The Bulletin

Stephff's world

Navigating Southeast Asia's transition away from fossil fuels

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Monday, 10 August, 10am

Southeast Asia sits at the frontline of climate and biodiversity crises. Despite implications from the closing of the Strait of Hormuz and climate impacts compounded by events like the Super El Niño and immense renewable energy potential, the region remains locked into fossil fuels, with ambitious plans for oil, gas, and LNG expansion.

Yet, realities on the ground tell a different story. Several gas and LNG projects in Vietnam and the Philippines have been delayed or cancelled. Local and indigenous communities are actively resisting expansions of gas and LNG facilities, while renewable energy deployment and supportive policies continue to gain momentum across the region.

This media briefing, organized by the Energy Shift Southeast Asia (http://energyshiftsea.org), is tailored specifically for journalists covering climate, energy and biodiversity. It will provide a deep dive into Southeast Asia’s current realities unfolding on the ground and its trajectory.

Energy Shift Southeast Asia is a network of climate and environmental groups that brings together advocates to help draw attention to the transformation from fossil fuel dependency to a renewable energy-powered landscape. This initiative serves as a platform, uniting civil society entities from around the world in a collective effort to advance a just energy transition in Southeast Asia.

Speaker:

Anj Dacanay, Southeast Asia Just Energy Transition Lead, Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development

This is not an FCCT event. Free and open to all.Bar and restaurant open.

Who is the real ‘devil’ in Thailand’s fishing industry?

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Press conference and panel discussion, Friday, 14 August, 10am

Thais and foreigners across the country have been drawn to the “Evil Lawyer” series on Netflix, which has included scenes depicting unspeakable atrocities committed aboard a Thai fishing vessel. But the Migrant Working Group maintains that real life is more dramatic than this TV series. They will hold a press conference to discuss the serious problems plaguing the Thai fishing industry and explore critical issues of culpability and accountability.

They aim to debate whether the “devil” is individual fishing boat captains, owners or companies, or if there is something more profoundly and structurally wrong in the way the industry is organized and operates.

Speakers will cover the gamut of issues related to labor rights, migrant regulation, the application of environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards, international trade requirements, human trafficking and forced labor, and the implementation of the ILO’s Work in Fishing Convention (No. 188), which Thailand ratified in 2019. That ratification contributed to Thailand avoiding a “yellow card” from the European Union, but with recent changes in laws and regulations that weaken protections for fishers, will Thailand slide back to a “red card” in the future?  

A panel of expert speakers will include:

Sahasawat Khumkong, People’s Party MP;

A representative of the International Labour Organization (ILO);

A representative of the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF);

A representative of the Stella Maris Seafarers’ Welfare Center, Songkhla;  

A representative of the Thai Labor Solidarity Confederation (TLSC);

A representative of the Migrant Working Group (MWG);

This is not an FCCT event. Free and open to all.Bar and restaurant open.

The Chao Mae Thapthim Shrine case: Heritage preservation and the human cost of redevelopment

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Panel discussion, Thursday, 20 August, 7pm

Development around the Chao Mae Thapthim Shrine in Sam Yan (Photo by The Momentum).

The century-old Chao Mae Thapthim Shrine in Bangkok's Sam Yan district has become the focal point of a high-profile dispute over Chulalongkorn University’s Block 33 redevelopment project, raising broader questions about how cities balance urban renewal with the preservation of cultural heritage and historic communities.

As legal challenges over the project’s construction and the shrine’s future have unfolded, campaigners have also drawn attention to allegations that dozens of construction workers involved in the development have gone unpaid for more than a year, expanding the debate to include labour rights, public accountability and the social costs of redevelopment.

This panel brings together activists, a filmmaker, an MP and workers directly affected by the dispute to examine how a campaign to save a historic shrine evolved into a wider conversation about urban development, governance and workers' rights. The discussion will include an interactive investigation into the Block 33 project, a short documentary, testimony from affected workers and an update on the parliamentary inquiry into the case.

