The Bulletin

‍Stephff's world

Human Rights Watch world report 2025 (Asia release): Citizens across Asia stand up against oppression

Press conference,
Friday, 17 January, 10.30am

The World Report 2025 examines the human rights situation in more than 100 countries worldwide over the past year. At the Asia launch, we will discuss chapters focusing on Asian countries and regional trends of rising authoritarianism and transnational repression. These include: intensifying abuses and crimes against humanity in China, Myanmar and North Korea; escalating repression of civil society in Vietnam and Cambodia; and weakening of democratic institutions and the rule of law in India, Pakistan and Thailand. Discussing how despite these setbacks, people across Asia have bravely risked their lives to stand up against oppression.

Join us in the FCCT clubhouse or via Facebook live, to hear from:

‍Elaine Pearson, Asia director, Human Rights Watch. Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director, Human Rights Watch.

‍Sunai Phasuk, senior Thailand researcher, Human Rights Watch.

Moderator: Phil Robertson, FCCT board member. Please note, space is limited.

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Please RSVP by January 15 to:Judy Kwon, deputy media director, Asia, Human Rights Watch, kwon@hrw.org.

‍To join virtually, please register at the link below:

‍https://hrworg.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_SNnMaw2_SaapCtVT4ROYtg

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Note: The news conference will be conducted in English.

‍For more information, please contact:In Seoul, Judy Kwon (English, Korean, Mandarin): +1- 929-448-1018; or kwonj@hrw.org.

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This is not an FCCT-organized event.

Free and open to all. Tea and coffee will be provided.

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Board games night

Tuesday, 14 January, 7pm

Join us for a chilled night of board games with The Boring Club. Try your luck with classics like chess and backgammon or modern games including Catan and Pandemic.

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The bar and restaurant will be open. Try our pizzas from the new pizza oven. The Boring Club meets at the FCCT clubhouse for games every Tuesday at 7pm.

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Free and open to all.

The incoming Trump administration: What it means for Asia and the world

Monday, 20 January, 7pm

On January 20, 2025, at 12pm in Washington, D.C., Donald Trump will take the oath of office as US president for the second time. Just hours before Trump appears at the US capitol for the inauguration ceremony, the FCCT will assemble a panel of experts to speak about what his new administration will mean for the US, Thailand and the wider Asia region -- and the world.

In media interviews, and via his Truth social media account, Trump has vowed to implement a host of new measures that will be very different from those of his predecessor, Joe Biden. Among other things, Trump has promised to impose new tariffs on trading partners, round up millions of illegal migrants in the US, quit the Paris climate agreement and reverse US policy on global warming, bring about a peace agreement in Ukraine, step back from NATO, pardon January 6th rioters, re-start negotiations with North Korea, retaliate against his domestic and international political opponents, engage in massive budget cutting, bring in a new crypto-currency policy and overturn the “deep state” that he claims controls the US government’s civil service.

While Trump has publicly disavowed the conservative Project 2025 blueprint, many of the architects of that plan will be joining his administration in senior positions. The incoming Trump administration has been much more disciplined in putting forward nominees for key positions, raising the possibility that lessons learned in his first administration may see more streamlined governance this time around.

But if the world learned anything from the first Trump administration, what you see and hear from President Trump is not always what you get. So, government leaders and people around the globe will be again watching closely in an effort to parse what is mere rhetoric from what policies will be really implemented.

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To make sense of what the return of Donald Trump as president really means, the FCCT presents a panel of experts, including:

‍Thitinan Pongsudhirak, professor of Political Science and International Relations, and senior fellow at the Institute of Security and International Studies, Chulalongkorn University.

‍Keith Richburg, editorial writer and columnist, The Washington Post.

‍Kantathi Suphamongkhon, former Thai foreign minister.Other speakers to be announced.

Moderator: Phil Robertson, FCCT board member.

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Members who wish to book in advance should email info@fccthai.com or call the FCCT office on 02-652-0580.

Non-members can use this link.Members free, non-members 450 baht; Thai media and students with ID, 150 baht.

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Bar and restaurant open.

Forever stuck in limbo: Uyghurs in Thai immigration detention

Wednesday, 22 January, 7pm

For more than a decade, a group of Uyghur men have been held in cramped and unsanitary conditions in immigration detention in Thailand. Now numbering 48 individuals, these Uyghur are the victims of a cruel game of the Chinese government’s transnational repression and realpolitik, with Beijing demanding their return to Xinjiang to face a highly uncertain fate. To date, at least five Uyghurs have died from treatable health conditions while in Thai custody.

