1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 441 Meeting at the Governor's House

There is not much entertainment in the detention room.

A single bed, a desk and a separate toilet. Although simple, it is clean.

Zhai Yuan was idle and just copied some scripts at his desk.

Shi Nansheng was very concerned about her good friend Lin Qingxia, and had mentioned more than once that she wanted Zhai Yuan to help Qingxia rejuvenate her career. However, Lin Qingxia was obviously too old to continue acting in Qiong Yao dramas. After much thought, she felt that a cross-dressing role like Dongfang Bubai was most suitable for her. So the "September 1st Daily" unilaterally reconciled with Jin Liangyong and obtained the copyright of "Swordsman". At this time, she took advantage of her free time to write and draw on manuscript paper.

It took me more than an hour to come up with a first draft of the script.

Zhai Yuan looked at the time and saw that it was only eight o'clock. He thought about making a phone call to relieve his boredom, but the policeman on duty outside wouldn't let him!

"Mr. Zhai, please don't make it difficult for us. If you want to see a friend, we can help you contact the prison visitor, but we can't make the decision on the phone."

"Okay~"

Zhai Yuan was bored, so he stretched himself and simply lay on the bed with his eyes closed to rest.

I fell asleep in a daze, and when I opened my eyes again it was already around seven in the morning, and a new group of policemen on duty outside had been replaced.

"Good morning, sir."

Zhai Yuan sat up from the bed, greeted the policeman, took a towel, soaked it with warm water from the kettle, and rubbed his face twice.

"Morning, Mr. Zhai."

The policeman smiled apologetically and sighed when he saw Zhai Yuan washing up leisurely at the sink.

He is indeed a wealthy man. Look at his mental quality. In the past, how could the criminals who entered the warehouse be so leisurely?

The policeman paused, then asked with a flattering smile, "Mr. Zhai, do you want me to take you to the shower room?"

"Is it also a single room?"

"No, the common room."

"Then I won't go!"

Zhai Yuan's mind flashed through movie scenes in which a bunch of big guys entered a public bathroom and were killed. Since the Five Patriarchs of Shaolin were not around, he had to be cautious.

Hide and seek is so scary!

After a quick wash, Zhai Yuan took out half a pack of Double Happiness cigarettes from his pocket and gave one to the policeman outside.

Borrowing the other person's lighter, Zhai Yuan lit up a cigarette and asked with a smile, "Sir, do you know why I was locked up?"

"I don't know."

The policeman shook his head, with the flame of gossip burning in his eyes.

From last night till now, more than half of the police officers in Tai Kwun have been curiously discussing this topic.

What on earth did the prodigy Yuan do wrong?

The man was arrested in the Political Department. The more reliable rumors said that he was reselling intelligence to the mainland, while others said that he himself was a spy.

There were also unreliable rumors, saying that he beat up the top brother Li Junxia in the Political Department, which was ridiculously false.

The policeman on duty wanted to get accurate information from the person involved at this time, and then go out to show off to his colleagues, and the fire of gossip in his eyes burned more and more.

"It's okay if I don't know."

Zhai Yuan replied lightly, without satisfying the other party's curiosity, and smiled thoughtfully after saying it.

As expected, as it concerns the reputation of the disciplined forces, the matter of Li Junxia being beaten into the hospital by himself was temporarily suppressed, at least it did not spread below the middle level.

Zhai Yuan thought for a moment and asked again: "What's the situation outside today?"

"What a big scene!" The police officer on duty said with admiration, "Since you came in last night, Mr. Zhai, there have been reporters waiting outside. They swarmed in early this morning. Reporters and citizens surrounded most of Hollywood Road. The most violent ones were the shareholders of 91 Entertainment, who demanded that the police force disclose the details of the case and give you justice, Mr. Zhai."

There is still more than an hour before the market opens.

The shareholders are naturally not seeking justice for Zhai Yuan, but are forcing the police to disclose the details of the case and decide whether to cut their losses and run away depending on the severity of the case.

