Heavy rains trigger floods, landslides killing scores in India’s Darjeeling, Nepal
More than 70 people were killed by flooding and landslides caused by persistent rain in Darjeeling, India’s northeast hills area, and neighboring Nepal, according to authorities. Floods and landslides in Nepal totaled 50, with the eastern city of Ilam, which borders India, recording 37 deaths, according to a spokesman forContinue Reading
Is Sanae Takaichi Japan’s Margaret Thatcher – or its next Liz Truss? – Asia Times
Japan’s long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party ( LDP ) has elected Sanae Takaichi as its new leader under the hashtag “# ChangeLDP.” She will be Japan’s future prime minister— and the first woman to hold the position, pending a ballot in the lower house of the Diet later this month.
This appears historically at first glance. One of the few post politicians to ascend without a home seat is Takaichi, who is also the LDP’s first adult leader. Her rise seems to indicate long-overdue change in a political culture predominated by female dynasties. It is a strong representation of progress in a nation that has long been accused of gender inequality.
In fact, Takaichi’s increase is a resemblance to traditional politics. Following political defeats, her father, Shigeru Ishiba, resigned after a time in business. These costs were not just his fault. After scandals involving relations to the Unification Church and slush funds, Ishiba had promised to revolution the LDP, but he was met with vehement opposition.
Senior figures rallied to support Takaichi’s management charge, reasserting the political networks that have longer defined Japanese conservative as the party’s ancient factions re-emerged. Takachi has now started to bring the group’s older elite to the center of power, and he has also put an end to efforts to hold those responsible for previous crises.
Takaichi’s success reveals a crisis-stricken party. In recent months, new populist right-wing functions like Sanseito have taken the LDP’s support. It has shifted to a more traditionalist path to stop the bleeding.
This style of” crises and payment” is not novel. Conservatives adopted security and economic policies to hold onto power in the 1970s, which the remaining threatened. The LDP has leaned on patriotism, anti-immigration speech, and historical revisionism to succeed in the nationalist right’s challenges now.
Takaichi, a self-described cultural liberal, opposes allowing married people to choose their surnames and rejects female ascendancy to the royal throne. Although it remains to be seen whether Margaret Thatcher’s leadership will be similarly revolutionary, she has praised former British prime minister.
Takaichi, a close ally of the later Shinzo Abe, is widely regarded as the leader of his social tradition. She pledges to carry on” Abenomics ‘ expansionary fiscal and monetary policies in terms of the economy, placing growth before fiscal restraint.
With Japan’s debt-to-GDP ratio at an all-time high of 260 %, Takaichi has remained unsure of how to safely finance her plans to relieve household financial strains. She aims to pass legislation that will improve the pacifist constitution and strengthen national defence to bring about Abe’s ambitious goal of” taking Japan back” from the boundaries of the postwar program.
Takaichi backs Abe’s plan for a” Free and Open Indo-Pacific” in terms of foreign policy. She supports greater collaboration with the US and the Quad, which includes the US, Australia, Japan, and India. She even supports stronger local alliances to improve punishment.
This agenda is reflected in her aggressive attitude toward China and North Korea. She has pledged to raise defence spending, which the Trump presidency in the US, which has urged Tokyo to adhere to NATO’s 5 % standard, is likely to approve. The defence budget of Japan is already about 1.8 % of GDP.
Takaichi also inherited a pending trade agreement with Washington that involves a US$$ 550 billion funding bundle, though many details are still unanswered.
However, her new visits to the contentious Yasukuni Shrine, which honors Japan’s war dead, including those who have been convicted of war crimes, could dampen South Korea’s progress and stoke China’s conflict. These actions might undermine Japan’s efforts to stabilize local stability.
The biggest challenge facing Takaichi internally will be to unite an enraging LDP while appealing to an extremely disgruntled electorate. Voters who are paying too much for their life may not have the patience to fight ideologies.
The LDP’s majority in both chambers will also be faced by her incoming cabinet, which will also face a divided Diet ( Japan’s parliament ). Expanding the ruling coalition is a possibility, but Komeito, the LDP’s long-term companion, is hesitant to change the constitution and adopt republican policies. Takaichi has now made hints at appealing to more populist parties that support tighter immigration controls and a stronger anti-espionage rules.
