Nanyang 1931: From piglets to giants

Chapter 72: Can give Chinese people certain political power
The Colonial Office was surprisingly polite to Zheng Yi, the "yellow monkey".

He was not taken to prison or an interrogation room, but was "invited" to Lapek's office like a guest.

Lapek even ground a cup of coffee for him himself.

"Thank you. I thought you were going to torture me."

"Hahaha, Dr. Zheng, you're joking. We are all from a civilized world, how could we do that? Come to think of it, this is the first time we've met, right?"

Zheng Yi smiled and nodded: "Indeed, this is our first meeting. I've always heard Brother Li mention you to me."

"Ah~, I'm the same. He always mentions you to me. He and I were classmates at Cambridge and we always had a good relationship."

"Ah, and thank you Chief Sheriff for your care for our Taiyou Machinery over the years. By the way, my brother and I are planning to list Taiyou Machinery on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this year. Mr. Sheriff, will you come and support us?"

"Great! Even in the UK, Taiyou Machinery is considered one of the most promising companies. I'm sure its stock will appreciate in value. Hahaha."

The two of them, like two good friends, kept chatting about family matters. Lapek even took out a very thick cigar for Zheng Yi to smoke.

The two also discussed seriously the differences, advantages and disadvantages of Cuban cigars and Manila cigars.

After a while, Lapek finally got down to business with him.

"Dr. Zheng Yi, both I and the entire Colonial Bureau have great respect for you. Your technical prowess is considered to be among the best scientists even in Europe.

In a country like Nanyang where there was nothing, they achieved such great success. The permanent magnet motor and the screw air compressor are both epoch-making inventions. I admire them so much.

Zheng Yi was not polite either, he smiled and nodded and said, "Thank you."

"Because of you, the entire Far East has indeed experienced significant economic development, which is of course a good thing for our Colonial Bureau. After our internal discussions, we also believe that you probably do not have anti-imperialist or communist tendencies."

Zheng Yi: "Indeed not. All I did was to hope that we Chinese could have a little bit of self-protection power."

Hearing this, Lapek smiled and said, "You are a respected scholar. Why do you need to get involved in politics and even get involved in these things? And to be honest, what you are doing is not very smart."

Zheng Yi didn't comment, just smiled and smoked.

"Mr. Zheng, if you agree to relocate the machinery factory from Penang to Kuala Lumpur, our Colonial Office can reconcile with you and grant you the title of Justice of the Peace. You can be a friend of our British Empire forever."

Zheng Yi smiled and shook his head, saying, "That's impossible. Penang is at least a coastal port city. No matter how you look at it, it's more suitable for setting up a factory than Kuala Lumpur."

boom!
Lapek slammed the table, stood up and said angrily: "Dr. Zheng! You are a scientist and capitalist. Just invent your civilian products and make your money. We, the Royal Police, will naturally ensure your safety.

To be honest, even if you are secretly smuggling military products into your country, as long as the Japanese do not protest diplomatically, we can turn a blind eye to you. Tell me, why do you have to make things unpleasant for us? "

Zheng Yi: "You misunderstood. Everything I did was really just to protect myself. You also know that Malaya's economic growth almost entirely depends on us Chinese.
I have been in Malaya for less than two years, and the economy should have more than doubled. Give me another two years, and I can guarantee that the economy will at least double again, and within five years, it can double again."

"The Chinese have earned so much money for Malaya. It would be fine if they didn't enjoy political power, but they must be able to protect themselves.

You say that Indians and Malays have made no contribution to the economy of Malaya today?
Today, it can be said that we Chinese are the builders of Malaya, while they are nothing but destroyers, bringing no benefit to society at all.”

"We Chinese make money so we can live a better life, but the problem now is that the more money we make, the more jealous the Malays and Indians become of us, and your Colonial Office is unable to provide us with adequate protection."

"So, the more we Chinese earn, the more dangerous our situation becomes? Is there such a truth in the world? Then why wouldn't we Chinese arm ourselves a little to avoid being robbed by those who destroy society?" "Mr. Lapek, although I'm not a sociologist, I do know some basic sociological common sense.

Development and stability cannot be achieved simultaneously. When the productivity of the Chinese has increased significantly, while the productivity of the Malays remains unchanged, you still want to maintain social relations unchanged, and that the Malays, who have no industrial capacity at all, can still check and balance the Chinese. This is impossible.

"You should make a choice now. Either maintain the existing social relations and then forget about the so-called economic development. The Chinese in Kuala Lumpur can go back to the days of mining tin by hand to maintain your so-called stability."

"Or, just give us Chinese people some relief, so we can at least protect the fruits of our economic development. Do you think what I'm saying makes sense? If you want it both ways, you'll probably end up with neither."

Upon hearing this, Lapec did not refute, but instead agreed with Zheng Yi's words.

"You're right. We've indeed discussed this matter within the Colonial Office. We agree that as you Chinese play an increasingly important role in economic development, improving your political status is indeed urgent."

Zheng Yi raised his eyebrows slightly.

The Colonial Office seems to be easier to talk to than I had thought.

This was beyond Zheng Yi's expectations.

In fact, Zheng Yi also has some stereotypes about the British. Historically, the British persecution of the Chinese in Southeast Asia was mainly concentrated after World War II.

To be more precise, it was concentrated after 1948.

Before World War II, the Chinese were actually quite honest, obedient, and useful in the eyes of the British.

As an old imperialist country, Britain is far less abstract than the later United States. In fact, they are very skilled political players all over the world. Although arrogant, they know when to advance and when to retreat.

The fact that Chinese people possess a certain number of weapons is not completely unacceptable in the eyes of the British.

However, if the Chinese in Southeast Asia are armed and at the same time united, and most importantly, are all patriotic, this would be difficult for them to accept.

"Dr. Zheng, if you Chinese cooperate, we can take a step back. In addition to allowing you Chinese to join the police force and occupy at least one-third of it, we can also give you certain political power."

"The Chinese Advisory Bureau, Dr. Zheng, have you heard of this department? It's a political organization in Malaya specifically responsible for managing Chinese affairs. Mr. Tan Kah Kee served in it for two weeks before resigning."

"If Dr. Zheng wants, we can make you the deputy director of the Chinese Advisory Bureau, and you will be able to manage all Chinese affairs in British Malaya."

“Of course, we also admit that the establishment of the Chinese Consultative Council has some shortcomings in terms of democracy.

After internal discussions within the Colonial Office, we have decided to grant the Chinese throughout British Malaya the incomparably sacred right to vote. You, the Chinese, will elect yourselves to the Chinese Advisory Council and participate in the legislative work of British Malaya."

Zheng Yi smiled upon hearing this and asked, "All Chinese people?"

"No, we believe that although there are some elite groups among you Chinese who do have the qualifications and necessity to participate in politics, the majority of Chinese are still ignorant. It is too early for you to have universal political participation."

"What about the conditions?"

"English. Only Chinese people who can speak English fluently are qualified to participate in politics."

(End of this chapter)