I pondering an answer that wouldn't reflect badly on the country's image. First, I told him the protests against the controversial amnesty bill seemed justified, as the government took advantage of its majority in the House to pass a very tricky bill, apparently in favour of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
"But politicians are leading the protests, right? Haven't they thought about possible violence?"
This reminded me of something I had heard on the streets. At first, when someone announced plans to join the protest at Democracy Monument, others would tell them to be careful and stay safe. But after a few days, "enjoy yourself" was the advice to wannabe protesters.
I explained this to the Hong Kong man by saying the Yingluck government apparently did not dare to use violence against demonstrators. My conviction was based on emotionally painful experience. Moreover, in the past two years the government and its supporters have constantly attacked the Democrat Party and its previous administration - key members of which are involved in the current protests - for using violence during the 2010 demonstrations which left 99 dead and more than 2,000 injured. If there are any fatalities this time round, the Yingluck government could no longer claim legitimacy for any further attacks on its arch-rival.
"All this because of Thaksin?"
Another tough question! To me, Thaksin is certainly better than the Philippine's Ferdinand Marcos or Indonesia's Suharto.
Yet, while in power, Thaksin won as much disfavour as he did favour. It has to be admitted that the constitutional changes he made to give more power to local administrations have not yet benefited villagers. We must also admit that while national resources were used to boost the nation's prosperity, the benefits are being enjoyed by the elites and the middle-class.
The former CEO was too happy unveiling new strategies to notice that some flouted norms of governance while others opened loopholes for corruption. And now, in exile, he doesn't know how to stay silent. Meddling with Thai politics from overseas further erodes public trust in his sister and the current government.
But the fight against bad governance has changed course, with the protesters opening a new chapter. After making the administration realise that its House majority does not mean it can overlook the minority's opinions, some protest leaders want to topple the government. Now, these men are ignoring the majority voice. The so-called Group of 40 senators may be glad that they could hurt the government, but their actions last week badly tarnished the reputation of our lawmakers as a whole. This, along with supporters of the government joining the battle, indicate that Thailand is in for a prolonged political tug-of-war.
Obviously, dissolution of the House will not bring Thailand back to a pre-Thaksin era, given fundamental changes at home and overseas. Facebook is now a new powerful tool for Thai protesters. Rumours can spread like wildfire, shared across networks without a second spent thinking about their logic. Right now, every "whistle blower" is a fighter for justice, with no attempt to find out the truth behind this assumption.
"A man takes off his pants to sexually molest a girl. But he's spotted by villagers, who attack him. He runs to the police and apologises. Just as the police are about to submit his case to the prosecutors, a group of officers try to stall the case - resulting in more days in prison for the man. One night, the prison door is opened and the prisoner attacked. Loyal friends of the prisoner can no longer endure this abuse and they plot their revenge."
A harmless tale, but there's a tinge of sadness at such cruelty in this Buddhist society.
I sighed when the Hong Kong man said he felt sorry for Thais, "who don't know how lucky they are to have so many good things, like food and wonderful beaches".
Well, I am one among them and we are all compatriots. I feel as sorry for them as I do for myself.