Exile and the kingdom

摘要

Many a political revolt has been plotted from afar. In Japan Aung San dreamed of the demise of British rule in Burma. Sun Yat-sen, the founder of republican China, flitted between Japan and America. That Thailand's former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, now resides in Dubai, a city of ostentatious, idle wealth, seems apt for a telecoms tycoon turned fugitive politician. But it is unlikely to be the final stop in a quest for power that has divided Thailand as never before. Neither side in what often resembles an undeclared civil war is ready to compromise. Millions of Thais want Mr Thaksin back. Over our dead bodies, comes the reply.