Bangkok (Lonely Planet) - Andrew Burke [39]
Thai press freedom reached its high-water mark in the mid-1990s, while Chuan Leekpai’s Democrat Party was in power. Following the ascension of Thaksin Shinawatra’s Thai Rak Thai Party in 2001, Thailand’s domestic media found itself increasingly subject to interference by political and financial interests. The country’s international reputation for press freedom took a serious blow in 2002 when two Western journalists were nearly expelled for reporting on a public address presented by the Thai king on his birthday, a portion of which was highly critical of Prime Minister Thaksin. In 2004 Veera Prateepchaikul, editor-in-chief of the Bangkok Post, lost his job due to direct pressure from board members with ties to Thaksin and Thai Rak Thai. Allegedly the latter were upset with Post criticism of the way in which the PM handled the 2003–04 bird flu crisis.
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THE INSIDE SCOOP
Several Bangkok residents, both local and foreign, have taken their experiences to the ‘small screen’ and maintain blogs and websites about living in Bangkok. The following are some of the more informative, entertaining or just weird:
2Bangkok (www.2bangkok.com) News sleuth and history buff follows the city headlines from today and yesterday.
Absolutely Bangkok (www.absolutelybangkok.com) Bangkok news, views and links to several other good blogs and sites.
Austin Bush Food Blog (www.austinbushphotography.com/category/foodblog) Written by the author of this chapter, the blog focuses on food culture and eating in Bangkok and elsewhere.
Bangkok Jungle (www.bangkokjungle.com) A blog on the city’s live-music scene.
Bangkok Pundit (www.asiancorrespondent.com/bangkok-pundit-blog) The inside scoop on domestic Thai politics.
Newley Purnell (www.newley.com) This Bangkok-based American freelance writer comments on everything from local politics to his profound love for pàt grà·prow.
Gnarly Kitty (www.gnarlykitty.blogspot.org) Written by a female native of Bangkok, a place where ‘there are always things worth ranting about.’
Not The Nation (http://notthenation.com) Thailand’s answer to The Onion.
Stickman (www.stickmanbangkok.com) Formerly associated with naughty Bangkok nightlife, the ‘new’ Stickman is a more general blog about life, work and love in Bangkok.
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Observers agree that by 2005 Thai press freedom had reached its lowest ebb since the 1970s era of Thai military dictatorship. However, as popular opinion turned against Thaksin in late 2005 and early 2006, virtually all media (save for military-run TV channel 11) shook off the cloak of self-censorship and joined the public clamour that eventually resulted in Thaksin’s deposition from power.
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TIMELINE
1548–68 Thonburi Si Mahasamut, at the time little more than a Chinese trading post on the right bank of Mae Nam Chao Phraya, is founded.
1768 King Taksin the Great moves the Thai capital from Ayuthaya to Thonburi Si Mahasamut, a location he regarded as beneficial for both trade and defence.
1779 After a brutal war of territorial expansion, the Emerald Buddha, Thailand’s most sacred Buddha image, is brought to Bangkok from Laos, along with hundreds of Lao slaves.
1782 Rama I re-establishes the Siamese court across the river from Thonburi, resulting in the creation of both the current Thai capital and the Chakri dynasty.
1785 The majority of the construction of Ko Ratanakosin, Bangkok’s royal district, including famous landmarks such as the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew, is finished.
1821 A boatload of opium marks the visit of the first Western trader to Bangkok; the trade of this substance is eventually banned nearly 20 years later.
1851 Rama IV, the fourth king of the Chakri dynasty, comes to power, courts relations with the West and encourages the study of modern science in Thailand.
1855 Bangkok, now Siam’s major trading centre, begins to feel pressure from colonial influences; Rama IV signs the Bowring Treaty,