"Sir, I have a suggestion for you. After the market opens, take advantage of the sharp drop in the stock price and buy a few more shares of my 997 stock. You will definitely make money."

Zhai Yuan winked at the policeman, no longer paying attention to his hesitation, and said, "Please make a phone call for me. I need to see a lawyer."

…………

Hong Kong Governor's Office.

Early in the morning, Wei Yixin gathered with the directors of the three departments.

Chief Secretary, Hod.

Department of Justice, Tang Mingzhi.

Financial Secretary, Chak Ke-shing.

The office was filled with smoke. Since six in the morning, the four top leaders of Hong Kong had been engaged in several rounds of debate on the attack on the Commissioner of Police.

But judging from the frowns on their faces, the result was not satisfactory.

"I must reiterate that this is a vicious case that has never happened since Hong Kong was founded, or even in many other British colonies."

Secretary for Justice Tong Mingzhi said: "According to the amendment of the Treason Act 1351 by Parliament this year, Zhai Yuan's behavior was not an assault on the police, but an act of assisting other countries to seriously undermine the British regime. Only by prosecuting and sentencing him to life imprisonment can the dignity of the law be upheld."

"It's not that serious, Mr. Tang."

Wei Yixin rubbed his brows and forced a smile: "The Joint Declaration has been signed. Hong Kong is no longer just Britain's Hong Kong. Moreover, the Treason Act can only take effect if the monarch's safety is threatened. Li Junxia is far away in Hong Kong. He is the Chinese police chief, not the chief of the royal guard."

"It is indeed too harsh to use the treason law."

Chief Secretary Howard looked at Wei Yixin and said, "But Sir Wei, there is still a long time before 97. If we allow Zhai Yuan's misdeeds, where will the face and prestige of the Hong Kong government be in the next ten years? Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. I suggest that we bring a public prosecution as soon as possible. Considering the reputation of the police force, this case should not be made public. According to the procedure, it should be handed over to the Department of Justice for judgment."

Tang Mingzhi immediately nodded in agreement.

In the original plan of the Secretary for Justice, he would promote his newly married wife, Ms. Tang, to the position before leaving office, and then use the voice of the Democratic Party to support Ms. Tang in the election for the first Chinese chief executive after the return.

However, Zhai Yuan's plan was taken away by the Democratic Party, which directly led to the lack of an important link in his layout in Hong Kong.

Now that he had seized the opportunity and saw that Zhai Yuan was in his hands, he naturally had to follow the most stringent penalty.

"The trial cannot be made public. I have asked all insiders to keep their mouths shut. I have announced to the public that Deputy Director Li Junxia has gone overseas for training and Director Yan, who is on vacation, has been transferred back."

Wei Yixin glanced at the two directors and agreed with the second half of Hood's words, then reminded them: "But I hope everyone will not forget that Zhai Yuan's "September 1st Daily" has now been distributed in three regions at home and abroad. The decision on whether we can maintain the reputation of the disciplined forces is not in our hands." What he said was clear. Unless the "September 1st Daily" could be guaranteed to shut up, whether he wanted to suppress the incident of the beating of the Commissioner of Police would depend on whether Zhai Yuan would give him face.

Easy to attack and defend.

Huo De hesitated for a moment, and before he could speak, Tang Mingzhi next to him spoke again.

"Sir Wei, the law should not be swayed by public opinion. We all know this very well."

Tang Mingzhi said: "If I have to make a choice, I would rather the entire disciplined force be disgraced, and at the same time let the public see clearly Zhai Yuan's character, a thug who dares not bully the British director and only fights among himself."

This time, Hod hesitated and said nothing.

The Attorney General may not care about the reputation of the police force, but the Chief Secretary, as the direct superior department of the Police Force, still does not want to see this happen.

Besides, if the truth is revealed, Li Junxia will be so disgraced that he won't be able to keep the position of director.
He is a talent that the Military Intelligence Department has cultivated for a long time.

