Life is priceless is just talk. When it is really needed, there must be a price standard to measure it.
Compassion cannot lead an army, gentleness cannot govern.
This does not involve the question of whether it is cold-blooded or not. This is a real issue and cannot be fooled by saying that life is priceless.
Hong Kong Island's annual profits and taxes are only over 160 billion, and it has to bear a large amount of government expenses every year, military expenses for the British troops stationed in Hong Kong, etc. How can there be money to bear a loss of more than 100 billion, so ensuring the safety of the tunnel is inevitable
Put it first.
This is called protecting the safety of people's public property, and it is on the same level as protecting the safety of people's lives!
So, no problem!
As Zhuo Jingquan and the others expected, a meeting was also held at the Governor's Office. After professionals estimated the approximate losses, there was almost no objection. The Hong Kong government made a unanimous decision. There must be no problem with the Hung Hom Tunnel and the explosion.
This should never happen in a tunnel.
Then all that's left is the issue of repurchase.
The Western Harbor Crossing was built the latest, but compared to the earliest Hung Hom Tunnel and the later Eastern Tunnel, the Western Tunnel has the best hardware conditions, so the toll is also the highest. The toll is more than three times that of Hung Hom and the Eastern Tunnel.
Hong Kong Islanders call it the Tunnel of the Rich.
Of course, because it is expensive, compared to the Hung Hom Cross Harbor Tunnel and the Eastern Harbor Crossing, which are stuck in traffic jams all day long and move slowly, the Western Harbor Crossing is unobstructed all day long and is the most convenient.
However, compared with the designed daily traffic volume of 180,000, the actual daily traffic volume is only about 28,000. It is currently operating at an extremely low load. Of course, it will not lose money, but the income is far lower than the expected target.
At present, the three major shareholders of the Western Harbor Crossing are Hong Kong Link Holding, which holds 40% of the company's shares, CITIC Pacific, which holds 20%, and Jiali Construction, which holds 20%. As the major shareholder, Yan Guorong, chairman of Jiali Construction, actually
I know the simplest way to solve the problem is to lower the price.
But this involves a problem. After all, the undersea tunnel is considered a public asset or a part of public transportation to a certain extent. It is really easy to reduce the price but difficult to increase it.
This can be seen from the fact that 30 years ago, the Star Ferry planned to increase the first-class ticket price from 2 cents to 5 cents, which caused a big riot. How serious the consequences of this kind of increase in transportation charges across Victoria Harbor are.
The current drastic price reduction will allow the Western Harbor Crossing Company to quickly reach profitability standards, but for a tunnel that can operate for decades, as the toll standard of the Hung Hom Tunnel has not been able to rise, we know that future income will decrease exponentially. For the company's
Long-term profits will definitely be a devastating blow, which is something the other two companies will never allow.
And Jiali Construction was facing a shortage of funds for some reasons. At this time, the other two companies were not only not ready to lend a helping hand, but were also ready to take a piece of meat from Jiali Construction. In response, Yan Guorong became cruel
I just stomped my feet and came up with such a sideways method.
Half an hour later, when Wang Yaozu and the others were getting impatient, the Governor's Mansion finally called and gave them only three instructions. First, the bomb must not explode and cause structural hazards to the undersea tunnel.
Second, the repurchase issue will be communicated with the Western Harbor Crossing Company, but it will take time. The gangsters must be restrained from acting excessively.
Third, the police must make a plan and be prepared for a violent attack at any time.
"Haha, what do you think the Hong Kong government means?" After hanging up the phone, Wang Yaozu looked at Zhuo Jingquan.
"Just delaying time." Zhuo Jingquan muttered in a low voice, "These gangsters were obviously found by the shareholders of the Western Harbor Crossing Company, and they obviously had a premeditated plan. No matter what, we can't hide this matter. If we reject it outright,
, if something goes wrong, the Hong Kong government will definitely be under the greatest pressure. After all, the Hong Kong government does not want to contribute money, so it has to make a gesture. The negotiations may not be successful, but we have to work hard."
"I think so, haha." Wang Yaozu sneered.
"What should we do now?" Zhuo Jingquan looked at Wang Yaozu and asked: "Sooner or later we will still have to fight, and we must prepare early. It is a ton of C4, and we must not give them a chance to detonate it."
"It's not that easy to detonate." Wang Yaozu shook his head very confidently and said: "In the final analysis, they came out to seek wealth, not death. If they really detonated, they would also die by then. Just kidding, I really think they are madmen, even if Hong Jipeng wants to
Go crazy, will anyone else do it?"
"Well, that's true." After Wang Yaozu said this, Zhuo Jingquan felt relieved, "It's just that those C4s are still a huge hidden danger."
"It's useless to talk about it now. Let's talk about it later." Wang Yaozu shook his head. He was not a god, so he could think of how to deal with it at once.
Just as he said this, Zhuo Jingquan's assistant quickly ran over with an eager look on his face. When he got close, he handed over a mobile phone and said, "Director, the phone number of the criminal."
Zhuo Jingquan looked at Wang Yaozu and motioned for him to take it.
Wang Yaozu was not polite, he reached out and took it directly, put it in his ear and said loudly: "What is a criminal? Can he speak? He has a name, Hong Jipeng."
"Keep your mouth shut criminals!"
"What's wrong with the criminals? Are they eating your rice?"
“You must learn to respect others when you speak!”
"I'm warning you, there won't be a next time!" Wang Yaozu said seriously, but his face was full of smiles.
Zhuo Jingquan rolled his eyes. Damn it, no matter how serious things were, this guy's mouth would completely ruin the atmosphere.
On the other end of the phone, Hong Jipeng was stunned for a while. Although he knew that Wang Yaozu was speaking to him, he was still very happy.
Of course it makes people happy to be flattered by someone, especially when the flatterer is one of the ten richest men in Hong Kong, the famous Wang Yaozu.
It really made Hong Jipeng unable to express his anger.
"Okay, Sir Wang, let's get down to business. How are the conditions I proposed? It's time to give me an answer." The anger that had been brewing for a long time was quelled by Wang Yaozu's few words, and Hong Jipeng's tone softened obviously.
.
"Answer? Where is the answer!"
"What?" Hong Jipeng immediately became anxious, "No, Wang Yaozu, what do you mean? Do you think I really don't dare to kill hostages?"
"Why don't you keep killing hostages day after day? No, who are you trying to scare?" Wang Yaozu turned around and got angry, "Come on, come on, kill one of them and let me see!"
He was fine just now, but he became angry as he spoke. Zhuo Jingquan looked confused when he heard that. Seeing that the situation had changed, he hurriedly reached out to stop him, but in the end he was still a step too slow. Wang Yaozu hung up the phone with a snap.
.
Zhuo Jingquan:???
Hong Jipeng:???
Listening to the busy signal on the phone, Hong Jipeng looked confused, "What the hell... no, you got angry when I said something, and hung up on me. I should be the one who is angry!"