Hong Kong Movies: You Hongxingzi, what the hell is the charity king?

Chapter 438 "447" Big Event: MTR fare increase! Thousands of citizens: Councillor Guan, please help us get justice!
A piece of news about the MTR Corporation caused an uproar in Hong Kong.

The incident involving the gangster and Director Zheng was suddenly suppressed.

The entire Hong Kong Island was instantly engulfed in anger.

Some of them are office workers who commute from the New Territories to Hong Kong Island or Kowloon for work.

Central...

A young man munched on a piece of bread while complaining: "I commute from Diamond Hill to Central every day for work. The round trip fare is not cheap to begin with. If the MTR raises the fare again, isn't this forcing me to resign?"

The lady next to me shook her head helplessly: "In order to save money, I can only live in a remote place. The commute time is long, and now even the price of this only way to travel is going to increase. I really don't know what to do."

"I have to change trains twice every day to go to work. The fares are already unaffordable, and the MTR is going to raise fares. Why can't we just walk to work?"

The passengers around nodded and complained one after another.

Hong Kong Island and Yau Tsim Mong have a large number of job opportunities, but housing prices are high, so many citizens go to remote areas such as Diamond Hill, Sha Tin, and even the New Territories in order to buy houses.

It's like working in the south and living in the north.

Commuting has become a huge hassle, and the subway is a very good means of commuting.

The more Hong Kong citizens discuss it, the angrier they become and the more they curse.

"It's not easy for young people nowadays. They have to run back and forth to work every day, and the MTR has also raised fares. How can they afford it?"

"The MTR has no sympathy for everyone. They only care about making money and don't consider the feelings of the residents."

"Pounce on the street, are you going to kill us all?"

"I spent all my earnings on food, lodging and transportation at work. When the year-end settlement came, damn, I didn't save any money at all!"

"You talk as if I can save money too!"

"The subway fares are already high, and now they are increasing... How did this plan get government approval?"

"Don't you know? MTR is the government's own company! All the money earned goes into the government's pocket!"

The predecessor of MTR Corporation, MTR Island Corporation, was established in 1975 under the Mass Transit Railway Corporation Ordinance (Chapter 270 of the Laws of Hong Kong Island). It is a statutory body wholly owned by the Hong Kong Island Government. Its purpose is to plan, build and operate the subway network in Hong Kong Island. It is a wholly owned company of the British Hong Kong Government of Hong Kong Island and the only shareholder.

And what about price increases?

As a public utility company, if it wants to raise prices, it naturally has to go through the process.

Process 1: Internal review and formulation: Internal research and demonstration, considering multiple factors such as cost, operating conditions, market demand, etc., to formulate a specific and feasible price increase plan.

Process 2: Review by relevant government departments: The Transport Department, Finance Committee, Consumer Council, Transport Affairs Committee, etc. will consider the public interest, transportation policy, social impact and other factors to determine the rationality and feasibility of the price increase proposal.

From this process,

The government was apparently aware of the plan and had agreed to it.

"The Yan family shovels!"

"This British Hong Kong government is a failure!"

“No consideration for us citizens!”

"Exactly. How could such a plan be released? What kind of public consultation is this?"

"Fuck you!"

As the news spread throughout Hong Kong, from the New Territories in the north to Hong Kong Island in the south, from Sai Kung in the east to Tsuen Wan and Tuen Mun in the west...

Countless citizens cursed angrily.

Do you think that this is all the MTR Corporation is capable of?

at night,

TVB News reported on the MTR Corporation's questionnaire survey of citizens:
Reporter: "Excuse me, what do you think about the price increase of MTR?"

Citizen 1: “I absolutely support it.”

Citizen 2: "MTR's operating costs are high. How can we improve services without raising fares? Spending a little more money in exchange for a comfortable ride is worth it!"

Citizen 3: "I can understand the price increase. After all, the current price is indeed a bit low."

Citizen 4: "It costs money to upgrade the MTR facilities. It is normal to increase the fare. It will be more convenient to take the train in the future, which is good."

Citizen 5: "MTR development requires money, and a moderate fare increase is acceptable as long as the service gets better and better."

