Talk:Thais in the United Kingdom

This is about Thai immigrants' skills, not the prime minister

Thai Prime Ministers each have their own articles, with the one on the PM serving since 2006 saying he was born in England to parents who, it would seem, were Thais in the United Kingdom long enough for their son to have been born there, get his primary education at Scaitcliffe (since merged into Bishopsgate School, and finish up at both Eton and Oxford before returning to minister to the country where his parents were born. Perhaps the entry should have read, A couple of Thais in the United Kingdom took advantage of the educational opportunities to prepare one of their sons to be Prime Minister of Thailand. Meanwhile, back at his article, I'll propose for discussion blind-linking the lede "born in England" to "born in [[Thais in the United Kingdom|England]]" as this article contains a pertinent remark:

Besides private tutoring, there are many places across the country specialising in teaching of the Thai language, Wat Buddhapadipa, the Bournemouth Thai School, the Brasshouse Language Centre and the School of Oriental and African Studies all help the young Thai immigrants in the UK to keep their mother tongue whilst still encouraging the learning of English.

— quote

--Pawyilee (talk) 08:48, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

Yes, it may well be worth mentioning, but the reason I removed it was that you added it to the section of the article about Thai immigrants' skills. It perhaps belongs in the notable individuals section instead. Cordless Larry (talk) 13:49, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

Once burnt, twice shy. If the list is limited to notable Thais in UK, then notable Thais who have left would be excluded. Your call. Also, while I like the changes you made to opportunities for UK-Thai to maintain proficiency in their mother tongue, it begs the question of how the current Thai PM obtained his. I heard him speak on BBC today, and while he certainly is fluent in English, I could tell it's not his mother tongue. --Pawyilee (talk)

I don't see why previous residents can't be included, so long as they spent a reasonable amount of time in the UK. I have no idea about his language skills, not knowing much about him other than what I've read here. Cordless Larry (talk) 21:15, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

Done, Also added S.P. Somtow as an Old Etonion, though he's a dual US-Thai citizen in Bangkok; as an author, he writes exclusively in English. Had to add both Abhisit and David Cameron to St John's notable alumni, and need to go back to its lede to change PM count from six to seven, but a storm is rolling in and I have to shut down. --Pawyilee (talk)

Well, I didn't shut down soon enough, but someone else fixed my goof on Cameron. I hope that's all. --Pawyilee (talk) 09:50, 18 February 2011 (UTC)

Unsourced notable individuals

I've removed the unsourced entries from the list of notable individuals, per this discussion. They are listed below, as they appeared in the article, so as to facilitate their restoration if and when references can be found. Cordless Larry (talk) 13:49, 18 February 2011 (UTC)

I see from the discussion that some vehemently deny linking to their own sourced articles is sufficient, with one vehemently objecting to putting people into "boxes." (If that is of interest to you personally, see James C. Scott.) I would think a list of notable Thai in the UK should indicate what's notable about the TH-UK link, and I've checked a few. --Pawyilee (talk) 10:16, 19 February 2011 (UTC)

• Jamie Waite - Footballer
• Ji Ungpakorn - restored as Giles with source for dual citizenship, and noting he fled Thailand for UK --Pawyilee (talk) 12:45, 28 February 2011 (UTC)
• Katreeya English - Singer
• Kathreya Kasisopa - Contestant on Big Brother
• Marissa King - Olympic Gymnast
• Puey Ungpakorn - Extremely successful bureaucrat

Brunt of article is that he was an extremely ethical Thai bureaucrat and academic, but after his forced exile, Puey lived a simple life in England to the end of his life. See also Jon Ungpakorn, Peter Ungpakorn, Giles Ji Ungpakorn, his sons with his English wife, Margaret Smith Categories include | British people of Thai descent | British people of Chinese descent |

• Roxy Jezel - Adult model
• S. P. Somtow - Old Etonion (born 1952), now a musical composer and author in Bangkok

He's on the list of Old Etonions born in the 1950s. Somtow was born in Bangkok but moved with his parents to England at the age of six months. (Ref: Somtow.com, Bio.) He became a US citizen before returning to Bangkok, but with a solid UK education. Categories include | Old Etonians | Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge

• Sakchai Makao - Political campaigner moved in 1993 to the islands of Shetland in Scotland. Sakchai was 10 years old at the time. In 2004 Sakchai was involved in crime which led to him being charged and convicted of “wilful fire-raising”. In 2006, at the age of 23, Sakchai was detained under the UK Immigration Act. ... When Sakchai was threatened with deportation in 2006, the people of Shetland came together to support him.... A hearing on the 7th July 2006 saw Sakchai's appeal being upheld, and Sakchai was free to return to Shetland.... The 'Shetland For Sakchai' campaign won 'Public Campaign of the Year' at the Scottish Politician of the Year awards [1] and the 'Willie Leitch Trophy' for 'Campaign of the Year' (presented by the Aberdeen Central Liberal Democrats)[2]

While certainly notable, not necessarily because of his UK-Scot-Thainess.

On second thought, it is notable that Thais in the UK can (1) be subject to deportation, and (2) successfully fight it with UK community support. --Pawyilee (talk) 10:41, 19 February 2011 (UTC)

• Tom Ramasut - Footballer
• Vanessa-Mae - Pop and Classical musician