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Pattaya celebrates HM the Queen’s birthday with city’s biggest ever Buddhist ceremony
Crowds gather to donate food for temples in the South
Mayor Itthipol Khunplome lights the ceremonial
candles.
Phra Kru Wijitr Thamasarn, head abbot
of Banglamung District leads the monks in prayer.
2,000 monks line up to gather alms in support of
266 Buddhist temples
in the troubled Southern provinces.
It was heart-warming to see 2,000 monks gather
together in prayer.
2,000 monks receive alms from the devout
citizens
who participated in the solemn event.
Mayor Itthipol Khunplome opens the ceremonial
cone as a sign of respect to H.M. Majesty the Queen.
Over 30,000 people gathered in North Pattaya to
offer food to 2,000 monks and novices on the occasion of Her Majesty the
Queen’s birthday.
Pramote Channgamm
Local residents gathered to offer food to 2,000 monks and novices on
August 10, making merit for the occasion of Her Majesty the Queen’s birthday
and for the support of 266 Buddhist temples in the troubled Southern
provinces.
With over 30,000 people gathering on North Pattaya Road between city hall
and the Dolphin Roundabout, starting from 6 a.m., it was believed to be the
largest Buddhist ceremony ever held in Pattaya.
Phra Kru Wijitr Thamasarn, head abbot of Banglamung District led the monks,
while Mayor Itthipol Khunplome led the laymen, most of the latter being
dressed in white.
This time of the year, in the rainy season, is regarded by devotees as being
particularly important to offer food to the monks, who by tradition are not
allowed to leave their temples. August 12 is also National Mother’s Day, the
birthday of Her Majesty, and Buddhists throughout Thailand make merit by
offering food and essentials to the monks.
This year there has been enormous concern for the 266 temples in the
troubled provinces of the South, where the monks cannot gather food,
resulting in special supplies having to be sent to them.
Mayor Itthipol delivered a speech in both Thai and English, and the ceremony
in which people donated both food and money lasted about two hours.
Delay sought on Maptaput industrial expansion
Environmental problems are unacceptable says Health Commission
Ariyawat Nuamsawat
The Thai cabinet has been asked to put on hold the decision to
expand the Maptaput industrial area, which would result in investment
projects worth up to 400 billion baht being postponed, on the grounds that
such an expansion would cause unacceptable environmental problems.
The National Health Commission Office has proposed five points to the
cabinet regarding management of the Maptaput industrial area in Rayong. The
points relate to environmental concerns, and have been raised after it was
found that the quality of life was declining in this area more than in other
provinces.
If expansion is delayed it would mean that 56 investment projects mostly
concerning petrochemicals and valued at somewhere between 200 and 400
billion baht would be postponed until there is a satisfactory solution.
Projects that have already been built, or started, are also to be reviewed
to see if they are operating within the environmental laws.
The National Health Commission Office held a meeting at Government House on
August 1, with Commission secretary Ampol Jindawattana announcing the
results of the meeting afterwards.
The government has been asked to review and adjust the future development of
Rayong and make a new city plan, as the extension of the industrial area
would have overlapped the township.
Factories and businesses would need to pay tax to Rayong Province, which
would then organize environmental and social protection systems. Even though
Rayong has a high gross domestic product that is expanding, the quality of
life for the inhabitants is lower than in other provinces.
The Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT), the Pollution Control
Department, and the Department of Health will have to reveal their data on
the effects to public health from the industries, and action must be taken
to reduce the number of industrial accidents.
The cabinet has been asked to put a hold on the permits for building new
factories at Maptaput and Ban Chang until an area plan is laid out and
approved, under Section 67 of Constitution 2007.
Detrat Sukkamnerd, a lecturer at the Economics Faculty of Kasetsart
University and a member of the National Health Commission Office said that
currently there are 1,700 factories in Rayong. Maptaput Industrial Estate
has 120 factories, and it is expanding slowly into Ban Chang.
After checking the industrial investment plan for petrochemicals, it was
found that there were an additional 56 investment plans, and 3,000 rai
earmarked for an additional expansion area. The total investment budget was
between 200 and 400 billion baht, and more than 23 permitted projects had
started operations.
There is some uncertainty over what will happen next, as the National
Economic and Social Advisory Council (NESAC) has already submitted its own
suggestions to the government regarding the effect of industrial expansion
at Rayong Province.
