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BANGKOK: Thai Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont left on Monday for a shortened visit to China amid security fears ahead of a landmark court ruling affecting the future of two major political parties here.
The army-installed premier will meet with President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao later on Monday in Beijing.
They are expected to sign an agreement to promote education, while Surayud will also tour a temple and China's Olympic complex, the government said.
However, he is being forced to cut short his first official visit to China by the political uncertainty gripping Thailand.
Surayud will now return on Tuesday, a day before the Constitutional Tribunal rules on charges of vote fraud against deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra's political party, Thai Rak Thai and the main opposition Democrat Party.
If found guilty, the parties could be disbanded and their officials banned from politics for five years, meaning leaders could not run in December polls promised by the military which overthrew Thaksin last September.
There are fears that the verdict may spark violence in Bangkok, prompting authorities to warn that the government could resort to "an emergency decree" if necessary.
- AFP/so
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