thai us

USA and Thailand

Religion
Buddhist Temples in the U.S.A.
Thai Christian Churches in the U.S.A.

Newspapers
Siam Media Oldest Thai newspaper in USA, CA
The Asian Pacific News Thai Lao Newspaper in USA
Siam Chronicle Newspaper for Thai community in U.S. offering Thai and world news. In Thai.
Thai Town USA Newspaper for Thai community in the Los Angeles area.
Sereechai Newspaper, CA

Communities
Thai Associations in Washington
Online Thai Community in New York
Thai Oregon - Thai/American community in Oregon
Thai Association of Arizona
Thai American Friendship Organization of Arizona
Thai Northerner Association of Illinios
Associaltion of Thai Professionals in America and Canada (ATPAC)
Office of Science and Technology, Royal Thai Embassay (OSTC)

Thai Student Associations in the USA
Thai Students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Thai Students Association at University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR)
SIAM - Thai Student Association at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)
Thai student association at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center
TSA University of Washington
TSA University of Pennsylvania
TSA Indiana University Bloomington
USC Thai Club (THSA), University of Southern California
Thai Student Association at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Thai Student Association at Western Michigan University
Thai Club at UC Berkeley, California
Thai Students Association at Brown University
Georgia Tech Thai Student Organization
Thai Student Association at Iowa State University
Thai Student Association at the University of Illinois at Chicago
Thai Student Association, University of Minnesota
TSA University of Oklahoma
TSA - Oklahoma State University
TSA University of Colorado at Boulder
TSA University of Wisconsin-Madison
The Associaltion of Thai Students in Science & Technology Professions (ATSIST)
More TSA in the USA

Miscellaneous
Thai Restaurant Directory
Thai USA Association
Thai Tennis Organzation in America
United States Muay Thai Association
List of Thai owned Biz USA in Northern America
Thai Link - Reverse Brain Drain Project
THai - American Intercultural Society, Stanford University
USA-Thailand Lawyer Firm
Thai-US Marriage Visa support in Bangkok


History of Thais in the U.S.

The first people from Thailand who immigrated to the United States were In and Chan, the famous Siamese twins, who came to the United States in 1830. They settled in White Plains, North Carolina, and used "Bunker" as their last name. Their descendants have continued to use "Bunker" as their last name until recently.
The first student to immigrate from Thailand was Mr. He Thien (original name "ThienHe"), who came with an American missionary, and graduated from a New York medical college in 1871. He was the father of former Prime minister of Thailand Pote Sarasin.
- From 1961-1970, about 5,000 Thai immigrated to the United States.
- From 1971-1980, about 44,000 Thai immigrated to United States.
- From 1981-1990, about 64,400 Thai immigrated to United States.
- In 1993, there were an estimated 120,000 persons of Thai descent living in the United States.

Los Angeles, California has the largest Thai population outside of Thailand. Roughly 66% percent of all Thai Americans live in Los Angeles. It is also home to the world's first and only Thai Town. In 2002, there was an estimated 80,000+ Thai immigrants living in Los Angeles. Thai Chinese are also included in the population. Because of this, Los Angeles is sometimes referred to as Thailand's 77th province. (Note that both Bangkok and Los Angeles are known as the City of Angels). However, there are Thai communities spread throughout the US. Other cities with sizable Thai populations include Houston, Texas and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Thai Americans are well known for bringing the cuisine of their native Thailand to America. Thai cuisine is popular in many American cities. It is currently popular for American restaurants to offer Thai influenced dishes. Thai culture's prominent popularity in the United States is somewhat disproportionate to the percentage of Thai Americans in the total population. This is largely due to the U.S. presence in Thailand and Laos during the Vietnam War, which exposed American soldiers to Thai culture, and to the subsequent influx of Thai Americans and Laotian Americans. According to the 2000 census there were 196,893 Laotians and 150,093 Thai residents in the United States. Thai and Lao cultures and language are very similar especially in the northern Isan region of Thailand.

Traditionally, political involvement in the Thai-American community seldom exists. However, with the recent events in Thailand with the controversy over former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, activity in the Thai community has increased. Prior to his overthrow, there have been protests at the Thai consulate in Los Angeles. On November 7, 2006, Gorpat Henry Charoen became the first and only US elected official of Thai descent. He was elected to the La Palma City Council in California. In the Asian-American mainstream, Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Vietnamese, and Korean-Americans have been elected to political offices. Two Thais ran in municipal elections in 2003, one in Anaheim, California and the other in Houston, Texas (the candidate who ran in Houston was a native Houstonian); but both candidates lost. Tammy Duckworth, a Thai American Iraq war veteran, ran for election under the Democratic ticket to Congress in Illinois's sixth district in the 2006 mid-term election. Had she not been narrowly defeated, she would have been the first Thai American in congress.

Community - Buddhist temples (Wat) often serve as a civics center for Thai Americans. Many offer classes in Thai language, music and culture for Thais who grew up in America. They also serve as a meeting place for cultural festivals like Songkran (Thai New Year, best known to foreigners as a water festival) and Loy Krathong.

We the People Asians in the United States, Census


An official overview of Thai - U.S. relations

Thailand and the United States have been friends for almost two centuries. There are many unique and special elements in our bilateral relations.

First of all, one reason for the strength of the Thai - U.S. relationship stems from the fact that we both go back a long way and have been through a lot together. Our formal relations extend back 164 years to the signing of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce between our two nations on March 20, 1833, during the Presidency of Andrew Jackson, the seventh United States President, and the reign of His Majesty King Phra Nang Klao, or King Rama III of the Chakri Dynasty. With the signing of such Treaty, the two countries pledged to establish "a perpetual peace" between each other, a vow that has certainly withstood the test of time. We, in Thailand, recall with gratification that this Treaty was the first such Treaty that the United States had concluded with any Asian country.

His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej Maharaj, our present King, was born some 70 years ago in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where His father, His Royal Highness Prince Mahidol, was studying medicine at the Harvard Medical School. Since His accession to the throne over 50 years ago, His Majesty the King has paid two visits to the United States -- the first one in 1960 and the second one in 1967. Last November, President Clinton visited Thailand, and this was the first visit by an incumbent U.S. President since the visit by President Nixon 27 years ago in 1969.

Thailand and the United States share similar values and ideologies, among which are peace, liberty, democracy and free enterprise. This leads both of us to continue our close ties and cooperation in a variety of fields as partners in the pursuit of common interests that benefit both of our countries and peoples.

In defense of our common values, Thailand and the United States have fought side by side and have made countless sacrifices for one another.

Thailand is one of the five countries in the Asia - Pacific region, and one of only two countries in Southeast Asia, with whom the United States has a bilateral security agreement.
A military assistance agreement was signed with the United States in 1950 following the end of the Korean War.
In 1954, the Manila Pact was signed, pursuant to which the United States recognizes that a threat to the security of Thailand constitutes a threat to the United States. This Pact was subsequently reinforced by the Thanat-Rusk Joint Communique of 1962.

The mutual security agreements still continue to remain strong today. As testimony to the strong security ties between Thailand and the United States are the annual military exercises which our two countries have held for decades. These military maneuvers, dubbed "Cobra Gold," are the largest military exercises involving the United States forces anywhere in Asia.

The strong and close ties between the United States and Thailand serve as a solid foundation for the United states' overall engagement in Southeast Asia and the Asia - Pacific region at large. Such engagement takes the form not only of bilateral contacts between the U.S. Government and each of the countries in the region, but also takes place through U.S. participation in various regional organizations and fora, such as the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference, and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF).

The ARF, of which Thailand and the United States are among the founding members, is a mechanism that puts a premium on preventive diplomacy to maintain peace and harmony in the region. The United States' constructive involvement in Asia and cooperation with the like-minded Asian countries have contributed to the region's overall foundation of peace and security that the region now enjoys. This had made it possible for these Asian countries to concentrate their energies fully on cooperation for the future growth and prosperity of their peoples.

On the economic front, the U.S. is currently Thailand's largest trading partner, while Thailand is the United States' 17th largest trading partner and is gradually rising up the ranks. Two-way trade between our two countries stands at almost 20 billion dollars a year. The United States is also one of the top three largest foreign investors in Thailand, with a total aggregate investment of almost 25 billion dollars.

At present, almost 600 American companies, large and small, are doing business in Thailand and the number is growing. These American companies are engaged in various aspects of economic activities in Thailand -- manufacturing, energy, trading, financial, consultant and many others. This number includes American transnational companies such as General Motors, Chrysler Corporation, Ford Motor, IBM, Unocal Corporation, Kellogg's, Citibank, NationsBank, Bank of America, General Electric, Coca Cola, Digital Equipment Group, AT&T, NYNEX, Nike, Goodyear, and Microsoft, to name a few. In 1995 alone, more than 150 American companies submitted applications for new or expanded investment.

Even today a lot of business opportunities for American investors and business partners exist. This includes opportunities in basic transportation system, public utilities, such as telecommunications and electricity, environmental protection and restoration, environmental technology, biotechnology and food processing industries - all areas in which American companies excel. Thus, the economic relations between Thailand and the United States have so far always been important and will still be important and continue to grow, both in terms of trade and investment, even in the next century.

Beyond Thailand herself, a forum has emerged that brings together a group of trading partners with shared values. This is the Asia - Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC), whose 18 members include the United States and Thailand, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN.

ASEAN comprises Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Brunei, and Vietnam. As a group, ASEAN was the United States' 4th largest export market and her 3rd largest source of imports in 1995. It is projected that over the next 15 years, ASEAN will become the United States' 2nd largest trading partner, with two-way trade totaling more than 300 billion dollars per annum.

Other issues of mutual interest and concern -- Thailand and the United States have been in collaboration with each other in a wide range of areas. Narcotics suppression is one of the areas that Thailand has been working closely with the United States. The Royal Thai Government has reiterated its commitment to do its best to combat illicit drug trafficking.

Regarding education, there are more than 10,000 Thai students in institutions of learning in the United States, including students under the American Field Service (AFS) program, and the Fulbright scholarships, among others. In the military education field, we have Thai IMET cadets in military and naval academies and institutions, in U.S. National Defense University and other types of training.

The friendly relations between Thailand and the United States continue to grow in a broad range of fields. This long and happy relationship between our two countries should be nurtured and enhanced. New and mutually beneficial areas of cooperation between the two countries should be sought out.



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