BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s Constitutional Court accepted a petition Thursday from members of the country’s outgoing Senate to begin an ethics probe against the prime minister over his appointment of a Cabinet member.
If eventually found guilty, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin could be ousted from his position.
The court ruled that Srettha’s appointment of Pichit Chuenban as minister of the Prime Minister’s Office was in violation of Section 160 of the constitution, which requires those in ministerial positions to “be of evident integrity" and bars those who fail to comply with ethical standards.
Pichit was jailed for six months in 2008 on contempt of court charges after he tried to bribe a judge presiding over former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s land purchase case with 2 million baht ($55,000) in a grocery bag.
Pichit resigned from his post Tuesday in what he described in his resignation letter as an effort to protect the prime minister. The minister of the Prime Minister’s Office is a position similar to the president’s chief of staff in the United States. Pichit had been in the job for 23 days following a Cabinet reshuffle in late April.
The same reshuffle that appointed Pichit also saw Thaksin's allies taking up finance and foreign ministerial positions. “The petition was just a warning,” said Puangthong Pawakapan, political science professor at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, suggesting that critics are tired of Thaksin’s behind-the-scenes kingmaker act.
Still, the petition from at least 40 senators is seen as the biggest challenge Srettha’s government has faced since it came to power in August 2023.
The complaint comes even after the current batch of senators officially ended their terms on May 11. The process of selecting a new Senate began this week and is supposed to be concluded in July. Critics question whether the outgoing senators have the mandate to oust the prime minister.
“Saying ‘caretaker senators’ is inaccurate, our duties are pretty much similar, we don't lose any power from being caretakers,” Senator Paitoon Limwattana told the Associated Press. The only thing that is different is that the senators can no longer vote for a prime ministerial candidate, he said.
“People ask when this batch of senators will be gone. We’ll be gone once the selection process is complete and the electoral commission ratifies all 200 of the incoming batch," the senator said. Paitoon, who serves on the Senate's Political Committee as a special advisor, stressed that the senators' duties wouldn't change until every new senator was seated.
Srettha survived an initial suspension vote Thursday, after the court voted 5-4 to not suspend the prime minister. Srettha now has 15 days to justify Pichit's nomination to the court. After that, the court will deliberate on his suspension or impeachment.
The fact that Pichit was allowed by the National Anti-Corruption Commission and other law enforcement agencies to take the position speaks volumes about Thailand's muddy and morally questionable method of nomination and selection, said Mark Cogan, professor of peace and conflict studies at Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka, Japan.
During a censure debate in April, critics and opposition members of Parliament accused the government of nominating Cabinet members based on political favors, instead of putting the right person to the right job.
The Constitutional Court has a record of rulings that favor the country's conservative establishment, which is suspicious of political parties with populist leanings. Srettha and the ruling Pheu Thai Party are part of former Prime Minister Thaksin's political machine. Thaksin was ousted by a military coup in 2006. His electoral popularity was seen as a threat to the influence of the traditional elite, including the army.
His ouster set up years of struggle between his supporters and his opponents, sometimes fought in the streets, and sometimes in the courts. Thaksin-backed parties continue to perform strongly in elections, however.
In July, the political power of the military-appointed Senate was dramatically displayed. In a joint session with the lower house, the Senate blocked the progressive Move Forward Party’s candidate Pita Limjaroenrat from becoming prime minister, even after his party won the most seats in the election and formed a 312-seat coalition in the 500-member lower house.
FILE- Pichit Chuenban, lawyer of former Prime Miniser Thaksin Shinawatra, is seen in Bangkok, Thailand, Jan. 23, 2008. Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Thursday, May 23, 2024, accepted a petition from members of the country’s outgoing Senate to consider suspending Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin from office over his appointment of Chuenban as Cabinet Minister. The court ruled that Chuenban's appointment as Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office was in violation of section 160 of the constitution, which bars those who have been sentenced to imprisonment or those who fail to comply with “ethical standards.”(AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong, File)
FILE- Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin talks to reporters at Pheu Thai Party headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, Thursday, Aug. 24, 2023. Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Thursday, May 23, accepted a petition from members of the country’s outgoing Senate to consider suspending Thavisin from office over his appointment of a Cabinet member. The court ruled that Srettha’s appointment of Pichit Chuenban as Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office was in violation of section 160 of the constitution, which bars those who have been sentenced to imprisonment or those who fail to comply with “ethical standards.” (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
File- Thailand's Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin gestures as he talks to media during a news conference at the government house in Bangkok, Thailand, Wednesday, April 10, 2024. Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Thursday, May 23, accepted a petition from members of the country’s outgoing Senate to consider suspending Thavisin from office over his appointment of a Cabinet member. The court ruled that Srettha’s appointment of Pichit Chuenban as Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office was in violation of section 160 of the constitution, which bars those who have been sentenced to imprisonment or those who fail to comply with “ethical standards.” (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit, File)
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Chinese Premier Li Qiang's visit to Australia on Sunday focused on positive aspects of the bilateral relationship including shared giant pandas and a rebounding wine trade as he promised a new breeding pair of the rare bears and urged both countries to put aside their differences.
