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Viewing cable 07CHIANGMAI34, HORTICULTURAL HIT TRANSCENDS POLITICS, FOR A TIME

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07CHIANGMAI34 2007-02-15 03:21 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate Chiang Mai
VZCZCXRO8207
PP RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHCHI #0034 0460321
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 150321Z FEB 07
FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0405
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK PRIORITY 0662
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI PRIORITY 0447
UNCLAS CHIANG MAI 000034 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: GOV SENV EAGR TH
SUBJECT: HORTICULTURAL HIT TRANSCENDS POLITICS, FOR A TIME 
 
REF: A. (06) CHIANG MAI 19 (NIGHT SAFARI QUESTIONS TRAIL THAKSIN ) 
     B. (05)  CHIANG MAI 233 (THANKS BUT.  CHIANG MAI STRUGGLES WITH DEVELOPMENT DESIGNED IN BANGKOK ) 
 
1. Summary.  The three-month-long Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 
International Horticultural Exposition in Chiang Mai that closed 
Jan. 31 scored a big hit with the Thai public, drawing 
attendance beyond anyone's expectations.   While the event 
managed to rise above politics thanks to its association with 
the King, former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's role in 
staging the expo in his home town shades the aftermath.  End 
summary. 
 
2.  Pushed under Thaksin's leadership and opened on Nov. 1 after 
his ouster, the Royal Flora expo initially drew media fire for 
low attendance, expensive food and smelly toilets - criticism 
likely augmented by the post-coup inclination to paint all 
Thaksin projects in dark hues.    By December, however, Thais 
from all over the country flocked to Chiang Mai to catch the 
experience, even as foreign tourists mostly stayed away.  Total 
attendance for the three months was reported at 3.7 million. 
 
3.  Despite the fact that decisions on the future of the 
188-acre site remain to be made and even though the true 
environmental and financial costs of Ratchaphruek may never be 
clear, most Thais perceived the hugely popular event as a worthy 
way to mark HM the King's 60th year on the throne and usher in a 
year of celebrations surrounding his 80th birthday. 
 
4.  The must-see popularity of the Royal Flora expo also boosted 
the adjoining Night Safari, another Thaksin "gift" to his home 
town built against the opposition of environmentalists on 
national park land at the foot of Doi Suthep (reftels). 
Explanations for the Royal Flora's triumph included its 
celebration of the King and his sufficiency policy and a dose of 
related social pressure to be part of the royal salute.  Nor did 
it hurt that the event was wildly hyped.   Even as the expo was 
turning visitors away a week before the end, newspapers carried 
expensive ads touting the "miracle" of Rathchapruek. 
 
---Educational enrichment via tour bus--- 
 
5.  Politicians of all stripes saw the floral fest as a chance 
to garner support.   A former TRT MP from Chiang Rai reported 
that many groups of villagers enjoyed organized free trips to 
the horticultural show courtesy of politicians and government 
units at the municipal, district, and provincial levels.   Trip 
sponsors included both supporters and foes of the post-coup 
Council for National Security (CNS), suggesting that flower 
power can sometimes trump politics.   Government employees also 
took advantage of "study trips" to visit the expo on official 
funds; Chiang Mai Rajabhat University reported bus loads of 
teachers stopping briefly at the campus to justify an official 
trip before heading out to see the show. 
 
6.  Even the Thai military tried to cash in by offering Burmese 
counterparts from the Township Border Committee (TBC) at Mae 
Sai-Tachilek a trip to the expo, along with their families. 
One such trip reportedly backfired when a police checkpoint 
discovered and removed illegal travelers on the bus. 
 
---Picking apart the party--- 
 
7.  Now that the popular expo is over, critics have started to 
reemerge.  Operating costs reportedly had to be supplemented by 
additional government funds as well as an assessment on local 
administrative organizations.  Villagers living near the expo 
site complained that organizers failed to honor promises to hire 
local residents and protested over poor garbage handling and 
excessive noise.  Bangkok's "Nation" newspaper trumpeted "Floral 
expo ends with meager profit" and concluded that the expo failed 
in its horticultural objectives while succeeding in celebrating 
the King's reign and promoting Lanna culture.   A local NGO 
filed charges against the Thaksin administration for failing to 
obtain permission to use the national park land and for 
irregularities in contract bids; the cases are now pending 
investigations by the Agriculture Ministry and the National 
Counter-Corruption Commission. 
 
8.  Comment:  Despite initial wariness about Royal Flora 
Ratchapruek as yet another wasteful project of the Thaksin 
government, most Thais took it to their hearts.  Chiang Mai 
businesses, hotels and restaurants profited financially from the 
three-month tourist magnet, even though residents were unhappy 
with the traffic jams and tour buses that jammed their city 
during the November-January period.   In the aftermath, the 
former Prime Minister's opponents are calling attention to 
budget irregularities and environmental encroachment while 
others believe that the expo further strengthened Thaksin's 
image and base among local business beneficiaries.   The final 
reckoning may depend, like much else, on Thaksin's lot. 
 
CAMP