Thailand's universal health care is provided through three programmes: the social welfare system for civil servants and their families, the social insurance for private employees and the universal insurance system introduced in 2002, which is available to all other Thai nationals. The Universal Coverage scheme, known as Gold Card or 30 Baht scheme, was introduced in 2002 by the Thaksin Shinawatra government and is gaining worldwide recognition for the quality of its healthcare services. Gold Card holders are entitled to all types of healthcare at a registered hospital or clinic for 30 baht/consultation, including (most) medicines. Like almost everything that has been "invented" and put into practice in Thailand, this scheme also has its weak points, for example, the cardholder only receives the favourable services at the hospital or doctor with whom he is registered. If he needs medical care elsewhere, he is asked to pay. Now, 20 years after the introduction of the Gold Card, these shortcomings are finally being (slowly) eliminated.

Khaosod reports on its X (formerly Twitter) account on January 4th:

The Ministry of Health announced on December 18th, 2023, that its health insurance scheme for non-Thai nationals, called Hint, will be launched on January 1st, 2024, providing access to healthcare for stateless persons and non-Thai nationals.

To combat air pollution, the Ministries of Natural Resources and Environment and of Agriculture and Cooperatives jointly declared war on crop burning and pledged, as they do every year, to tackle one of the main sources of PM2.5 particulate matter.

The Constitutional Court is expected to give its verdict on the political future of the former leader of the Move Forward party, Pita Limjaroenrat, on 24 January.

Pita Limjaroenrat is still accused of holding shares in a media company that has ceased operating as a media company since its UHF TV frequency licence was revoked in March 2007 and it was delisted from the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 2014 in violation of the Election Act when he registered his candidacy for the general election in May. The Election Commission (EC) took the case to court and sought to strip Pita of his status as a member of parliament.

The quarterly NIDA survey on political support published on December 24th shows how wide the gap is between the MFP and the PT - and how the former Prayuth coalition parties can barely hold their own.

Move Forward 44.05% Pheu Thai 24.05% Undecided 16.10% Democrat 3.6% United Thai Nation 3.2%

Dan_in_BKK reports on his X (formerly Twitter) account on December 26th:

Thailand's Constitutional Court has surprisingly acquitted former Move Forward Party leader Pita Limjaroenrat of charges that he contested last year's election while holding shares in a (defunct) media company.

Thai Enquirer reports on its X (formerly Twitter) account on January 24th:

One day after Vietnam's ST25 rice variety was chosen as the best rice variety of the 30 varieties submitted to the competition, Chukiat Opaswongse, Honorary President of the Thai Rice Exporters Association (TREA), announced that Thailand did not participate in the "Best Rice in the World 2023" competition and will not do so in the coming years. Only three varieties from Vietnam, India and Cambodia reached the final round. The best variety was unanimously selected by a group of chefs in a blind tasting.

Som Tam Poo Pla Ra (Papaya salad with prawns and fermented fish) was the most popular menu and best-selling dish with over 4.4 million orders on GrabFood in 2023.

Thailand's highly educated Deputy Prime Minister Somsak Thepsuth revealed in a television program that cancer could be cured by drinking papaya leaf tea, claiming that some patients could attest to the effectiveness of the method. However, he noted that it doesn't work on all types of cancer. His claim was immediately dismissed by the government's Anti-Fake News Center. The institute had already warned in a statement last year that there was no scientific evidence for the effectiveness of the method. But obviously the self-confident PM is not yet admitting defeat ....

Thai Enquirer reports on its X (formerly Twitter) account on December 29th:

Khaosod reports on its X (formerly Twitter) account on December 29th:

By the time you read this, a little piece of aviation history will already be history, as Thai Smile merged with Thai Airways International on December 31th, 2023.

The 20-baht fare system for electric trains in Bangkok will not trigger a massive loss, but on the contrary will generate a profit as it attracts more passengers, claims Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit.

Thailand's plan to build a 90km land bridge across its southern region that could allow shipping trade to bypass Malaysia and Singapore is easier on paper than the long-touted Kra Canal, although analysts say it still faces major challenges. Let's do the maths: A supertanker transports 79'000'000 litres of crude oil. This would require up to 2'000 road tankers to be loaded, transported and reloaded onto a tanker. Large container ships can carry up to 24'000 containers. Here, too, they would have to be loaded onto lorries or trains, transported and reloaded onto a ship. Two ships would be required for each journey, which would double the fixed costs for loading and unloading. It doesn't seem worth it to unload cargo, deliver it across Thailand and load it up again.

Do you remember? In 1991 the "Club of Rome" wrote in a book: In searching for a new enemy to unite us, we came up with the idea that pollution, the threat of global warming, water shortages, famine and the like would fit the bill.

Thomas Sowell, a well respected scholar writes in one of his books: Temperatures went up first, and then there was the increase in carbon dioxide. You can't say that A causes B if B happens first... But [the scientists] who are pushing global warming are doing their damnedest to make sure that those who believe the opposite don't get heard in the public.

Major criminal cases from January 2024 are published here.

Major criminal cases from the entire year 2024 are published here.

Major criminal cases from 2023 are published here.

Thai Enquirer: Understanding Thailand's New Tax Directive on Foreign Income