Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal
Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, nicknamed Frank, is a Thai student activist, peace activist and human rights activist, librarian, preservationist, conscientious objector, producer, publisher, and author. He is a founder of TERA and Education for Liberation of Siam. Both groups aim to reform the Thai education system. In addition, he has established Samnak Nisit Sam Yan Press for publishing thoughts and ideas in Thai language, and also Humanity Beyond Borders for giving assistance to refugees and those in needs of protection.
Netiwit is an outspoken activist who speaks against the Thai Junta both on Facebook and in public. In 2018, the National Council for Peace and Order filed a police complaint against him and six activists for being leaders of the protest and accused them, along with thirty-two other protesters, of violating the 2015 Public Assembly Act. This endangered him with jail terms for 7–9 years. The charge was later dismissed by the court.
Netiwit was elected as the student council president at Chulalongkorn University, but was removed from the position and had his behavior score deducted by university authorities in consequence of 2017 Chulalongkorn University incident. This was in spite of support from eight Nobel laureates, as well as noted academics such as Noam Chomsky, Steven Pinker, and others. However, after he filed a petition with the Administrative Court against Chulalongkorn University, the court ruled in his favor a year later, and his position and behavior score were restored.
Netiwit studied political science at Chulalongkorn University while being a librarian at the Santi Pracha Dhamma Library.
In April 2020, he was voted by students of Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University to be the President of the Political Science Student Union of Chulalongkorn University for 2020–2021.
On 31 March 2021, Netiwit was elected by Chulalongkorn University undergraduates to be the President of Chulalongkorn University's Student Union with a landslide victory, the highest votes received for the position and highest-turnout rate over decades.
He graduated from Chulalongkorn University in 2023 and is now a visiting fellow at Harvard Divinity School.
Netiwit has also been credited as a pioneer of the Milk Tea Alliance along with Hong Kong activist Joshua Wong. In 2017, Time magazine described him as "the message for social sanity," citing his advocacy for democracy and education reform in Thailand.
In 2014, he publicly declared himself a conscientious objector against military service in Thailand, citing corruption and violence in the camps when he turned 18 years old. In 2025, he was charged in court for refusing conscription and his case was sent to the Constitutional Court, marking the first time conscientious objector case in Thai legal history. If found guilty, he could face a maximum jail sentence of three years.
In the same year, he was awarded the Prince Claus Seed Award for his free expression through film, particularly citing his documentary The Last Breath of Sam Yan, which documents the struggle against gentrification and the protection of a minority Taoist shrine.
Early life
Netiwit was born in Samut Prakan province on 10 September 1996. He is the youngest child of a middle-class family of shopkeepers.As a student, he became the editor of his school magazine and was questioned for five hours by authorities after publishing criticism of mandatory haircut styles in Thai schools. The incident deepened his critique of the education system and later inspired him to form a group campaigning against these rules.
He later became the youngest editor of a magazine founded by Sulak Sivaraksa and has worked closely with Sulak, a prominent socially engaged Buddhist, whom he regards as his teacher.
TERA
In 2012, Netiwit and a group of fellow students formed TERA. A student-led organization, TERA aimed to pressure education authorities to reform the Thai education system. This includes abolishing strict uniform codes, increasing the quality of teachers and curriculum, reducing rote-style education, and increasing the number of public schools. Netiwit gained public recognition after appearing on a television program to speak about the organization and its cause.Education for Liberation of Siam
Education for Liberation of Siam was formed in December 2013 by Netiwit and other student activists. Netiwit serves as the first secretary of the organization. The purpose of the group is to provide a platform for student activism and disseminating questionable actions and misconduct by authority figures in the Thai education system. In 2014, under the secretary general Nattanan Warintarawet, the organization gained prominence for protesting against educational reforms put in place by the Junta.Activism at Chulalongkorn University
In July 2016, Netiwit and a friend caused controversy by refusing to prostrate before the statue of King Rama V at an annual Chulalongkorn University event citing that King Rama V himself abolished the act. He received both praise and criticism from the act, notably the ire of General Prayut Chan-o-cha, leader of Thailand's junta. Netiwit has also spoken out against hazing in a common Thai initiation tradition known as .In 2016, Netiwit personally invited activist Joshua Wong to speak at an event commemorating the 1976 Thammasat University massacre. Wong was detained for twelve hours upon entering Thailand but managed to speak to attendees via Skype after being deported. In May 2017, Netiwit was elected as Student Council President at Chulalongkorn University.
