News Forum - US calls meeting with Thai officials to resolve donated vaccines

[HolyCowCm]

3 hours ago, Malc-Thai said:

Just bring the vaccines on a plane along with the documents in English and thai and an ink pad for Anutin to press his thumb on and then onto the paperwork! He's obviously not capable of a signature

Well he most certainly would be able to use his thumb if he didn’t have it up his a r s e. . 

[HolyCowCm]

2 hours ago, semrand753 said:

This puts a new spin on the phrase "as soon as possible".

If I understand correctly, it has taken a month and a bit of pressure to plan an informative bilateral call for next week.

Have the calls been unilateral up to this point? (If so, I understand: I've been trying to get into contact with myself for ages, but every time the line is busy.)

I would have figured no one is home. 

[Convert54]

What is that word that encompasses humor and sadness? Droll perhaps? 

I come to that thought as a result of the situation where the US initiates a meeting  to , in all intent and purpose, is to ask Thailand to "please take our flockin vaccines for free, we all know you need em,so to hell with paperwork, we wanna look  good !"

Thailand responds  with "Ok. Just chuck em over there. Oh and sorry. Only foot massage for now. Ego massage comes later".

[HiuMak]

I do not understand this administrative bureaucracy which has dragged for months for a simple donation. in an emergency situation, the people who needed the drugs are the ones who suffer.  Casts away individual gains or self created regulations and get on with helping the people of Thailand in times of emergency. Hell is wrong with these people.

[gummy]

Just now, HiuMak said:

I do not understand this administrative bureaucracy which has dragged for months for a simple donation. in an emergency situation, the people who needed the drugs are the ones who suffer.  Casts away individual gains or self created regulations and get on with helping the people of Thailand in times of emergency. Hell is wrong with these people.

What is wrong is that this administration is simply a military style led regime where people are considered secondary to the cause. In this case the cause is padding their own pockets. Free medicine from the United States does not give them the opportunity to do that hence their prevarication in ensuring this donation is imported to help the people.

[MrStretch]

5 minutes ago, HiuMak said:

I do not understand this administrative bureaucracy which has dragged for months

Have you never had to apply for anything to immigration, which requires a photocopy of EVERY page of your passport, dated and signed, 4 forms, in Thai, for you to complete without error, and a two-hour interview while the government official scrutinizes every copy, every entry and eyeballs every page in your passport, though she's just looked at a signed photocopy of each, while asking you the same questions that you answered in the 4 completed forms?

Thailand's greatest industry is bureaucracy. 

[Sandbar]

Thier doing it all wrong. The American official needs to stand outside the gates of the American Embassy in Bangkok and have thier photo taken to identify that they reside or work there! They then need to hold up a vaccination injection, and have another embassy official point to that injection! The embassy official must also be wearing a sign on thier chest with the word "Free" clearly displayed!

[MikeW]

The US needs to tell Thailand screw you other countries will be more than happy to receive the vaccines with out a lot of hassle 

[MikeW]

1 hour ago, MrStretch said:

Have you never had to apply for anything to immigration, which requires a photocopy of EVERY page of your passport, dated and signed, 4 forms, in Thai, for you to complete without error, and a two-hour interview while the government official scrutinizes every copy, every entry and eyeballs every page in your passport, though she's just looked at a signed photocopy of each, while asking you the same questions that you answered in the 4 completed forms?

Thailand's greatest industry is bureaucracy. 

I will admit I haven't had to go through a 2 hour interview yet 

[MikeW]

14 hours ago, semrand753 said:

This puts a new spin on the phrase "as soon as possible".

If I understand correctly, it has taken a month and a bit of pressure to plan an informative bilateral call for next week.

Have the calls been unilateral up to this point? (If so, I understand: I've been trying to get into contact with myself for ages, but every time the line is busy.)

Mine keeps hanging up

[Lowseasonlover]

Hungry lawyers on both sides of the ocean

[LoongFred]

3 hours ago, MrStretch said:

Have you never had to apply for anything to immigration, which requires a photocopy of EVERY page of your passport, dated and signed, 4 forms, in Thai, for you to complete without error, and a two-hour interview while the government official scrutinizes every copy, every entry and eyeballs every page in your passport, though she's just looked at a signed photocopy of each, while asking you the same questions that you answered in the 4 completed forms?

Thailand's greatest industry is bureaucracy. 

Same as in the USA. 

[LoongFred]

39 minutes ago, Lowseasonlover said:

Hungry lawyers on both sides of the ocean

Certainly Duckworth who claims to be Thai should understand the system. They made it happen for the first 1.5m doses before she announced she get another 1m doses. Seems she now needs help fulfilling her promise. Both share some blame on this.

[Bob20]

Everyone knew months ago that it concerned a 2.5m donation, consisting of 1.5m+1m.

It was even reported here. So any recent denials of knowledge are at least disingenuous. 

 

 

 

[LoongFred]

4 hours ago, Bob20 said:

Everyone knew months ago that it concerned a 2.5m donation, consisting of 1.5m+1m.

