Although today is the coldest day in the twenty-four solar terms, Xiangjiang does not feel the biting cold wind from the north at all.
On this day, there was a stir in the Xiangjiang business community. Al Maires, vice chairman of the board of directors of Huangpu Holdings and chairman of the board of directors of Hutchison Real Estate Group, jointly held a press conference with Li Guobao, Zhang Guangwen and Lei Juekun to announce several
Home group cross shareholding plan.
Among them, Huangpu Holdings transferred 32% of its shares to Kowloon Construction, Chinese Land and Guanghua Construction respectively.
At the same time, Whampoa Holdings acquired 15% of Kowloon Construction, 20% of Chinese Land, and 15% of Guanghua Construction.
Through this operation, Huangpu Holdings Group only holds 35% of the shares of Hutchison Real Estate, and has initially completed the group's task of reducing its holdings of Hutchison Real Estate Group shares.
Several groups hold cross-shareholdings. In the eyes of all parties in Hong Kong, this is not a simple cooperation, but marks the birth of a huge force.
The first and third Chinese-owned families in Hong Kong, plus two families with assets exceeding one billion Hong Kong dollars, let alone other Chinese-owned families in Hong Kong, even the two major foreign banks Jardine Matheson + Swire, are hard to match.
After receiving this report, MacLehose in the Government House was filled with worries about the future of Britain in Hong Kong. He felt that the London government's connivance towards the Xin Jian Clan would only hurt him in the end.
If Li Jianhui continues to develop like this, they will no longer have the final say in the future of Hong Kong. The entire policy and economy of Hong Kong will be kidnapped by the Xin Jian Hui clique and its allies.
MacLehose, who knew that his term in Hong Kong would only be short, specially hired the new Chief of Administration Kesos, who had just arrived in Hong Kong.
“If we want the long-term and stable control of Hong Kong in our hands in the future, we must not tolerate the emergence of consortiums like the Xin Jian Group.
I believe you also know how much influence the emergence of a consortium in a place will have on the local government. I am afraid that the will of the consortium will be dominant here.
I don’t know exactly how the local government made the decision to let Li Jianhui and Xin Jianxian ignore the expansion in Hong Kong.
I hope that after I leave, you can focus on the activities of the Xinjian Department and, within a reasonable framework, limit the expansion of the Xinjian Department and its allies as much as possible.
Proactive policies should try their best to bypass the Tseung Kwan O and Tin Shui Wai areas where the Yan Kin Clan and its allies focus, and support groups such as Jardine Wo, Swire, Hang Lung, Cheung Kong, Shun Tak, etc., so that their strength can grow rapidly, in order to contain the Yan Shui Wai area.
Build relationships and become allies.”
Xoxos once served as the British envoy to Japan, and spent several years in Hong Kong when he was young. He is relatively familiar with the situation in Hong Kong and Asia.
This time he also knew the reasons for the separation of MacLehose and Xia Dingji. One of them advocated suppressing and restricting the Xin Jian clique and Li Jianhui, while the other advocated supporting the Xin Jian clique.
There were also huge differences in London, so they chose not to suppress or support the Xin Jian faction, and placed him and Brian, who was about to serve as governor, in Xiangjiang to let them maintain the stability of Xiangjiang.
Both he and Brian tend to be neutral, otherwise they would not be able to come to Xiangjiang to serve.
Therefore, he did not take what MacLehose said to him to heart. He never believed that Li Jianhui or the Xin Jian Department could pose much of a threat to England.
You must know that the upper-level officials here are directly acquiesced by the British, and many policies are directly formulated by them. Li Jianhui and the Xin Jian clique have no way to intervene.
No matter how large the Xin Jian Department is, it is only in terms of business, and it is not Li Jianhui's turn to dictate other aspects.
If the Xin Jian Department is really dishonest and wants to jump out and confront them, they have plenty of ways to deal with the Xin Jian Department.
Xos smiled and said: "MacLehose, no wonder Xiangjiang has developed so well in these years. It seems that you treat Xiangjiang as a normal local governance and bring normal thinking into consideration.
You seem to have forgotten what the nature of Xiangjiang is to us in England. Do you think the Xinjian family here can become the Rockefeller, Morgan, or Mitsui, Iwasaki and other families?
You must know that our positions are local and the executive and legislative bureaus in Hong Kong are firmly in our hands. Do you think Li Jianhui in Hong Kong can influence or even control our House of Commons and the government?"
Seeing this, MacLehose could only sigh. In his opinion, the best way to really make the citizens of Hong Kong identify with them is to implement normalized management here, let go of the Executive Council and even the Legislative Council, and give the citizens of Hong Kong the right to vote.
He once had the intention to promote this aspect, but the rise of the Xin Jian Department disrupted his plan. With the Xin Jian Department, he was unwilling to come up with this plan.
Because he knows very well that if this plan appears now, it will only become a weapon for the Xinjian clique to intervene in political interference in government policies.
MacLehose understood that it would be difficult to implement the local approach in Hong Kong. For the sake of their rule here, this plan could not be implemented.
Australia and Canada are examples. In those two regions, the governor is a rubber stamp and has no power at all.
"Forget it, we won't mention the Xinjian Department. I just hope that as you think, we won't be breeding tigers.
I will return to London at the end of this month. If there are any adjustments in the Administration Department, I can bring them up in the next few days and solve them for you before I leave."
Xosos did not make any demands on personnel matters. He asked MacLehose for intelligence information on the relationships between major families in Hong Kong, as well as information on the preferences of these families.
These will be very useful for him to deal with the major families in Xiangjiang in the future, which ones are biased towards them, which ones are biased towards the north, which ones are biased towards Treasure Island, and which ones are neutral.
MacLehose was not stingy about this. Although these materials were mainly managed by the Governor's Office, as a senior British official in Hong Kong, Xosos was still qualified to read these materials.
Among them, MacLehose focused on Li Jianhui, Huo Yingdong, Li Guobao, He Shili, and Chen Zengxi, so that Kesos could focus on understanding them.
"McLehose, you don't have to worry so much. Xiangjiang will never change. The Xinjian system is like a rootless duckweed. It's not worth making a fuss about.
Your governance capabilities have been fully demonstrated in Xiangjiang, and I also believe that you will be given a heavy responsibility after returning to your homeland this time."
After Xos left, MacLehose still did not give up. He wrote a nearly 5,000-word report to Thatcher.
It focuses on the influence of the Xin Jian Clique and its allies in Hong Kong, and also points out that neither the Xin Jian Clique nor its allies will side with London on the Hong Kong issue.
Under the current situation where the Xin Jian Clan is getting stronger and stronger and its relationship with several major families is getting closer and closer, I hope that the London government can carefully evaluate the situation in Xiangjiang and not let the situation become a problem, otherwise it will be too late to regret it.
At the same time, it was also suggested that considering that the strength and influence of British-funded enterprises in Hong Kong is getting weaker and weaker, it is hoped that London will increase its support for these enterprises. If possible, support a group of strong local enterprises to enter Hong Kong to improve the presence of British enterprises here.