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[wowpow]

Thailand: The Land of Fading Smiles
TIME Asia
Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007
By HANNAH BEECH / BANGKOK
Thailand prides itself on its way with Westerners. After all, the kingdom survived the Age of Empire as the only country in Southeast Asia to avoid colonization. Success in deterring the foreign barbarians came from deftly playing the Western powers off against one another, and throwing open doors to European traders. Siam, at it was known then, didn't so much repel the Western invaders as charm them into submission with armfuls of exotic bounty and respites from their malarial colonial
outposts.

The military junta that rules Thailand these days might do well to remember the ways of the nation's diplomatically skilled forebears. Just as before, Thailand's economy is dependent on negotiating global forces—the country is the world's No. 1 exporter of rice and relies on tourism and foreign direct investment to power its growth. Yet in recent weeks, the Cabinet appointed by the ruling generals, who in September overthrew the democratically elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, has unveiled economic measures that have left foreign investors distinctly uncharmed. In December, to combat an appreciating currency that was irking Thai exporters by making their goods pricier overseas, the central bank briefly instituted harsh capital controls, precipitating the worst one-day drop in the 31-year history of the Bangkok stock exchange. Then, last week, Thailand's Cabinet began tightening foreign-ownership laws, closing loopholes that had made the country one of the region's most welcoming destinations for overseas investment. At the same time, the government is clamping down on the thousands of foreigners who work in Thailand without proper permits. "Given the strong regional competition for foreign investment, Thailand should be sending a message that we welcome foreigners," says Sompop Manarungsan, an economist at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. "Instead, we're doing the opposite......"

much more on http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/...1580046,00.html

[Randy Otter]

Hear hear. Sensible statement.