Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed Thai Prime Minister facing corruption charges and an imposed two year jail sentence in his own country, has arrived in Beijing following a decision by the British authorities to revoke his visa. Thaksin has been in the UK seeking political asylum since the coup that saw him deposed. His British visa was revoked as soon as he left the UK on a business trip, further confirming concerns that his asylum request was based more on avoidance of corruption charges than political differences.

Thaksin, who earlier in the year had purchased Manchester City football club, was forced to sell it to an Arabic consortium after the bulk of his assets were frozen by Thai prosecutors. Passing by China was originally a stop over en route to the Philippines, were he has also applied for asylum, a move that the Philippine government has said would be rejected if requested. This leaves Thaksin holed up in Beijing until he can find an alternative sanctuary or is unable to renew his Chinese visa.

The Philippines trip may still go ahead, although for a maximum of 21 days – nationals of other Asian nations are permitted to remain in the country as tourists for this length of time. Incredibly, given the state of Thai politics right now, he is due to meet with his brother in law, the current Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, for talks.

Critics state that Thailand is being governed by a fugitive on the run, an almost incredulous position for the country to be in. The situation leaves China in an embarrassing diplomatic position. It will have to choose between allowing him an additional length of stay, deport him to Thailand, or allow him passage to a third country.

Asked in Beijing today where he would like go to, Thaksin merely answered “I’ll keep on traveling”. China does have restrictions on immigration under which convictions overseas can negate the issuance of a visa. With two years prison sentence outstanding against him in Thailand, Thaksin would certainly fit that category.