All the pictures save the last… from the recent past… are of the death, destruction, and depredation brought on by the invasion of global capital.
All that’ll be left of Burma and Lao will soon be a few pictures like that last one. Once there was a lush, green, heavenly spot… once there was a lush, green, heavenly planet… destroyed now completely by capitalist greed, and the people… even the damn greedy fool capitalist themselves… destroyed as well. All of us… living lives not worth living.
Tarrin —
I do agree with you and I certainly won’t pretend to know what if anything the monarchy may do in secret. But those two articles do need to be either removed or dramatically changed so that politicians, military and government officials can not trot them out to silence and oppress others.
Fortunately the Internet has allowed many to continue to share and express ideas and opinions, though Thailand’s ICT has tried to restrict or block access to over 2,800 different sites, Fortunately Netizens always find a way to share. This site is an example.
“The government of Malaysia led by UMNO by Prime Minister Najib Razak is ruling the country with pure racism and violation of basic human rights such as freedom of religion, speech, right to assembly, equality and equal opportunities denied to the Indian poor. To give him the privilege to address the Australian Parliament will contaminate the sanctity of a respectable institution.”
An extract from P. Uthayakumar’s letter to Senator Michael Forshaw, Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.
“But formidable obstacles block Najib. Most significant is the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) reliance on such an affirmative action political and social contract between the party and Malay elites to remain in power.”
Appreciate if you could elaborate on how you came to the conclusion that Najib will make a better PM than Anwar.
Using the same evaluation, could you advice us, if it were not between Anwar and Najib, who among the current members of parliament, would be a good PM for Malaysia.
Thanks – interesting analysis. Yes, the Chinese are progressive strategist; the speed at which they have been Heading South (an ambitious plan deeply rooted in their psychological mindset) is as fast as their HSR. Apart from (the political elite of) Indonesia, most Southeast Asians have yet to realise that in a near future it is the Chinese industrialists, not their governments, who will take a major role in transforming their habitat and livelihood. I would not be surprised to see their key industrial regions in the “mainland” moving in a direction of hi-skilled service oriented businesses whilst their agro-led exports shifting to be firmly based in Suwannabhum (i.e. the old nan-hai of their dreamy past.) I’m a bit more optimistic than the author of this article nevertheless.
Like it or not, the Chinese will be here to stay for a long long time; Southeast Asians should get themselves well prepared. Observing from a policy point of view, what the Chinese leaders are pursuing is what I call Vision. Sorry Thai leaders, just by subsidising the prices of commodities or to keep individual income stable is not policy; it’s simply called “the basic job of government” in which you gents should be doing anyway. Thai leaders use the word Vision a lot, but I have never met one who understands what it truly means.
Actually the election response was meant to be for jeff but anyway. I agreed with you in most of the point, but only couple of things that I see differently. First, I still believe the monarch and its network still have a significant influence in Thailand internal affair. Much of its assets are not able to be review by public, most of the “royal” activities are still pretty much been kept a secret, the constitution article 8 and criminal law article 112 are still being use in full effect. Under this condition it is impossible to achieve the democratic society were free speech and freedom of expression and new ideas are encouraged and not punished, a county where economic opportunity and the rule of law is applied to all citizens equally and fairly, a society where even our elected officials are not above the law.
Furthermore to add to your quote, it is not the elected officials that are above the law, it is the unelected one that is above the law.
…for tech support and you find your call routed to India. Perhaps it has to do with the 11 different ‘regimes’ and 17 different constitutions here…
More likely it has to do with the English language playing such a large part in Indian life compared to Thailand. The move of these services to India predates the recent problems here.
I agree with most of the points raised from both sides here, pro-BN/PR. In a nutshell, I think BN Government has improved alot compared to pre-2008GE notably the efforts in driving the economy and engaging the public, but has a lot more to improve in terms of justice, etc. Nonetheless, they have made some progress here and there. For PR…I only like DAP.
In terms of competency/ability as a PM, I think Najib is better than Anwar. Can’t comment on moral though…
Lastly, I agree with Marc that we all need to commend the positive and criticise the negative, based on evidence ofcourse, in order to have a fruitful discussion.