In many ways, Takaichi’s fall best describes the LDP’s enduring success strategy: adaptation without reinvention. In order to maintain power in a time of voter exhaustion and opposition weakness, the party relies on personable traditional figures to maintain its claim to renewal. Although her administration may strengthen the LDP’s right-wing base, there is little evidence of organisational change or intellectual diversity.
So it’s unclear whether her championship brings about change or just reinforces outdated patterns. Her commitment to monetary stimulus may save some time, but the longer-lasting effects of Japan’s deeper structural issues, such as aging demographics, injustice, and provincial decline, require the LDP to put a stop to creativity. If Takaichi rather concentrates on identity politics and democratic revision, she runs the risk of alienating centrist voters and putting an end to the public’s patience with cultural wars.
Her first political test will be a visit to US President Donald Trump later this month and a number of local summits. It will also provide an insight into her ability to balance assertive foreign policy with local credibility. Many will depend on her ability to persuade a dubious public that her administration represents more than just another chapter in the LDP’s struggle for survival.
If she is elected, Takaichi could change Chinese conservative and leave a lasting tradition as her country’s first female prime minister. If she doesn’t, Liz Truss, another short-lived innovator undone by celebration division and unfulfilled expectations, may immediately lose her appeal.
University of Tokyo affiliate professor of international relationships and modern Asian politics and society
This content was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the text of the content.
Chautauqua: Finding freedom on China’s highways – Asia Times
I’ve traveled extensively on the open road.
You can be my full-time, papa, light or silver
Singing music has become a thing of the past
You might be my full-time, child.
Hot or cold
– Lana Del Rey
The most British music ever to be released is” Born to Be Wild.” It is, of course, a street music. The most National music that has ever been recorded has to be a street track.
Similar to the street books and writings like Nabokov’s” Lolita,” Kerouac’s” On the Road,” and Robert Pirsig’s” Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance,” the street picture” Easy Rider” is American lore.
America’s highways have huge defined, beckoned and indulged the world’s greatest wish – complete, insane, light freedom.
Our” Easy Rider” heroes went out in a blaze of glory on freedom’s highway, singing” Freedom is another word for no left left to lose” as a singer who left us much too soon. However, no amount of road would have been sufficient to overthrow Lolita’s social evils.
Fame got the better of Kerouac, who succumbed to a upwards adult circular and died young, ranting against the beatniks he created. And Chris, Robert Pirsig’s delicate boy, was adopted by the country in” Zen,” taken from us as a young man in one of those obscene but all too common calamities.
But oh, does that wide open roadway still storm over the land of the free and Americans will not have it any other way. Today, though, the open road does not only invite in America.  ,
Unbeknown to some, China has constructed 190,000 miles of highways, more than half the US’s total, in addition to the 48, 000 kilometres of high-speed rail that it has previously built.
This part will not mourn America’s inability to create high-speed rail. Americans have nothing to be afraid of because high-speed road offends the spirit of freedom. This article is about what has beckoned 1.4 billion persons to the world not before.
There are now over 350 million cars and trucks on China’s streets (versus 277 million in the US) and 81 million riders (versus 8.8 million in the US). This is still much away from being saturated.
China adds about 20 million more vehicles to its bridges each month. That’s 20 million more possible Steppenwolfs, Kerouacs, Humbert Humberts, Henry Fondas, Dennis Hoppers and Robert Pirsigs. The open road is flexibility and will call once it is constructed.
In order to organize” Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance” around a series of debate on contentious subjects like “quality,” systems, purpose, and the nature of reality, Pirsig based” Chatauquas” on what he called Chautauquas.
Pirsig’s Chautauquas were the inner dialogues of a person recovering from a manic break, also haunted by Phaedrus– his bipolar self – with the added poignancy of seeing first signs of the illness in his younger son, Chris.
Han Feizi only wrapped up a two-week street journey through Xinjiang. China is undoubtedly moving. The mountains, plains and rivers of China’s much west were teaming with holiday makers in all manner of cars – from SUVs to tourists to the latest Vehicles to, yes, scooters.
On China’s highways, the retired-uncle motorcycle gang is a frequent sight on the weekends. Young vagabonds use mobile espresso bars built into SUVs and campers to finance their travels. Affluent yuppies swarm the hiking trails around Lake Kanas in candy-colored outdoors wear.  ,  ,  ,
As a tribute to Pirsig, this piece will be a Chautauqua – a Chautauqua on freedom.
The Eagles ‘” Desperado” is tied with” Born to Be Wild” for the most American song ever to be recorded. Of course, it’s another road song. ” Born to Be Wild” and” Desperado” are, in fact, the same song about the same road dog – one young, the other old.
” And freedom, oh, freedom, well, that’s just some people talking.” Your prison is alone in this world.
Freedom exacts a price, every road dog from Janis Joplin to Steppenwolf to Don Henley to Kerouac to Nabokov to Pirsig either understood this instinctively or were made to understand it tragically. There is a price to be paid. The lure of the open road beckons, but with malice and menace.
China now has a road dog. A Kerouac. A Steppenwolf. A Pirsig. Auntie Su Min is most likely barreling down a Chinese highway in her recently acquired camper SUV and documenting her travels in the social media short video.
Auntie Su Min squashed her abusive husband and grandmother’s childcare duties five years ago to travel around China in a tiny Volkswagen hatchback with rooftop camper.
Su Min posted Douyin videos along the way ( e. g. eating road-cooked meals, sleeping in the rooftop tent, repairing her Volkswagen ) and reminisced about her life choices, regrets, her decades as a dutiful wife and mother, her abusive marriage and the freedom of her new life.
The new China, now all outfitted for road warriors, provided vistas of transcendent beauty and cities of infinite variety as the backdrop for her late-life video bildungsroman.
Su Min became a viral sensation. This unsophisticated auntie of modest means, who has no particular expertise, just made the decision to go ahead and do it. A tiny car, a tent, and portable cooking supplies all on Taobao are all very affordable, and she set off.
And China. Oh China. ” Yes, darling, you’re going to make it happen.” Take the world in a love embrace”. You recall Inner Mongolia while visiting Xinjiang. You wish you were in Shanghai when you are in Inner Mongolia. When you are in Shanghai, you wonder if you should have chosen Chongqing. ” Fire all of your guns at once and explode into space,” you say in Chongqing.
China has grown into a massive tourist hub. No country offers the range of destinations from natural wonders like the Kunlun Mountains and Guilin landscape to techno utopias like Hangzhou and Shenzhen. Excellent infrastructure, reasonable costs, and absolute safety are all just bonuses.
During the peak holiday season, China used to visit Hell. Now, it is merely purgatory and, often, even fun. As more and more places are available, crowds have grown.
Importantly, China’s software has been upgraded. Gone are the pickpockets, overaggressive touts, unruly crowds and poor public citizenship. Holiday crowds are now polite, fashionable, kind, and even considerate.
Similar improvements have been made to China’s once chaotic free-for-all roads. Intelligent highways, synchronized with Beidou navigation ( China’s GPS), guide drivers with finely detailed information – from when to change lanes to upcoming pedestrian crossings to speed warnings to how many seconds before the light turns green. Some of the world’s most dangerous roads have once, like everything else, been gentrified.  ,
Su Min vlogged her way to stardom with 5G, Beidou and a genteel citizenry watching over her. Initial worries about an auntie traveling solo quickly turned out to be a revelation for many people; hey, that’s not so difficult. It’s not, either. China’s brand-new highway system, with all the digital bells and whistles, is supported by a lodging industry with just as much “overcapacity” as any other.
It’s a buyer’s market because budget hotels now have a premium feel and provide amenities like free laundry, including detergent. High-end hotels have slashed prices in order to compete. While domestic travel has surged, tourism industry revenue has not. And profits have collapsed, giving economists a lot to chew over, like many other industries. While Su Min, fellow Chinese travelers, and more knowledgeable analysts couldn’t care less ( see here ), Permabears witness a catastrophe.  ,  ,  ,
Auntie Su Min’s life has, of course, been turned into the film” Like a Rolling Stone.” It is a movie about freedom. Han Feizi had already planned and shot the movie in advance.
It would be a road movie that would take the viewer through China’s most breathtaking sights with stunning cinematography, flashes of Su Min’s previous domestic life, and heartwarming vignettes starring online viewers.
This is, of course, the embarrassing American version of Su Min’s bildungsroman. The true story of China’s ultimate road dog, which was actually a road movie, was a blur. This is not the case with” Easy Rider” and” Thelma and Louise.” The road is there. And it is beckoning. However, the film is a claustrophobic melodrama about the difficulties women face in their families. Su Min only got on the highway in the last ten minutes.
