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Asia in Review (AiR)
Online panel discussion on law and politics in Southeast Asia: Thai Politics after the Lockdown

The Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG), with the cooperation between the Asian Governance Foundation (AFG) and the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), organized the first online panel discussion on law and politics in Southeast Asia “Thai Politics after the Lockdown” on 24 July 2020. Many of the well-known Thai politicians and specialists were welcomed as special guests to provide knowledge and comments on the topic.

HSF

On Friday, 24th July 2020, 4 p.m. – 6.30 p.m., the German – Southeast Asian Center of Excellence for Public Policy and Good Governance (CPG), the Asian Governance Foundation (AGF) and the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF), Thailand, cooperated in organizing an online panel discussion via Facebook livestream on the topic “Thai Politics after the Lockdown.” This is the first event in the series Asia in Review (AiR) online panel discussion on law and politics in Southeast Asia initiated by the CPG and also the first event co-organized by the HSF.

At the beginning of the discussion, Dr. Axel Neubert, the Resident Representative of Hanns Seidel Foundation Thailand/Laos, mentioned Thailand’s situation about facing a great challenge from the Covid-19 pandemic. Looking at the statistics, Thailand seems successful in preventing the spreading of the virus; however, the country is greatly affected from the virus both politically and economically. There emerge a lot of questions, especially from new generations, about the course of Thai politics after the lockdown, the stability of the political parties and the resolution for the post-virus economy. Therefore, this first online discussion will provide a space for Thai people to share their thoughts, ideas and answers towards the questions from, specifically, political aspects.

In this online event, many Thai politicians and political specialists were invited to give opinions and answers about Thailand’s future. The guest lecturers included Mr. Panitan Wattanayagorn, the chairman of the Prime Minister’s Security Advisory Committee, Mr. Pita Limjaroenrat, the leader of the Move Forward party, Mr. Kasit Piromya, the former foreign minister of Thailand, Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva, the former prime minister of Thailand and Mr. Michael Vatikiotis, the veteran journalist and writer.

This first discussion was very successful as many Thais and foreigners enthusiastically participated. A lot of questions were raised and answered. There were some debates, especially about young protestors and counter-protests, which Thai society had to keep an eye on. Also, the questions on Thailand’s economy were mentioned, but these would be kept for the second event in this series of discussion.

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