Tarrin —
You are absolutely right. I’m not saying a new election will help, in fact it may divide the country even more if it doesn’t turn out the way certain factions want or was perceived to be unfair or rigged. A new election may do nothing to curb corruption at all, in fact who’s to say that some of the Red Shirt leaders aren’t just as corrupt. Unfortunately no one knows at this time.
I can tell you though from some one who spent two months at the rally right till the end, that I was stunned when in the evening of the 12th of May the leadership at that time stood on stage and rejected the governments conciliation’s, after all they had conceded to everything they had been asking for. Then they said they would only end the rally if they would be “guaranteed” bail after their arrests. I knew in that moment it would only end badly and in bloodshed. I know that I felt betrayed by the leaders of the movement who in my opinion were not looking out for the core membership but had some other agenda in mind, what though only they can tell you.
The other sad thing is that the credibility and support from the international community the Red Shirts had worked so hard to gain was mostly destroyed by the violence and destruction that followed the ending of the rally on the 19th (and I can assure that though much of the destruction was done by a small percentage of the Red Shirts, much of the looting and destruction on the northern end by Big C WAS NOT Red Shirt related.
Unfortunately there is no easy answer. But I do know that we must peacefully continue to strive for an open, democratic society were free speech and freedom of expression and new ideas are encouraged and not punished, a county where economic opportunity and the rule of law is applied to all citizens equally and fairly, a society where even our elected officials are not above the law.
On the question of the Opposition Pakatan Rakyat convincing the voters in East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak to vote for change, which according to R.P.K. is tough, because the Governments of those two states are under Barisan control, i.e. UMNO supporting all the corruption going on there, meaning distributing contracts to cronies and providing developments, minor to the longhouses and mega to urban areas, it would seem that the money and greed culture of the Sabahans and Sarawakians, will never be extinguished, more so, if the developed countries keep buying illegally or ‘legally’ logged timbers, and oil especially from Sarawak. What the Opposition should consider is to provoke and encourage independence for Sabah and Sarawak from Malaysia. The majority natives and pendatangs of Sabah and Sarawak do not need the minority so called Malays to rule them. Once Sabah and Sarawak are out of Malaysia, the Opposition with only Peninsular Malaysia states will have enough seats to run the Federal Government.
Give them independence and Sabah and Sarawak will be forever grateful to Peninsular Malaysia. They will be sovereign countries and can run their own affairs, and should be with ASEAN grouping.
To Norman Lewis. I agree that far too much has been made of the distinction between land-locked and land-linked. Laos could well become the road to somewhere else, with Lao simply sitting and picking up the toll-transit charges. But, on the other hand, Laos could become a much more integrated part of ASEAN, with benefits all round. Far from fearing the effect of rail and road links across Laos, these should perhaps be welcomed as a century or two overdue. Had Laos been colonised by the Brits, there might already be a rail network long in place — but it would have been built by migrant Chinese workers for sure. I think what we are witnessing in Laos is simply a rather rapid and long overdue catching-up with what surrounding countries have long had. When Laos is on an equal infrastructural footing with its neighbours, and when ASEAN and ASEAN++ is more developed economically and politically, it should benefit all participants. But, of course, there will always be dominant countries in any bloc. That’s the way of the world. Expand and join or wither and die (or both?).
Where do you think the “influence” came from? maybe you should give it a thought about it.
Jeff – 45
That might be the Red in the Land’s argument but hardly the point that I agree with. If what you said is true “There whole argument is this government came to power through the corruption and melding of the military and it has no legitimacy, and should be dissolved and new elections held.” How is the new election going to get rid of the elite’s corruption? How will another election going to make sure the hidden hand doesn’t reach into the parliament decision again?
john francis lee — 43
OK you see foreign investment as a bad idea, what would you suggest? Though Thailand’s exports in Textiles and footwear, Fishery products, Rice, and Automobiles and a few other items in 2009 were worth 150 billion which has been great for a few fortunate (and don’t forget the automobile export business is funded by foreign investment, mostly Japan ad US) it has not been working for 75% of Thailand’s population many of which live on less 72,000 baht (2,362.18 USD) per year.
