Colonisation not on China’s mind
Re: “China is hungry and Thailand is on the menu”, Have Your Say, April 5.
My great-grand father moved to Thailand a century ago, earned a living and sent money back home to build a house. It is big but not luxurious. My grandfather and father were born there and they too moved to Thailand.
When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took over the mainland, our house was taken care of by one of my cousins. The CCP seized our property and shared it among a few families that did not have a home.
Sixty years ago, my cousin was quite poor and my father kept sending him money, until we learned they were not poor anymore. The families who were living in our house had also earned enough to buy their own homes, while my cousin had moved to a better location.
China has developed and prospered and certainly does not need to rob Thailand or any other country, as Michael Setter imputed in his letter. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told Suthichai Yoon in an interview a few years ago, “The Chinese came to trade with Malaysians thousands of years ago but never conquered Malaysia. But the British just came a few hundred years and promptly colonised Malaysia [Burma and India too].”
Prasan Stianrapapongs
