Two foreigners also got out of the car. When they saw Councillor Gu, they smiled and nodded. When they saw two white people behind them, they were both stunned.
Councillor Gu took the opportunity to introduce:
"Commissioner Elliot, Chief Superintendent Madison, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Lin Kucan, the owner of Lingnantang Pharmaceutical Company, and this is Mr. Lin Sanqi. They are the hosts for tonight.
Mr. Lin, this is Mr. Elliott, Director of the Hong Kong Department of Health, and this is Chief Superintendent Madison of the New Territories North Police District.
In the 1960s, the heads of regional police stations were theoretically chief superintendents, but the white guys also liked to play the "high-ranking" game.
Therefore, many heads of large police districts are given high titles, with brackets added after their positions to indicate the level of (Assistant Commissioner of Police).
The Madison in front of him is only the Chief Superintendent, and it is obvious that his career is not going well.
If everything goes well, I will definitely go to Hong Kong Island or Kowloon Region, instead of coming to the desolate New Territories, or the poorest and most demanding New Territories Northern Frontier Region.
Commissioner Elliott and Chief Superintendent Madison were also very respectful. Since they were big moneybags, a handshake was always acceptable.
"Nice to meet you."
Seeing that the ghost man didn't raise his chin high and look at people straight in the eye as the legend said, Lin Sanqi also hurriedly introduced him:
"Mr. Elliot, Mr. Madison, please allow me to introduce the two distinguished guests with me:
This is Professor Anthony from the Massachusetts Medical School. He is also Vice President of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease and Vice President of Massachusetts General Hospital, one of the top ten hospitals in the world.
Elliot and Madison reached out their hands immediately upon hearing this.
In Hong Kong, these two people can be said to be high and mighty, but to be frank, they are just civil servants at a "county" level and cannot be compared with these top international medical experts.
"Welcome, Professor Anthony."
Professor Anthony knew that he would be attacking these two Eagle Country guys tonight, so he shook their hands politely.
"It's nice to meet you two."
Lin Sanqi took Professor Witte in his arms and introduced him:
"This is Professor Witte from the University College London Medical School in your country. He is currently also the President of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease and the Dean of the University College London Medical School.
It can be said that Professor Anthony and Professor Witte are the best pulmonologists in the world today.”
Director Elliot laughed at this time:
"Lin, Witt, you don't need to introduce yourself. We are old friends."
When Elliot was in Eagle Country, he was an ordinary middle-level civil servant in the Ministry of Health, so he naturally knew the most famous doctor in Eagle Country.
It can be said that Professor Witte's words carry far more weight in the medical community of Eagle Country than that of Elliot, a colonial civil servant.
Professor Witte was also very good at dealing with people. He gave Elliot a hug:
"Hey, old friend, it seems you're having a great time in the Far East. I see you've gained weight. Haha."
Seeing the two foreigners giving fake and warm greetings, Lin Sanqi was overjoyed and thought, this is good, they are all old friends, so the next business will be easy to discuss.
In the private room, everyone followed the local customs and ordered typical Cantonese Chinese food, which was eaten with chopsticks.
However, the focus today is not on eating. The two officials came to the banquet at the invitation of the entrepreneur. Even a fool knows that there must be an exchange of interests.
What Elliot and Madison didn't understand was, what kind of big business was this obscure Lingnantang Chinese Medicine Clinic that required the involvement of a congressman and two internationally renowned medical experts in lobbying?
However, the two men knew that the higher the level of the lobbyist, the greater their benefits.
So the atmosphere in the box was quite good. People talked about the weather and parents, but they didn't get to the main topic.
Professor Anthony had already received Lin Sanqi's signal and pretended to ask:
"Madison, I've been in Hong Kong for half a year and have met many of your friends in the Hong Kong government and police force. I remember that Hobscore's title in the Hong Kong Island Region is 'Assistant Commissioner of Police'. Why did I just hear Councillor Koo address you as Chief Superintendent?"
According to the British system, the Chief Superintendent is equivalent to a colonel, and the Assistant Commissioner of Police is equivalent to a brigadier general or major general. The gap between the two is huge.
Who says foreigners don’t have a bureaucratic mindset?
When you work for the government, the goal is to become a high-ranking official and make money. The higher the official rank, the more money you can make.
Madison drank a lot of red wine, and now her mood has also risen:
"Of the six major police districts in Hong Kong, only Black from New Territories South and I are Chief Superintendents. Why do you think that is? To put it bluntly, it's because we're not the Commissioner of Police's trusted aides, so we were sent to this poor place in the New Territories."
