“The King Never Smiles” by American journalist Paul Handley has been banned in Thailand three months before it was even published in America. A summary of the book on the website of the Yale University Press has also been blocked by the Thai police. The ICT released this statement:
“The Web page has been blocked following a request from the Royal Police Bureau which deems the book is insulting to the king.”
We are not at all surprised at the banning of this book. To be honest, we were shocked at some of the words used in the web page promoting the book. When we tried to open the Yale university website this morning from Thailand, we got this message:
“Sorry, the web site you are accessing has been closed by Royal Thai Police due to inappropriateness such as pornography, gambling or contain any information which is deemed to violate national security.”
Insulting words against the King can be punishable by 15 years in prison. It is doubtful whether this author will ever receive a visa to the Kingdom of Thailand.
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