Removal from the Student Council
Netiwit and seven other members of the student council walked out of an oath-giving ceremony requiring them to prostrate in front of a statue of King Rama V in symbolic protest. As a result, one of the members was assaulted by a professor, Reungwit Bunjongrat, and the protesting members had their "behavioural scores" cut by the university as punishment. Subsequently, this led to the members, including Netiwit, being removed from their positions on the student council. Netiwit has since received support from academics and activists internationally, including Nobel Prize laureate Roald Hoffmann, scholar and political activist Noam Chomsky, and Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker. In January 2018, seven Nobel laureates sent a petition to Chulalongkorn University to appeal for Netiwit and his seven friends and to criticize the university.In 2019 after he filed a petition with the Court against Chulalongkorn University, the administrative court ruled in his favor since then Chulalongkorn university authority returned his position and behavioural points to him.
Political Science Student Union of Chulalongkorn University
In June 2020, Netiwit and his team, Demosingh Party, were elected to serve as the board of the Political Science Student Union of Chulalongkorn University . Netiwit was the President of the Student Union in the Faculty of Political Science.During his term in PSCU, he had addressed and engaged in many social and political issues, such as Chao Mae Tubtim Shrine, Scala Theatre. Moreover, his student union had published many public statements involving contemporary events and political developments in Thailand, including the forced disappearance of Thai activist-in-exile Wanchalearm Satsaksit, 2021 Myanmar Coup d'état, condemning the State's violence against demonstrations and charge of article 112, and so much more.
This term of Netiwit's team has changed the University along with the development of protests across the country against Prayut Chan-o-cha's government.
Student Government of Chulalongkorn University
In June 2021, Netiwit, alongside his Chula for ALL Party, secured a victory in the Student Union of Chulalongkorn University elections, assuming the role of the Student Government of Chulalongkorn University . The elections saw an unprecedented voter turnout, with Netiwit's party winning by a considerable majority.Results of 2021 President of Student Union of Chulalongkorn University
Netiwit's leadership, however, was not without controversy. On July 20, the student union, under his guidance, held an orientation for incoming students. The event featured prominent activists like Panusaya “Rung” Sithijirawattanakul and Parit Chiwarak as guest speakers, both of whom have faced detention under Thailand's lèse-majesté law. The union also introduced a revised student handbook emphasizing freedom of speech and social rights.The new handbook drew criticism from the university's student affairs department. In reaction, pro-monarchy alumni formed the "Chulalongkorn University Defense Committee," which pushed the university to penalize Netiwit. The pressure culminated in a letter on August 4 from the vice president of student affairs, threatening disciplinary action against him.
International organization PEN America weighed in on the issue. Karin Deutsch Karlekar, the director of free expression at risk programs at PEN America, stressed that students at globally recognized institutions like Chulalongkorn should enjoy freedom of expression without external influence from alumni.
As the head of SGCU, Netiwit also initiated a petition via Change.org in remembrance of the October 6, 1976 massacre. This called for the global recognition of "The International Day for the Protection of Students’ Freedom of Expression." His plea gained international backing, including support from personalities like Nathan Law, Mu Sochua, Zoya Phan, Edipcia Dubon, and Yevgeniya Chirikova, along with various organizations like Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression and various Thai student bodies.
Another major decision by the Student Union was to abolish the traditional Phra Kiao parade during the football match between Chulalongkorn and Thammasat Universities, denouncing it as a symbol of authoritarianism and inequality. This decision ignited debates, with Minister of Digital Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, an alumnus of Chulalongkorn, expressing pride in the event.On October 25th, a news report at the Thai parliament showed Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, mentioning the Student Union’s resolution. He asked the ministers whether they are alumni of Chulalongkorn University. Chaiwut and another Minister of Culture presented themselves. Prayut then told them to “take a look over that situation.”
Following this, reactionary news outlets targeted the student union members, with Thai newspaper ThaiPost News particularly condemning Netiwit's leadership, painting it as an attempt to "destroy Phra Kiao." The situation escalated when the university administration framed the union's resolution as an assault on revered figures, hinting at punitive measures against the involved students.
The climax of Netiwit's tenure came in February 2022. After only nine months as president, he faced disciplinary action stemming from an alleged violation during the Freshmen Orientation live stream of 2021. The university implicated both Netiwit and Pitchakorn Roeksomphong, the First Vice President of SGCU, accusing them of organizing activities contrary to the prescribed objectives of the Office of Student Affairs.
Chulalongkorn University Students’ Union publicly opposed the university’s order, saying the July 2021 event was organised to raise awareness of student rights and freedoms and to encourage new students to be critical of the university’s administration, which it said was permissible under the Constitution.
Student unions and councils from 19 other universities across the country have opposed the Chulalongkorn decision and demanded the order to remove union heads be revoked, saying it violated academic freedom.
Due to the mounting pressures and accusations, Netiwit was eventually removed from his position as the president of the Student Government of Chulalongkorn University.