[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1996, Book II)]
[November 26, 1996]
[Pages 2154-2155]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a State Dinner in Bangkok
November 26, 1996

    Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, Privy Counselors, Prime 
Minister, members of the Cabinet, the diplomatic corps, distinguished 
guests: The First Lady and I are deeply honored by the welcome we have 
received in Thailand. We are proud to visit during the year that 
celebrates His Majesty's 50th year on the throne.
    We Americans claim a special connection with His Majesty because he 
was born in Massachusetts, where his father was studying at Harvard and 
his mother was a student at Simmons College. And of course, I feel a 
particular admiration for His Majesty, whose love of music, especially 
jazz, and whose skill on the saxophone are universally renowned. In his 
lifetime, the late Duke Ellington was called the King of Jazz. Now it 
seems to me that His Majesty can lay legitimate and literal claim to 
that title.
    Our stay here, Your Majesty, is far too brief. But we have had time 
to appreciate the wonder

[[Page 2155]]

of your country. Hillary saw it when she visited two northern provinces 
and shared the enchanting beauty of the ceremony of Loy Kraphong. We 
both have marveled at Bangkok, the City of Angels, where we see both the 
proud traditions of the past and the shining promise of the future.
    Your Majesty, when you addressed the United States Congress 36 years 
ago, you noted that for all the distance that divides our people, still 
one thing unites us, the love of freedom. You were right then, and you 
are right today. Thailand's struggles for liberty at home and abroad 
have inspired nations all over the world. Thailand is one of our oldest 
friends and strongest allies. The treaty the United States signed with 
the Kingdom of Siam in 1833 was the very first treaty forged by our 
young Nation with any Asian nation.
    In the last half-century we have fought side by side in Korea and 
Vietnam. We have stood together in promoting security in this region and 
around the world. Our nations have been partners in prosperity as well. 
And now we are working to build a new Pacific community where open 
societies, linked and invigorated by open markets, give their people the 
tools, the confidence, the opportunity to make the most of their own 
lives.
    Your Majesty, Thailand's growing role on the global stage is a 
fitting tribute to your leadership. You have guided Thailand through 
political crises. You have helped to secure a climate in which democracy 
can flourish. Your tireless efforts, and Her Majesty's, to advance rural 
development have been a model for all the world. Your integrity and 
devotion to your people has made you a symbol of unity and pride. To me 
it was especially telling that when your country's Olympic boxer won 
Thailand's first-ever gold medal this year in Atlanta, he strode 
triumphantly around the ring with a framed picture of you. So in 
celebrating our nations' partnership, we celebrate you as well.
    Your Majesty, our great author Somerset Maugham once said as he 
gazed at this marvelous palace complex, ``It makes you laugh with 
delight to think that anything so fantastic could exist on this somber 
Earth.'' So here, amid the brilliant colors, the heavenly spires of this 
wonderful place, the friendship between our people springs forth more 
vibrantly than ever.
    Therefore, I ask that all of you join me in a toast to that 
friendship, to our alliance, and to long life for His Majesty, the King.

Note: The President spoke at 10:36 p.m. in the Chakri Throne Hall at the 
Grand Palace.