On the evening of May 8, Li Guangyu and Cao Weiqing went to the banquet hall of the Governor's Palace to attend MacLehose's banquet.
Today is the time for MacLehose to officially step down. He came to Hong Kong as Governor in 1971 and has been here for nearly 11 years now.
Under his governance, Xiangjiang's economy has developed rapidly, the government and people's livelihood have been greatly improved, and he has made great contributions to Xiangjiang.
This time, in order to show respect for MacLehose and to thank MacLehose for taking care of the Lee Group in the past few years, even though Cao Weiqing was more than four months pregnant, he still attended the banquet with Li Guangyu.
Tonight's banquet in the banquet hall of the Governor's Palace was attended by heads of major families in Hong Kong, as well as elites from both political and business circles.
The new governor has not yet arrived, and Xia Dingji is currently the governor.
On Li Guangyu's side, they shared some of their views on MacLehose after he left office.
Li Ka-shing said: "When MacLehose was in office, our Chinese-owned family was doing pretty well. As long as we didn't deliberately stand on the opposite side, our development was not suppressed. I just don't know what the situation will be like with Youde's arrival.
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At the end of last year, the British government announced that Youde would come to Hong Kong to serve as Governor-General after MacLehose resigned.
After the British announcement, all the major families in Xiangjiang collected information about Youde to understand Youde's situation and make adequate preparations for the next step.
Li Guangyu himself also has a lot of information about Youde. This new governor is very familiar with the Greater China region. He has been a diplomat in the mainland for many years and he also speaks Chinese.
It's just that most of his life has been spent in diplomatic work, and Li Guangyu himself doesn't know whether he can maintain the policies of the MacLehose period economically.
Moreover, the next two to three years will be very difficult for Xiangjiang, and the economic development will be very unsatisfactory. Especially after the collapse of the property market, Xiangjiang's economy will be severely hit.
Li Guangyu sometimes felt that MacLehose was very lucky. His tenure happened to avoid the moment when some problems broke out in Hong Kong, which gave him a good ending when he left office, making him one of the governors to whom the citizens of Hong Kong are most grateful.
Many things in the future are unavoidable. If MacLehose serves for another term, I am afraid that the reputation he has accumulated in the past will be squandered. Human nature is sometimes so complicated. Once something bad happens, no matter how many things happened before
The credit will also be ignored.
As the time reached eight o'clock, MacLehose said in his speech at the beginning of the banquet: "Thank you everyone for coming to my resignation banquet. Xiangjiang has been my second hometown for more than ten years. The development of Xiangjiang over the years has made me happy."
I feel very gratified that this would also be inseparable from the efforts of everyone here. It is with the joint efforts of everyone that our economy in Hong Kong can develop rapidly."
Later, MacLehose talked about some of his shortcomings over the past year, such as the lack of higher education in Hong Kong and the insufficient improvement of people's livelihood. He hoped that those present could work together with the successor governor to develop Xiangjiang better and better.
MacLehose did not talk about how much he has contributed to Hong Kong tonight. Instead, he talked about those aspects that he has not done enough and those things that have not yet been done. I hope everyone will put Hong Kong first and promote all aspects of Hong Kong.
Fast and good development.
After MacLehose finished speaking, he specially came to Li Guangyu and others to express his gratitude to Li Guangyu and others for coming.
MacLehose knew in his heart that the future of Xiangjiang was in the hands of interest groups like Li Guangyu and others. They had now begun to involve themselves in all aspects of production and life in Xiangjiang. As long as they stabilized their situation, there would be no major problems in Xiangjiang.
Although MacLehose has resigned, he still hopes that Xiangjiang can maintain stable and positive development. He himself also knows that it is not easy for the major families in Xiangjiang. They have put in too much hard work to have the current family business.
Due to the specific historical environment, the development of the Chinese families in Xiangjiang was naturally suppressed by the British-funded consortium. After so many years of accumulation, and the fact that he did not specifically suppress the Chinese-funded families after taking office, they began to develop by leaps and bounds.
, the result was the rapid decline of the British-funded consortium.
MacLehose himself also knew that many local MPs had objections to some of the policies he implemented in Hong Kong, but MacLehose did not care about these.
He knew that Hong Kong's economy would not be able to develop rapidly if the British-funded consortium had been looming over Hong Kong. However, he did not expect that the British-funded consortium would be so vulnerable.
It has only been a few years since they were suppressed by Chinese-funded consortiums. Only Jardine Matheson and Swire Group are left among the four major foreign banks, and the two groups are not having an easy time now.
The Swire Group has now given up its fight with the Chinese consortium, and the Jardine Group is moving the market. Others are not very clear, but as the governor, MacLehose has many sources of information, and Jardine is preparing to withdraw.
Xiangjiang Market.
MacLehose said: "Mr. Li Guangyu, the development now is hard-won. I hope you will maintain confidence in Xiangjiang and promote the development of Xiangjiang."
Li Guangyu said: "Mr. MacLehose, the development of Xiangjiang is inseparable from your contributions over the past ten years. It is the series of policies you have implemented that have enabled Xiangjiang to have such a good life today."
Regarding the working environment, I believe the citizens of Xiangjiang will never forget your efforts for Xiangjiang."
"I also believe that Xiangjiang will develop better and better in the future. Xiangjiang is where I grew up and where my group started. This is the foundation of my Li Group and it will not change."
Regarding Li Guangyu's words, MacLehose did not comment, but he knew some of the actions of Li Guangyu's group.
Last year, it was reported that a new landmark in Hong Kong would be built. A new group building that would be taller than the HSBC Bank Building is still on paper, and its subsidiary Wheelock Group is disposing of a large number of properties in its hands. What does this mean?
Why, how could MacLehose not see clearly?
MacLehose said: "I have also communicated with Governor Youde. He also knows this area very well and will not specifically target your Chinese-owned families. Please put aside your worries. Xiangjiang is a city with more than five million citizens.
Our common Hong Kong is also your Hong Kong. The policies that once supported the four major financial groups will not appear again, let alone suppress your development."
Listening to MacLehose's words, Li Ka-shing and others felt a lot more relieved. As long as the government did not specifically target themselves and others, they really were not worried about competition in business.
They are worried that like in the 1960s, the government explicitly refused to allow some Chinese-owned families to enter some industries, which would cause a huge blow to their family industries. They, the businessmen, did not have the capital to resist the government.
Li Ka-shing said: "Mr. MacLehose, thank you for your concern for our Chinese-owned family. We also use Xiangjiang as our main market. We also hope that Xiangjiang will develop better and better. Only when Xiangjiang's economy develops, we ourselves
Only enterprises can develop rapidly.”
After Mac Lehose communicated with Li Guangyu, Li Shauji and Stanley Ho for a while, he went to Chen Zengxi, Wang Dehui and others to have some exchanges with them.
As the organizer of today's banquet, it was obviously impossible for MacLehose to communicate only with Li Guangyu's interest group.