China’s Global Influence Campaign: Its Effects in Thailand

China’s global influence campaign to wield power within other countries’ societies and politics is particularly evident in Southeast Asia, Australia, and Taiwan. In Thailand, where the public and many elites have historically had relatively warm views of China, Beijing has launched a multitude of efforts. These include signing content-sharing deals that enable Xinhua to be picked up in many elite outlets, extensively cultivating the local business community, using Confucius Institutes, expanding state media in Thailand, and many other efforts. Many of these efforts support the military—and, in many ways, the monarchy—and, as a result, help keep the draconian lese majeste and 112 laws in place in Thailand. For more on this subject, see my new interview with 112Watch, available here.