Last week, a court in Yala sentenced Nurhayati Masoh, a blind woman, to one year and six months in prison for royal defamation. The person who filed the complaint against her is Phiphatanachai Sakawi, who is also a blind and the president of the Blind Society Association of Thailand. Pipathanachai tells Prachatai that  Nuruhayati's crime has damaged the reputation of blind people in Thailand. 

A UN rapporteur argues that Southeast Asian countries are undermining their economic potential due to the lack of freedom of expression, adding that social media companies should be more concerned about protecting customers’ privacy.   Average annual GDP growth in the Southeast Asian region for 2017 is forecast by the ADB at 5.0%.

To break the taboo in Thai society surrounding the 1976 Massacre, a group of scholars have founded an online archive of the incident in the hope that Thai society will be able to learn from its bloody past.

For three years, the ruling junta has proposed ‘national reforms’ on different issues. Though the previous reforms, like political reform, police reform and education reform, have been criticized for driving the country backwards, the recent reform of the Bangkok bus system seems to be quite constructive. 

"It cannot be explained with words. When I was sick, he was a doctor taking care of me. When I was hungry, he was a cook for me. He is my husband, my friend and my teacher.