Flashermac Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 << Thaksin's great-great-grandfather Seng Sae Khu was a Hakka Chinese immigrant from Meizhou, Guangdong who arrived in Siam in the 1860s and settled in Chiang Mai in 1908. His eldest son, Chiang Sae Khu, was born in 1890 and married a Thai woman, Saeng Somna. Chiang's eldest son, Sak, adopted the Thai surname Shinawatra ("does good routinely") in 1938, and the rest of the family followed suit. Thaksin's father, Lert, was born in Chiang Mai in 1919 and married Yindi Ramingwong. In 1968, Lert Shinawatra entered politics and became an MP for Chiang Mai. [color:red]Seng Sae Khu made his fortune through tax farming. The Sae Khu/Shinawatra family later founded Shinawatra Silks and then moved into finance, construction and property development. Lert Shinawatra opened a coffee shop and several businesses, and grew oranges and flowers in Chiang Mai's San Kamphaeng district. By the time Thaksin was born, the extended Shinawatra family was one of the richest and most influential in Chiang Mai.[/color] >> << Thaksin Shinawatra was a member of the 10th class of the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School, and was then admitted to the Thai Police Cadet Academy. Upon graduation in 1973, he joined the Royal Thai Police Department. He received a master's degree in Criminal Justice from Eastern Kentucky University in the United States in 1975, and three years later was awarded a doctorate in Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University in Texas. Returning to Thailand, he reached the position of Deputy Superintendent of the Policy and Planning Sub-division, General Staff Division, Metropolitan Police Bureau, before resigning in 1987 as a lieutenant colonel. [color:red]His wife, Potjaman Damapong, is the daughter of a police general.[/color] >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaksin_Shinawatra Quite a farm boy ... More questions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 Yeah I got one. Does anybody know how many of the Red demonstrators are actually peasants? My impression is they are mostly middle-class small business types. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpiceMan Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 The ones I know are all peasants. But my sample size is two. Flash complains that his taxi drivers always express adulation of Thaksin. They are not middle-class. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuckwoww Posted March 30, 2010 Report Share Posted March 30, 2010 Could well be. I'd still like to see a reasonably scientific unbiased survey....that may be asking a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted March 31, 2010 Report Share Posted March 31, 2010 The cabbies don't ALWAYS go on about Takky or listen to the Red Shirt radio stations 24 hours a day. I'd say less than half of them do. Several have told me they think Thaksin sucks, and one driver told me he was a Yellow Shirt supporter. The Red Shirt taxis have a little pro-Takky flag flying from the back. It is red and has a sketch of the Gang of Three - Weera, Jatuporn and Nattawut. I have seen both the Yellow and Red protests, passed right through their bivouac on Rachadamnern Road. The protestors look interchangable to me. Swap shirts and you wouldn't know the difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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