Filial Piety First Thai Veteran Statesman Suwat's Principle in Life and Politics

By Special Correspondent Wu Xiaohan



Filial Piety First Thai Veteran Statesman Suwat's Principle in Life and Politics

By Special Correspondent Wu Xiaohan

Most politicians have a strong character. It seems mild-mannered persons are not made for politics.

Mr. Suwat Lippataphanlop， a senior statesman in Thailand， worked twice as Deputy Prime Minister and he has also served as the minister of Science and Technology， Natural Resources and the Environment， Transport，Industry， Labor， Justice， and Energy and headed administrative departments in the the Prime Minister's Ofce.

He made headlines celebrating his 60th birthday in 2015. On his birthday， his private mansion was overcrowded with distinguished guests with congratulations. Suwat is still popular afer being retired from political circles for nine years， demonstrating his successful life.

During his 20-year political life， Suwat was never a domineering politician， but one featuring moderate wisdom.

Son of a Chinese-Thai

Suwat's grandfather was from Chaozhou，China， with the Chinese family name as Cai（with no given name available now）. Suwat's memories about his ancestors came from his father. Chaozhou people have a natural afnity for doing business and the family had been engaged in a small business transporting building materials. His mother， a Tai woman， was a vendor in the foating market in Ratchaburi Province. Tere were fve sons， of whom Suwat was the third eldest. Most of their childhood was spent in their mother's small cargo boat on the Menam River.

Suwat remembered clearly that， every morning， his mother would load the boat with rice， fruits and vegetables before heading for the foating market.

When Suwat was three， his mother opened a small restaurant onshore with her meager savings to sell rice noodles. Suwat， a sensible boy， was always busy in the eatery as mother's little helper， seldom loafing. Although very young， he got to know about life.

From transporting building materials to selling building materials to the Department of Highways， his father kept expanding the business and gradually became the contractor of governmental projects. When dealing with government departments， integrity and open-mindedness helped him win official

I never forgot what my father told me - Chinese people highly value filial piety. Filial piety has become a principle in my life. trust. In 1962 （2505 in the Buddhist calendar），his father and an army general jointly invested to establish his first company. The company contracted to build roads， airports， irrigation works and other governmental engineering projects for the Department of Highways across the country and quickly grew into one of the 10 most famous building companies in Thailand， which is now managed by Suwat's mother and elder brother， as a leading building company in Tailand.

At fve， Suwat began to help both parents do business. As a matter of fact， most children in those years spent their childhood in that way， getting to know about the hardships of life. Throughout his schooldays， Suwat never stopped helping his parents do business. In the university， he chose to major in architecture because he wanted to become an engineer and help his parents run their business in a better way.

After graduation from Kasetsart University with a bachelor's degree in architecture， he returned home and worked in the family company for a decade. However， his life was accidentally changed when he was 33.

In the long period of doing building business， Suwat's father got acquainted with many bigwigs in both political and army circles，who invited him many times to participate in government activities. In Thailand， it is common to see business elite transform into government ofcials because Tai government usually welcomes those good businessmen loyal to the nation to participate in government management. Suwat's father，who felt that he was too old to enter political circles， agreed to pass the task on to a son.

Growing up in a merchant's family， Suwat and his brothers all showed great interest in doing business and aspired to make a difference in this regard. They never dreamed ofbecoming politicians because they knew that it was much easier to be in business. The father fnally said to his sons: “I've promised the Army Commander-in-chief. To be true to my words， I have to choose one of you to work for the government.”

Both the eldest and second sons had set up their own families while the youngest hadn't grown up. Father cast his eye on Suwat. Although knowing nothing about political afairs then， Suwat was unwilling to go against his father's decision. He agreed to have a try.

As Suwat married a girl from Nakhon Ratchasima， his father sent him to work as a representative of the general public in Nakhon Ratchasima.

A Broad Mind

As a newcomer in the political field， Suwat didn't expect that he would be brought into the camp of the new Prime Minister， when General Chatichai Choonhavan （founding President of the Thai-Chinese Friendship Association）gained office. Even today， Suwat still feels so grateful for Prime Minister Chatichai， who was the most important fgure in his political life.

Suwat was taken into the Prime Minister's Ofce because he was a young and promising man. At that time， the government was dominated by middle-aged and elderly men， among whom a young and good-looking face really meant something refreshing. Furthermore，General Chatichai found that this young man not only had a mind for business， but also aspirations to serve the nation. He thus decided to bring this untried young man into his cabinet，a move which demonstrated his remarkable courage and ability as a politician.

When PM Chaitichai organized a coalition government， Suwat was appointed Vice Minister of Transport， which opened a new page in his political life.

Having long been involved in his father's construction business， Suwat developed a highly-efcient working style. Afer becoming a government ofcial， he didn't abandon this，and easily attended to his duties. As a politician， Suwat never got into hot water. Even in the parliament， the opposition never put up a vote of no confdence to him.

Suwat told this reporter that in his opinion，a politician should put the interests of the people and nation frst and not make any political enemies.