Citizen 6: "I support the fare increase. The MTR can only develop if it has funds, which is beneficial to our travel in the long run."

Citizen 7: "That's the truth. We need to take a long-term view."

A TVB reporter stood on a busy street, with people coming and going behind him. He spoke clearly to the camera: "

Dear audience friends, we conducted a lot of interviews and surveys in the social discussion on the MTR fare increase plan. Surprisingly, all the citizens interviewed this time expressed support for the MTR fare increase without exception. "

"This not only reflects the public's understanding and trust in the development of the MTR, but also paints a hopeful blueprint for the future of public transportation on Hong Kong Island. We will continue to pay attention to the progress of the incident and bring you the latest developments."

At this time, all the citizens in Hong Kong were furious.

What the hell?
Support all?

But I was clearly against it!
I am not a human being!
Park Nimo, that also represents me, right?
……

……

at night,

White-collar workers who came to work in Hong Kong Island from Tin Shui Wai finished their day's work and walked towards the subway station in groups.

At this time, the subway was filled with dissatisfaction with the MTR Corporation.

"We work so hard every day and earn our money through hard work. The MTR fare increase is equivalent to another pay cut for us."

"It's just that housing can be cheaper, but commuting costs are getting higher and higher, and life is getting harder and harder."

"Damn, the subway company is just inhumane!"

"TVB is so stupid that they actually reported: Everyone supports the price increase. Support it! Damn it!"

“We’re going to call and complain!”

"Complain? I've already complained to the MTR, but the call is not going through."

"I complained to the government hotline, and they said: We have heard your opinion and recorded it."

"Hey, that's the same response I got when I complained."

"I tell you, complaining is useless. If complaining was useful, TVB would not report it like this."

"Yes, it has passed the internal government review. Obviously the government has agreed to it."

"Officials and businessmen collude!"

"How can it be a business? It belongs to the government!"

"That means officials protect each other!"

"So, there's no point in complaining!"

The whole carriage was filled with cursing and foul language.

Suddenly, someone spoke.

"If complaining isn't an option, can we go to Councillor Guan, Mr. Guan?"

As soon as this word comes out,
The carriage suddenly became quiet.

Then it exploded.

"Yup!"

"Looking for Mr. Guan!"

"Mr. Guan has always cared about ordinary citizens, which is completely different from those officials who are just sitting there doing nothing." "Yes, let's go find Mr. Guan."

At this time, the profound reputation that Guan Zu had accumulated in his daily life burst out with amazing power.

For a long time, everything he did was seen and remembered by the citizens, and everyone spontaneously trusted and supported him.

And at this critical moment, everyone subconsciously thought of relying on him, hoping that he would uphold justice for ordinary citizens like them.

"But how can we find Mr. Guan?"

"Go directly to Causeway Bay. Mr. Guan is in Causeway Bay, in the Five Star Group Building."

"Let's go, let's go to the Five Star Group Building first!"

"Aren't we too few in number? Having too few people would seem like we lack sincerity!"

"Then make a phone call and call all your colleagues over."

"Yes, call, hurry up~~~"

Then, as the calls continued to air...

More and more citizens who are dissatisfied with the MTR fare increase have mobilized.

Of course, there are people who come to join in the fun.

……

……

Central.

A private club with extremely luxurious interior decoration.

MTR Chairman Tang Xin, wearing a well-tailored tailor-made suit, leaned lazily on the leather sofa, holding a thick Cuban cigar in his hand, took a light puff and slowly exhaled a cloud of smoke.

In addition, there was TVB's Aunt Fang and several senior government officials smoking cigars.

They were puffing smoke, clinking glasses, and living a life full of the decadence and extravagance of the upper class.

The chairman of the Finance Committee said: "These unruly people, we say to raise prices and they can only curse a few words."

"That's right. Mr. Tang has worked hard for the development of Hong Kong. What's wrong with raising the price?"

Tang Xin reminded, "Everyone, the complaint phone line has been flooded with calls today. Too many citizens are against it. We also need to pay attention to the impact... We can raise the price, but we must also try to ease the relationship."

