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More Websites Offending Thai Monarchy Blocked

Posted by timothy on from the really-could-skip-the-whole-prison-thing-altogether dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Thailand is ramping up their media wide censorship of anything that remotely offends Thai royalty. In the last three weeks, another 2,300 websites have been blocked. Another ~4,000 are soon expected. And not just websites, but books as well as the Economist have been blocked. And anyone caught publishing such material, including foreigners, will get 3 to 15 years in a Thai prison. You don't want to be in a Thai prison!"

10 of 220 comments (clear)

  1. Captain Oveur by XanC · · Score: 5, Funny

    Joey, have you ever been to a Turkish prison?

  2. Thailand's censorship directly impacts our news by JoshuaZ · · Score: 5, Insightful

    CNN has censored itself on reporting on Thailand so as to not offend the government: http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/01/19/thai.jail/index.html . This is the real problem with censorship in the internet age: It is very easy to say that the internet treats censorship as damage and routes around it. But in practice in many cases the ease of access leads to more censorship rather than less. This means that it is all the more important that we resist censorship in all its forms.

    1. Re:Thailand's censorship directly impacts our news by DeadPixels · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What I wonder is why no one seems too concerned with the fact that the media is self-censoring. If CNN had refused to report on Iraq or any other such nation, they would be harshly criticized. It seems that the fact that there isn't a negative public opinion of Thailand has led to this being an overlooked occurrence - but a potentially very dangerous one.

    2. Re:Thailand's censorship directly impacts our news by G-Man · · Score: 5, Informative

      Actually, they did the same thing in Iraq under Saddam Hussein..

    3. Re:Thailand's censorship directly impacts our news by Dionysus · · Score: 5, Interesting

      If CNN had refused to report on Iraq or any other such nation, they would be harshly criticized.

      Maybe because American don't find "proper" reporting on Iraq offensive. OTOH, CNN (and American media) don't show flag draped coffins of Americans being flown home, or American soldiers suffering on the battlefield. Few people are criticized for that, and those are considered "anti-American" for mentioning it.

      --
      Je ne parle pas francais.
    4. Re:Thailand's censorship directly impacts our news by Spasemunki · · Score: 5, Insightful

      a) internet news is all about repeating stuff someone else found first;

      This is exactly why the internet journalism is still a long way away from being able to fill the role of the traditional media. Real journalism has nothing to do with link farming or writing editorials about issues that have already been reported. Very little breaking of actual news- the work of establishing what the facts on the ground are when an event is underway, or following leads over a long period to discover a story- is done by internet media. What do you repeat when there's no one to repeat?

  3. Simple: Don't go to Thailand by syousef · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If a country wants to enact oppressive laws that censor citizens and foreigners alike that's their perogative. Just another reason to boycott travel to such a country. It's not the only country I'd choose to forgo unless I had to travel.

    Meanwhile their Royal Family becomes less and less atuned to the sentiment of their populace. In other places and at other times similar action has usually led to poor leadership, the Royal Family becoming less relevant, and eventually the deposition of that family, often in a bloody revolution. It's the Royal Family that should be asking for this crackdown to end, if they know their history.

    I've been very careful but does the above paragraph mean it's no longer safe for me to travel to Thailand?

    --
    These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
    1. Re:Simple: Don't go to Thailand by Paradise+Pete · · Score: 5, Interesting

      the monarchy is a figurehead and the military likes using "offending the monarchy" as a good way to crack down.

      The king is actually very well liked, and the people take it quite seriously when someone offends him. For instance, I was playing golf there and on the 18th green I had a putt to win a bet. My opponent took out the amount of the bet and placed it just behind the hole. Well, the money has the king's picture on it, and the caddies were horrified that his image had been placed on the ground.

  4. This is not a problem with the Thai people by mjwx · · Score: 5, Informative
    Or the Thai monarch, its a problem with the Thai elected government. Well minus the elected part, they took power in what pretty much amounted to a coup.

    The current government is in a precarious position and are attempting to use the Thai peoples reverence of the king to increase their own popularity. The current government will not be re-elected if general elections are called as they are favoured by the Thai upper and middle classes and disliked by the lower classes which make up the majority of the Thai people.

    Despite outward appearances to us Farang tourists (Farang: Thai-white skinned foreigner) Thai people are quiet conservative but their religion (Bhuddism) teaches them to be open and accepting of others even when they do something rude.

    Meanwhile their Royal Family becomes less and less atuned to the sentiment of their populace.

    As I said before, its not the Thai monarch, they have no real power, the king is king in name only (a rich land owner that holds no real political power much like the queen of England). It's Thailand unstable democracy that keeps producing these laws, not its monarch, they chose to pick emotional subject like the king to rally around to gain popularity. The king is very popular amongst Thai's, he was responsible for implementing education amongst even the poorest Thais and is respected for this. The Thai royal family holds as much political power these days as the house of Windsor (England's royal family).

    It's pretty hard to be convicted of Leste Majesty in Thailand and that law is only ever used for political gain. The Thai king himself has tried to get the law struck down on several occasions but he is a constitutional monarch and failed. The King has pardoned almost everyone charged with leste majesty in recent years (since Thailand returned to democratic elections in the 80's).

    I've been very careful but does the above paragraph mean it's no longer safe for me to travel to Thailand?

    Do my posts critical of the Bush administration make it dangerous for me to travel to the US? Thailand is a great holiday destination and is not dangerous to go to so long as you have half a brain. Insulting the king is like insulting the founding fathers, everyone knows whilst you're in the US you just don't do it. The most dangerous things in Thailand are the wild life, corrupt cops and falling in love with a Thai girl and for the first two, you can just avoid them.

    --
    Calling someone a "hater" only means you can not rationally rebut their argument.
  5. Re:Awesome! by ozmanjusri · · Score: 5, Funny
    The King of Thailand will be honored for finding out before anyone else.

    Well, he won't be reading Slashdot, 'cos he's an arsehole.

    And now neither will anyone else from Thailand...

    --
    "I've got more toys than Teruhisa Kitahara."