More campaigns to help retailers

More help is on the way for riot-hit retailers to sell their products and pare down inventories after the success of the Silom walking street campaign last weekend.


TOURISM HELP
Many small tourism operators affected by the red-shirt protests sign up to seek assistance from the coordinating centre set up by the Tourism Council of Thailand. About 300 operators reportedly are signing up for the aid at the ground floor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand offices each day. WEERAWONG WONGPREEDEE
Both the government and operators are looking to tap consumers' eagerness to help revive business by shopping.

Thaya Theepsuwan, a Bangkok deputy governor, said a second walking street would be set up in front of Siam Paragon from the Henri Dunant intersection to MBK on Saturday and Sunday. Another Silom walking street - the first one generated 140 million baht in sales - will be staged on June 12-13.

"The retailers who missed the chance to join the first Silom walking street will be offered space in a new 800-metre walking street [near Paragon]," she said.

The Commerce Ministry also plans to expand a walking street dubbed "Together We Can Grand Sale" every weekend to provincial areas until July to stimulate shopping and tourism.

Commerce Minister Porntiva Nakasai said the aim was to help entrepreneurs affected by the riots and arson attacks in the capital following the dispersal of the red-shirt protests on May 19. The events will be held in Pattaya on June 5-6, Nonthaburi from June 12-13, and in Nakhon Sawan from June 19-20.

Affected businesses would also be allowed to join other trade fairs to be held throughout June by the ministry in border provinces such as Mukdahan and Tak.

In a bid to revive confidence of traders and foreign visitors in the Ratchaprasong shopping hub, the ministry also plans to organise a world-class fashion show in October or November, featuring international brands such as Fendi, Louis Vuitton and other internationally renowned products and international supermodels.

Chulalongkorn University, which owns Siam Square, is arranging temporary tents in Siam Square sois 1, 2 and 3 covering 3,000 square metres to allow retailers hit by the fires and riots to sell non-food goods. Food operators will be offered to use empty shophouses covering 3,000 sq m along Henri Dunant Road, and 10 tutorial schools will be offered space at a parking lot at the Novotel Siam Square.

The temporary retail space, which opened since last week, will be available for two years pending the redevelopment of 40,000 sq m to replace the Siam Theatre, which was destroyed on May 19.

"The space is free of charge for just a period of time, not two years, and Chulalongkorn University will decide how long is the free period," said the university's vice-president, Gp Capt Permyot Kosolbhand.

Arena in Thong Lor Soi 10, a football field owned by Oishi Group CEO Tan Passakornnatee, is also offering free space until June 6. Over the past weekend, bargain-hunting shoppers thronged Arena for products ranging from clothes to bags, shoes and toys.

Central Retail Corp yesterday also announced a new offering of free space at Baan Silom Arcade for three months to help riot-hit businesses sell their goods.

It also offered 1,500 sq m at Tops Marketplace Udomsuk free of charge for small retailers. Those renting 700 sq m at China World Wang Burapha will pay only electricity bills. Another 300 sq m at Power Centre Hua Mark are available at cheap rents of 200 baht per day.

A CRC spokeswoman said most of the affected retailers were now heading for the walking streets held by the BMA. After that, they will seek space from private operators.

The Mall Group, meanwhile, will stage a fair at Bitec from tomorrow to Sunday to allow its suppliers and other affected retailers to distribute their inventories.

Bonus Taiwan

While China hogs the spotlight, there's seldom any mention of Taiwan, its neighbour across the straits with whom the world's emerging superpower has much in common, if not the system of governance.


The western side of the Lotus Pond in Kaohsiung city is dotted with an arresting cluster of landmarks. Among them are the brightly-painted Dragon and Tiger pagodas, floating structures built in 1974 and linked to the shore by a zigzag nine-cornered bridge. Many visitors enter the pagodas through the dragon’s mouth and exit out the tiger because, according to Chinese belief, it turns bad omen into good fortune.
The contrast couldn't be more glaring: Taiwan is a tiny spit of land southeast of the Chinese mainland, whereas China is the third largest country in the world. The two countries also sit on opposite ends of the political spectrum.

