The Bulletin

Stephff's world

Revolution and tea leaf salad: The story of Mizzima Media

Book launch,
Monday, 10 March, 7pm

In 1990, Myanmar dissident Soe Myint and another student hijacked a Thai Airways flight to Yangon, forcing the plane to divert to Kolkata to highlight their demands for an end to military rule in Burma. Thus began a long court case and more than two decades of exile during which the dissidents set up independent media house Mizzima in 1998.

Today, Mizzima has more than 80 journalists and support staff working inside and outside Myanmar on television and radio broadcasts and text in Burmese and also English, Thai and Chinese. With scant budgets they manage to beam satellite and online TV and information services from jungle broadcasting stations and clandestine offices, as well as their exile offices in Thailand and India.

Like nearly all Burmese independent media, Mizzima Media was hard hit first by the fallout from Myanmar’s Feb. 1, 2021 military coup, which saw Mizzima’s headquarters in Yangon raided and closed, key staff arrested including co-founder Thin Thin Aung and Soe Myint and his team forced to flee Yangon. Having painstakingly rebuilt operations in exile and in parts of the country beyond the junta’s reach, Mizzima slowly regained momentum during 2023-24 as one of the largest media houses. But a fresh blow hit Burmese media in late 2024 as the US government and other key donors slashed funding to Myanmar media. The situation, in Soe Myint’s words, is “life and death” for the future of free media and independent reporting in Myanmar.

On this rare benefit evening at the FCCT, Mizzima Media would like to thank its friends for their support and invite all to the club for discussion and a light snack of Myanmar’s signature laphet thoke, or pickled tea leaf salad. Soe Myint will present his story and the saga of Mizzima in a new book “Resisting Military Rule in Burma (1988-2024),” co-authored with human rights lawyer Nandita Haksar.

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All welcome.

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This is not an FCCT-organized event.

Free and open.

Donations will be gratefully received.

The effect of the US Federal funding freezing in South East Asia and how to address it?

Panel discussion,
Wednesday, 12 March, 7pm

President Donald Trump's 90-day freeze on US foreign aid and the overhaul of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has halted critical humanitarian efforts globally, leaving health workers stranded and life-saving programs in limbo. Since the stop-work order on 28 January and the abrupt closure of USAID’s headquarters, the aid distribution system has been stalled, significantly impacting numerous programs in Southeast Asia. These include initiatives related to climate change, refugee support, healthcare and the empowerment of vulnerable communities.

Although US foreign aid is undergoing a pause and review, organizations worldwide cannot afford to halt their work. Peers from non-profit organizations have actively responded to financial and international cooperation challenges to sustain efforts in climate change, humanitarian aid and other public welfare initiatives.

Thus, this is a critical moment to host a discussion on the effect of the US Federal funding freeze in Southeast Asia and how to address it. The goal is to explore ways to move forward and effectively communicate the urgency of the issue to the public.

How do experts in this field see the effects and challenges in Southeast Asia? How are the non-profits that responded and tried to address the problems and what roles of other governments and international society can play? Join us in the FCCT clubhouse to hear from:

Panelists:

Leon de Riedmatten, executive director, The Border Consortium.

Patrick Phongsathorn, senior advocacy specialist, Fortify Rights.

Klaus Dik Nielsen, co-secretary general Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network.

Dee Lee, founder Inno Community Development Organization, president-elect of World Hepatitis Alliance.

Moderator: Peter T. du Pont, co-founder and co-CEO, co-convenor of CDx.

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This is not an FCCT-organized event.

Free and open.

Food and beverages will be available before the event.

Board games night

Tuesday, 11 March, 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.

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.

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Decriminalisation of same-sex acts effort in Asia and the Pacific: Enabling legal and policy environments for better health outcomes

Monday, 17 March, 6pm

Since its formation in 2007, APCOM has been calling for the removal of punitive and discriminatory laws, including the criminalization of same-sex relations and gender identity and/or expression.

In Asia and the Pacific region, we have seen positive efforts in terms of decriminalisation of same-sex sexual acts in India (2018), Bhutan (2021), Singapore (2022) and most recently Cook Islands (2023). However, seventeen countries still have colonial laws prohibiting consensual sex between men.

The prohibition impedes the HIV response in Asia and the Pacific including government’s leadership and investment into modernizing and scaling up HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care services; leveraging innovative solutions such as pre-exposure prophylaxis and virtual interventions; removing barriers to accessing services; prioritizing key populations particularly young people; and also, empowering community leadership and community-led response.

