Thai protesters reinstall plaque symbolizing democracy

In the final analysis, Thai students would like to rescind the power of monarchy.

Worldwide, monarchy of all kinds (notably the very rich and powerful) have out-served their originally intended purpose, they are obsolete, even as figure-heads. Anyway, what is their main function nowadays? ..

Their “king” is really worthless.

When the pandemic started in his country he runned away in Germany in a very expensive resort with his wives and concubines,and they behaved so badly that they basically kicked him out of Europe.

What a disgrace of person.

I’m not against the conception of a constitutional monarchy but as a symbol of the state they have to behave for the good of the country.

But yeah,Thailand is neither a real monarchy and for sure not a democracy,but rather close to an iron fist dictatorship full of corruption.

The game is finally up on the three card monte monarchy that the ruling class has played for decades to suppress democracy. The Thai military still stands between the people and democracy so only time will tell. It may be no exaggeration to predict that Covid will change the world.

The hashtag #WhyDoWeNeedAKing appeared a few months ago, but Thailand's lese majeste laws are very strict, and they are very careful where it is posted.

They also  dressed up a straw man as Voldemort, the villain of the Harry Potter novels, and carried banners urging the removal of "he who must not be named.

Certainly there is a huge difference between the current king and his late father. Whilst the army have assisted in the removal of politicians, they are highly unlikely to remove a king, who is closely connected to them.

The new Thai King and the Thai generals are oppressive, corrupted, and parasitic. Once they collaborated, Thai democracy will perish. Even though the outcome of Thai students' fight for democracy is uncertain, their courageous acts are inspirational and admirable.

I just want to make a friendly reminder that you really need to be mindful of what you post on here. Certain comments can get you in trouble as they are monitored. People have been arrested going into Thailand even though the statements they posted were done in another country.

The present Thai king is definitely not a shadow of his late father king Bhumibol Adulyadej.

The military government protects the status quo which continues to allow severe poverty to exist in Thailand-

Many Thais exist on a 1000 yen a day or less.

There needs to be a big sea change in Thailand!

Good luck to them.

The more they repress democracy the more radical the eventual change. If the powers that be truly wish to preserve the monarchy rather than just their own autocratic power then they would engage with the demands of the moderate student protesters and embrace (albeit reluctantly) moves that would bring about a stable political system that retained a constitutional monarchy. That alas does not appear to be on the Generals agenda, only their own power. Unfortunately the present king isn’t a patch on his father and is complacently letting them run their repressive agenda while he continues his playboy life style rather than being the voice and conscience of his people. Shades of Versailles before the revolution, and we know how well that turned out for the king.

Stripped of the moral and ideological imperatives, democracy is simply a non-violent pragmatic mechanism of feedback to power.

Down with the crooked, corrupt regime in Thailand! Power to the protesters - bring democracy and freedom back to Thailand NOW!

I just want to make a friendly reminder that you really need to be mindful of what you post on here. Certain comments can get you in trouble as they are monitored. People have been arrested going into Thailand even though the statements they posted were done in another country.

@ old man - Some of us dont cower down to despot regimes, we believe in human rights and democracy and support those fighting for them.

I stand with the democracy and peace-loving Thais. And Im certainly not scared to say it - loud and proud!

And the ‘king’ is the largest landowner in Thailand....

That king is out of control!

The king seems like a spoilt thug. I remember that photo of him with his wife or mistress of the time, and with that horrid tattoo and that g-string of a t-shirt. Does the guy actually do anything useful? I can't believe he's his father's son.

My last trip to Thailand was eye opening. It was for business, so didn't get outside Bangkok much. The Red Shirts were having rallies. 3 people were killed. I have little opinion about how the Thai government should behave, beyond general democratic, fair, elections and whatever is necessary to prevent military coups.

I do remember a few unexpected things.

a US$15 "transaction fee" to use an ATM at the Bank of Thailand to get a little cash.

some of my websites were blocked from Thailand. Don't know why. Other websites, running on the same exact servers were not blocked. Nothing posted said anything about Thailand or would be considered offensive most places in the world.

Too right. Not to mention I wasn’t able to find any evidence of people being arrested upon entering Thailand for making comments online in a foreign country.

"Not being able to find" is not the same as not doing any research at all. In a matter of seconds I was able to find several such cases within seconds including the following which garnered international attention:

Joe Gordon, born in Thailand and living in Colorado in 2011, where he posted sections of a book banned in Thailand (about the King) on his blog. Was arrested in May of that year as he arrived in Bangkok for medical treatment.

Andrew MacGregor Marshall, Scottish journalist, posted unflattering pictures on Facebook when he wasn't even in Thailand. His wife and 3-year old child were arrested when they visited Thailand and questioned for hours.

Multiple foreigners have also gotten in trouble for online activities in Thailand including Harry Nicolaides.

Nearly 30 people have been arrested in the several years in these types of cases. Several Thai activists have gone missing while abroad and presumed murdered. This a serious matter to the point an entire staff of reporters from CNN was barred from traveling to Thailand.

And downvoting is not a proper response.

The Thai military still stands between the people and democracy so only time will tell. 

The Thai monarchy draws much of its support from the residents of Bangkok who have benefited most from their investment. The bulk of the opposition to the Thai monarchy comes from the poorer agricultural regions that do not benefit from the vast wealth poured into Bangkok and a handful of resort cities. They feel left out and are the primary source of opposition support. The students are just a small but highly visible minority of the opposition. In addition the current king is widely reviled for the way he has treated his many wives over the years and his corruption. There is also anger that the royalists in their notional parliament along with the military have used trumped up "crimes" as justification for arresting popular opposition elected leaders.

Thailand is a weird country. The monarch is pitched as a god. The book and movie "The King and I" is banned because it depicts the Thai king as a fallible human being. If you look at images of Thai royal ceremonies everyone is kneeling or even laying down in front of a seated king because nobody can ever be above the king. Experienced Admirals and Generals laying down in full dress uniform so they won't be seen as somehow above their king. If you say anything that could be construed as criticism of the king you are immediately jailed, if they can catch you.