“Thailand’s labor force was estimated at 36.9 million. About 49% employed in agriculture, 37% in tourism and services, and 14% in industry. Women constitute aprox. 48 percent of the labor force and hold an increasing share of professional jobs.
Bangkok is one of the most prosperous parts of Thailand, and heavily dominates the national economy, with the northeast being the poorest.
Although little economic investment reaches other parts of the country except for tourist zones, the government has been successful in stimulating provincial economic growth in the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand, and the Chiang Mai area. Despite much talk of other regional developments, these 3 regions and other tourist zones still dominate the national economy.
Although the economy has demonstrated moderate positive growth since 1999, future performance depends on continued reform of the financial sector, corporate debt restructuring, attracting foreign investment, and increasing exports.”
I’m open for ideas, other than criticizing mine what are yours?
Ralph Kramden — 42
Please let me clarify, I’m not saying that socio-economic programs not be enacted, on the contrary they must be for there has been and alway will be less fortunate that need help and indeed it is a societies responsibility to assist. But a social welfare system without economic reform that allows the bulk of society to earn a living and contribute back to the economy through some form or other, (in the US it is taxes) is not and could not be sustained as there would always be more money going out than coming in (that in itself is not unusual of a government entity). Economic programs to help people get a hand up are definitely needed especially amid the turmoil but they should be looked at as a short term, the long term goals must be economic and democratic reform. And for the other I didn’t say that it wasn’t easy to do business here, in fact (the friendlier (generous) you are with military and government officials it gets even easier. I’m simply stating that international companies are not flocking to Thailand as they are India and Taiwan. Many many companies in the tech industry are setting up shop in India, they come in build call centers and factories, train the staff, teach them English etc… When in my opinion Thailand has so much more to offer. Don’t believe me, just call Dell, HP, or Gateway for tech support and you find your call routed to India. Perhaps it has to do with the 11 different ‘regimes’ and 17 different constitutions here, after all nothing shakes investors confidence like the inability to predict the future of the government in the country in which they want to do business.
Re: neptunian, you seriously mischaracterized my point, I am delighted with development, but it should be transparent, and the benefits should be accessible to the residents. The best way to ensure transparency is to allow international visitors to observe and report; chasing them out of town is not an exercise in post-colonial sovereignty, it is a signal, time to draw the blinds before you beat your wife.
This notions of corruption involved here reflect a very western/economics /values assumption that the system is being violated and that this is somehow aberrant.
Jeffrey Race’s examination of two cases here http://pws.prserv.net/studies/twocases.htm seems to provide a better working model of a working model. He argues the system is not broken, rather it is the system functioning as it is expected to function. The practice of gin meuang (eating the town/land) or living off an appointment (Confucian) has had a long tenure.
I have read the original article a number of times now and fail to see how, ultimately, the author can claim to have weakened the argument that Chinese extra-territoriality in Laos – in one form or another – is fast becoming a grim reality.
Whilst his account of a canny provincial manipulation of the Chinese rubber companies’ land-grabbing ambitions ( in the service of enhancing politburo policy of the corralling and quasi-internment of ethnic minority tribes of questionable loyalty) is interesting in a tangential sense – it remains just that.
That the rubber barons are there in the first place and – intentionally or incidentally – are the incipient vanguard of
Chinese economic imperialism is more to to the point.
What the article does serve to highlight, however, is how readily a formerly self-sufficient agrarian society is allowing itself to be transformed into an economically dependent and consumerist one with a consequent cultural and spiritual degradation.
To claim that – in the trade off – there will be future developmental and societal benefits to the Lao people from this injection of Chinese capital seems – prima facie – hard to argue against. But if these benefits can only be achieved by turning Laos into a client state then its national sovereignty, in one way or another, will ultimately be compromised.
I don’t see how the effective annexation of north-west Laos can seriously be denied given the accelerating expansion and development of the Boten-Houei Sai corridor or, more to the point, the commencement of the Boten-Vientiane high-speed rail link.
Anyone who views the promotional video for the latter cannot be left in any doubt that in its scope and implications it is wholly and simply a grand design that will transform Laos forever.
In computer simulation, as we see the track rapidly and effortlessly unroll itself across numerous bridges and through lengthy mountain tunnels, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer monumental ambition and technical wizardry of the project.
