THAILAND: Blogs Cultivate Space for Debate
| Posted: 2008-08-11 |
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By Lynette Lee Corporal BANGKOK, Aug 11 (Asia Media Forum) - While the noise about cyber censorship seems to have died down, Thai blog sites continue to be a cacophony of impassioned, differing opinions about current issues in the country. With the recent launch of the Green Bangkok Wi-Fi, a city-wide free Internet access, Thai bloggers have all the more reason to rant and rave about various topics, from fashion trends and celebrity scandals to more controversial issues in politics and rising gas prices. "Economic issues including employment opportunities, gasoline prices, rising costs of living, and the looming economic recession seem to be high priority topics (among Thai bloggers)," said independent researcher and academic of international communication and mass communication Palphol Rodloytuk. Other favorite blog topics, according to Palphol, are the regular People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) rallies against former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and the uncertain political longevity of the Samak Suntoravej-led government, widely perceived to be an extension of Thaksin’s political presence. Recently hogging the headlines in the Thai blog world is the battle over the Preah Vihear temple, a Cambodian World Heritage site at the border with Thailand that is at the heart of a border dispute – and recent troop build-ups by Cambodia and Thailand. While troops of both sides prepared for any 'encounter' due to the temple controversy, a couple of bloggers from the two countries kept their cool. Citing Khmer blogger Tharum Bun's article on Preah Vihear (http://globalvoicesonline.org/author/tharum/) as "worthy of discussion", Thai blogger Isriya Paireepairit (http://www.isriya.com/node/2056/my-preah-vihear-blogs-on-global-voices) expressed his interest to hear the Cambodians' side on the emotional matter. "It's nearly impossible to understand the whole picture if you hear from only one side. Tharum's blog is recommended for all those Thais who are interested in the Preah Vihear incident," wrote Isriya in his eponymously titled blog site. His main point, he reiterated, is that "peace is far more important than (an) old, ruined temple". Meanwhile, in the blog 'Fringer: Bilingual Ruminations from the Fringe' (www.fringer.org), the blogger posted snippets of the heated debate between the pro-PAD and Thaksin supporters. The topic? Who is to blame for the Thailand-Cambodia standoff regarding Preah Vihear — Thaksin or the PAD. A male blogger in a Thai-language blog site (http://www.bloggang.com/mainblog.php?id=mybimbo&month=18-07-2008&group=1&gblog=7) who goes by the moniker BoBo@UEA implored PAD, which has using the temple row to criticise the Thai prime minister, to stop "creating disunity and discordance among Thais that will surely lead to war with our neighbouring country (Cambodia)". "This is an irrational patriotism and it is destroying our country," he added in the vernacular. The bilingual blogger also said in a Jun. 2 entry that he considered the September 2006 coup d'etat that ousted Thaksin a "complete failure". He pointed out, "The coup d'etat (didn’t) make anything better," saying however that he was not taking sides. Many Thai-language blogs are also tackling something very close to home — the rising oil prices. "Each time I drive into a gas station, it's as if I'm learning how to count numbers... that never go down," rued a certain Paepae in a Jul. 6, 2008 entry entitled 'Oil Price and My Life' (http://paepae.exteen.com/20080706/entry). According to research done by Microsoft in early 2007, 8.4 million Thais are "currently on board the new information superhighway". Twenty-one percent of online users, it said, are blogging accounts. The study further showed that popular social networking site Windows Live Spaces has an estimated 1.7 million active blogs by Thai users. This does not include other social networking sites as Friendster, My Space or Multiply, to name a few. Fifty-nine percent of those who access the Internet daily are youth aged between 20 to 24 years old, followed by 57 percent made up of 15 to 19-year-old netizens. "If perceived in light of providing public sphere for citizenry, Thai bloggers are playing an increasingly important role as a new media channel, as opposed to traditional media, for interaction and interactivity among young Thais," Palphol said in an interview. He added that because of the ease of access to this type of media, young Thais are less hesitant to gravitate towards bloggers to lodge their views and concerns on certain issues. "It would take a formal research, however, before more conclusion can be drawn as to whether they are more outspoken or politically engaged than previously," he said. The same Microsoft study noted that only 20 percent of Thai Internet users go to the Internet to check out current events. The biggest chunk, 54 percent, still access the Net for entertainment purposes, and 41 percent use it to keep in touch with friends and family. Palphol observes that some online discussions are "fleeting by its very nature", while other forms do make a deep impact on the public. But all these discussions, he said, are useless if not translated into real action for change. "Thais always ask for and expect more passionate social and political engagement from the young generation when the country is faced with social and political crises," he said. But, he added, social and political analysts have noted the lack of "continued and engaged dialogue and public debates about such issues among the young", which almost always results in their dormant social and political engagement. "I’m concerned that many young Thais will turn into new media technological buffs and technophiliacs, but without bothering much with using these technologies as tools for empowering themselves socially and politically to be more informed citizens in a democratic society," Palphol stressed. |