"I don't think public opinion will turn to the Hong Kong government because of Zhai Yuan's behavior."

Wei Yixin continued, "On the contrary, because the incident happened in the Political Department, with the style of the September 1st Daily, it is bound to turn the entire Political Department upside down. Do you think it is glorious?"

"Sir Wei, I think the focus of our discussion should not be Zhai Yuan's influence. He is just a businessman. Even his status as a district councilor can be revoked with a transfer order."

Tang Mingzhi was not happy with Wei Yixin's ambitions, and said, "This is Hong Kong, our British territory. How does Zhai Yuan compare to Lei Yingdong back then? Wasn't he driven out of this city just the same?"

"But his influence has reached a point where it cannot be ignored. He is even more powerful than Lei Yingdong back then."

Wei Yixin smiled helplessly and turned to look at the Financial Secretary who had been silent for a long time: "Mr. Finance, please introduce Zhai Yuan's request to the two secretaries."

Huo De and Tang Mingzhi were both stunned.

The word Wei Yixin said was 'require', not 'request'.

The former is a mandatory requirement, while the latter is a polite request.

Zhai Yuan actually dared to mention require? !
"First, I want to relay the message from Zhai Yuan. Zhai Yuan was impulsive and beat someone up because of Li Junxia's torture of 48 Voice artist Mei Yanfang. If he cannot leave the police station within hours, the actions of Li Junxia and the Special Branch will not only be published in the Daily News, but will also cause Mei Yanfang to lead all Hong Kong stars to take to the streets to protest and expose it."

Financial Secretary Jason Chiak shrugged at the other two secretaries.

Huo De frowned. In this way, Li Junxia would have no chance of becoming the Commissioner of Police.

Tang Mingzhi was willing to take the risk. After all, the life and death of the disciplined forces had nothing to do with his Department of Justice, so he still insisted on his own way.

"If there are problems in the police force, then we should handle them according to procedures. We should treat each case separately and not mix them up."

Tang Mingzhi said solemnly: "The laws of Great Britain are sound, and no one can threaten the decision of the Attorney General."

"Listen to me first, Mr. Tang. If it is just a matter of public opinion, I will certainly support you to stand on the side of the law. No one denies that the Department of Justice is the whip of Hong Kong, but there are other issues involved now."

Zhai Kecheng smiled with his long horse face and said, "Zhai Yuan's lawyer said that if Zhai Yuan is still in the police station within 48 hours, regardless of whether there is a subsequent prosecution, he will question the justice of the Hong Kong government. Note that he said justice, not the law."

Tang Mingzhi frowned, feeling that Zhai Kecheng was deliberately teasing him.

This has never happened before. As the God of Wealth of the Hong Kong government, Zhai Kecheng rarely takes sides, and even Wei Yixin has to take the initiative to get closer to him.

"He will be disappointed with Hong Kong's business environment for injustice reasons."

Zhai Kecheng continued, "So the 91 Entertainment Group will announce its delisting next, and will use its own funds to buy back the shares held by shareholders as compensation. Then all the group's businesses will move out of Hong Kong and relocate to the Malaysian Stock Exchange to establish a new company. This means that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will not only lose a stock code that has the potential to become a blue chip stock, but will also lose more than half of Hong Kong's high-quality entertainment industries, which will directly lead to a decrease in the Hong Kong government's annual tax revenue. Entertainment has always been a major tax contributor, and I think everyone should understand this. As the Financial Secretary, I still have four years to serve, and of course I don't want 91 Entertainment to leave Hong Kong."

This time, Tang Mingzhi and Huo De both fell silent.

It’s no big deal for an ordinary company to delist and relocate, but what is the current size of Jiuyi Entertainment?
Everyone here knows that Hood even attended the cocktail party for the launch of 997 stocks.