Yet after former Prime Minister Gen. Prayut Chan-ocha and the NCPO military junta government sent another group of at least 109 Uyghurs back to China in May 2015, Thailand faced a torrent of international criticism from the UN and governments across Europe, North America and the Muslim world which stunned Bangkok. That same coalition of governments, backed by civil society groups and the exiled Uyghur diaspora, is strongly demanding Thailand allow the 48 to resettle and reunite with family members already overseas.

But Thailand fears antagonizing China, its powerful northern neighbor and major trade partner, either by formally recognizing the 48 Uyghurs as refugees, or simply releasing them, and permitting them to leave Thailand to resettle and live safely elsewhere.

In a comprehensive 2022 report, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights found that Uyghurs in Xinjiang face “interlocking patterns of severe and undue restrictions on a wide range of human rights,” including “far-reaching, arbitrary and discriminatory restrictions on human rights and fundamental freedoms, in violation of international norms and standards.” What the Thai government does next is particularly relevant since the government just took its seat on the UN Human Rights Council earlier this month.

Who are these men who have been trapped for the past decade? What do they and their families want? How has Thailand justified holding them for so long? And will 2025 finally see a change in their situation, for better or for worse?

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A panel of experts will discuss this political, moral and humanitarian conundrum, including:

‍Nyrola Elimae, Uyghur researcher and journalist, and author of NY Times Magazine expose on the escape of a Uyghur from Thai custody.

‍Mother of one of the current Uyghur detainees (audio message).Sophie Richardson, co-executive director, Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD).

‍Kannavee Seubsang, member of the Thai parliament, FAIR Party.Chalida Tajaroeunsuk, chairperson, People's Empowerment Foundation (PEF).

‍Angkhana Neelapaijit, member of the Thai senate, and former National Human Rights commissioner.

‍Representative of the Royal Thai Government (to be confirmed).Representative(s) of relevant UN agencies (to be confirmed).Representative(s) of civil society organizations in Thailand (to be confirmed).

Moderator: Phil Robertson, FCCT board member.

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Members who wish to book in advance should email info@fccthai.com or call the FCCT office on 02-652-0580.

Non-members can use this link.

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Members free, non-members 450 baht; Thai media and students with ID, 150 baht.

Bar and restaurant open.

Amitav Acharya, could Burma turn a corner in 2025?

Lunchtime book talk,
Friday, 24 January, 12.15pm

In 2023, Amitav Acharya published the book, “Tragic Nation Burma: Why and How Democracy Failed” (Penguin Random House) in which he explored events leading up to and following the military coup of February 2021 in Myanmar. In this lunchtime talk, he will draw on his extensive research and update his reflections, based on recent developments.

Among key issues are rapidly changing perceptions of the country’s prospects, especially the military regime’s position and the continuing evolution of resistance forces; the prospective “elections”; and the role of ASEAN as well as Asian and Western powers, including China, India and the US.

He will also discuss the regime’s plan for elections later this year and its likely intent to claim that a poll, no matter how flawed, fulfils its promise of “a free and fair multiparty general election,” as announced by the regime when it seized power.

Acharya is a distinguished professor and UNESCO chair in Transnational Challenges and Governance at the School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC.  He is chair of the ASEAN and Indo-Pacific Studies Initiative (ASI) at American University. Another recent work is “ASEAN and Regional Order: Revisiting Security Community in Southeast Asia,” (Routledge 2021).

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Join us for this lunchtime talk and accompanying Q&A session.

Speaker: Amitav Acharya, American University, Washington DC.

Moderator: Gwen Robinson, past president, FCCT.

Members who wish to book in advance should email info@fccthai.com or call the FCCT office on 02-652-0580.

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Non-members can use this link.

Members free, non-members 250 baht.

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Bar and restaurant open. A full lunch menu will be available.

FCCT pub trivia

Friday, 24 January, 7pm

Gather your friends and colleagues for a night of pub trivia at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand.

Come for a bite and a beverage and test your knowledge. 1,000 baht bar tab up for grabs for the winning team, to be redeemed on the night.Advanced table bookings encouraged here.

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Free and open to all.

