「政黨資產」對泰國「民主發展」的影響

The Influence of ＂Party Assets＂ on the Democratic Development in Thailand

泰國自1932年君主立憲之後，民主發展的道路上一直充滿各種挑戰，即便是各國視為重要綱領的憲法，在泰國也因泰式民主的發展特色成為短命憲法，平均每五年換一部憲法的情況是世界少見。早期的泰國民主歷程主要掌握在軍人與文人手中，因此軍人的角色一直都自泰國政局上的關鍵因素，2014年政變以來的軍事政府便是如此，而至今已執政四年。1997年亞洲經融風暴的發生，造成亞洲許多獨裁政權倒台，在泰國則成為推動民主的契機，他信也是在此時崛起，其造成的影響至今仍在，因此他信也成為泰國政治發展史上的傳奇人物。他信從泰北起家，一路爬升到泰國首富，並在金融風暴前成為泰國副總理，金融風暴帶給他莫大的機會，使剛創立的泰愛泰黨得以在第一次參加大選就能獲得執政權利，也使得他的選舉策略受到關注。隨著後來的醜聞爆發，親信反叛與爆料，外界開始檢視這位傳奇人物後，才逐漸得知他信的崛起過程與龐大財富有密切關係，其中也包含他以商業手法「併購其他政黨」，以及他信集團在執政期間的茁壯發展。本文將探討「他信」與「親他信政黨」的發展歷程，並了解「親他信政黨」如何在憲法政變、軍事政變下繼續存活，其「黨產」如何延續傳承，「組織」如何演變等。

The course of democratic development in Thailand has been full of challenges ever since it became constitutional monarchy in 1932. Although regarded as major program in many countries, the constitution turned out short-lived due to Thai-style democracy. It changes every five years, which is even a rare case worldwide. In early stage, the process of democracy was in the hands of soldiers and literati. Therefore, soldiers have been playing a key role in Thailand political situation. The military government is such a case, and it has been in office for four years since the coup in 2014. The Asian financial crisis in 1997, which resulted in the downfall of many dictatorships, yet proved to be an opportunity in the advancement of democracy in Thailand. It gave rise to Thaksin shinawatra, a legend in the history of Thai politics whose influence remains even today. Thaksin started his business in north Thailand and worked his way up to the richest man in the country. He was elected vice-prime minister before the financial crisis, and his electoral strategy drew much attention when his newly-founded Thai Rak Thai Party won its rights to rule in its first general election. With his scandal afterwards and betrayal of his trusted followers, the fact began to become known to the outside that Thaksin's rise has been closely related to his grand fortunes. He also 'merged other parties' by commercial means and his group has thrived during his term. This article will discuss the following: the development of 'Thaksin' and 'pro-Thaksin parties', how the parties survived the constitutional coup and military coup, how the properties of the parties were passed down and how the 'organization' has evolved.