Once Zhai Yuan left, it meant that all of his artists would move to Malaysia, which could be said to have uprooted the entire Hong Kong entertainment industry.

Whoever forces him to withdraw his investment will be the sinner in the next few years.

Tang Mingzhi took a deep breath and said slowly, "Majiao is such a small place, it's full of good and bad people. He has no foundation or background. I don't believe he dares to move all his family business there."

"It's not his turn to worry about these things. As long as Zhai Yuan spreads the word, do you think that the Governor of Malaysia, Wen Lizhi, will welcome Jiuyi Entertainment to move there and help him take care of all the aftermath?"

This time it was Wei Yixin who spoke up. He said to Tang Mingzhi, "Even if the Department of Justice sentences him to ten or twenty years, so what? He can still handle company business in prison. Hong Kong is now known as the Hollywood of the East. In this way, I think it won't be long before this brand will be transferred to Malaysia. The original loss of Hong Kong's entertainment industry is secondary. The most important thing is that funds will flow out to Malaysia to meet the entertainment needs of citizens. How will you explain this to the next Governor of Hong Kong?"

Wei Yixin's words were very explicit, he even said that he knew he would not be re-elected.

Normally, the Governor of Hong Kong would be reappointed by the British government after his first term in office. However, everyone knows that because David was too soft on the mainland during his term in office, his reputation in the UK has long been ruined, and he will be the only Governor in Hong Kong's history who will not be reappointed.

To some extent, it was no less embarrassing than the beating Li Junxia suffered.

The three directors were somewhat embarrassed by his self-exposure remarks and all fell silent tacitly.

More than ten seconds passed.

Zhai Kecheng coughed and spoke again: "Then let me continue. In addition to the 48 Entertainment Group moving to Majiao, if Zhai Yuan can't leave the police station within hours, his Qvod Technology Company in Yuen Long will move to the mainland next."

"You two may not know much about this company. Have you ever used VCD and CD? They are products of Qvod Technology. Today, Qvod's products have been sold all over the world, especially in East Asia, where their market share has surpassed that of video cassettes."

"With 90% of Hong Kong's factories moving to the mainland, Qvod is still developing in Hong Kong. Our Financial Secretary has roughly estimated that the future scale of Qvod will reach at least 10 billion. If it went to the mainland, I will not talk about the taxation issues of our Hong Kong government. Everyone should think about how to explain it to the Zu family."

Jiuyi Entertainment went to Malaysia.

Qvod Technology goes to the mainland.

This is why Zhai Yuan was sure that nothing would happen even if he beat Li Junxia.

"I believe Zhai Yuan can do what he says." Wei Yixin added: "This can be seen from the fact that he had the courage to beat Li Junxia."

Silence, silence, silence.

Huo De shrugged his shoulders, then smiled indifferently and said to Tang Mingzhi: "I'm sorry, Mr. Tang, it's not easy for the Military Intelligence Department to train a police chief, so I have to let him continue to bear the humiliation~"

In a moment, Tang Mingzhi lost another ally.

He sighed helplessly, still trying to struggle: "I want to call the parliament and listen to the opinions of the Zu family."

"Sure, I also need to call back to ask some questions."

Wei Yixin nodded without hesitation, and then continued: "In addition to Zhai Yuan's request, the mainland has also put forward new requirements. Because Deputy Director Li of the Hong Kong-Malaysia Exchange Office witnessed what Li Junxia did, the mainland cannot tolerate that the Political Department can still arrest people without reason today, and even ignore popular singers like Mei Yanfang. Therefore, it is proposed to renegotiate some of the proposals of the two countries. Otherwise, Lantau Island Airport will definitely not agree to be built, and even all Chinese businessmen willing to invest will withdraw..."

When the Financial Secretary heard about this matter concerning the lifeline of the economy, he immediately asked, "What issue does the Mainland want to renegotiate?"

Wei Yixin looked at the three directors and exhaled heavily: "Disband the Political Department within one year!"

(End of this chapter)