Train journeys with Chinese characteristics: From green trains to high-speed rail

Book talk,
Monday, 27 January, 7pm

In 2010, Thomas Bird was hired as a magazine editor in Shenzhen. As he worked on the news pages, he realised that he was living through the biggest railway-building boom in human history.Beginning with China’s first high-speed railway from Beijing to Tianjin in 2008, the country had -- by the time Bird left his job at the magazine in 2013 -- laid the world’s longest high-speed rail (HSR) network at around 10,000 km. By 2019, as the pandemic brought the curtain down on rail travel in China, the country boasted more dedicated HSR than the rest of world combined.From 2014, Bird explored China Railways in depth, travelling the length and breadth of the People’s Republic while reporting for publications including South China Morning Post, DestinAsian magazine, Geographical magazine and others.Encompassing the vastness and diversity of China (a country 40 times the size of the UK), travel on the “iron dragon” offered a particular lens through which to view the rapidly-changing nation. Bird’s experiences, on and off the rails, are documented in his travelogue “Harmony Express: Travels By Train Through China” (Earnshaw Books, 2023). Harmony Express is a work of travel literature, reporting the stories of those Bird encountered on Chinese trains. On this evening, Bird and two other rail travel experts will also discuss other vital aspects of the rail adventure, including the impact of “railway imperialism” on China, a semi-colonial experience that informs the contemporary obsession with “catching-up” and the grander state-building project -- connecting the most disparate and disputed regions to one railway “grid” including Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

This is particularly relevant to Southeast Asia since the Laos–China railway opened in 2021 and the China-built Woosh! HSR train launched in Java in 2023. China’s “railway diplomacy,” the Belt and Road Initiative and designs for a Pan-Asian Network will likely accelerate, as great power competition heats up through the 2020s.

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Speakers:Thomas Bird, travel writer, long-form culture journalist and author of Harmony Express.‍

Richard Barrow, Thai travel and railway blogger, writer of online Thai travel guides and travel news for nearly 30 years.

‍Chris Cottrell, former China resident and veteran journalist in Asia.Moderator:

‍Gwen Robinson, past president, FCCT.

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Members who wish to book in advance should email info@fccthai.com or call the FCCT office on 02-652-0580.

Non-members can use this link.

Members free, non-members 300 baht; Thai media and students with ID, 150 baht.

Bar and restaurant open.

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The FCCT is grateful for the support of corporate sponsor Bitkub. For more information about the club's corporate sponsorship program contact: info@fccthai.com.

The FCCT expresses appreciation for the support provided by corporate sponsor Bumrungrad International Hospital. For more information about the club's corporate sponsorship program contact: info@fccthai.com.

Heart valve disease: A possible hidden danger!

The heart consists of 4 chambers with the valves opening and closing to let blood pass through between the upper and the lower chambers in one direction, and not backward.

Heart valve disease occurs when one or more of the heart valves do not open or close properly. This causes the heart muscles to work harder to pump blood for the body’s requirements. This can result in heart failure and death.

What are the symptoms of heart valve diseases?

• Fatigue, tired when doing daily activities.
• Difficulty breathing while doing activities or lying down.
• Rapid weight gain.
• Swelling in various organs such as the abdomen, legs, ankles and feet.
• Cardiac arrhythmia such as fast or irregular heartbeat.
• Fever and body aches, if due to infection.
• In severe cases, too much fluid in the lungs, difficulty breathing and loss of consciousness.

What is the treatment for heart valve disease?‍

There are many ways to treat heart valve disease. Currently, Bumrungrad Hospital has the technology for heart valve replacement without surgery, offering good results and highly safe.

Learn more about heart valve disease and treatment option here.

Send us an enquiry today by clicking here.

FCCT’s new podcast: Dateline Bangkok episode three

For this week's episode of the Dateline Bangkok podcast, Tommy Walker speaks with Mookdapa Yangyuenpradorn.

This interview will discuss Mookdapa’s work as an activist, Thailand’s marriage equality bill and the LGBTQ+ community.

Mookdapa talks about how she got into activism for gender rights, including her studies in London, her work at Fortify Rights and her participation in Thailand’s 2020 protests.

Mookdapa also explains the importance of Thailand’s marriage equality law, why it matters and what other gender related issues she continues to advocate for.

Watch the full episode here.

Also now on Spotify.

New to Bangkok? Under 35?

Are you under 35? Check out our special offer below! For further details, please contact info@fccthai.com.

New FCCT merchandise

Advertise in the FCCT's Bulletin at special discount rates

Individuals and organisations are welcome to take out advertising in the weekly FCCT Bulletin which reaches nearly 4,000 people in the club’s network. Guidelines

• Write a catchy headline, followed by a maximum of three sentences + contact email/phone number/ link to a website for further details if applicable.

To book an ad please email: info@fccthai.com