Efforts by authorities in military-ruled Thailand to impose order on the chaotic capital city have a fresh target: cheap and tasty pad Thai.
The latest crackdown by Bangkok officials is on the vendors whose carts sell everything from the nation’s signature noodles to spicy tom yum goong soup have become institutions on the capital’s hot and humid sidewalks. The stalls, with their metal folding tables and rickety plastic stools, serve as a gastronomic go-to for budget-conscious locals and adventurous tourists alike.
“Street food is a big part of daily life,” said 29-year-old stockbroker Nont Nontiskul who has lived in the city’s trendy Thonglor area for more than a decade. “Even people who eat at pricy restaurants every day can’t avoid street food. It’s faster, tastes better and costs less than half the price.”
Officials see street food as an illegal nuisance and have warned hawkers in Thonglor to clear out by Monday, saying the evictions soon would expand to other neighborhoods.
Officials have been emboldened by the military junta that has ruled the nation since a 2014 coup and has stressed the need to clean up Thai society, whether it is corrupt politicians or crowded footpaths.
That has led to sometimes ham-fisted crackdowns on things from street markets to beach umbrellas to overpriced lottery tickets.
Observers say the poor, many of whom were supporters of the ousted government and its populist policies, have borne the brunt of many of the junta-backed campaigns and that the clean sidewalk effort would hit the vendors and their working-class customers hardest.
Thai crackdowns on corruption, prostitution, pollution, road safety and others — even those by the junta — are notoriously ephemeral, but officials are talking tough.
Watthana District Director Boontham Huiprasert, who was tasked with clearing out the sidewalks under his jurisdiction, said street food vendors are being evicted to fight traffic congestion and the accumulation of garbage.
About 90 Thonglor vendors and their carts will have to leave by Monday, after which the crackdowns are to expand to neighboring streets, Boontham said. Violators could be fined up to 2,000 baht (US$58).
“Just don’t sell on the sidewalks,” Boontham said. “People who sell stuff on the sidewalks, they don’t pay rent. There are so many out there now, so we have to organize society.”
In fact, the food sellers say they do pay rent in the form of small monthly under-the-table payments to city officials. It is an open secret that Bangkok’s sprawling shadow economy is made possible by payoffs to powerful figures, often with ties to police or the military.
Boontham said he was unaware of any payoffs and that it was not official practice.
Suchin Wannasutr has been selling khao kha moo — stewed pork leg — for 40 baht a plate on Thonglor’s sidewalks for more than 20 years. The 47-year-old said he has been diligent about keeping up his monthly payoffs of 1,000 baht, which is the same amount neighboring vendors say they have been charged.
He is now preparing to open a restaurant about 1.5km away from his sidewalk spot. He is to share the monthly rent of 35,000 baht with three fellow street vendors.
“I have to stay in the area because I have regular customers here,” Suchin said. “I’m doing whatever I can just to send my kid through school. Once she graduates, I will move out of Bangkok. It’s tough here.”
Critics say the government needs to do more to help vendors and to help preserve some the unique chaos that gives Bangkok its soul, which is rapidly being lost to government regulations and redevelopment for condos, shopping malls and office towers.
If the campaign against street food sticks, tourists will no longer stumble upon fried worms, grilled pork intestines or the legendarily smelly fruit durian. It is unlikely the hip bars and fancy restaurants will hand out food in plastic bags sealed tight with a knotted rubber band.
“I feel like I am losing my job and I have no idea what to do next,” said 39-year-old Ubolwattana Mingkwan, who sells coffee for 30 baht a cup. “I can’t afford to pay Thonglor’s rent prices.”
“I’ve asked city officials for help and understanding,” she said. “All they say now is ‘No, no, no.’ They said they’ve already received their orders.”
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese