Don't send back
Re: "Groups push for protection of dissident", (BP, Oct 19).
Thailand should continue its praiseworthy record of only returning refugees to places free from the danger of persecution, torture, or other harm to their lives or freedom (nonrefoulement). This is especially true since we've just been awarded a UN Human Rights Council seat.
Thus, we should help Mr Y Quynh Bdap, a Vietnamese granted refugee status by the UN, resettle with his family in a third country where he can receive protection. We must decline Vietnam's request to extradite him to Vietnam, where he would face the risk of torture and other grave human rights violations.
For kids' sake
Re: "App finds Thai teens in need of mental health help", (BP, Oct 20).
Department of Mental Health and TikTok Thailand jointly launched the TikTok Mindful Makers campaign, which reminds me of Bob Dylan's song, Is this some kind of joke? There is a well-known and viral mental illness called "TikTok brain", which afflicts countless numbers of young kids and teenagers. It leads to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, apathy and an inability to focus the mind. There is peer-reviewed, published research that confirms this, and many videos by mental health professionals are available online for those interested.
Kids are addicted to watching TikTok for extended periods of time, and with each short clip viewed, they receive a dopamine jolt in the brain. This stimulus-response cycle, when repeated for many hours a day, profoundly alters metabolic pathways in the brain and impairs normal brain development.
The Thai Department of Mental Health should ban TikTok as has been done elsewhere if they actually care about children's mental health. But perhaps the money they receive from toxic and extremely generous TikTok means more to them.
ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, is governed by China's National Intelligence Law of 2017, which obligates "all" Chinese organisations and citizens to collaborate with state intelligence operations. According to University of Ottowa research, TikTok extensively collects sensitive data about users even when they don't save or share content. This creates serious risks on two fronts: privacy and cybersecurity.
In summary, the advice of Jesus of Nazareth is apt: "Physician heal thyself".
Justice awaits
Re: "Don't blow up the Tak Bai issue", (InQuote, Oct 22).
How things can change, considering Defence Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, who was a student activist himself, fled after the crackdown of the student protest (October 4-6, 1976) and joined Thailand's communist party.
Wouldn't one expect him, of all people, to leave no stone unturned to bring the culprits of the Tak Bai massacre to justice on time?