China’s most powerful leader after President Xi Jinping arrived late Saturday in Adelaide, the capital of South Australia state, which has produced most of the Australian wine entering China since crippling tariffs were lifted in March that had effectively ended a 1.2 billion Australian dollar ($790 million) a year trade since 2020.
Li visited Adelaide Zoo, which has been home to China-born giant pandas Wang Wang and Fu Ni since 2009, before he was to have lunch at a restaurant at Adelaide winery Penfolds Magill Estate.
He announced that the zoo would be loaned another two pandas after the pair are due to return to China in November.
“China will soon provide another pair of pandas that are equally beautiful, lively, cute and younger to the Adelaide Zoo, and continue the cooperation on giant pandas between China and Australia,” Li said in Mandarin, adding that zoo staff would be invited to "pick a pair.”
Li was impressed by the 18-year-old male Wang Wang's appetite and indifference to his high-ranking visitors.
“The panda is very obsessed with eating and doesn’t pay attention to us even when we are the people from its hometown visiting,” Li said at the panda enclosure.
“It has completely treated here as its second hometown,” Li said. "Very pretty, adorable, with charming naivety.”
The pair are the only pandas in the Southern Hemisphere and failed to produce offspring in Australia.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong thanked Li for ensuring that pandas would remain the zoo's star attraction.
“It’s good for the economy, it’s good for South Australian jobs, it’s good for tourism, and it is a signal of goodwill, and we thank you,” Wong said.
Tom King, the managing director of Penfolds, one of Australia's oldest wineries, told Chinese state media ahead of Li’s arrival that such visits helped strengthen economic and cultural ties.
“It’s pleasing to see the stabilizing of relations between the Australian and Chinese governments, including regular high-level visits between the two countries,” King was quoted as saying by the Global Times newspaper last week.
Li's visit is the first to Australia by a Chinese premier in seven years and marks an improvement in relations since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor Party was elected in 2022.
Li noted that Albanese in November was the first Australian prime minister to visit China since 2016.
“China-Australia relations were back on track after a period of twists and turns, generating tangible benefits to the people of both countries,” Li said, according to a translation released by the Chinese Embassy in Australia on Sunday.
“History has proven that mutual respect, seeking common ground while shelving differences and mutually beneficial cooperation are the valuable experience in growing China-Australia relations, and must be upheld and carried forward,” Li added.
Hundreds of pro-China demonstrators, human rights protesters and democracy activists gathered outside the zoo before Li’s visit.
Among the protesters was former Hong Kong lawmaker Ted Hui, who fled to Australia three years ago to avoid a prison sentence for his activism. He said the panda offer was a cynical move to soften China's image and to distract from the government's human rights failings.
“It's a public relations move by the Chinese regime and, disappointingly, the Australian government is reciprocating by welcoming him and shaking hands,” Hui said.
Hui said Li showed cowardice by entering the zoo by a rear entrance while most of the protesters and China supporters had gathered at the main entrance. But Hui and other protesters were able to shout slogans at Li from a distance inside the zoo.
China initiated a reset of the relationship after the previous conservative administration's nine years in power ended.
Relations collapsed over legislation that banned covert foreign interference in Australian politics, the exclusion of Chinese-owned telecommunications giant Huawei from rolling out the national 5G network due to security concerns, and Australia’s call for an independent investigation into the causes of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Beijing imposed an array of official and unofficial trade blocks in 2020 on a range of Australian exports including coal, wine, beef, barley and wood that cost up to AU$20 billion ($13 billion) a year.
All the trade bans have now been lifted except for Australian live lobster exports. Trade Minister Don Farrell predicted that impediment would also be lifted soon after Li’s visit with Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao.
Wong said Li’s visit was the result of “two years of very deliberate, very patient work by this government to bring about a stabilization of the relationship and to work towards the removal of trade impediments.”
“We will cooperate where we can, we will disagree where we must and we will engage in our national interest,” Wong told Australian Broadcasting Corp. before joining Li for lunch.