He looked at Aunt Fang and said, "TVB's report today is not very good. It is all supportive, which will definitely disgust the citizens. You can add some opposition to make it more realistic."

Aunt Fang nodded: "Okay, I will tell the news department that it will be reflected in the news at 22pm tonight."

Tang Xin nodded: "With Aunt Fang's help, I feel relieved. As long as the price increase can be successful, the future development of the MTR will be bright, and you will all benefit from it."

Everyone present here is the main person who will dominate this price increase.

Of course, there are people up there.

Tang Xin said: They are all my people, how can you fight!
Aunt Fang said at this time: "Master Tang, there is a person I think you should pay attention to. He might do something bad."

Tang Xin: "Who?"

Aunt Fang: "Guan Zu!"

As soon as this word comes out,
Everyone in the audience frowned.

Tang Xin, on the other hand, showed disgust on his face.

Tang Xin and Boss Li have a good personal relationship and they have a lot of business dealings.

So correspondingly, he also hates Guan Zu very much.

……

……

at this time,

Five Star Group Building.

Guan Zu was supposed to run away and have some fun, but because of the MTR fare increase, he came back here and arranged for people to investigate.

To be honest, Guan Zu didn’t know much about the MTR before. He only knew that people in later generations were very rich and taking the subway was very expensive.

I went to Guanzu once, it’s so damn expensive!
at this time,

Ahua has already found out some information about MTR and reported it to Guan Zu.

"In the 70s, when Hong Kong's economy was booming, the island began to think about building a subway and established the MTR Corporation."

"The MTR Corporation didn't have much money at the time, so the first subway line it planned was to start from Kwun Tong in Kowloon, pass through the undersea tunnel, and reach Central on Hong Kong Island, with a total length of 15.6 kilometers."

"However, at that time, the MTR had no money, so it looked for businessmen to cooperate with... In the end, it found Mr. Li."

"Boss Li proposed a plan: the project on top of the subway will only be rented and not sold. The building will be sold after it is built, and the profit will be split with the subway company. Changjiang will take 49% and the rest will go to the subway. Changjiang will also actively provide construction funds to supplement the cash for the subway company."

"So far, the cooperation between Mr. Li and MTR officially began, and the rapid development model of Cheung Kong Group was also launched."

"In May 1978, the Universal Building at Central Station was completed and sold out within 5 hours of its release, earning HK$10 million, the highest price in Hong Kong Island's history. In August, the Admiralty Centre at Admiralty Station was also completed and sold out quickly. Boss Li split the profits with the MTR Corporation as agreed."

"Hong Kong Island MTR is very satisfied with this. Chairman of the Board, Mr. Tang Xin, has repeatedly stated that he has chosen the right partner."

"Then the MTR Corporation also found a development model to make a lot of profits through subway overpasses."

“So, the profit model of the MTR Corporation does not rely on fares at all!”

Ah Hua was extremely angry.

"This MTR is simply insatiable!"

Guan Zu nodded. Compared with the MTR, the domestic subway in later generations was simply a saint, truly serving the people.

"On the government side,"

Tan Meili also reported her findings to Guan Zu.

"Transport Department, Legislative Council Finance Committee, Legislative Council Transport Committee, Consumer Council, ..."

"Indeed, they have all been signed and approved..."

Guan Zu sneered: "Needless to say, it must be another benefit."

However, think about it, the MTR belongs to the British Hong Kong government, and the money is given to the British Hong Kong government... Of course, it is certain that there is huge corruption within the MTR.

Just at this time,

Fang Ting knocked on the door and came in.

"Brother Zu...big things..."

"Many citizens gathered downstairs, asking you, Brother Zu, to help them get justice... about the MTR fare increase!"

Guan Zu was stunned for a moment...

Walk to the floor-to-ceiling window and look down.

Sure enough, I saw that many citizens had gathered on the street downstairs.

"We are here to ask Mr. Guan to do justice."

"The only person we can trust is Mr. Guan."

"Please Mr. Guan, please make the decision for us!"

Guan Zu listened to the sound downstairs...

That is a kind of - public opinion is as strong as iron!
And I stand on the side of the people!
(End of this chapter)