Thepchai Yong began his journalism career in the early-1980s as a proofreader for the Thai English-language daily The Nation. He eventually worked his way up the position of editor, a position he still held during the 1992 "Black May" democratic uprising against the military government of General Suchinda Kraprayoon. Despite military pressure, Thepchai Yong refused the Suchinda government's demands for The Nation to downplay its coverage of the protests and resulting military reprisals. His actions won him the International Press Freedom Award of the Committee to Protect Journalists later that year.
