kasetsart University,
Prince of Songkla University,
Thammasat University,
Rangsit University, the
Thai Police, the
Thai Army, the
Thai Navy and the
Royal Thai Air Force. Local sports clubs which also compete in the TRU include the British Club of Bangkok, the
Southerners Sports Club (Bangkok) and the Royal Bangkok Sports Club.
Thailand has been called the Golf Capital of Asia
[121]
as it is a popular destination for golf. The country attracts a large
number of golfers from Japan, Korea, Singapore, South Africa, and
Western countries who come to play golf in Thailand every year.
[122]
The growing popularity of golf, especially among the middle classes and
expats, is evident as there are more than 200 world-class golf courses
nationwide,
[123] and some of them are chosen to host PGA and LPGA tournaments, such as
Amata Spring Country Club, Alpine Golf & Sports Club, Thai Country Club, and Black Mountain Golf Club.
Basketball is a growing sport in Thailand, especially on the
professional sports club level. The Chang Thailand Slammers won the 2011
ASEAN Basketball League Championship.
[124] The
Thailand national basketball team had its most successful year at the
1966 Asian Games where it won the silver medal.
[125]
Other sports in Thailand are slowly growing as the country develops its sporting infrastructure. The success in sports like
weightlifting and
taekwondo at the last two summer Olympic Games has demonstrated that boxing is no longer the only medal option for Thailand.
Sporting venues
Thammasat Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Bangkok. It is
currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 25,000. It
is on Thammasat University's Rangsit campus. It was built for the
1998 Asian Games by construction firm Christiani and Nielsen, the same company that constructed the Democracy Monument in Bangkok.
Rajamangala National Stadium
is the biggest sporting arena in Thailand. It currently has a capacity
of 65,000. It is in Bang Kapi, Bangkok. The stadium was built in 1998
for the 1998 Asian Games and is the home stadium of the
Thailand national football team.
The well-known Lumpini Boxing Stadium will host its final Muay Thai
boxing matches on 7 February 2014 after the venue first opened in
December 1956. Managed by the Royal Thai Army, the stadium was
officially selected for the purpose of muay Thai bouts following a
competition that was staged on on 15 March 1956. From 11 February 2014,
the stadium will relocate to Ram Intra Road, due to the new venue's
capacity to accommodate audiences of up to 3,500. Foreigners typically
pay between 1,000–2,000 baht to view a match, with prices depending on
the location of the seating.
[126]
International rankings
