Some Japanese Still in the Dark over Thailand’s Flood Plan
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Some Japanese Still in the Dark over Thailand’s Flood Plan – WSJ, March 8, 2012
…Not surprisingly, many Japanese executives were keen to hear about Thailand’s $11 billion plan to shore up its flood defenses, which was drafted in part by Ms. Yingluck’s brother, former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, who now lives overseas after Thailand’s armed forces ousted him from power in 2006.
…For seven minutes, Ms. Yingluck, 44 years old, spoke to the hundred-strong audience without any accompanying translation, leaving many of the attending business leaders wondering quite what she was talking about and awkwardly scanning their hand-outs for clues.
Ms. Yingluck then left the room in silence, smiling and bowing as she went.
…A video of her greeting visiting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in Thailand last year by saying “overcome” instead of “welcome” got heavy play on YouTube, while Ms. Yingluck’s political opponents sometimes unfavorably compare her prowess with the language with that of her predecessor, Eton-and-Oxford educated Abhisit Vejjajiva.