Junta is now deeply embedded in Thai life

Bangkok

ON Friday evenings in Thailand, sandwiched between the evening news and a popular soap opera, is a prime-time programme that has been running for three years, or ever since the military took power in a May 22, 2014 coup.

Called "Sustainable Development from a Royal Philosophy" it stars junta leader and former army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha speaking on a range of topics, from the virtues of modesty to the state of the economy.