In 2006, the man touted as Thailand’s most popular Prime Minister ever, Thaksin Shinawatra, was ousted in a military coup. He was in New York City to speak at a U.N. summit at the time and went into self-imposed exile to avoid charges of corruption and abuse of power at home. The billionaire telecoms mogul subsequently spent a lot of time in Hong Kong as well as at his homes in Dubai and London. In 2009 Thaksin canceled plans to address the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents’ Club after revelations that then Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was asking for China’s help with extradition proceedings. The fugitive politician explained his decision by saying that he was “very annoyed at the hoo-ha made by the [Thai] government” and did not want to interfere with Sino-Thai relations. China’s first extradition treaty with a foreign country was signed with Thailand in 1993. However, Hong Kong has the right to negotiate its own extradition treaties and has not yet signed one with Thailand.