However, beyond the flim flam, we should have cause to question not only the underlying motives which inform its construction but also the present and future consequences.
Will the rail link serve local interests? On the contrary, as several commentators have already pointed out, this link and others to Burma, Vietnam and Thailand will only – in the main – further China’s own economic and strategic interests and any crumbs that fall to the nations they traverse will be incidental at best. And, it must be noted, these countries will be seriously and chronically in hock to Chinese bankers for their proportionate share in funding these massive projects.
What the promotional video also doesn’t show is that the Boten-Vientiane rail link will have huge environmental and ecological consequences both during the construction phase and ongoing. Furthermore, foreign interests will lease/buy rural property adjacent to its path as well as in the numerous towns where the stations are to be built. Chinese workers and technicians will stay on to maintain and run the system. Their families will migrate along with them. The Lao will become increasingly proletarianised to service the new infrastructures. However, as in the West, they will have the sop of an increased ability to purchase mostly unnecessary consumer products to convince themselves that they are actually middle class instead.
Rather than moving from a landlocked country towards being a landlinked country, Laos will merely become a road to somewhere else. And, as its people watch the cargo trains whiz past them interspersed with the luxury passenger trains in which they will not be able to afford to travel, they may eventually – in virtue of improved educational standards – be able to seriously reflect on the notion of progress itself.
Facebook 
Twitter 
Soundcloud 
Youtube 
Rss
China and the Mekong region: Beyond the territorial trap
All the pictures save the last… from the recent past… are of the death, destruction, and depredation brought on by the invasion of global capital.
All that’ll be left of Burma and Lao will soon be a few pictures like that last one. Once there was a lush, green, heavenly spot… once there was a lush, green, heavenly planet… destroyed now completely by capitalist greed, and the people… even the damn greedy fool capitalist themselves… destroyed as well. All of us… living lives not worth living.
Where to now for the UDD?
Tarrin —
I do agree with you and I certainly won’t pretend to know what if anything the monarchy may do in secret. But those two articles do need to be either removed or dramatically changed so that politicians, military and government officials can not trot them out to silence and oppress others.
Fortunately the Internet has allowed many to continue to share and express ideas and opinions, though Thailand’s ICT has tried to restrict or block access to over 2,800 different sites, Fortunately Netizens always find a way to share. This site is an example.
Malaysian Indians: A sad story
“The government of Malaysia led by UMNO by Prime Minister Najib Razak is ruling the country with pure racism and violation of basic human rights such as freedom of religion, speech, right to assembly, equality and equal opportunities denied to the Indian poor. To give him the privilege to address the Australian Parliament will contaminate the sanctity of a respectable institution.”
An extract from P. Uthayakumar’s letter to Senator Michael Forshaw, Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade.
Can Malaysia trust Najib?
“But formidable obstacles block Najib. Most significant is the ruling United Malays National Organization (UMNO) reliance on such an affirmative action political and social contract between the party and Malay elites to remain in power.”
An extract from “Malaysia’s phony war on affirmative action“, by John Lee in Bloomberg Asia.
Najib to receive honorary degree from Monash
Hi JH #38,
Appreciate if you could elaborate on how you came to the conclusion that Najib will make a better PM than Anwar.
Using the same evaluation, could you advice us, if it were not between Anwar and Najib, who among the current members of parliament, would be a good PM for Malaysia.
Thanks
China and the Mekong region: Beyond the territorial trap
Thanks – interesting analysis. Yes, the Chinese are progressive strategist; the speed at which they have been Heading South (an ambitious plan deeply rooted in their psychological mindset) is as fast as their HSR. Apart from (the political elite of) Indonesia, most Southeast Asians have yet to realise that in a near future it is the Chinese industrialists, not their governments, who will take a major role in transforming their habitat and livelihood. I would not be surprised to see their key industrial regions in the “mainland” moving in a direction of hi-skilled service oriented businesses whilst their agro-led exports shifting to be firmly based in Suwannabhum (i.e. the old nan-hai of their dreamy past.) I’m a bit more optimistic than the author of this article nevertheless.
