Page 51 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE Vol 3

DIPLOMATIC AFFAIRS | by Phnom TiensuwanPhotographs by Porntip BoonmongkolTHAILAND’S ONLINE AMBASSADOR IN BEIJINGThe Kingdom’s chief diplomat in China urges Thai investors to embrace e-commerce and take advantage of soft power to tap the largest marketin the worldT hailand’s ambassador to China, Wiboon Khusakul, has become quite well known after launching a Thai embassy website on Weibo, a popular microblogging forum, in Jan- uary last year. The blog now has some 50,000 Chinese followers and has been a powerful tool for promoting Thai culture and Thai products. HEWiboon is fluent in Mandarin and at times answers questions posed on the site himself.The ambassador’s use of social media has attracted much attention. He was named one of 15 newsmakers of the year by the Chinese media. Last November, hundreds of young Chinese who learned about ThaiElite+ 49