Joanie Caucus, a comic strip character, left her husband and daughter in 1972, hopped on Mike Doonesbury and Mark Slackmeyer’s motorcycle, emigrated, and joined the Walden commune as a feminist icon.
Doofus husband was sufficient, with little explanation provided. Doofus husband was all the reason needed to launch Thelma and Louise on their epic road trip. That is American freedom. It is extraordinary. It is awesome. The best Brad Pitt she’d ever had was. Use caution when approaching the wind. And off a cliff they drove.
In China, a doofus husband is not sufficient. Doofus abusive husband, demanding grown daughter, good-for-nothing leech of a brother and grandmother childcare responsibilities all interwoven into a life of forbearance and self-denial might suffice.
The daughter had already grown and wed. The grandchildren were already learning. The doofus husband was hopeless. Su Min ran for it after taking care of everyone and everything. This was freedom that was earned, not one that was assumed.
” There is no loneliness like American loneliness”, wrote Ryu Murakami, who writes about the atomization and frivolity of modern Japanese society. Although the Japanese are lost and in desperate need, Murakami claims, they do not experience American loneliness, a unique form of desolation that Japan’s social fabric has so far prevented.
We were born wild, as they say. We can climb so high, I never wanna die”. The American road dog experience includes rock’n’roll, drugs, and sex. Nearby are alienation, nihilism, and criminality. Loneliness is its ultimate destination.  ,  ,
” Oh, you’re a tough one, but I’m aware of your motivations. These things that are pleasin’ you can hurt you somehow”.
Nobody is entirely aware of what happens to old American road dogs. Humbert Humbert passed away a broken wretch in prison. Kerouac could not survive fame. America is full of aging road dogs who have broken up with their families and who now live alone after a terrible youth. The loneliness epidemic among America’s elderly has a negative impact on health, dignity, and life expectancy. Was it worth it? That is unimportant. There was no other way it could have been.
Like the Japanese, the Chinese are spared American loneliness. The social foundation is still present. In China, freedom is still tempered by responsibility. Su Min had to earn it. Lacking a terrifying edge, China’s highways. China’s road dog scene does not include drugs, rock ‘n’ roll, alienation, nihilism, and criminality.
China’s travelers have a communal ethos with a wholesome, supportive vibe. Experienced solo female travelers who refuse to pay a stranger to stay in a remote village. Su Min is the hero, not Dennis Hopper, who was a coward. Is China’s freedom superior to America’s? That is unimportant. There was no other way it could have been.  ,
People’s Party MP faces B100m defamation lawsuit
A lawyer for Benjamin Mauerberger, also known as Ben Smith, has filed a 100-million-baht defamation lawsuit against Rangsiman Rome, a People’s Party ( PP ) member.
The petition was brought by Thanadon Suwannarit, a legal advisor to Capt Thamanat Prompow, the agriculture minister, and an attorney who likewise represented Mr. Mauerberger.  ,
The incident comes from Mr. Rangsiman’s talk in parliament on September 30 where he claimed Mr. Mauerberger had connections to call-center operations and fraud gangs.
A hearing is scheduled for November 24th, according to Mr. Thanadon, who claimed the Criminal Court had accepted the situation.
The attorney responded to questions about the relationship between Capt Thammanat and Mr. Mauerberger by explaining that the two met through former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and that Mr. Mauerberger had opportunities in Dubai.
According to Mr. Thanadon, Mr. Mauerberger has run businesses in Thailand and Singapore in the fields of yacht and aviation trading and real estate. Mr. Rangsiman claimed that Mr. Mauerberger’s businesses in Singapore were questioned after they made the allegations, but he claimed that no abnormalities were discovered.
Mr. Thanadon acknowledged that Mr. Mauerberger had previously been mistaken for someone who was facing securities and exchange commission ( SEC ) charges in 2021, but he emphasized that they were not interchangeable.
He claimed that Mr. Mauerberger’s simply consultative role as an advisor to Cambodia’s ex-prime minister Hun Sen had no pay or official position. Only an investment discourse was invited.
” I simply perform the tasks that Capt. Thamanat has assigned me to do.” I’ll be completely out of the situation if Mr. Mauerberger’s grief is proven,” he said.
The complaint aims to establish the truthfulness of the data obtained from investigative journalist Tom Wright, he said.
Because the data was not heard during a secret period, Mr. Thanadon claimed in this case that Mr. Rangsiman would not be eligible for legal amnesty for disclosing that information from parliament.
In addition, Mr. Rangsiman argued that based on the information presented at the House Committee on National Security, Border Affairs, National Strategy and Reform, Mr. Mauerberger is the same person who was prosecuted by the SEC.
He warned that Capt. Thamanat might hardly comprehend his position within the case.
He argued that Capt. Thamanat may concentrate his efforts on tackling scam sites rather than resort to legal action in his capacity as deputy prime minister.
Thanadon Suwannarit
MP faces B100m defamation lawsuit
A lawyer for Benjamin Mauerberger, also known as Ben Smith, a foreign businessman, has filed a 100-million-baht defamation lawsuit against Rangsiman Rome, a People’s Party ( PP ) member.
The petition was brought by Thanadon Suwannarit, a legal advisor to Capt Thamanat Prompow, the agriculture minister, and an attorney who also represented Mr. Mauerberger.  ,
The incident comes from Mr. Rangsiman’s conversation in parliament on September 30 where he claimed Mr. Mauerberger had connections to call-center operations and con gangs.
A hearing is scheduled for November 24th, according to Mr. Thanadon, who claimed the Criminal Court had accepted the situation.
The attorney responded to questions about the relationship between Capt Thammanat and Mr. Mauerberger by explaining that the two met through former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and that Mr. Mauerberger had opportunities in Dubai.
According to Mr. Thanadon, Mr. Mauerberger has run businesses in Thailand and Singapore in the fields of yacht and airplane trading and real estate. Mr. Mauerberger’s firms in Singapore were questioned after Mr. Rangsiman made the allegations, but no anomalies were discovered, he claimed.
Mr. Thanadon acknowledged that Mr. Mauerberger had previously been mistaken for someone who was facing securities and exchange commission ( SEC ) charges in 2021, but he emphasized that they were not interchangeable.
He claimed that Mr. Mauerberger’s function as an advisor to Cambodia’s ex-prime minister Hun Sen was solely advisory and had no pay or established position in mind. Only an investment discourse was invited.
” I just carry out my duties as directed by Capt Thamanat. I did undoubtedly remove myself from the situation if Mr. Mauerberger’s grief is proven,” he said.
The petition aims to establish whether the data obtained from analytical blogger Tom Wright is accurate, he said.
Mr. Thanadon claimed that because the information was not heard during a secret session in this case, Mr. Rangsiman would not get legitimate amnesty for disclosing that information from parliament.
According to Mr. Rangsiman, who disputed the fact that Mr. Mauerberger is the same person who was charged by the SEC in response to information presented at the House Committee on National Security, Border Affairs, National Strategy, and Reform conference.
He warned that Capt. Thamanat might hardly comprehend his position within the government.
He argued that Capt. Thamanat should concentrate on tackling fraud systems rather than resorting to legal action in his capacity as deputy prime minister.
Thanadon Suwannarit
Ex-premier Chavalit gravely ill, bedridden, aide reveals
PUBLISHED: 6 Oct 2025 at 18: 12
According to a close friend, former prime minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh is seriously ill, sick, and unable to speak.
Former Nakhon Phanom MP and deputy chief of the Thai Sang Thai Party Chawalit Wichayasut made known on his Instagram page that the 93-year-old retired public is now receiving care at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital.
The family of the original premier expressed profound gratitude to His Majesty the King for granting Gen Chavalit royal support, according to Mr. Chawalit.
” I went to Gen Chavalit next year. He has had a blackface, is receiving treatment, and is being fed through a feeding tube. He is ill. He continues to be cared for closely by specialists, according to Mr. Chawalit.
Gen Chavalit served as the nation’s 22nd excellent minister between November 1996 and November 1997.
The former MP even addressed reports in the media about Gen Chavalit’s family’s inside disagreements, calling them a” delicate matter.” He didn’t go into detail.
Mr. Chawalit urged everyone to end legitimate tussles.
” I would like to ask people to end the conflict and present compassion,” Mr. Chawalit said.  ,
Further, Mr. Chawalit responded to comments made on social and broadcast media that claimed Gen Chavalit was the prime minister responsible for the” Tom Yum Kung crisis” in 1997.
He claimed that the problems had been developing over the course of successive governments as a result of economic liberalization policies, especially the Bangkok International Banking Facility ( BIBF), which lacked adequate regulatory oversight.
Duped workers safely repatriated
PUBLISHED: 6 Oct 2025 at 17: 54
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday that sixteen Thais who were duped into working for a fraud syndicate in Myawaddy, Myanmar, have been properly repatriated.
After Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul instructed Foreign Affairs Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow to work strongly with the Royal Thai Embassy in Yangon, the Royal Thai Police, and Naresuan Task Force officers, the party was safely returned, according to Nikorndej Balankura, a spokesman for the government.
The party, which included 10 men and six women, crossed again into Thailand on Sunday via the everlasting border station in Tak at Mae Sot-Myawaddy.
The group claimed that they were persuaded to work for the consortium after responding to job postings on social media promising to work in Myanmar gambling.
Officials are currently working to confirm their data using Thailand’s National Referral Mechanism.
Five-member independent panel appointed to advise Singapore’s rail reliability task force
The five people are:
Dr. Tony Lee Kar Yun
According to LTA and the coach providers, Dr. Lee has considerable experience with rolling stock, operations, and repair.
He now works for The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers as a brother student and is a professor at Beijing Jiaotong University.  ,
Dr. Lee was formerly the chairman of Hong Kong’s Mass Transit Railway’s operations and development. He oversaw the railroad-related asset management, planning and development, and operating protection and value.
Patrick Bauchart
Mr. Bauchart is an expert in transportation and signaling technologies.
He was involved in significant rail projects all over the world, including France, Thailand, and Singapore, as Thales ‘ former vice president of industrial road signalling in Asia.
Dr. Cai Chang Jun
Operations and maintenance are the areas of Dr. Cai’s skills.
He is now the vice chairman of the Chinese National Engineering Research Center for System Safety and Operation Assurance of Urban Rail Transit.
From January 2017 to August 2025, he served as the Guangzhou Metro Group’s deputy public administrator, overseeing the rail and transcontinental railroad operations management, electrical systems, safety inspection systems, novel line construction, and vehicle equipment business.
Professor Tsay Huel-Sheng
Prof. Tsay also has an interest in preservation and businesses.  ,
He serves as the Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation’s chair and leader, and he is an expert member of Taiwan’s National Transportation Safety Board.
He served as Taipei’s Department of Rapid Transit Systems ‘ public director.
Mr. Kon Shinichiro
Mr. Shinichiro concentrates on power supply systems.
He serves as Meidensha Corporation Japan’s handling director. The business has been providing power supply systems for Southeast Asia and the Middle East’s large rapid transport systems, as well as for Japan’s Shinkansen and rail system.
He served as the electricity supply system design engineer and managing director of Meiden Singapore before taking over as managing director of several Singapore MRT initiatives between 2009 and 2014.
No coup – yet – as corruption and protests roil Philippines – Asia Times
The country is anticipating more street protests in the days to come as a result of the country’s Senate’s social reshuffle and the military’s chief’s admission that he has rebuffed calling for the defense to overthrow the government of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
On October 3, retired military officers attempted to persuade him to back an uprising and remove support for the president who had been elected leader, but these efforts were turned down, according to military chief standard Romeo Brawner.
The calls came as Marcos ‘ government was swept up in a significant anti-corruption rally on September 21, which was sparked by allegations of rigged infrastructure projects involving some senators and congressmen, including Marcos ‘ cousin, who has since been removed as House speaker. The officers have been criticized for bringing down dozens of protesters despite the president’s failure to attempt to quit the street protests.
Brawner claimed that his “battle personnel” of top commanders met with a group led by former common Romeo Poquiz, who has been drawing criticism from Marcos, and gave him the opportunity to voice his grievances, including allegations of corruption in the state. Poquiz’s group later reported to have stated in openly that he wanted Marcos ‘ downfall, despite not immediately mentioning it at the time of their conference.
There are certainly names for the Philippine Armed Forces to step in, according to Brawner. ” Some of them were suggesting that we should remove our support for the senator.”
” On the AFP’s area, we are very clear about our mission,” he continued. That is why I explained to the Filipino Armed Forces that September 21 was likewise a diagnostic test, he said.
