Thai government, knocked by rappers, responds with own tune
BANGKOK — When a rap video critical of Thailand’s military government became a huge sensation, the authorities first responded with threats to arrest its creators.
Then they did what the establishment often does when under fire: try to co-opt the genre.
So on Thursday a government “Thailand 4.0” rap video was played to introduce Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha’s remarks to about 500 attendees of a conference on start-ups.
The video was seen as a reaction to the popularity of the music video “Prathet Ku Mee ” — translated by its producers as “Which Is My Country” — which castigates the army’s domination over Thai politics. The video has logged over 25 million views since it was posted on YouTube on Oct. 22.