I just came back from Laos. by visiting both Vientiane and Luang Prabang especially Luang Prabang, which isworld heritage city Ask why it is a World Heritage City. The answer is that it has beautiful architecture. Both of Laos and especially the western (France). The question is, why does Laos have so much French Western architecture?
the answer is Laos was a French colony from 1893-1953. For regarding 60 years, even the royal palace of Luang Prabang built in 1904 (118 years ago) was built according to French architecture. Because it was in the colony of France itself.
During the time when France ruled Laos Luang Prabang was very prosperous. There are many beautiful buildings in the French style. mixed with the Chao Phraya House House of the eldest man in Laos As the capital of Laos where the great lord resided in this city. It can be said that at that time The prosperity of Luang Prabang and Thailand may not be much different.
(Photo by Porapak Apichodilok)
Because France is trying to construct buildings that today leave a lot to look at. And it turns out that Luang Prabang is a world heritage city becauseThe important part is that there are buildings in colonial times. As for the wooden buildings of the general Lao people, there may be some left. It would be a large building, a small building, a wooden building that would decay over time.
althoughFrance will make Luang Prabang look so majestic that it becomes a World Heritage City today. They did not have a goal to develop the country of Laos to prosper. Some prosperity is only a by-product. The people who use these colonial buildings are the only French people who came to live in Laos.merit” living in these buildings The French built these buildings for their own sake.
The most important thing that we should be aware of is that France came to Laos to bring resources back to their own country, not coming.”save mankind from sin“Anyway, this is the most important objective of the colonial powers. Whether it was France, England, Germany and other superpowers regarding 100-200 years ago that occurred in Indochina, Southeast Asia, the Far East, the Middle East, South Asia, Africa, South America and others.
Traces of the prosperity of French colonial architecture can also be seen in other cities of Laos, such asSavannakhet, Thakhek, Pakse, Champasak, Vang Vieng, etc. because the colonial lords settled in almost every city to gather resources and control the economy in almost every city In these buildings, the Lao people themselves may not have the wisdom to enter. Lao people might not like it. But there are probably some Laotian people who like to live in a house like this. but probably very little
even in Hanoi Ho Chi Minh City or various resort towns in Vietnam, such as Da Nang, Dalat that France built in Vietnam or Phnom Penh, Sihanoukville, Siem Reap, Cambodia. There are also buildings that have an architectural look that represents the French colonialism. Even crossing the coast to YangonBritish imperialism also built many colonial western buildings.
Today, these colonial buildings may seem like a “legacy” of civilization left behind by imperialism. And has become a tourist attraction that people are interested in traveling a lot. became one of the enchanting charms especially in Luang Prabang
These buildings became hotels, restaurants, museums, art galleries, etc. But these buildings were built by the imperialists. It’s for their own convenience. And the construction cost comes from acquiring local people’s resources. including using cheap local labor for construction
location of these buildings which is the land of Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Burma are the land of each nation, butImperialism took over They would have the right to own ownership of each piece of land. Therefore, the building was built as a permanent object (building) that was made of bricks and mortar. This is if France or England don’t lose the war with the locals. and still possessed These buildings are still owned by Westerners. And there may be many more beautiful buildings like this. But it is there to rule and dominate the economy of the colonial country itself.
These lessons give Thailand an idea that if we Thailandtreacherous” By allowing foreigners to take over our land in Thailand, cities in Thailand, especially in the Eastern Economic Corridor of Thailand. Tourist cities such as Pattaya, Rayong, Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi, Samui, Hua Hin, Chiang Mai and other border cities. would be subject to imperialism once once more Only this time it was not British imperialism, France, Germany or America, but Chinese imperialism.
Allowing foreigners to buy real estate in Thailand does not stimulate the economy because
1. Thailand does not collect tax on the purchase of real estate for foreigners. such as in Singapore and Hong Kong. There is a purchase tax for foreigners up to 30-40% of the market value. For example, if you buy a condominium in Singapore for 40 million baht, you have to pay another 12 million baht tax. We only have transfer fees taxes which are issued by the seller. Not a buyer, so if foreigners buy real estate in Thailand Therefore, the money was not used to stimulate the economy.
2. Thailand has almost no annual land and building tax. especially foreigners who come to buy houses in Thailand We collect tax of 200 baht per million, which hardly means anything. Unlike in civilized countries such as the United States, he collects a million 10,000-30,000 baht (1-3%) of the actual purchase price Not collecting according to the appraised value that is much lower than the actual market price, like Dr. Chatchat, who bought a house in the United States for 70 million baht each year, had to pay 700,000 baht in tax to maintain the locality. but for Thailand Foreigners come to buy without having to pay this tax at all.
3. who hope that foreigners will come to help buy 3-400,000 houses and condominiums in the hands of the operator it’s not true They probably only bought apartments in the city center. In other areas would not buy. Letting foreigners buy a house in Thailand doesn’t help drain the product. If it’s China, they’ll probably want to rent land for 99 years or buy land to build.colony” of their own rather than buying a house or a general apartment
If we resist foreigners to buy houses and land in Thailand without any protective measures such as civilized countries. So it’s like we’re really “treasonous”.
Column : Foreign real estate
Dr. Sophon Pornchokchai
Chairman of the Thai Real Estate Research and Valuation Center
Agency for Real Estate Affairs Co., Ltd.
www.area.co.th