Like it or not, the Chinese will be here to stay for a long long time; Southeast Asians should get themselves well prepared. Observing from a policy point of view, what the Chinese leaders are pursuing is what I call Vision. Sorry Thai leaders, just by subsidising the prices of commodities or to keep individual income stable is not policy; it’s simply called “the basic job of government” in which you gents should be doing anyway. Thai leaders use the word Vision a lot, but I have never met one who understands what it truly means.
Where to now for the UDD?
Anthony – 48
Actually the election response was meant to be for jeff but anyway. I agreed with you in most of the point, but only couple of things that I see differently. First, I still believe the monarch and its network still have a significant influence in Thailand internal affair. Much of its assets are not able to be review by public, most of the “royal” activities are still pretty much been kept a secret, the constitution article 8 and criminal law article 112 are still being use in full effect. Under this condition it is impossible to achieve the democratic society were free speech and freedom of expression and new ideas are encouraged and not punished, a county where economic opportunity and the rule of law is applied to all citizens equally and fairly, a society where even our elected officials are not above the law.
Furthermore to add to your quote, it is not the elected officials that are above the law, it is the unelected one that is above the law.
Where to now for the UDD?
…for tech support and you find your call routed to India. Perhaps it has to do with the 11 different ‘regimes’ and 17 different constitutions here…
More likely it has to do with the English language playing such a large part in Indian life compared to Thailand. The move of these services to India predates the recent problems here.
Najib to receive honorary degree from Monash
Wow, i kinda like this discussion thread.
I agree with most of the points raised from both sides here, pro-BN/PR. In a nutshell, I think BN Government has improved alot compared to pre-2008GE notably the efforts in driving the economy and engaging the public, but has a lot more to improve in terms of justice, etc. Nonetheless, they have made some progress here and there. For PR…I only like DAP.
In terms of competency/ability as a PM, I think Najib is better than Anwar. Can’t comment on moral though…
Lastly, I agree with Marc that we all need to commend the positive and criticise the negative, based on evidence ofcourse, in order to have a fruitful discussion.
The internal frontier: Chinese extraterritoriality in northern Laos?
A thought provoking read, thanks.
I would like to see a similar analysis of Chinese and Thai investment in / ownership of Laos’ water resources.
Where to now for the UDD?
Tarrin —
You are absolutely right. I’m not saying a new election will help, in fact it may divide the country even more if it doesn’t turn out the way certain factions want or was perceived to be unfair or rigged. A new election may do nothing to curb corruption at all, in fact who’s to say that some of the Red Shirt leaders aren’t just as corrupt. Unfortunately no one knows at this time.
I can tell you though from some one who spent two months at the rally right till the end, that I was stunned when in the evening of the 12th of May the leadership at that time stood on stage and rejected the governments conciliation’s, after all they had conceded to everything they had been asking for. Then they said they would only end the rally if they would be “guaranteed” bail after their arrests. I knew in that moment it would only end badly and in bloodshed. I know that I felt betrayed by the leaders of the movement who in my opinion were not looking out for the core membership but had some other agenda in mind, what though only they can tell you.
The other sad thing is that the credibility and support from the international community the Red Shirts had worked so hard to gain was mostly destroyed by the violence and destruction that followed the ending of the rally on the 19th (and I can assure that though much of the destruction was done by a small percentage of the Red Shirts, much of the looting and destruction on the northern end by Big C WAS NOT Red Shirt related.
Unfortunately there is no easy answer. But I do know that we must peacefully continue to strive for an open, democratic society were free speech and freedom of expression and new ideas are encouraged and not punished, a county where economic opportunity and the rule of law is applied to all citizens equally and fairly, a society where even our elected officials are not above the law.
A blog activist’s tale: video of RPK in Canberra
On the question of the Opposition Pakatan Rakyat convincing the voters in East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak to vote for change, which according to R.P.K. is tough, because the Governments of those two states are under Barisan control, i.e. UMNO supporting all the corruption going on there, meaning distributing contracts to cronies and providing developments, minor to the longhouses and mega to urban areas, it would seem that the money and greed culture of the Sabahans and Sarawakians, will never be extinguished, more so, if the developed countries keep buying illegally or ‘legally’ logged timbers, and oil especially from Sarawak. What the Opposition should consider is to provoke and encourage independence for Sabah and Sarawak from Malaysia. The majority natives and pendatangs of Sabah and Sarawak do not need the minority so called Malays to rule them. Once Sabah and Sarawak are out of Malaysia, the Opposition with only Peninsular Malaysia states will have enough seats to run the Federal Government.