Professor Anthony pretended not to understand and asked doubtfully:
"You all came from Eagle Country, elites selected from hundreds of thousands of police officers. Why are they the Commissioner's confidants and promoted to Assistant Commissioner, while you, the two major districts in the New Territories, are being left out?"
Madison sneered:
"What else could it be? Not to mention far-flung places, just look at the Hong Kong Island region: Central, Eastern, Wan Chai, and Western. Any one of these districts is richer than the entire New Territories. There's plenty of money to be made.
Hobskerry in Hong Kong Island is making a killing. If he gives half of that to the Commissioner of Police, do you think he'll become the Commissioner's confidant? Could he even be promoted to Assistant Commissioner? It's not impossible for him to become Deputy Commissioner in the future."
Hearing Madison's complaints, Director Elliot also smiled bitterly:
"If it weren't for the desire to get rich, who would be willing to leave their hometown and come to this far east? The police force has so much money, but our Department of Health has become like a beggar. The police and the community collect so much protection money, and not a penny goes to us."
Madison joked:
"Elliot, you're welcome to come to our New Territories North to make money. We don't have many other New Territories, but there are a lot of small vendors from the north. They have absolutely no hygiene, and are not much better than India."
Elliot waved his hands repeatedly:
"Forget about your New Territories North District. Only a few restaurants in Tai Po can get health permits. There's nothing like that in Bian, Tuen Mun, and Yuen Long."
Lin Sanqi was the youngest, so he was naturally the waiter. He stood up and poured wine while asking:
"Mr. Elliot, Mr. Madison, I have a lucrative business here. Are you interested?"
Director Elliot said unconcernedly:
"I know your family opened a Chinese medicine clinic in Kowloon and that business is good, but how much profit can the clinic make? Or is there any help you would like us to provide?"
The health department is a typical weak unit and is the lowest level among all government departments, which means it is the least profitable department.
This is true both at home and abroad.
In particular, there are not many pharmaceutical companies in Hong Kong. Public hospitals are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health, but the most powerful hospitals in Hong Kong are private hospitals.
Chief Superintendent Madison was even more peculiar:
"Lin, I know you've purchased a large area of forest in the New Territories. Are you planning to develop animal husbandry and agriculture? But this isn't under the jurisdiction of our police force."
Hong Kong has eighteen districts, but these districts are different from those in China. Hong Kong's districts do not have district mayors or district governments.
It can be understood that Hong Kong has only a single government, and the administration is directly managed by the Hong Kong government down to the community.
Therefore, the Hong Kong police force has a special status, with a wide scope of jurisdiction and is very powerful. As long as the military does not interfere in politics, the police force is the boss.
The Commissioner of Police is called "Brother Yi" and his license plate number is: 1
At this time, Professor Witte said:
"Elliot, and Madison, you should have heard that a few months ago, the World Health Organization organized a tuberculosis clinical trial in Hong Kong, and it was a success."
The two foreigners nodded. This matter was widely publicized at the time, but because it was a matter of the World Health Organization, the Hong Kong Department of Health did not intervene.
"But what you don't know is that we actually hold the patent for anti-tuberculosis drugs. Professor Anthony from the US, Lin, and I have established a company to produce and sell anti-tuberculosis drugs."
Director Elliot's eyes lit up. "Are you planning to set up this pharmaceutical factory in Hong Kong?"
In fact, what he was thinking was that if such a world-class pharmaceutical factory was located in Hong Kong, the Department of Health would be able to get the biggest piece of the fat.
Professor Witte shook his head and denied it:
"No, no, no, Elliot. The land and labor costs in Hong Kong are too high. The pharmaceutical factory we want to build is very, very large. If we want to supply tuberculosis drugs to the whole world, the factory area must be at least several thousand acres."
Elliot gasped. He knew the land prices in Hong Kong too well. Not to mention thousands of acres, even 100 acres would be considered a sky-high price.
Madison heard the hidden meaning and guessed:
"Are you planning to build a pharmaceutical factory in the New Territories? The New Territories should be able to offer thousands of acres of land at once, but all of this land is concentrated in rural clans or in the hands of a few capitalists. It would be very difficult for you to purchase it."
The New Territories are almost entirely mountainous, with the few plains densely populated by local people.
In capitalist countries, land expropriation is not as simple as in India. If you do not agree to relocate, your land will be demolished regardless of whether you agree or not.
It's possible to force demolition in Hong Kong, but unfortunately, rural clans are very united and don't even want to provoke society, let alone the government. (End of this chapter)
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