This much I knew, though, not much else. Thus, when the time came to go there I tried to make myself familiar with the country and its people.

Unfortunately, the information that came my way held out little promise since most of what I read about the country, and its capital Taipei, was replete with mention of a highly urbanised society, ubiquitous skyscrapers, clusters of factories, an industrialised economy and high-speed transportation. And with that in mind I didn't expect much from the trip.

Well, I couldn't have been more wrong. Taiwan turned out to be everything I had feared, but it was also much more than in the literature I had read.

Soon after landing in Taipei, I found myself in a downtown area so busy that I had to elbow my way through the crowd, before being ushered to a table for my first dinner in the city, a delightful experience indeed, followed by the predictable hustle and bustle, an endless maze of streets with pedestrians clogging the sidewalks lined with stalls and vendors serving up a dazzling selection of freshly prepared delicacies, the air thick with their aroma, titillating the taste buds.

After a day and night well spent in the capital, I took the speed train to Kaohsiung on the southern tip of Taiwan, a ride lasting just an hour, before hitting Tainan the following day. After a couple of nights enjoying the cosy ambience of the southern towns I travelled north and immersed myself in the urban culture and lifestyle so characteristic of Taichung.

Next stop was Taipei County which is home to the vintage charms of Jinguashi and Jiufen, small yet adorable destinations nestled on a mountain hemmed by the sea, before bidding farewell to the island-state.

By the time I left Taiwan I was fully in awe of the island and its diverse range of attractions.

Prominent among them were modern architecture and lifestyle dominated by cutting-edge technology, natural beauty, hospitality of the people, cultural legacy, an affinity for arts rooted in history that stretches far back across the straits to mainland China, and last but not least a culinary culture matched only by its vibrant night life.

Lakers beat Celtics in first game of NBA finals

Kobe Bryant scored 14 of his 30 points in the third quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics 102-89 in the opening game of the 2010 National Basketball Association finals.


Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers puts a shot up over Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Glen Davis of the Boston Celtics in Game One of the 2010 NBA Finals at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Lakers won 102-89
Bryant came out firing on all cylinders for the Lakers, who outscored Boston 34-23 in the third period to extend their lead to 20 points in front of a sellout crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center arena.

Pau Gasol had 23 points and 14 rebounds for the defending champion Lakers, who are trying to make amends for losing in the 2008 finals to Boston.

For the second time in three years and the 12th time in history the Lakers and the Celtics are battling in the post-season showcase.

The Lakers have home court advantage but the Celtics have history on their side having won nine of 11 previous finals meetings between the two storied franchises.

And it didn't take long for the sparks to fly Thursday as Lakers forward Ron Artest and Celtics star Paul Pierce were slapped with technical fouls just 27 seconds into the game after they tangled under the Boston basket.

The melee drew players from both teams and resulted in some pushing and shoving.

Bryant was in full post-season mode Thursday, cutting his way through the Celtics' defence and breaking the game open in the third by shooting five-of-seven from the field.

The Lakers are now 9-0 at home in the playoffs and haven't trailed in a series.

Phil Jackson-led teams are also a perfect 47-0 in series wins after having won the first game.

Pierce had 24 points and nine rebounds for Boston who were outrebounded 42-31 and had several players get into foul trouble Thursday.

Game two of the best-of-seven series is Sunday in Los Angeles.

Commonwealth Games to battle cricket for viewers

The Commonwealth Games in October are set to compete against India's obsession with cricket if a high-profile home series against Australia goes ahead as scheduled.


A general view of the newly-built Badminton stadium in New Delhi in April 2010 ahead of the Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth Games in October are set to compete against India's obsession with cricket if a high-profile home series against Australia goes ahead as scheduled.
Ricky Ponting's men are due to tour India in September-October at the same time the four-yearly Games take place in New Delhi from October 3 to 14.

An official of the Indian cricket board (BCCI) said details of the tour, which is part of the International Cricket Council's Future Tours Program, were being worked out with Cricket Australia.

"We have requested Australia to play two Tests and three one-day internationals instead of a series of seven one-dayers," the BCCI's chief administrative official Ratnakar Shetty told AFP.

Australia are due to arrive in late September and must return home by October 31, when they begin a home series of Twenty20 and one-day matches against Sri Lanka.

