They're collaborating to completely disrupt Hong Kong Island's real estate market! Using practically free building materials to build "Home Ownership Scheme" flats, do they really need to maintain market rules?
Facing Niubijian's aggressiveness, Shen Bi waved his hands and said to him with a smile:
"Sir Newbigin, you are too anxious. The Hong Kong government already has a contingency plan.
The import permit for this batch of cheap building materials has extremely strict restrictions on their use - they can only be used for the "Home Ownership Scheme" under the Kobayashi Tenbo Real Estate Group.
Those housing estates strictly limit unit sizes to under 500 square feet, barely better than a birdcage. Buyers also need to verify their income, so it's not something you can just buy if you want.
And in terms of quantity, how many units were there in those first phase housing estates? It's just a drop in the bucket. The impact on the overall housing price system in Hong Kong Island will be minimal.
It meets the demands of the most desperate people at the bottom of society. How could there be any conflict between it and our core high-end market of British capital?
As for Mr. Xiaolin's political leanings? Sir Murray MacLehose and I will make our own judgments and monitor them closely.
HSBC has a clear view of every foreign exchange transaction and every important contract of his.
Although this young man has some means, everything he is doing now is contributing to the stability of Hong Kong Island, which is in the interests of the Hong Kong government and HSBC.
As for you, Sir... you should spend more time thinking about how to fill that fatal mine pit of your Jardine Matheson Company in Australia."
Shen Bi's words, full of contempt and criticism, completely ignited Niu Bijian's unwilling anger.
Especially when he saw the admiration and even indulgence for Xiao Lin Tianwang in Chen Bi's eyes, he felt even more upset.
He stood up suddenly and said angrily, "LSD! Did he give you and Sir Murray MacLehose LSD?
Open your eyes and look at Hong Kong Island today! Is this still the Hong Kong Island under the rule of our great British Queen? That Kobayashi Tenmo is simply calling the shots!
The Fok family openly flirted with mainland China, but did you intervene? No! Not only did you fail to suppress them, you even turned around and supported Pao Yue-kong and Cheng Yu-tung! You even gave the largest and most lucrative piece of land above ground by the subway to that upstart Li Ka-shing!
As Newbigin spoke, his chest heaving violently, he vented years of pent-up resentment: "I doubt it! I seriously doubt whether you and Sir Murray MacLehose still remember who you are loyal to!
Hong Kong Island is the jewel in the Queen's crown! But now it's been thrown into chaos by these Chinese tycoons, and that Kobayashi Tianwang doesn't even take us British investors seriously.
And what are you doing? Are you cooperating with others to undermine the foundation of our own rule?!"
“That’s enough!”
Shen Bi suddenly stood up, his face livid, and pointed at Niubijian's nose and warned, "Niubijian! Watch your words! And put yourself in the right place! Who is betraying the empire?
You'd better face reality. Was it me, Shen Bi, who caused this situation? Was it Governor MacLehose? No! It was you! It was you, the so-called British aristocrats!
It was you, a group of noble lords, who were the first to lose confidence in the Empire's Far East policy!
Since the late 1970s, you have been like frightened mice, thinking about transferring your assets to Australia and Canada all day long!
It is you who gave up the Hong Kong Island market! You retreated, afraid to take risks, afraid to invest in the future of Hong Kong Island!
All you care about is your own pitiful wealth and your dream of immigration! Are you going to let the Governor's Office fill those vacant markets and opportunities? Are you going to let HSBC build houses and sell real estate? What a joke!
It is only natural that Chinese capital will rise in line with the trend!
Li Ka-shing is driven and knows how to leverage HSBC, so I support him! Pao Yue-kong has a solid foundation in shipping, so his real estate ventures can generate stable returns. Cheng Yu-tung has a strong foundation in jewelry, so expanding into real estate is a natural progression.
As for Kobayashi Tenmo, he has a sharp eye and dared to pull out the teeth of the tiger's mouth when the country was at its lowest point. Now he is seizing the pain points of people's livelihood and playing the political card of public opinion. His tactics are extremely clever!
Now let's look at you, Jardine Matheson? You're holding on to your ancestral heritage and shrinking from making progress. Your investment in the Australian mining industry has only put you in a slump!
Shen Bi's words, one by one, were like a whip lashing Newbigin's face: "You still have the nerve to ask me if I remember pledging allegiance to the Queen? Then may I ask the honorable Sir Newbigin—
When you are obsessed with moving Jardine Matheson's core assets out of Hong Kong Island, when you are taking a life-saving loan from HSBC in Australia but cannot fill the hole, where is your loyalty?
When the lower-class citizens of Hong Kong Island were living in pigeon coops, where was your 'aristocratic concern'?"
The respectability of British capital is not maintained by complaints and accusations, but by strength and vision! And you... humph!
When Shen Bi said this, he took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and ordered them to leave:
"You should leave now. Instead of uselessly accusing me and the Governor here, why not go back and reflect on your actions? I sincerely suggest that you put aside your pathetic aristocratic airs and learn from Kobayashi Tenno.
It's true that he's profit-driven, but he knows how to combine profit with fame, and how to make the Hong Kong government, the people, and even the mainland think that what he's doing is 'good'! This is what real talent is!"
The last two words, "ability", were so powerful that they struck Niu Bijian's heart.
Newbijian was nailed to the spot by this series of rebukes.
His face looked very ugly, turning from red to white, and then from white to blue.
Every word Shen Bi said mercilessly pierced through the dignity he had worked so hard to maintain.
He really wanted to refute and denounce Shen Bi's "betrayal" of the British Empire, but his throat felt like it was stuck with an iron clamp and he couldn't utter a word - because the words Shen Bi said... were so damn precise!
He finally threw his hands away fiercely and could only squeeze out four words from between his teeth: "Unreasonable!"
Then Newbigin turned around resolutely and left, almost stumbling out of HSBC's office.
Shen Bi was the only one left in the office.
He slumped back in his chair, closed his eyes tiredly, and rubbed his throbbing temples.
Outside the window, the HSBC lion, a symbol of the former glory of the empire, stands silently.
The bustling hustle and bustle of Central could be heard faintly, but it could not dispel the heavy shadow in his heart.
He picked up the cigarette, lit it, and took a deep breath.
Amidst the smoke, a cold thought emerged:
"The British Empire... its twilight was perhaps already destined. Newbigin and his ilk only saw the wallet and the escape route, but failed to see the deeper source of their loss.
If even we at HSBC have to rely on supporting Chinese capital, condoning or even exploiting "heroes" like Kobayashi Tenmo to keep Hong Kong Island running... then what is left of the "glory of the empire"?
Perhaps there's a cruel truth in Eastern philosophy? Is it true that everything is completely controlled by capital and the market? What kind of a survival-of-the-fittest hell would that be?
Is it absurd to think that even a breath of clean air will eventually become a commodity with a price tag?
But looking at what Newbijian and others have done, and then looking at Xiaolin Tianwang's manipulation of resources and people's hearts... who dares to say that he won't?"
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