Give them independence and Sabah and Sarawak will be forever grateful to Peninsular Malaysia. They will be sovereign countries and can run their own affairs, and should be with ASEAN grouping.
The internal frontier: Chinese extraterritoriality in northern Laos?
To Norman Lewis. I agree that far too much has been made of the distinction between land-locked and land-linked. Laos could well become the road to somewhere else, with Lao simply sitting and picking up the toll-transit charges. But, on the other hand, Laos could become a much more integrated part of ASEAN, with benefits all round. Far from fearing the effect of rail and road links across Laos, these should perhaps be welcomed as a century or two overdue. Had Laos been colonised by the Brits, there might already be a rail network long in place — but it would have been built by migrant Chinese workers for sure. I think what we are witnessing in Laos is simply a rather rapid and long overdue catching-up with what surrounding countries have long had. When Laos is on an equal infrastructural footing with its neighbours, and when ASEAN and ASEAN++ is more developed economically and politically, it should benefit all participants. But, of course, there will always be dominant countries in any bloc. That’s the way of the world. Expand and join or wither and die (or both?).
Where to now for the UDD?
Anthony – 44
Where do you think the “influence” came from? maybe you should give it a thought about it.
Jeff – 45
That might be the Red in the Land’s argument but hardly the point that I agree with. If what you said is true “There whole argument is this government came to power through the corruption and melding of the military and it has no legitimacy, and should be dissolved and new elections held.” How is the new election going to get rid of the elite’s corruption? How will another election going to make sure the hidden hand doesn’t reach into the parliament decision again?
Where to now for the UDD?
john francis lee — 43
OK you see foreign investment as a bad idea, what would you suggest? Though Thailand’s exports in Textiles and footwear, Fishery products, Rice, and Automobiles and a few other items in 2009 were worth 150 billion which has been great for a few fortunate (and don’t forget the automobile export business is funded by foreign investment, mostly Japan ad US) it has not been working for 75% of Thailand’s population many of which live on less 72,000 baht (2,362.18 USD) per year.
“Thailand’s labor force was estimated at 36.9 million. About 49% employed in agriculture, 37% in tourism and services, and 14% in industry. Women constitute aprox. 48 percent of the labor force and hold an increasing share of professional jobs.
Bangkok is one of the most prosperous parts of Thailand, and heavily dominates the national economy, with the northeast being the poorest.
Although little economic investment reaches other parts of the country except for tourist zones, the government has been successful in stimulating provincial economic growth in the Eastern Seaboard of Thailand, and the Chiang Mai area. Despite much talk of other regional developments, these 3 regions and other tourist zones still dominate the national economy.
Although the economy has demonstrated moderate positive growth since 1999, future performance depends on continued reform of the financial sector, corporate debt restructuring, attracting foreign investment, and increasing exports.”
I’m open for ideas, other than criticizing mine what are yours?
Where to now for the UDD?
Ralph Kramden — 42
Please let me clarify, I’m not saying that socio-economic programs not be enacted, on the contrary they must be for there has been and alway will be less fortunate that need help and indeed it is a societies responsibility to assist. But a social welfare system without economic reform that allows the bulk of society to earn a living and contribute back to the economy through some form or other, (in the US it is taxes) is not and could not be sustained as there would always be more money going out than coming in (that in itself is not unusual of a government entity). Economic programs to help people get a hand up are definitely needed especially amid the turmoil but they should be looked at as a short term, the long term goals must be economic and democratic reform. And for the other I didn’t say that it wasn’t easy to do business here, in fact (the friendlier (generous) you are with military and government officials it gets even easier. I’m simply stating that international companies are not flocking to Thailand as they are India and Taiwan. Many many companies in the tech industry are setting up shop in India, they come in build call centers and factories, train the staff, teach them English etc… When in my opinion Thailand has so much more to offer. Don’t believe me, just call Dell, HP, or Gateway for tech support and you find your call routed to India. Perhaps it has to do with the 11 different ‘regimes’ and 17 different constitutions here, after all nothing shakes investors confidence like the inability to predict the future of the government in the country in which they want to do business.