Li’s agenda becomes more contentious after he left Adelaide late Sunday for meetings in the national capital, Canberra, on Monday and a Chinese-controlled lithium processing plant in resource-rich Western Australia state on Tuesday.
Albanese has said he will raise with Li during an annual leaders’ meeting recent clashes between the two countries’ militaries in the South China Sea and Yellow Sea that Australia argues endangered Australian personnel.
Albanese will also raise the fate of China-born Australian democracy blogger Yang Hengjun, who was given a suspended death sentence by a Beijing court in February. Australia is also concerned for Hong Kong-Australia dual national Gordon Ng, who was among 14 pro-democracy activists convicted by a Hong Kong court last month for national security offenses.
Li’s visit to Tianqi Lithium Energy Australia’s processing plant south of the Western Australia capital of Perth will underscore China’s interest in investing in critical minerals. The plant produces battery-grade lithium hydroxide for electric vehicles.
Australia shares the United States’ concerns over China’s dominance in the critical minerals, which are essential components in the world’s transition to renewable energy sources.
Citing Australia’s national interests, Treasurer Jim Chalmers recently ordered five Chinese-linked companies to divest their shares in the rare earth mining company, Northern Minerals.
Asked if Chinese companies could invest in processing critical minerals in Australia, Wong replied that Australia’s foreign investment framework was “open to all.”
“We want to grow our critical minerals industry,” Wong said.
Australia is the second stop of Li’s tour after New Zealand, and will end in Malaysia.
AP video producer Caroline Chen and journalist Ken Moritsugu contributed from Beijing.
China's Premier Li Qiang gestures as South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, left, watches at Adelaide Zoo, Australia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Li is on a relations-mending mission with panda diplomacy, rock lobsters and China's global dominance in the critical minerals sector high on the agenda during his four day visit to Australia. (Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Pool Photo via AP)
Wang Wang, a giant panda, walks around its enclosure during a visit by Chinese Premier Li Qiang at Adelaide Zoo, Australia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. (Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Pool Photo via AP)
Wang Wang, a giant panda, walks around its enclosure during a visit by Chinese Premier Li Qiang at Adelaide Zoo, Australia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. (Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Pool Photo via AP)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, center, talks with Penfolds winemaker Peter Gago, right, at Magill Estate winery in Adelaide, Australia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Kelly Barnes, Pool)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, front right, talks with Penfolds winemaker Peter Gago, left, at Magill Estate winery in Adelaide, Australia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Kelly Barnes, Pool)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang, center, talks with Penfolds winemaker Peter Gago, right, at Magill Estate winery in Adelaide, Australia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Li is on a relations-mending mission with panda diplomacy, rock lobsters and China's global dominance in the critical minerals sector high on the agenda during his four-day visit to Australia. (AP Photo/Kelly Barnes, Pool)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets the Minister for Agriculture, Senator Murray Watt, right, at Magill Estate winery in Adelaide, Australia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Li is on a relations-mending mission with panda diplomacy, rock lobsters and China's global dominance in the critical minerals sector high on the agenda during his four-day visit to Australia. (AP Photo/Kelly Barnes, Pool)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with Governor of South Australia, Frances Adamson at Magill Estate winery in Adelaide, Australia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Li is on a relations-mending mission with panda diplomacy, rock lobsters and China's global dominance in the critical minerals sector high on the agenda during his four-day visit to Australia. (AP Photo/Kelly Barnes, Pool)
China's Premier Li Qiang, right, gestures as Penny Wong, left, Australia's foreign minister, and South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, center, visit Adelaide Zoo, Australia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Li is on a relations-mending mission with panda diplomacy, rock lobsters and China's global dominance in the critical minerals sector high on the agenda during his four-day visit to Australia. (Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Pool Photo via AP)
Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong, left, shakes hands with China's Premier Li Qiang, right, as South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, watches at the Adelaide Zoo, Australia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Li is on a relations-mending mission with panda diplomacy, rock lobsters and China's global dominance in the critical minerals sector high on the agenda during his four day visit to Australia. (Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Pool Photo via AP)
Wang Wang the panda eats from a box in front of Chinese Premier Li Qiang at Adelaide Zoo, Australia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Li is on a relations-mending mission with panda diplomacy, rock lobsters and China's global dominance in the critical minerals sector high on the agenda during his four day visit to Australia. (Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Pool Photo via AP)
Chinese Premier Li Qiang reacts during a visit to Adelaide Zoo, Australia, Sunday, June 16, 2024. Li is on a relations-mending mission with panda diplomacy, rock lobsters and China's global dominance in the critical minerals sector high on the agenda during his four day visit to Australia. (Asanka Brendon Ratnayake/Pool Photo via AP)
