OPINION

Thai sugar fix

Re: "Rethinking obesity", (Life, Feb 11).

As well as managing food waste, another point is managing the ingredients of the food we eat. There seems to be an obsession with adding sugar to meals and drinks in Thailand. Small wonder the country has one of the highest rates of diabetes in the Western Pacific region.

China viewpoints

Re: "The lies we fund", (PostBag, Feb 22) & "Ask me about it", (PostBag, Feb 25).

I beg Michael Setter not to name me as a CCP "sympathiser" all the time but instead call me an "admirer" of the CCP.

I admire that China, under the CCP, has become a world economic powerhouse that will eventually break away from US hegemony.

I admire that China has, under CCP, lifted 770 million of its rural population out of poverty as of 2024.

I admire that China, under the CCP, has built up one of the most fascinating and effective infrastructures and railway systems, benefiting and connecting so many rural areas in China that were once unreachable.

I admire that China's universities under the CCP are now at the top of the world rankings, according to a comprehensive survey of scientific output across over 18,000 universities and colleges around the world.

Although the CCP has liberated and built up a modern China, many elderly Chinese can still remember the sufferings from past invasions by the Western bloc during the Qing Dynasty or the slaughter of Chinese civilians during the Japanese invasion. But we should let history be history and move forward.

However, history is different from misinformation. The latter can cause confusion and unnecessary hatred among people.

Michael Setter should back up his anti-CCP allegation with facts. Otherwise, it would be just like any other of his many misinformation. And not many readers would react humorously like Przemo Kranz.

Less booze, less tax

Re: "How about road safety?", (Editorial, Feb 1).

In common, I'm sure, with many PostBag readers, I'm quite partial to a night out with a few beers to grease the social wheels.

I noticed recently that brewers in the UK are adding lower-alcohol beers to their portfolios but at a lower price.

This is in response to the government introducing new levels of duty, which "allowed a lower duty band for products with an ABV between 1.3% and 3.4%".

I, for one, would be happy to drink beer with lower alcohol if it were offered at a lower price.

Perhaps our esteemed lawmakers could consider such a measure, especially as one of their stated aims is to reduce alcohol consumption in the kingdom.