Implementing legal and policy reforms and decriminalisation will address the inequalities and the epidemic trends affecting progress in the HIV response in Asia and the Pacific, in particular the young people (aged 15-24) and their sexual partners that is driving the HIV infections in the region.

As part of the celebration of Zero Discrimination Day, a Day that is dedicated to the right of everyone to live a full and productive life, and live it with dignity and free from discrimination -- this session the eminent speakers share strategies and the need to decriminalization and reminded us to be vigilant, constructive, rational, engaging and empathetic at the same time.

Speakers:

His Excellency Namgay Tshering, Minister of Finance, The Royal Government of Bhutan: Namgay Tshering is Bhutan’s third democratically elected minister of finance, who formally took charge of the Ministry on 7th November 2018. He is also a member of the National Assembly of Bhutan. Prior to joining politics, his Excellency Lyonpo served as the project coordinator of the World Bank and Global Fund Project and as the planning officer and program manager in the Ministry of Health.

The Hon. Michael Kirby, APCOM LGBTQI human rights ambassador: Michael Kirby is an international jurist, educator and former judge. He served as a deputy president of the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission (1975-83); chairman of the Australian Law Reform Commission (1975-84); judge of the Federal Court of Australia (1983-4); president of the New South Wales Court of Appeal (1984-96); president of the Court of Appeal of Solomon Islands (1995-96) and justice of the High Court of Australia (1996-2009).

Professor Emeritus Vitit Muntarbhorn, Former UN independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity and member of the UN Commissions of Inquiry on human rights: Vitit Muntarbhorn was the former UN independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity and member of the UN Commissions of Inquiry on human rights. In 2021, he was appointed as UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia by the UN Human Rights Council. He is the recipient of various awards, including the 2004 UNESCO Human Rights Education Prize

Eamonn Murphy, Director, UNAIDS regional support teams for Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe and Central Asia regions: He leads UNAIDS’ efforts in promoting an expanded and integrated United Nations system response to HIV at the country and regional levels for Asia-Pacific and Eastern Europe and Central Asia regions. He provides the strategic direction, advocacy, coordination, and technical support needed to catalyse and connect leadership from governments, communities and key partners to deliver life-saving HIV services.

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‍About APCOM

‍APCOM works to improve the health, rights, and well-being of the diverse and dynamic communities that we serve. APCOM wants a world where people of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sex characteristics can fully participate in and achieve sustainable development in all aspects of their health, rights and wellbeing.Celebrating its 18th anniversary this year, and recently launching its new strategic plan Relentless, APCOM is a regional organisation covering Asia and the Pacific region based in Bangkok, Thailand. Our work centers on Advocacy & Research, Education & Innovation, and Community Engagement & Empowerment.

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FB: https://www.facebook.com/apcom.org‍

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apcom_org

‍X: https://x.com/apcom

‍LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/apcom-foundation

‍Website: https://www.apcom.org

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‍This is not an FCCT-organized event.

Free and open to all but limited seats.

Backlash: Donald Trump and the remaking of America

Book talk,
Wednesday, 19 March, 7pm

Views of the United States of America globally are often as polarised as those within the United States itself. President Donald Trump in his second term has stacked his team with loyalists and at home is downsizing the bureaucracy of the federal government, while abroad dismantling US aid, imposing sweeping trade tariffs, and upending assumptions about America long held by the international community and many in the strategic community in the United States itself.

‍“Backlash: Donald Trump and the Remaking of America,” a new book by Nirmal Ghosh, veteran foreign correspondent and a former president of the FCCT, has received high praise for penetrating the noise for an unvarnished look at the paradoxes of a superpower at an uncertain period of geo-political upheaval -- and offers lessons from the rise and return to power of Donald Trump.

Bio:

Nirmal Ghosh has had a 30-year career as a foreign correspondent. He is a former US Bureau Chief (2016-2023) of The Straits Times and prior to that Indochina Bureau Chief (2003-2016) based in Bangkok. He is also a former president of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines. He is currently an independent writer and podcaster, and works as well on wildlife conservation and transnational organized crime issues. Backlash is his sixth book.

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 300 baht; Thai media and students with ID, 150 baht.

Bar and restaurant open.

FCCT pub trivia

Friday, 21 March, 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.

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Advanced table bookings encouraged here.

Free and open to all.

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