Facebook Blocks Group Critical of Thai King After Government Pressure
2020-08-27
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Facebook has blocked a discussion group that includes criticism of Thailand's monarchy after pressure from the government.
2Facebook said in a statement it felt "compelled" to block the group because it contained material the Thai government considers illegal.
3Thailand has strict laws that prevent open discussion and criticism of the country's monarchy.
4Facebook noted the seriousness of its action, saying such government orders "have a chilling effect on people's ability to express themselves.
5The group is only blocked for Facebook users in Thailand.
6It is available in all other places.
7The company said it was preparing a legal challenge to the government request.
8The Facebook group, called "Royalist Marketplace," was created in April by Pavin Chachavalpongpun.
9He is a self-exiled activist and critic of the monarchy.
10He now lives in self-exile in Japan.
11Pavin said the group had reached 1 million members just a few days ago.
12Pavin criticized Facebook for giving in to government pressure.
13"By accepting the requests, whether you like it or not, you become part of that, you become a part of the support that you gave to the authoritarian" government, Pavin told The Associated Press.
14Pavin was not in Thailand when the country's current prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, led a military coup in 2014.
15At the time, Prayuth was the army chief.
16Following the coup, the ruling government called on critics of the government and monarchy, including Pavin, to come forward.
17Pavin decided to remain outside the country.
18He is currently a professor at Kyoto University.
19Prayuth told reporters on Tuesday the government had asked Facebook to block the page because it violates Thai law.
20He said the government would push back against any legal challenge to its request.
21Pavin said that after the Facebook group was blocked he immediately created another one that is mostly the same.
22That page is called "Royalist Marketplace-Talad Luang."
23The term "Talad Luang" means "Royalist Marketplace."
24The new group already has more than 500,000 members.
25Many have moved over from the blocked page.
26"Our group is part of a democratization process, it is a space for freedom of expression," Pavin told Reuters news agency.
27A growing number of youth-led protests have taken place in Thailand in recent weeks in a movement partly inspired by the Hong Kong protests last year.
28The protesters oppose the current military-run government.
29In addition, activists have for the first time openly called for reforms in the monarchy system.
30Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn enjoys extraordinary power because he receives support from the military and the country's billionaire families.
31Since becoming king, he has taken direct control of the palace's fortune, estimated to be worth up to $60 billion.
32The protesters are calling for more openness about the royal family's finances and an end to the country's defamation law related to the king.
33They also want to see a new parliament elected and a new constitution created.
34I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Facebook has blocked a discussion group that includes criticism of Thailand's monarchy after pressure from the government. 2Facebook said in a statement it felt "compelled" to block the group because it contained material the Thai government considers illegal. Thailand has strict laws that prevent open discussion and criticism of the country's monarchy. 3Facebook noted the seriousness of its action, saying such government orders "have a chilling effect on people's ability to express themselves. The group is only blocked for Facebook users in Thailand. It is available in all other places. The company said it was preparing a legal challenge to the government request. 4The Facebook group, called "Royalist Marketplace," was created in April by Pavin Chachavalpongpun. He is a self-exiled activist and critic of the monarchy. He now lives in self-exile in Japan. Pavin said the group had reached 1 million members just a few days ago. 5Pavin criticized Facebook for giving in to government pressure. "By accepting the requests, whether you like it or not, you become part of that, you become a part of the support that you gave to the authoritarian" government, Pavin told The Associated Press. 6Pavin was not in Thailand when the country's current prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, led a military coup in 2014. At the time, Prayuth was the army chief. Following the coup, the ruling government called on critics of the government and monarchy, including Pavin, to come forward. Pavin decided to remain outside the country. He is currently a professor at Kyoto University. 7Prayuth told reporters on Tuesday the government had asked Facebook to block the page because it violates Thai law. He said the government would push back against any legal challenge to its request. 8Pavin said that after the Facebook group was blocked he immediately created another one that is mostly the same. That page is called "Royalist Marketplace-Talad Luang." The term "Talad Luang" means "Royalist Marketplace." 9The new group already has more than 500,000 members. Many have moved over from the blocked page. "Our group is part of a democratization process, it is a space for freedom of expression," Pavin told Reuters news agency. 10A growing number of youth-led protests have taken place in Thailand in recent weeks in a movement partly inspired by the Hong Kong protests last year. The protesters oppose the current military-run government. In addition, activists have for the first time openly called for reforms in the monarchy system. 11Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn enjoys extraordinary power because he receives support from the military and the country's billionaire families. Since becoming king, he has taken direct control of the palace's fortune, estimated to be worth up to $60 billion. 12The protesters are calling for more openness about the royal family's finances and an end to the country's defamation law related to the king. They also want to see a new parliament elected and a new constitution created. 13I'm Bryan Lynn. 14The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 15We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. 16________________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18monarchy - n. a system of government in which a country is ruled by a king and queen whose power is limited by a constitution 19compel - v. to force someone to do something 20chilling - adj. very frightening 21challenge - n. something that is difficult to do 22authoritarian - adj. enforcing or pushing for strict obedience to authority at the expense of personal freedom 23inspire - v. make someone feel that they want to do something and can do it 24fortune - n. a lot of money 25defamation - n. the action of damaging the reputation of a person or group by saying or writing bad things about them that are not true