Some retired military officers were attempting to contact ground officers,” convincing us to act through a coup d ‘état, a military coup in order to come up with a reset for the entire Asian nation or removal of help,” according to Brawner.
All the names, according to Brawner, fell on deaf ears as a result of the present military’s professionalization. The Philippines, which has overcame earlier attempts to remove a sitting president as a means of shifting power, has no fresh military invasion.
Ferdinand E. Marcos, Marcos ‘ dictator papa and namesake, himself experienced repression following years of widespread fraud. A division within the defence forces led to a “people power” uprising that removed him from his 20-year position of power.
Corazon Aquino, his son, managed to withstand six revolution attempt while battling to keep the country order. A military-backed famous protest in 2001 forced Joseph Estrada to resign, while Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, his son, stoked an intended rebellion by young officers.
According to Brawner,” we do not think a military intervention in any way is the answer to the problems we are currently facing in our country, such as corruption and another crimes,” in any way. He claimed that a revolution would” set us back” as a nation and frighten owners.
” And we are aware of how destructive this would be ] for our nation, not just for the military, but for the entire nation. We won’t let that to occur, therefore. He reaffirmed that political methods and procedures are in place today.
Marcos vowed to end” squanderful spending” on Monday ( October 6 ) and that using public funds would require “accountability and efficiency.”
At a conference with economic managers, Marcos declared,” We will not tolerate dimension without actions, nor will we bear the waste of public funds.” Our federal budget serves as our moral and economic guide, according to Wikipedia. It has often focus on improving the lives of our citizens. Every job, every coverage, every program, every peso has help Filipino families.
Filipinos have been watching TV closely in the days leading up to September 21. Concerned the erroneous application of billions of dollars value of “ghost” infrastructure projects, crooked public works officers testified in Congress.
Despite receiving significant funding for flood-control jobs, the scandal broke in the middle of the monsoon season in Manila.
In response to the public’s outcry, Marcos established an independent body to investigate problem. He emphasized on Sunday that serious circumstances may be brought against those responsible. He claimed that any public outcry about the investigation’s findings may have grave consequences.
He claimed that” no innocent” people and politicians involved in the dubious projects must be held accountable by the government for providing solid evidence in court cases.
Although we are aware that many of these individuals are not stupid, Marcos said in a statement that they must have a very powerful situation. We must abide by the law. Often, what we do is not appropriate. And we must be very, very apparent that we pursue the innocent.
His deliberate statement appeared to be a way to stop warnings from several organizations of bigger protests in the upcoming week. Some youth-led organizations are seen to be following the lead of other nations where Gen-Z demonstrations have sparked alterations, including in Nepal, Indonesia, and Madagascar. The warnings have become more urgent.
A skeptical Filipino public is not actually persuaded or influenced by Marcos Jr.’s anti-corruption policy. After all, his father is known to possess plagiarized billions of dollars from state funds, the majority of which has never been recovered.
After the later dictator’s toppement, the Marcos family was exiled in Hawaii, but was eventually permitted to return. Many people were misled by Marcos Jr.’s resounding victory in the 2022 election, which also provided some notice about a return to the old-fashioned, crooked politics.
Marcos Jr. has also come off as having taken the necessary steps. He had forged a democratic ally with Rodrigo Duterte’s family, who is currently facing charges against him in the International Criminal Court for” crimes against humanity” for his medicine war, which resulted in thousands of fatalities. He has even re-embraced the United States and taken a stronger position against China in South China Sea regional disputes.
No information have been made public, but opposition officials have stated that they are gearing up for a bigger protest in November. Judy Ann Miranda of the Partido Maggagawa party promised last month,” This will be bigger, wider, and stronger than the September 21 rally.”
Jason Gutierrez was the head of Philippine news at Radio Free Asia ( RFA ), a Washington-based news organization that covered a number of under-reported nations in the region. He has experience covering international affairs for The New York Times and the AFP and has also covered international affairs for AFP.
Thai PM orders urgent relief as floods hit 16 provinces, killing 12
Bangkok: Anutin Charnvirakul, the prime minister of Thailand, ordered urgent relief efforts on Monday ( October 6 ) after heavy rain and storms havehed out in 16 provinces over the past week, killing 12 people and affecting more than 100, 000 households. Uttaradit state in the upper northwestern region, whereContinue Reading