Thailand’s prime minister was forced to resign along with his Cabinet yesterday after the Constitutional Court ruled that he had broken a conflict-of-interest law by hosting TV cooking shows while in office.
“The defendant has violated Article 267 of the Constitution, and his position as prime minister has ended,” Chat Chonlaworn, the head of the nine-judge panel, told the court.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej’s supporters immediately vowed to bring him back to power, indicating that Thailand remains gripped in a deep political crisis that has virtually paralyzed the government, spooked the financial markets and scared away tourists.
Chat said that the Cabinet would remain in a caretaker position until a new administration is installed.
The judgment, broadcast live on television and radio, was greeted with loud cheers and claps from Samak’s opponents who have occupied his office compound since Aug. 26 to demand his resignation.
Samak, a self-proclaimed foodie, hosted a popular television cooking show — Tasting and Complaining — for seven years before becoming prime minister earlier this year. He made several appearances after taking office, breaking a constitutional prohibition on private employment while in office.
Before the court began its session, Samak said he would honor the verdict.
He was not immediately available for comment.
In his defense, Samak had claimed he was not an employee of the company that made the show and only received payment for his transportation and the ingredients used for cooking.
Kuthep Saikrajang, the spokesman of Samak’s party, said its members unanimously agreed to renominate Samak in Parliament as their candidate for the prime minister’s post. But the final decision depends on Samak as well on other parties in the ruling coalition, he said.
There was also no sign that the alliance supporters and protesters would now vacate the Government House compound.
“Samak was ousted by the court, but there is no guarantee he will not return in the next few days. So our protest will continue for the time being,” alliance spokesman Suriyasai Katasila said.
Rainfall is expected to become more widespread and persistent across central and southern Taiwan over the next few days, with the effects of the weather patterns becoming most prominent between last night and tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Independent meteorologist Daniel Wu (吳德榮) said that based on the latest forecast models of the combination of a low-pressure system and southwesterly winds, rainfall and flooding are expected to continue in central and southern Taiwan from today to Sunday. The CWA also warned of flash floods, thunder and lightning, and strong gusts in these areas, as well as landslides and fallen
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
SOUTH CHINA SEA? The Philippine president spoke of adding more classrooms and power plants, while skipping tensions with China over disputed areas Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday blasted “useless and crumbling” flood control projects in a state of the nation address that focused on domestic issues after a months-long feud with his vice president. Addressing a joint session of congress after days of rain that left at least 31 dead, Marcos repeated his recent warning that the nation faced a climate change-driven “new normal,” while pledging to investigate publicly funded projects that had failed. “Let’s not pretend, the people know that these projects can breed corruption. Kickbacks ... for the boys,” he said, citing houses that were “swept away” by the floods. “Someone has
‘CRUDE’: The potential countermeasure is in response to South Africa renaming Taiwan’s representative offices and the insistence that it move out of Pretoria Taiwan is considering banning exports of semiconductors to South Africa after the latter unilaterally downgraded and changed the names of Taiwan’s two representative offices, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday. On Monday last week, the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation unilaterally released a statement saying that, as of April 1, the Taipei Liaison Offices in Pretoria and Cape Town had been renamed the “Taipei Commercial Office in Johannesburg” and the “Taipei Commercial Office in Cape Town.” Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 2758, it said that South Africa “recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the sole
RSS