Child rights activists have condemned plans for a children's beauty contest that features a "sexy body" category and a swimsuit parade for competitors as young as 3 years old.
But organizers as well as parents who have entered their kids maintain the pageant -- scheduled for next Sunday -- will be innocent family fun.
Although beauty pageants for all ages are extremely popular in Thailand, critics say this one goes too far and runs against the country's attempts to wipe out its reputation as a popular stop for pedophiles and a significant source, destination and transit place in the international trafficking of children for sexual purposes.
Thailand's Department of Public Welfare estimates there are 12,000-18,000 child prostitutes in this Southeast Asian nation, although private voluntary groups say the number is in the hundreds of thousands.
Activists are not directly linking this contest to child abuse but they do fear that promoting sexual concepts in a children's event will only help legitimize prurient interest in kids.
"The sexualized nature of this contest distinguishes it from simple contests where children participate to demonstrate their artistic or intellectual talents," said Carmen Madrinan of an international nongovernment group, End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes.
"This is an example of how the adult sexual interest in children is legitimized and has gradually been normalized in society," she said.
However, pageant manager Songwut Khumrak denies the contest -- open to boys and girls between 3 and 12 years of age -- has a sexual theme. He says the controversy has not stopped parents entering more than 60 children.
Songwut decided to include the swimsuit category because it fitted well with a summer theme. As to the offending "sexy body" phrase, he said he used it only because "it sounded fun."
"All we want to do is to see which boy or girl looks cute in swimwear. Why can't a kid be sexy in a cute way? It's the same thing," said Songwut, who has managed dozens of pageants in the past, including adult ones.
But critics say describing children as "sexy" is wrong.
"There's no reason why children need to think about sexiness or try to be [sexy]. It's ridiculous. There're many other ways to boost their self-confidence," said Wallop Tungkananurak, a senator in Thailand's Parliament and child's rights activist, said.
VAGUE: The criteria of the amnesty remain unclear, but it would cover political violence from 1999 to today, and those convicted of murder or drug trafficking would not qualify Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Friday announced an amnesty bill that could lead to the release of hundreds of prisoners, including opposition leaders, journalists and human rights activists detained for political reasons. The measure had long been sought by the US-backed opposition. It is the latest concession Rodriguez has made since taking the reins of the country on Jan. 3 after the brazen seizure of then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. Rodriguez told a gathering of justices, magistrates, ministers, military brass and other government leaders that the ruling party-controlled Venezuelan National Assembly would take up the bill with urgency. Rodriguez also announced the shutdown
Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) purge of his most senior general is driven by his effort to both secure “total control” of his military and root out corruption, US Ambassador to China David Perdue said told Bloomberg Television yesterday. The probe into Zhang Youxia (張又俠), Xi’s second-in-command, announced over the weekend, is a “major development,” Perdue said, citing the family connections the vice chair of China’s apex military commission has with Xi. Chinese authorities said Zhang was being investigated for suspected serious discipline and law violations, without disclosing further details. “I take him at his word that there’s a corruption effort under
China executed 11 people linked to Myanmar criminal gangs, including “key members” of telecom scam operations, state media reported yesterday, as Beijing toughens its response to the sprawling, transnational industry. Fraud compounds where scammers lure Internet users into fake romantic relationships and cryptocurrency investments have flourished across Southeast Asia, including in Myanmar. Initially largely targeting Chinese speakers, the criminal groups behind the compounds have expanded operations into multiple languages to steal from victims around the world. Those conducting the scams are sometimes willing con artists, and other times trafficked foreign nationals forced to work. In the past few years, Beijing has stepped up cooperation
Exiled Tibetans began a unique global election yesterday for a government representing a homeland many have never seen, as part of a democratic exercise voters say carries great weight. From red-robed Buddhist monks in the snowy Himalayas, to political exiles in megacities across South Asia, to refugees in Australia, Europe and North America, voting takes place in 27 countries — but not China. “Elections ... show that the struggle for Tibet’s freedom and independence continues from generation to generation,” said candidate Gyaltsen Chokye, 33, who is based in the Indian hill-town of Dharamsala, headquarters of the government-in-exile, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). It
RSS