Diana Group donates
to street children
Sopin Thappajug (left),
managing director of the Diana Group, along with staff members and close
friends from the Yoga Diana Group donate needed items to street children at
the Child Protection and Development Center (CPDC).
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Sopin Thappajug, managing director of the Diana Group, along with staff
members and close friends from the Yoga Diana Group visited street children
at the Child Protection and Development Center (CPDC) on July 30 as part of
a project by the hotel group to help underprivileged youngsters.
A donation of 50,000 baht was made towards the construction of a
multi-purpose timber building that will be used as a function room and
dining hall.
The Diana and Yoga Diana Groups also presented a water cooler and two
bookshelves, along with books and some snacks, the CPDC’s director Supakorn
Noja receiving the donations as the center’s representative.
Supakorn said that currently there are 17 street children living at the
center, 14 of them boys. There are three childcare teachers taking care of
the youngsters and organizing projects for them. One of the latest projects
is the planting of vegetables on land behind the center, and a fishpond will
be added.
The idea is that the children learn to be as self-dependant as possible, and
they are also being taught how to cook meals. The older ones are being sent
for vocational training at the Vocational Training Center to ensure they
have a trade when they leave the center.
Supakorn said that the center needs further facilities to provide a
satisfactory residence for the youngsters, including better bathrooms and
kitchen.
Way forward discussed
for health insurance
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
The Health Insurance System Research Office (HISRO) organized a
conference at the Aisawan Resort and Spa on August 1 to discuss possible
future developments in the nation’s health insurance sector.
 Dr
Ammarn Siamwala, chairman of the Thailand Development Research Institute.
Professor Dr Ammarn Siamwala, chairman of the Thailand Development Research
Institute chaired the event, along with Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay.
Professor Ammarn said that a sound health insurance system should be a
necessity for everyone, so that good healthcare was available for all. The
conference was designed to generate new ideas and explore new possibilities
that could then go forward towards government policy.
Asst Prof Dr Jirut Sareeratanaban of the Faculty of Medicine at
Chulalongkorn University said that the results of the Delphi study, which
had been undertaken earlier, are being analyzed while Dr Rares Damrongchai
of the APEC Center for Technology advised on likely technological
developments in the future.
In addition to the conference, the delegates were divided into breakout
groups to come up with fresh ideas and suggestions.
Thai women planning marriage with foreign men urged to study law first
Vimolrat Singnikorn
Thai women have been urged once again to study the laws of foreign
countries before registering a marriage with a non-Thai citizen.
 Judge
Kriangkrai Chanyaman
Chonburi Provincial Court organized a lecture course entitled “Knowing a
little before a couple lives abroad,” in an attempt to prevent Thai
women becoming unhappy or finding themselves in difficult circumstances
after marriage through not understanding how the law works in their
spouse’s country.
Mayor Itthipol Khunplome opened the session on July 31 at Pattaya City
Hall, along with chief judge of the Chonburi Family and Juvenile Court
Wongkarn Chuaypanang.
A number of specialists provided information, together with Deputy Mayor
Verawat Khakhay, who spoke on experiences Thai women and their children
have had abroad, and Judge Wongkarn, who spoke on trends relating to
legislation covering women and children’s rights.
Kriangkrai Janyaman, a judge at the Chonburi Family and Juvenile Court
said that there was a legal controversy that had first arisen in 1938,
and which was still causing a problem today. This concerns the
difference between civil law in a country, and international law, and
relates in particular to the different ways various countries have in
considering the granting of a divorce.
Grounds for a divorce in Thailand will not necessarily be the grounds
for a divorce in a foreign country. Women who marry men who are members
of the Roman Catholic Church find this a particularly complex business,
as the church does not condone divorce.
Just add water
Local man uses water to make gasoline go further
Pramote Channgam
A system to use water for powering vehicles is being pioneered
in Pattaya, and is creating a lot of interest because of the rising
price of gasoline.
 Narong
Chaiyakaen (left), owner of an aluminum shop on Sukhumvit Road, and Tanet
Kruakhun (right), owner of Dang Car Service, are experimenting with using
water as fuel in vehicles.
Although liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and natural gas for vehicles (NGV)
are increasingly being used to replace gasoline in vehicle engines, and are
cheaper by at least half when compared to gasoline, they are also rising in
price.