Speakers:

Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, Sam Yan Press founder, Harvard Divinity School student, recipient of the Prince Claus Seed Award and Thailand’s first conscientious objector to military conscription.

Jirapreeya “Mew” Saeboo, Sam Yan Press manager and coordinator of the Morning Glory Collective, who will present the Wage Theft Watch investigation into the Block 33 project.

Pichanun Srisawad, filmmaker and researcher at 101 PUB – 101 Public Policy Think Tank, who will show a short documentary on the experiences of affected construction workers.

“Auntie Pha”, construction worker hit by the Block 33 wage dispute, waiting over a year for unpaid wages.

Thanaporn “Mai” Wijan, MP from the People’s Party, who will discuss the parliamentary probe into the Block 33 case and broader issues of labour protection in Thailand.

A representative from Property Management of Chulalongkorn University.

Moderator: TBC

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 400 baht; students and local media with ID 150 baht.Bar and restaurant open.

Timor-Leste (East Timor): ASEAN’s newest member looks forward from a painful past

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Film screening, photo exhibition and panel, Thursday, 27 August, 6:30pm

Last October, Timor-Leste (East Timor) became the newest member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, taking its place among regional peers 26 years after the end of a brutal occupation by Indonesia.

Following its invasion in 1975, Indonesia largely sealed off the territory. During the occupation, approximately 20-30 percent of the population were killed or died from hunger and illness. Only a handful of passionate and committed foreign journalists made it into East Timor under those conditions. One who did was John Martinkus, who later authored a penetrating account about the conflict titled ‘A Dirty Little War’. Martinkus died in his native Australia last year but is still seen by many in Timor-Leste as a hero.

Martinkus helped alerted the world to the emerging threat from Indonesian military-supported militias that in 1999 tried to brutalize the Timorese into rejecting independence. Those violent tactics failed but cost many lives and destroyed much of the new nation’s infrastructure.  Almost 30 years later, Timor-Leste enjoys good ties with Indonesia, and is looking to its ASEAN partners and southern neighbour Australia to help grow its economy.

Join us for a reflection on the country’s remarkable journey while honoring the late John Martinkus and other journalists who documented the war in Timor-Leste at a rare screening of Carmela Baranowska’s powerful documentary, ‘Scenes from an Occupation,’ which won the 2000 Rory Peck Award and is the only film to document the last six months of Indonesia’s occupation. There will also be an exhibition of photos by Ian Timberlake, an Agence France-Presse correspondent who was in Timor-Leste and knew Martinkus well.

Francisco Tilman Cepeda, ambassador of Timor-Leste to Thailand, will make opening remarks before the film.

After the film, there will be a panel of speakers:

Dr Carmela Baranowska, director of ‘Scenes from an Occupation: East Timor 1999’.

Ian Timberlake, AFP correspondent in East Timor in 1999. His photos from the period are being exhibited in conjunction with this panel.

Moderator: Jonathan Head, who covered the 1999 events and is an FCCT board member.

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 400 baht; students and local media with ID 150 baht.Bar and restaurant open.

Co-working at the FCCT

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Tuesday, 11 August, 10am

Need a change of scenery from your home office? Join us for a coworking day at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand (FCCT) -- a perfect space for working professionals, digital nomads and anyone looking to break free from the home-office routine.

Enjoy a spacious, comfortable workspace with dedicated tables, a full restaurant, café and bar and exclusive lunch specials just for this event.

Whether you're tackling deadlines or networking with like-minded professionals, this is an opportunity to be productive in a collaborative, social environment. Come work, connect, and enjoy great food because working remotely doesn’t have to mean working alone.

Free and open to all.Bar and restaurant open.

Board games night

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Tuesday, 11 August, 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.

Free and open to all.Bar and restaurant open.

FCCT pub trivia

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Friday, 28 August, 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.

Free and open to all.Bar and restaurant open.

"As a foreign correspondent, you're an observer"
Jonathan Head

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Dateline Bangkok podcast

Watch the full video at this link.

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