Thailand grows dependent on Chinese tourists to keep thriving

Hello World. Monday is quickly disappearing over the western horizon.
This is Fishwrap for Tuesday, 23 January.
  

A Canadian is merely an unarmed American with health care. -- John Wing Jr.
   

I can't ask our supporters to volunteer their time and donate their resources if we don't have a clear path to victory.
Ron DeSantis, governor of the U.S. state of Florida, throws in the surrender towel in his attempt to be U.S. president.

THAILAND IMMIGRATION ONLINE
Thai Immigration Bureau launches (another, new) site for 90-day reporting

All foreigners in Thailand have to report to immigration after 90 days in-country. Over, and over, and over again -- the bane of living in Thailand, with a hefty fine of 2,000 baht if you're late.
The online platform, called "90 Days Online Notification Project", was launched on Monday in a ceremony presided over by National Police chief 3-star Lieutenant General Ittipol Ittisarnronnachai.
Check it out: https://www.immigration.go.th/
https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40034911
There is also a portal, still developing but working, for applications to remain in Thailand for another year.

USA POLITICS
It's Trump!

It is a bitter day for the U.S. Republican Party. And for America.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has backed down, out of the presidential race and endorsed Donald Trump.

Miami Herald: https://shorturl.at/nwXZ6
Powerline Analysis: https://t.ly/ELzNG

Nikki Haley clutches her fantasy that she can still win and be president.
But actually, she can do neither.
https://twitter.com/ByronYork/status/1749197246363586765

EAST ASIA WEATHER
ATTENTION ALL TAIWANESE. Keep your winter coats close.
And keep your longjohns closer
https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202401210004

Warning includes Taipei, the capital
Thailand temperatures plunge to single-digits overnight in mountainous North and Isan
Plenty of frost, no snow

ILLNESS EPIDEMIC

Hmm. Think about it!
Imagine a disease more infectious than any other known to medical science, that would kill 2.6 million young children every year and leave millions more with deafness and even brain damage.
Measles is the most infectious disease known to science.
Measles' R number (the average number of people someone with the virus will go on to infect) of 15 or more puts even the most rampant variants of SARS-CoV-2 in the shade.
 Adults should consider getting another MMR vaccine
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-01-measles-infectious-disease-science-adults.html

THAILAND ECONOMY
Probably, it seems, Bangkok and all of Thailand is on the edge of a housing bubble.

Also, virtually all downtown office buildings.
 The Bangkok Real Estate Oversupply Indicator
 Government Housing Bank Ombudsman:
[T]he oversupply sign is beginning. In Nonthaburi province's Pak Kred district, a northern suburb of Bangkok, with 6,220 units unsold and sitting vacant.
Khao Sod (Fresh News) https://shorturl.at/kwyJV

Thailand eagerly awaits the Chinese New Year -- and plenty of tourist spending.

PHOTO is last year's celebration in Yaowaraj -- Bangkok Chinatown.
The government believes that lavish spending by tourists during the Chinese holiday week, February 8-16, will more than triple from last year.
The TAT, Tourism Authority of Thailand, is forecasting exactly 995,000 visitors for that holiday week, from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Citizens of those three do not require visas.
TAT governor Thapanee Kiatphaibool (Ms) expects each of those visitors to spend 58,236 baht, 8 percent more than last February.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2728107/

Sisdivachr Cheewarattanaporn, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents (Atta), said Chinese market sentiment is picking up.
However
The main concerns for the Chinese market are frequent road and boat accidents

Also, there are warnings to 'keep the optimism down'
Thailand's prospects for exports and tourism are very much 'joined at the hip' to China's outlook.
For example...
The Thai tourism industry posted a disappointing result in terms of arrivals from China last year. There were only 3.5 million visitors, falling far short of the original goal of 5-7 million.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2728232/

Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai went to America with one plea:
Buy more Thai rice!
And other products but fragrant rice wasat the top of his sales list.

PHOTO: Farmers, hard at work in Phichit province.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2726675/

Minister Phumtham Wechayachai seriously pushed the Americans on the issue of hom mali -- often called jasmine rice because it's fragrant.