The tour, once finalised, is certain to further annoy Indian Olympic officials, who are already seething at the BCCI's decision not to send the men's and women's cricket teams to the Asian Games in China in November.

"The BCCI is not taking part because there is no money to be made at the Asian Games," said Indian Olympic Association chief Suresh Kalmadi, who heads the Commonwealth Games organising committee.

"They think only of money. I am glad cricket is not part of the Commonwealth Games."

Although New Delhi is unlikely to figure in Australia's itinerary, millions of television viewers will be glued to the cricket when the Games are on.

Cricket has such a strong following in India that organisers of the field hockey World Cup in New Delhi in March advanced the tournament by a week so that it would not clash with the Indian Premier League.

Cricket, a non-Olympic sport, was last seen at a major multi-sport event at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, but was dropped for the next two editions in England and Australia.

Water at major dams "critically low"

Former finance minister Naoto Kan became Japan's new leader Friday, pledging economic recovery and close ties with Washington after his predecessor quit over a festering dispute about a US air base.


Former finance minister Naoto Kan has become Japan's new prime minister, pledging economic recovery and close ties with Washington after his predecessor quit over a festering dispute about a US air base.
A parliamentary vote confirmed Kan as the successor to Yukio Hatoyama, who tearfully resigned as prime minister Wednesday, citing the row over the base on Okinawa island and money scandals that sullied his government.

Kan, a 63-year-old former civic activist, was also deputy prime minister in Hatoyama's centre-left government that came to power last year in a landslide election, ending half a century of almost non-stop conservative rule.

"My first job is to rebuild the country, and to create a party in which all members can stand up together and say with confidence, 'we can do it!'" a smiling Kan said after his party earlier installed him as its new leader.

Kan vowed to revitalise Asia's biggest economy, which has been in the doldrums since an investment bubble collapsed in the early 1990s.

"For the past 20 years, the Japanese economy has been at a standstill," said Kan. "Growth has stopped. Young people can't find jobs. This is not a natural phenomenon. It resulted from policy mistakes.

"I believe we can achieve a strong economy, strong finances and strong social welfare all at the same time," he said, pledging to reduce Japan's huge public debt which is nearing 200 percent of gross domestic product.

On foreign policy, Kan pointed at the threat posed by communist North Korea, the isolated and nuclear-armed regime that has been blamed for the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship in March.

"Japan has a lot of problems, including the North Korean issue," said Kan, stressing that US-Japanese ties remain the "cornerstone" of foreign policy.

He also said he would maintain Japan's goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent by 2020 from 1990 levels, one of the most ambitious targets of any country, and to seek an EU-style Asian community in future.

It was not immediately clear whether Kan would stick with the expected July 11 date of upper house elections or delay the vote, in which his coalition will fight to keep its majority to avoid policy gridlock.

In one of his first meetings after the party vote, Kan met Shizuka Kamei, head of the tiny People's New Party, and agreed to maintain their coalition, which together gives them a paper-thin majority in the upper house.

But Kan faces an uphill battle to win back voters after the government's approval ratings under Hatoyama slumped below 20 percent this week.

Water at major dams "critically low

Water at major dams "critically low"
Published: 4/06/2010 at 02:01 PM
Online news: Local News

Water levels at many major dams are now critically low and water is available only for consumption, not for agriculture, Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) governor Suthas Pattamasiriwat said on Friday.

Mr Suthas said the dams where water levels are crtically low are Pasak Jolasid in Lop Buri, Ubonrat in Khon Khaen, Bhumibol in Tak, and Sirikit in Uttaradit.

He said the water stored in Bhumibol and Sirikit dam reservoirs totalled only about 1,000 million cubic metres.

The water levels in these dams is at the same level as 1992, when the supply dropped dropped to record low levels, he said.

Water can now be released only for consumption and is no longer available for agriculture.

With so little water left, there may problems with availability this year for consumption and agriculture, Mr Suthas said.

The governor said the low quantity of water at Pasak Jolasid dam has affected Egat's electricity production because a power plant at Wang Noy relies on water from the dam for the cooling system.