Mr. Suwat Lippataphanlop being interviewed.

Since 2006， Suwat has not held any public office， saying “out of office， out of care”. He has no regrets！ His smiling face， calm and slow tone， and fulfilling life were all so impressive.“Although I once worked as a leader of the country， I've no higher expectation for my political life now. Of course， that doesn't mean I don't care about politics or the fate of the country，” he stressed.

As a politician， Suwat has friends from all walks of life， including politics， military， police，media， culture， entertainment， sports and business. How does he maintain this wide circle of friends？

Filial Piety First

Suwat told the reporter that lasting friendship should be based on Chinese classic philosophy，the Doctrine of the Mean. Friends should be modest and sincere to each other. “I never forgot what my father told me - Chinese people highly value flial piety. Filial piety has become a principle in my life. At home， I respect the elders and all family members. Out of home， I respect the people and the nation.”

CHINA REPORT: “Doesn't that get tiring？”

SUWAT （smiled）: “No. Filial piety makes me feel better and brings more friendship！”

CHINA REPORT: “This conforms with the karma in Buddhism， doesn't it？”

Mr. Suwat Lippataphanlop and Ms. Wu Xiaohan

SUWAT: “When I was young， my father applied for a loan from the bank to start a business. But he was denied the load. He fnally got support from Bangkok Bank. Afer his company grew bigger， he deposited all his money in this bank as a return. Actually， he felt grateful to the Bank all his life. Father ofen told us to be a grateful person.”

“Not holding public ofce， I can still contribute to the country. Anyhow， I'm very happy to serve my country with my knowledge and experience.” He is now prominently involved in physical education and active in promoting various sports activities in an efort to improve the physical quality of the Tai people and help them harvest some enlightenment of life. In this way， people will get healthier both physically and spiritually， thus being able to better serve the country.

When asked what sportsmanship was，Suwat replied that， if one takes things as they come， if one keeps to the rules of a game， if one develops a team spirit， it's fair to say that he or she has developed the attitude of sportsmanship. If everybody can do so， that will be a boon for the prosperity of the nation.

Suwat currently works as President of the Lawn Tennis Association of Tailand （LTAT）and is counselor of several athletic associations in the country. He has organized sports meeting many times and once invited Eldrick Tiger Woods， a worldwide famous golfer from the US， Li Na， a famous tennis player from China，and other well-known sports personalities from Russia to play in Tailand in an attempt to raise the profile of Thailand's physical culture in the international community.

Suwat's wife， a lieutenant general， created a harmonious and warm family for her husband. She likes to enjoy family life with her husband. Tey have two children: Passo， the eldest son，28， has graduated from a British university with a Master's degree； Papu， the younger daughter， 26， works in the family company and has successfully built an amusement park in Hua Hin.

According to data， Suwat's personal assets have reached 40 billion THB （$1.15 billion）. His family business covers the felds including hotel， apartment building， water park， building material， and construction.

When Suwat worked for government， the opposition faction in the Parliament presented many proposals to those in power. He never judged these proposals on the basis of a political stance， but on the principle of whether they were in the interests of the people and the nation， thus building up his impartial fame.

For Friendship with China

Suwat has been actively promoting the friendship between China and Thailand. Peoples of the two countries have similar beliefs and cultures. Tey are geographically not far from each other. Both governmental and non-governmental contacts between them are frequent. For instance， In the Chinatown of Bangkok，there is a grand celebration for Chinese Spring Festival annually. Chinese culture is very popular in Tailand. As a matter of fact， there are many Chinese-Tai people living in Tailand. For the people of Tailand， Chinese people are their closest relatives and friends.

In the early days afer the establishment of diplomatic ties between China and Thailand，Thailand suffered an oil shortage. When Foreign Minister Chatichai asked Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai for help， Premier Zhou agreed to provide diesel and crude oil. As a gesture of gratitude， Chatichai made positive efforts in founding the Thai-Chinese Friendship Association afer returning home.

In the past four decades since the two countries established diplomatic ties， whenever Thailand got into trouble， China would be well placed to help. Up to this day， there are many cooperative projects relying on China's support in technology and capital. Peoples of the two countries have conducted exchanges and cooperation in many sectors， including tourism， economy， trade， culture， etc.

Thailand has begun granting half-year multiple-entry tourist visas to Chinese visitors. Cross-border self-driving travel in Thailand is likely to become a new mode for Chinese tourists. In the future， Chinese will be added to the trafc signs in Tailand， which are usually in Thai and English， for the convenience of Chinese tourists.

During his 20-plus-year political life，Suwat once visited China in 2006 when he was Deputy Prime Minister， discussing with the Beijing Municipal Government and the Beijing Organizing Committee of the 29th Olympic Games about cooperation on tourism and sports. “China and Tailand are good friends while Beijing and Bangkok are sister cities. Only in China can I feel at home，” he sighed with emotion， adding that Beijing successfully held the Olympic Games in 2008， receiving guests from across the world with open arms. Chinese people are hospitable and sincere and can be friends for a long time， he believes.