The Milk Tea Alliance
Inside Asia's Struggle Against Autocracy and Beijing
Why are activists in Thailand, Hong Kong, and Burma willing to court danger to help one another?
The political situations in Burma, Thailand, and Hong Kong are radically different. Only Burma is in a state of civil war. Only Hong Kong has changed in just a few years from a place with virtually no political prisoners to one with many. Only Thailand is a monarchy with lèse-majesté laws. Yet, many young activists and exiles from these regions feel that their struggles are connected.
Historian Jeffrey Wasserstrom met dozens of dissidents, including Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, known for his protests against compulsory Thai military service; Agnes Chow, co-founder of a political party now banned in Hong Kong; and Ye Myint Win (aka Nickey Diamond), who…