Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials met with the representatives of Thailand-China elite leadership training course in Beijing, praising their importance in strengthening China-Thai bilateral relations. An expert warns that the so-called training course, which targets ASEAN nations, has the purpose of infiltrating and controlling the nations.
An Export of Subtle Revolution
Tang Jingyuan, a U.S.-based current affairs commentator, told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times that the Thailand-China training course echoes the “ASEAN leaders training plan” mentioned by Chinese Premier Li Qiang.“Economically, Thailand is China’s largest trading partner in Southeast Asia and the CCP’s largest investment destination in Southeast Asia. It is an important participant in the CCP’s ‘Belt and Road’ initiative,” said Mr. Tang.
Earlier in September, Mr. Li unveiled China’s initiative to “train 10,000 future leaders for ASEAN nations” at the annual summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China.
An even more fundamental reason is that there’s a significant ethnic Chinese population, constituting over 10 percent of Thailand’s inhabitants, he said.
“The abundance of individuals with Chinese ancestry makes Thailand one of the most convenient countries for the CCP to engage in united front activities,” said Mr. Tang.
According to Mr. Tang, these Chinese-trained young leaders will serve the CCP as its agents to export a subtle revolution or “launch a concealed, long-term strategic plan.” The aim is to “permeate and extend red ideological influence into the future top leadership or elite entities of other countries.”
He believes this long-term approach poses substantial risks for the nations in question.
China-ASEAN in Reciprocal Exploitation
Chin Jin, Chair of the Federation for a Democratic China, also said these future leaders trained by the CCP are being prepared to infiltrate and control the nations involved.The CCP aims to control as many countries as possible, yet, ASEAN nations do not feel threatened by China’s actions, he said.
“It’s mutual consent,” Mr. Chin said, “To the leaders of the ASEAN member states, they care only about the economic benefits.”
However, Thai people still get to enjoy a certain degree of democracy, said Mr. Chin, referring to the Thai government’s recent decision to back down on a Chinese police patrol plan in the country.
The Thai Tourism Authority announced a plan to implement a joint patrol in the country with Chinese police on Nov. 12, alleging that it was an effort to secure tourists from China. Chinese tourists are a top source of foreign visitors for Thailand’s tourism industry.
But the announcement “sparked an outcry and earned pushback from the national police chief, Gen. Torsak Sukvimol, who said having Chinese officers on Thai soil was ‘a breach of sovereignty.’”
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who was in San Francisco for the APEC summit, quickly responded that there was no plan to station Chinese police in the country for joint patrols on Nov.13, according to a report by Radio Free Asia.