The internal frontier: Chinese extraterritoriality in northern Laos?
Re: neptunian, you seriously mischaracterized my point, I am delighted with development, but it should be transparent, and the benefits should be accessible to the residents. The best way to ensure transparency is to allow international visitors to observe and report; chasing them out of town is not an exercise in post-colonial sovereignty, it is a signal, time to draw the blinds before you beat your wife.
Corruption and media exposure in Laos
This notions of corruption involved here reflect a very western/economics /values assumption that the system is being violated and that this is somehow aberrant.
Jeffrey Race’s examination of two cases here http://pws.prserv.net/studies/twocases.htm seems to provide a better working model of a working model. He argues the system is not broken, rather it is the system functioning as it is expected to function. The practice of gin meuang (eating the town/land) or living off an appointment (Confucian) has had a long tenure.
Just in case…
Ralph – next time you come to Oz – promise I will take out a LM charge against you !!!
The internal frontier: Chinese extraterritoriality in northern Laos?
I have read the original article a number of times now and fail to see how, ultimately, the author can claim to have weakened the argument that Chinese extra-territoriality in Laos – in one form or another – is fast becoming a grim reality.
Whilst his account of a canny provincial manipulation of the Chinese rubber companies’ land-grabbing ambitions ( in the service of enhancing politburo policy of the corralling and quasi-internment of ethnic minority tribes of questionable loyalty) is interesting in a tangential sense – it remains just that.
That the rubber barons are there in the first place and – intentionally or incidentally – are the incipient vanguard of
Chinese economic imperialism is more to to the point.
What the article does serve to highlight, however, is how readily a formerly self-sufficient agrarian society is allowing itself to be transformed into an economically dependent and consumerist one with a consequent cultural and spiritual degradation.
To claim that – in the trade off – there will be future developmental and societal benefits to the Lao people from this injection of Chinese capital seems – prima facie – hard to argue against. But if these benefits can only be achieved by turning Laos into a client state then its national sovereignty, in one way or another, will ultimately be compromised.
I don’t see how the effective annexation of north-west Laos can seriously be denied given the accelerating expansion and development of the Boten-Houei Sai corridor or, more to the point, the commencement of the Boten-Vientiane high-speed rail link.
Anyone who views the promotional video for the latter cannot be left in any doubt that in its scope and implications it is wholly and simply a grand design that will transform Laos forever.
In computer simulation, as we see the track rapidly and effortlessly unroll itself across numerous bridges and through lengthy mountain tunnels, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer monumental ambition and technical wizardry of the project.
However, beyond the flim flam, we should have cause to question not only the underlying motives which inform its construction but also the present and future consequences.
Will the rail link serve local interests? On the contrary, as several commentators have already pointed out, this link and others to Burma, Vietnam and Thailand will only – in the main – further China’s own economic and strategic interests and any crumbs that fall to the nations they traverse will be incidental at best. And, it must be noted, these countries will be seriously and chronically in hock to Chinese bankers for their proportionate share in funding these massive projects.
What the promotional video also doesn’t show is that the Boten-Vientiane rail link will have huge environmental and ecological consequences both during the construction phase and ongoing. Furthermore, foreign interests will lease/buy rural property adjacent to its path as well as in the numerous towns where the stations are to be built. Chinese workers and technicians will stay on to maintain and run the system. Their families will migrate along with them. The Lao will become increasingly proletarianised to service the new infrastructures. However, as in the West, they will have the sop of an increased ability to purchase mostly unnecessary consumer products to convince themselves that they are actually middle class instead.
Rather than moving from a landlocked country towards being a landlinked country, Laos will merely become a road to somewhere else. And, as its people watch the cargo trains whiz past them interspersed with the luxury passenger trains in which they will not be able to afford to travel, they may eventually – in virtue of improved educational standards – be able to seriously reflect on the notion of progress itself.