It was even reported here. So any recent denials of knowledge are at least disingenuous. 

No. I remember that the US charge de Faire said they wouldn't and couldn't help. The US State Dept repeated it. Then the offer for 1.5m doses appeared. That was late July and they reserved 10% for foreigners. Duckworth offer  followed the official offer of 1.5m.

Anyway Duckworth opened her mouth and didn't deliver.  Whether it is her fault,his,or both I don't know. Pointing fingers doesn't work. 

 

[Bob20]

Just now, LoongFred said:

No. I remember that the US charge de Faire said they wouldn't and couldn't help. The US State Dept repeated it. Then the offer for 1.5m doses appeared. That was late July and they reserved 10% for foreigners. Duckworth offer  followed the official offer of 1.5m.

Anyway Duckworth opened her mouth and didn't deliver.  Whether it is her fault,his,or both I don't know. Pointing fingers doesn't work. 

Please click the link in my previous post. It is from 29 July and clearly stated already back then that 1.5m + 1m would be donated...

[LoongFred]

4 minutes ago, Bob20 said:

Please click the link in my previous post. It is from 29 July and clearly stated already back then that 1.5m + 1m would be donated...

I don't dispute that but Duckworth opened her mouth and didn't deliver. She could have followed through.

[Bob20]

3 minutes ago, LoongFred said:

I don't dispute that but Duckworth opened her mouth and didn't deliver. She could have followed through.

Perhaps you don't realise that it's not Duckworth's gift. And regardless, if we know since July, the Government should know too and not claim to be unaware and uninformed.

I can see how you're trying to blame the US. But if someone wants to gift me something, I'd have a very different attitude.

[Poolie]

5 minutes ago, LoongFred said:

I don't dispute that but Duckworth opened her mouth and didn't deliver. She could have followed through.

I suspect she did.

[Metaluna]

21 hours ago, Malc-Thai said:

Just bring the vaccines on a plane along with the documents in English and thai and an ink pad for Anutin to press his thumb on and then onto the paperwork! He's obviously not capable of a signature

Actually, that isn't such a bad idea. Go ahead and send the plane full of vaccine. Bring it up on the tarmac and ask the authorities, do you want this or not?  If no answer, turn around and fly the vaccine to Vietnam.

[Metaluna]

8 hours ago, MrStretch said:

Thailand's greatest industry is bureaucracy. 

But it does help guarantee employment.

[Soidog]

17 minutes ago, Bob20 said:

Perhaps you don't realise that it's not Duckworth's gift. And regardless, if we know since July, the Government should know too and not claim to be unaware and uninformed.

I can see how you're trying to blame the US. But if someone wants to gift me something, I'd have a very different attitude.

The phrase “don’t look a gift horse in the mouth” springs to mind. WTF is going on here. A shame Trump wasn’t in the Whitehouse still. We would have a good laugh at how his administration would deal with this situation

[Bob20]

54 minutes ago, Metaluna said:

Actually, that isn't such a bad idea. Go ahead and send the plane full of vaccine. Bring it up on the tarmac and ask the authorities, do you want this or not?  If no answer, turn around and fly the vaccine to Vietnam.

Sure, the whole world will try to accommodate the ineptitude of Thailand...

Ever heard of customs declarations? Or know about the difficulties in transporting the Pfizer vaccine? 

It's the same as the rejected help offers from expats at the time of the tsunami, the new rule that Covid donations in kind could no longer be given to individuals but had to go through a Government intermediary and now difficulties to donate something very valuable and sorely needed.

As if they weren't isolated enough already!

[DrBongo]

Apparently they were more than happy to take the first donation quickly. However, it made the American look like heroes and the Chinese look bad for the poor vaccine that they have been selling. So, rather than give the Americans the opportunity to look good again, they do this, and Anutin says it is the American's fault!

Nope. They don't want the US to look good to the Thai people. The Chinese don't like it and the junta doesn't like it. Tammy Duckworth has met with Yingluck and other opposition members. She has never met with the junta. They don't like that. Who cares about the Thai people who would benefit from these Pfizer shots as boosters for less effective vaccines.

[Marc26]

2 minutes ago, DrBongo said:

Apparently they were more than happy to take the first donation quickly. However, it made the American look like heroes and the Chinese look bad for the poor vaccine that they have been selling. So, rather than give the Americans the opportunity to look good again, they do this, and Anutin says it is the American's fault!

Nope. They don't want the US to look good to the Thai people. The Chinese don't like it and the junta doesn't like it. Tammy Duckworth has met with Yingluck and other opposition members. She has never met with the junta. They don't like that. Who cares about the Thai people who would benefit from these Pfizer shots as boosters for less effective vaccines.

We spent 2 months in Boston May-July

 

My wife got her Pfizer vaccines in Boston

Coming up on 4th of July, she said "this year I am going to celebrate 4th of July extra because America gave me the vaccine"  :)

 

I thought that was cutely appreciative (and nice)