The search is now on for an even cheaper source of energy, and it might lie
with the owner of a Pattaya aluminum shop.
Narong Chaiyakaen says that, due to the high price of gasoline, he has been
working on an idea to use water along with gasoline or diesel to power
vehicles, and has been working with researchers from Singapore and the
Philippines to develop the concept, which he claims can save 30 percent on
fuel.
There have, says Narong, been three vehicle prototypes tested successfully
with this installation, and so far 80 people have placed orders for
installing the system, which he says is an easy process taking only one day.
However, at present the company is still waiting for the official
registration, and installations cannot yet be undertaken.
Using water as a co-fuel doesn’t cause any engine trouble with either
benzene or diesel, and the motor still works normally, says Narong.
Narong, whose aluminum shop is located on Sukhumvit Road, is developing this
system together with Tanet Kruakhun, owner Dang Car Service.
Anyone interested in this project can call 082 2089 626-8.
SMEs learn benefits
of tourism e-marketing
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
A course to train small and medium business enterprises (SMEs) in
the skills of e-marketing was held by the Tourism Authority of Thailand at
Ambassador City on July 25.
 TAT
deputy governor of planning and policy Surapol Savetseranee.
TAT deputy governor of planning and policy Surapol Savetseranee and director
of the TAT in Pattaya Chaiwat Charoensuk presided over the event that was
attended by more than 200 people from the tourism sector.
Surapol said that the seminar, entitled E-Marketing Day for Tourism SMEs,
was designed to help people become more familiar with information technology
and therefore create more effective marketing procedures.
He said that e-marketing can be very effective in developing low-budget
marketing tactics, and that consequently it was ideally suited for SMEs.
The TAT has already conducted this course in Chiang Mai, Krabi, Phuket and
Kanchanaburi, with Pattaya being the fifth tourism destination in which it
has been staged.
Surapol said that the course would, in addition to helping SMEs with their
own marketing, also help them in working with the cooperation of the TAT,
which uses e-marketing extensively.
Training given to help
combat global warming
Special narrators (L to R)
Deputy Permanent Secretary Apichart Puechphan, Wannaporn Chamchamrut,
director of the Public Health and Environment Office, and Miss Jiraporn
Anantayakorn, a scientist acting on behalf of the chief of water quality
management at the Public Health and Environment Office.
Saksiri Uraiworn
Pupils from 10 schools in Pattaya were given training on what global
warming is, and how individuals can help combat the phenomenon during a
session held at Pattaya City Hall on August 1.
Deputy permanent secretary Apichart Puechphan, Wannaporn Chamchamrut,
director of the Public Health and Environment Office, and Miss Jiraporn
Anantayakorn, a scientist acting on behalf of the chief of water quality
management at the Public Health and Environment Office led the session.
The training had been arranged for the youth leader from Hong Sie Khiew, and
the Burapha group representing the 10 schools.
Apichart said that global warming is a problem that is already beginning to
have a profound effect on our lives, and that individuals could make a
contribution by planting trees around residences, turning off all appliances
not in use before leaving the house, wisely using water, and decreasing the
use of plastic and CFC products by using cloth bags or wooden baskets.
Saplings planted
on Koh Larn
Mayor Ittiphol Khunplome
(center) leads various organizations in the city in the tree planting
project on Koh Larn. Seen with him here are representatives from Dusit Thani
Pattaya (left to right): Songkram Karuenakun, chief of security; Prawes
Akanimart, president of the hotel’s Green Leaf Committee; Mayor Ittiphol;
Michael Ganster, executive assistant manager and Supanat Aiewsuphan, from
the hotel’s executive office.
Pramote Channgam
Pattaya City is working with the Koh Larn community to plant tree saplings
on an area of 1,000 rai as part of a campaign to ensure that the island
remains green.
The planting of Chalermprakiat saplings, which began on August 7, is taking
place at Khao Nom on Koh Larn and is being done in honor of His Majesty the
King.
There will be 12,540 seedlings planted in total during the campaign,
including species such as Neem, Cassia Fistula, Burma Padauk, Yang Na,
Yellow Flamboyant, and Tabaek.
Also taking part in the project are Dusit Thani Pattaya’s Green Leaf
committee, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, Protected Areas
Regional Office 2 (Sriracha), Forest Resource Management Office 13
(Chonburi), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (Chonburi) and
student volunteers from all over Pattaya City.
Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh said that the campaign would provide enough
trees to provide a beneficial influence on Koh Larn’s climate.
Drugs and firearms found on youths making a nuisance at Bali Hai Pier
Police have arrested over a dozen youths on
drugs and firearms charges.
Boonlua Chatree
Pattaya’s mayor and the police have cracked down on the gangs of
youths who have been making a nuisance of themselves around the Bali Hai
Pier area, and have arrested some of them for being in possession of drugs
and firearms.
The cleanup began just after midnight on August 3, when Mayor Itthipol
Khunplome and Pol Col Nopadol Wongnom, superintendent at Pattaya Police
Station directed a team of officers to investigate the many complaints that
have been received from tourists.
The officers surrounded the area where there were more than 200 youngsters,
boys and girls, who had gathered for drinking. Some had amplifiers mounted
on their motorcycles to play loud music, and others had brought a car and
turned the vehicle’s music system up loud.
Police spent more than two hours questioning the youths and checking their
documentation, before transferring those suspected of being under the
influence of narcotics for a drugs test.
More than 20 of the youths were found to be under the influence of drugs,
and 30 were found to either be lacking the necessary documentation for their
vehicles or to have illegally modified the vehicles.
Two were found to be carrying firearms. Nattawoot Mankhong, age 24, of
Rayong Province had a gun hidden under the seat of a Toyota Vigo pickup,
along with a .22 caliber bullet, and a 17-year-old boy from Chonburi
Province was in possession of a .38 revolver and six bullets.
Pravit Tippalak, 24, of Chonburi Province was in possession of a bag
containing the narcotic ice, and 24-year-old Tawatchai Sooksakon had five ya
ba tablets.
Pol Col Nopadol said that many tourists had filed complaints regarding the
area around Bali Hai Pier, where youngsters had been gathering drinking,
making a noise, and sometimes fighting. The mayor, police and volunteer
police had therefore mounted a cleanup operation, and the area will be
closely monitored in future.
Vocational school student unable to get his finger out
Patcharapol Panrak
A first-year vocational school student had his finger stuck in the
oil inlet hole of his motorcycle for 14 hours before his father decided to
call the rescue service to cut him free.
 Rescue
workers cut away the crank case cover in order to free the boy’s finger.
The boy, the son of a senior police officer, had decided to save money by
repairing his motorcycle at home, and got his finger stuck in the process.
Sawang Rojchanatham Sattahip Foundation received a call during the morning
of August 2 from Pol Lt Col Chaiyaporn Thongnatian, 40, of Bang Sarae
Sub-district to say that his son had been stuck to his motorcycle for 14
hours.
A team of rescue workers from the foundation and from Sattahip Municipality
Civil Disaster Prevention Section went to the scene and discovered
17-year-old Chiramas Natnitisin with his forefinger stuck in the oil inlet
hole of a Honda Wave S Series motorbike.
Chiramas said he is a first-year student at Pattanavesh Technology
Vocational School, which is located in Ban Chang District, Rayong Province.
Rescue workers used a hacksaw to cut the motorbike’s crank case cover in
order to free the boy’s finger, taking more than an hour before they could
free him.
Chiramas said the bike’s clutch was broken. He didn’t want to pay for it to
be repaired, and decided to try and fix the problem himself. At about 9
p.m., when he was using his finger to poke around in the oil inlet hole, the
digit became stuck. He tried to release himself, but the finger eventually
became sore and swollen.
Chaiyaporn said that his son likes to try mending things, and that he would
have called the rescue workers earlier but Chiramas didn’t want anyone to
come and cut away the motorcycle part. They both expected the swelling on
the finger to go down, but it didn’t do so, and eventually the rescue
services had to be called.
Blaze destroys furniture factory
Boonlua Chatree
Ten fire engines together with Sawang Boriboon Foundation rescue
workers and Pattaya City Disaster Relief officers rushed to a furniture
factory blaze at 8:50 p.m. on August 5.
They took more than two hours to put out the fire at the Pattaya Cane
Company, located on the inbound side of Sukhumvit Road next to the
Redemptorist Children’s Home.
The factory stands on an area of three rai and is a single-story building
with row houses for the staff. The flames consumed everything, although no
one was killed or injured.
Initial estimates of the damage put the amount at about 10 million baht.
