Asian Wall Street Journal: Thailand's Blunder on Taiwan

As China's economic clout continues to grow, it is becoming increasingly commonplace to see other nations in the region make sometimes shameful compromises to avoid giving offense to their powerful neighbor.[..]

Last year, [Thailand's] administration pressured Falun Gong followers into canceling a planned international conference in Bangkok, following complaints from China.[..]

It is far from unusual these days to see countries go to some lengths to avoid offending Beijing when their own commercial interests are at stake. For instance, Australia's top leaders refused to meet the Dalai Lama and clamped down on a Falun Gong protest in Canberra in the run-up to China's recent decision to award a $25 billion natural gas contract to an Australian consortium.[..]