Student protesters push Thai politics into uncharted waters

Like high school students all over the world, Petch has seen his studies upended this year by the global pandemic. But it’s also been a year of turmoil for another reason: Thai students are on the march, demanding political and social change. 

Last week, Petch, age 16, stood in a rain-lashed crowd at Rajprasong, a downtown transit intersection, wearing his school uniform and soaking up the atmosphere of defiance in the air. He’s part of the largest protests to sweep Bangkok since a military coup in 2014, the second in his lifetime: a movement that is challenging the powers of Thailand’s military-backed government and, increasingly, of its constitutional monarchy, long considered off-limits for criticism.

“I’m not afraid of the government’s power. They can arrest hundreds or thousands of people, but