He hoped rainfall during this period would help increase water in the dams.

Mr Suthas said that over the past five months the consumption of electricity in the industrial sector was 15 per cent higher than the same period last year because of a higher demand for exports.

The higher consumption of power, if continued, would affect the country's power production capacity in two or three years, he said.

Meanwhile, the government has set up a working committee chaired by Agriculture Minister Theera Wongsamut to closely monitor the water supply.

The Agriculture Ministry has advised farmers to delay rice planting until mid July when more rain is expected.

The ministry will speed up construction of reservoirs under the Thai Khem Khaeng economic restoration project and make a new study of the construction of the long-delayed Kaeng Sua Ten dam across the Yom river in Phrae province

The evolution of self and society

In a white uniform and a white belt tied loosely around his waist, a tall, tan-complexioned man with salt and pepper coloured, close cropped hair was kowtowing to a chubby 10-year-old girl, his practice partner on the Aikido platform or dojo.


‘‘We have to face the truth with courage and patience. If we stand in the fire with a still mind, we will see how we can create new causes for future positive feedback" — CHAIWAT THIRAPANTU

"I felt a bit awkward and uneasy to practice with a girl my granddaughter's age. But the child proved me wrong. She was focused and very kind. She threw me down so gently as if she tried to avoid breaking me," said political activist Chaiwat Thirapantu, and avid football player.

In his sixties, Chaiwat is perhaps the oldest beginner on the dojo.

"I would like to keep myself on the edge, as a beginner. A beginner's mind always learns," he said, quoting Zen master Shunryu Suzuki-roshi's The Beginner's Mind. "When we open our hearts, we learn. I have learned to overcome my prejudices and judgemental mind," said Chaiwat, now an aikido blue belt after three years of practise.

Chaiwat does not do aikido simply to improve his fitness or fulfil his appetite for sports. He takes this martial art of peace and reconciliation to master his mind through "evolutionary politics".


Photos by Somkid Chaijitvanit
For Chaiwat, a learning mind - aware, open and calm - is crucial to create social equilibrium and cope with crises, especially now, while our country is going through a major transitional period.

"The quality of our mind and activity, individually and collectively, will designate our future," he said.

"We need to shift our paradigm of thinking and doing to tackle intricate problems. We cannot think anew from a mind that is restless and preoccupied with theories and judgments. Only when the mind is calm, adept, and sharp will we see clearly and act wisely."

For better politics, we need to better our being. "Politics is a spiritual act. Good politics needs inner strength and spiritual power," he said, his voice deep and clear. Chaiwat sometimes calls himself a "Shambala" warrior of Bodhisatva, the warrior for an enlightened society.

For the past two decades, the president of Civic Net Foundation has been facilitating workshops to enhance the human learning capacity. The processes include generative conversations, appreciative inquiries and meditative reflection. The groups he has worked with range from civil groups, community leaders and NGOs to civil servants, youth groups, university lecturers, officers in justice systems and human rights organisations.

"The quality of citizens determines the quality of democracy," he said. "I believe in organic democracy which is based on living values, community spirit and collaboration among people. This is, to me, the foundation of democratised society, which will counter-balance institutionalised politics - political parties, law and constitution," he said.

In his book Chaos Theory and Siamese Society at the Bifurcation, Chaiwat says Thailand is already plunging into an age of "Darkenss", and it will take years for us to get out of it. According to the law of cause and effect, we have accumulated detrimental causes for decades, and now it's time for the repercussions - political, economical, social and environmental.

"We have to face the truth and approach the problem with courage and patience. If we stand in the fire with a still mind, we will see how we can create new causes for future positive feedback."

Borrowing some Taoist wisdom, he added: "We live in a world of paradox; yin and yang; dark and light. When we are in the dark, be aware that there is light. We need to find it and then expand the area of light until the dark room is lightened to day."

The "light" or hope in the dark for Thailand lies in learning and commitment, he asserted.

"Despite the corrupt politicians and system, our country has steadily prospered. The credit should go to the small people like each of us, community leaders and civil groups, who have been working to sustain the country."

"We need to be aware of our contribution and work together to create a country we all want to live in. Don't leave it to politicians, policymakers or any other group."