There were 10 workers on the premises when the fire started, and they
reported hearing explosions behind the factory, where tools, paint and
thinner were stored. Investigators believe an electrical short circuit was
the cause of the blaze, which spread quickly.
Mrs Tassanee Chitchamroen, 55, a worker present at the time said that
employees tried to put out the flames but they couldn’t stop the blaze and
so escaped and called the rescue services.
Bandit Chumuang, 30, the general manager of the factory said the place has
been open for two years and has about 20 workers. The ownership is Thai and
foreign. The factory produces rattan furniture products for hotels, resorts
and new village projects, and distributes its products to furniture shops in
the Eastern region.
Four boys tested positive for drugs at internet shop
Police raid an internet shop
providing online games that was remaining open beyond the official time.
Boonlua Chatree
Police raiding an internet shop providing online games that was remaining
open beyond the official time tested the customers for drugs use and found
that four boys between the ages of eight and 14 had been taking narcotics.
Led by Pol Col Nopadol Wongnom, superintendent at Pattaya Police Station,
police entered the premises of the Funny Computer Games Shop at Soi 17 South
Pattaya at 3 a.m. on August 1.
The shop had been open between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 a.m. and was
allowing children between the ages of eight and 14 to use the services
without control, a total of 16 youngsters of that age group being present
when police arrived.
Traipob Boonpasong, the 39-year-old manager of the shop was detained for
questioning. Police also carried out urine tests on the 16 boys, with four
of them testing positive. The four boys admitted they had taken ya ba before
going to the shop to play computer games. Police detained the boys, who will
be sent to the rehab center in Chonburi.
The owner of the shop, Piyapol Thimpitak, was not on the premises at the
time of the police raid. Inspecting the documentation of the business,
police established that Piyapol had obtained permit number 382/2551 under
Section 20 of the Tape Cassette and Television Material Act BE 2530 (1987),
which allows the owner of the shop to be open from 8 a.m. to 12 midnight.
Consequently, the shop was operating after its permitted hours.
Piyapol has now been arrested and charged with staying open over the legal
time limit and allowing youngsters under 18 years of age to play in the
shop.
Plans take shape
for Vegetarian Festival
Saksiri Uraiworn
The Pattaya Vegetarian Festival will take place this fall, and a
meeting of the organizing committee recently took place at Pattaya City Hall
to decide on the format.
Deputy Mayor Verawat Khakhay chaired the meeting, which also included
Wuthipon Charoenphon, head of the Pattaya City Management Office, Somsak
Puengmuang, president of the Chefs Association of Pattaya City and the East
Coast, and officials from the Sawang Boriboon Thamasathan Foundation.
 Deputy
Mayor
Verawat Khakhay
The Tourism Authority of Thailand Central Office Region 3 is also taking
part in the organization of the event, which has become a regular feature of
the Pattaya tourism events calendar in recent years.
Verawat said that the festival would be centered on the Sawang Boriboon
Thamasathan Foundation’s offices, Naklua House, and that the format would be
the same as in recent years.
A parade will be held during the afternoon of the first day, starting from
Bali Hai Pier and progressing along Central Pattaya Road to Naklua.
A highlight of each year’s festival is the mass cooking in a giant pan of a
specific vegetarian dish that is distributed to participants, and the dish
this year will be Emperor Noodles.
Jesters and PSC combine to mend school roof
Chai Yo! Thank you for fixing
our roof.
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
Pattaya Sports Club and Jesters Care for Kids have together repaired
the roof at Bannork School with 400,000 baht of donated funds.
The handover was done on August 4, when school director Mrs Chanya Saema
officially accepted the new works from Jesters president Lewis “Woody”
Underwood, Bernie Tuppin, charity chairman of the PSC, and YWCA member
Nittaya Patimasongkroh.
Mrs Chanya said that the building had originally been a cafeteria, built
more than 20 years ago by local residents, and that subsequently the school
had modified it for use as classrooms. The state of the building had become
very dilapidated.
The YWCA Bangkok-Pattaya Center had served lunch to the children on the
previous National Children’s Day, and discovered that the roof of this
building was in a severe state of disrepair, and leaked whenever the weather
was wet.
Jesters and the PSC had hired skilled engineers to repair the roof and to
raise it to a higher level, allowing better ventilation. The works took more
than two months, but now the children have a comfortable place in which to
learn, and they don’t have to stop their lessons when it rains.
