When Asian-Pacific leaders smiled for the cameras yesterday in specially tailored Thai silk shirts, they were decked out well beyond the means of most people they represent.
The leaders wore the hand-crafted shirts at the ornate Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, where they held summit talks of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.
The shirts, valued at about 90,000 baht (US$2,200) each, were made by weavers and tailors in a village in northeast Thailand, the country's poorest region.
It took one month for five people working on a loom to create three meters of the special fabric.
It would take much, much longer for the average person in one of the Asia Pacific economies to get one for themselves.
Most Thais couldn't buy one even if they worked for an entire year and saved every penny -- the nation's average annual income is the equivalent of US$1,960. It's about the same situation for Filipinos, Chinese, Russians and Peruvians, also citizens of Asia-Pacific economies.
Others would have to put in an even greater investment to get the shirt.
A typical Indonesian would have to work more than three years. A citizen of Papua New Guinea would have to work more than four. A Vietnamese, who earns about US$35 a month, would have to work more than five years.
The richest citizens of APEC nations -- Americans and Japanese -- would have to work for more than three weeks.
A few walked a bit stiffly, but most of the APEC leaders appeared chipper and relaxed in their shirts as they arrived at the throne hall.
"Oh yes, I'm very happy with it," Australian Prime Minister John Howard was overheard saying about his shirt as he chatted with other leaders at the throne hall.
US President George W. Bush held up an arm to compare his shirt with that of another leader. Twice more he looked at the sleeves as he chatted about the shirt.
But somebody apparently forgot to tell Russian President Vladimir Putin that you're supposed to button the shirt all the way to the neck. He forgot the top button, so looked a bit brash and rumpled as he sauntered up the red-carpeted steps of the hall. Thais who watched the spectacle on television pointed and laughed.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
RSS