Shutdown affects 2 million

The "Bangkok shutdown" led by anti-government protesters has affected more than 2 million people in the capital, the local media said on Monday.

They estimated that 680,000 residents living in or near the rally sites are affected, in addition to 440,000 students and 1.2 million people working in the area.

The shutdown has also affected 4.8 million transport trips, the reports said.

On the other hand, Airports of Thailand, a public Thai company that oversees several national airports, has issued special stickers to about 6,000 airport taxis for rights to pass, in order to show the anti-government protesters that the vehicles are carrying tourists.

The company has asked the protesters to allow these taxis to travel through roads blocked as part of the "Bangkok shutdown" campaign.

Meanwhile, 123 bank branches were closed as of 3:30 pm, according to the Bank of Thailand. More than half belong to TMB Bank.

The Bank of Thailand operated on Monday from its emergency center.

Xinhua - Yang Cheng

(China Daily 01/14/2014 page12)