Bannork School is located in Huayai Sub-district and teaches from
kindergarten to primary school class 6. Currently, there are 101 students
and five teachers. Most of the youngsters are from families that have
migrated from the provinces in search of work.
Expo for a great wedding day
Vimolrat Singnikorn
The Amari Orchid Resort and Tower will stage its Wedding Dreams II expo on
August 16 and 17, showcasing everything needed for a successful wedding from
invitation cards to honeymoon packages.
 A
fine sample of the wedding attire on display August 16 & 17 at the Amari
Orchid Resort & Tower.
Announcing the event on August 1 at the hotel’s Aranda Ballroom were Deputy
Mayor Verawat Khakhay, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Central
Region 3 Office Chaiwat Charoensuk, Saran Tuntichamnun, general manager of
Central Festival Center, Reina Rances of Bangkok Hospital Pattaya’s
marketing department, and Dominik Stamm, general manager of Amari Orchid
Resort and Tower.
The exhibition will feature everything a couple needs to make their wedding
day a successful occasion, including wedding studios, jewelry, souvenirs,
invitation cards, cosmetics, honeymoon packages and wedding organizers.
There will be a celebrity wedding dress exhibition and a raffle for air
tickets, hotel and restaurant vouchers, a spa package from Siwara Spa,
cosmetic gift sets, a wedding studio package, and medical checkup and advice
from physicians from Bangkok Hospital Pattaya for couples before the
wedding.
The first 10 couples who book and pay their deposit for a wedding package at
the exhibition will receive the “Love and the City” offer, featuring
domestic round-trip air tickets for two. Also on offer will be VIP access to
the Thai Alangkarn Theatre, Major Cineplex, Tuxedo Entertainment, Underwater
World, Ripley’s World of Entertainment, Mini Siam, Tiffany’s Show,
20nailstudio, and more.
For more information please contact 0 38 418 418 or e-mail:
[email protected]
Auto show brings in the crowds despite rising gasoline prices
Mayor Itthipol Khunplome opens
the proceedings.
Saksiri Uraiworn
Motor Showcase 2008 was opened by Mayor Itthipol Khunplome on August
1 at Central Center Pattaya, with Thailand’s leading automobile companies
defying the gloom of rising gasoline prices and offering attractive
promotions for visitors.
Also at the opening were Saran Tantichamnan, general manager of the Central
Center Pattaya and Kittikhun Wipawanee, general manager of MN Organizer.
The exhibition, which ran for seven days, featured stands by Honda,
Mitsubishi, Toyota, Chevrolet, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Range Rover, Kia, Isuzu,
Ford, Alfa Romeo, and Mityon Pattaya.
Saran said that this was the fourth year Motor Showcase had been held, and
that in addition to being a superb display for the motor industry the event
also benefited shop owners within Central Center Pattaya, due to the large
number of visitors.
US Democrats in Thailand drum up support for Obama
Sawittree Namwiwatsuk
American Democrats are drumming up support amongst their fellow
countrymen living in Thailand for US presidential candidate Barack Obama in
the run-up to the election that will be held on November 4.
 Philip
S Robertson, chairman of Democrats Abroad Thailand is urging American
citizens to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
August 1 at the New Orleans Restaurant saw the Democrats Abroad Thailand
organization opening the Democrats Abroad Thailand Pattaya and the Eastern
Region Branch, along with holding a discussion about the forthcoming
election.
Philip S Robertson, chairman of Democrats Abroad Thailand along with Loran
Davidson of Democrats Abroad Eastern, and Rey Bwono, Democrats Abroad
Thailand volunteer discussed the Obama campaign with 30 American expats.
Robertson said that all American expats in Thailand have the right to vote
in the US presidential election, and that every vote counted. He said that
in the 2000 election between Al Gore and George Bush, there was a difference
of only 537 votes.
The meeting was held to debut the Democrats Abroad Thailand Pattaya and the
Eastern Region Branch, an area in which a lot of American expats reside.
Robertson said that Democrats Abroad are active worldwide, and in Asia have
branches in the Philippines, Indonesia, South Korea, Cambodia, Laos,
Vietnam, India, and Nepal. In Thailand, the organization has branches in
Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Korat, and Nongkhai, with their Bangkok
office acting as headquarters.
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