 America is already the world's biggest customer, outside of Thailand, that is.
Phumtham pushed hard to get Americans 'and the large Thai and Asian communities with high purchasing power' on the country's west coast -- to sell high-class Thai food exports.
The U.S. currently buys 605,170 tonnes of jasmine rice and Phumtham told them that they could do better.
Phumtham met 'social media influencers' and urged them to push harder to promote Thai food content.
Payment details, if any, were unrevealed.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2726675/

USA JOURNALISM
OH! The Horrors!
El Lay Times employees go on strike, get whiplash when the consequences arrive.

ISRAEL HAMAS TERRORISTS BLINKEN USA BIDEN
This was Fishwrap news yesterday, and it's Analysis Today.
Stay Firm Bibi: Blinken Pushes Two-State Solution Again, Netanyahu Says Not Happening.
https://victorygirlsblog.com/blinken-pushes-two-state-solution-again-netanyahu-says-not-happening/

[Tuesday Morning Shaggy Dog Groaning-Pun Joke]

An Englishman, a Scot, an Irishman, a Welshman, a Latvian, a Turk, a German, an Indian, several Americans (including a Hawaiian and an Alaskan Inuit), an Argentinean, a Dane, an Australian, a Slovak, an Egyptian, a Japanese, a Moroccan, a Frenchman, a New Zealander, a Spaniard, a Russian, a Guatemalan, a Colombian, a Pakistani, a Malaysian, a Croatian, a Uzbek, a Cypriot, a Pole, a Lithuanian, a Chinese, a Sri Lankan, a Lebanese, a Cayman Islander, a Ugandan, a Vietnamese, a Korean, a Uruguayan, a Czech, an Icelander, a Mexican, a Finn, a Honduran, a Panamanian, an Andorran, an Israeli, a Venezuelan, an Iranian, a Fijian, a Peruvian, an Estonian, a Syrian, a Brazilian, a Portuguese, a Liechtensteiner, a Mongolian, a Hungarian, a Canadian, a Moldovan, a Haitian, a Norfolk Islander, a Macedonian, a Bolivian, a Cook Islander, a Tajikistani, a Samoan, an Armenian, an Aruban, an Albanian, a Greenlander, a Micronesian, a Virgin Islander, a Georgian, a Bahaman, a Belarusian, a Cuban, a Tongan, a Cambodian, a Canadian, a Qatari, an Azerbaijani, a Romanian, a Chilean, a Jamaican, a Filipino, a Ukrainian, a Dutchman, a Ecuadorian, a Costa Rican, a Swede, a Bulgarian, a Serb, a Swiss, a Greek, a Belgian, a Singaporean, an Italian, a Norwegian and 2 Africans walk into a fine restaurant.
The maître d' sniffed and explained, "Mesdames et messieurs I'm so terribly sorry but you cannot come in here without a Thai". (H/T Ciampino)

GLOBAL WARMING is the most lucrative 'profession' on Earth. Minor examples.
The somewhat mentally disabled Greta the Great is a multi-millionaire.
Albert Gore, Vietnam combat vet, can quite fairly declare Mission Accomplished.
After he lost the presidential election to George W, Gore set up a 'green investment firm.' It pays him a salary of US$2 million per month -- 71 million baht-and-change, which seems to be a living wage.
Plenty more details at The Daily Mail: https://shorturl.at/zTY38

Well, Harvard. It's what they do! https://t.ly/nitXY
"New" Harvard faculty and staff coalition demands university cut ties with Israel.
Yale, never different. https://t.ly/dHf9j
Yale students walk out of class on first day of semester to protest school's 'complicity in genocide'

Further SHOCKED, SHOCKED, SHOCKED: Harvard University's antisemitism taskforce appointee is (wait for it) an antisemite.
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2024/01/harvard_universitys_antisemitism_taskforce_appointee_is_wait_for_it_an_antisemite.html

Also EDUCATION: Wellington gets the boot from the history dunces.
In other news of historical ignorance, Napoleon invented brandy, Caesar created a salad, and Alexander the Great created a cocktail combining cognac, creme de cacao and cream.
 'Neil Armstrong, have you been anywhere interesting during your career?'
Good grief, I know teaching of British history is nowadays outrageously skewed and bowdlerised, but I didn't realise things had got this bad.  
Read it all, it's that good.
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/wellington-gets-the-boot-from-the-history-dunces/

True Story, from this last weekend.