Check your ethics at the door
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In a detailed and highly critical report on Thailand's human-rights record, the US Department of State has also criticised official corruption and a lack of transparency.
Regrettably, the report apparently stops short of commenting on US companies and individuals who come here to make a fast buck by jumping on the corruption/non-transparency bandwagon.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand recently pointed out the lack of an effective legal framework with which to apprehend and prosecute foreign businesses and corporate wrongdoers who knowingly flout and abuse Thai law and ignore human rights.
Regarding this, a major US hospitality chain immediately springs to mind, a publicly listed company operating widely within Thailand and brandishing its own hypocritical and corrupt interpretation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) – “crooked and selfish rapacity” at the expense of “community sensitivity and respect”.
Perhaps the relevant US authorities should also start investigating in their own backyard.
John Shepherd
Bangkok
