Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra spoke after chairing a cabinet meeting at the government building, addressing the concerns of Chinese leaders about Thailand's "entertainment complex" policy.
Paetongtarn stated that Chinese leaders had inquired about the project during her visit to China. She explained that Thailand's "entertainment complex" is not merely a casino project, with the casino component accounting for less than 10% of the entire complex.
The government's planning focus is to create an entertainment space suitable for family participation, ensuring that visitors of all ages, especially children, can enjoy the facilities, with the casino being just one part of it.
Paetongtarn further pointed out that Thailand needs to pay attention to the existence of illegal casinos and other illicit activities. She admitted that although some people focus on the casino part, ignoring this issue cannot negate its existence.
She emphasized that establishing special economic zones helps to tax industries such as casinos through a legal tax system, with the tax revenue being used to fund children's education and other national development projects, which is a legal and correct approach.
Despite the external focus on casinos, Paetongtarn stressed that the essence of the entertainment complex is a "man-made tourism model" designed to attract international tourists, promote tourism development, and thereby drive the growth of the hotel industry and local economy, and create more job opportunities, which is the core value of the project.
In response to whether China expressed concerns about the project, Paetongtarn said that the Chinese side mainly raised some views, pointing out that establishing casinos might lead to related problems. In this regard, the Thai side expressed willingness to listen to China's opinions, as the two countries have always maintained a friendly relationship. Paetongtarn added that if China has any constructive suggestions, Thailand will seriously consider and adopt them.
She also mentioned that China discussed the pros and cons of casinos during the exchanges and cited Macau's relevant experience.
