In the living room of Villa No. 8 in Jinghua Village, Li Guobao, Lei Juekun, Zhang Guangwen, Feng Jingyao, Guo Zhiquan, Chen Zhiyong, Pan Disheng and other Xiangjiang branch members gathered here, waiting for Li Jianhui's arrival.
It can be seen from everyone's expressions that they feel a lot of anxiety, and their inner concerns and worries are reflected in the words they talk to each other.
Everyone has different opinions on whether to leave or stay. The younger generation, led by Li Guobao and Pan Desheng, support leaving and wholeheartedly develop the Nanyang market, especially Malay, making Malay the foundation and home of the Tung Wah Association.
The older generation, headed by Lei Juekun and Chen Zhiyong, do not support a complete departure for many reasons. One is the huge market in the north, the other is national sentiment, and the third is their many years of living in Hong Kong and the industrial layout.
When Li Jianhui walked into the living room, both parties were arguing endlessly about whether to leave or stay, and the reason was that it was beneficial to the Xiangjiang Branch of the Tung Wah Association.
Li Jianhui's absolute authority in the Donghua Association was no joke. When everyone who was arguing saw Li Jianhui's arrival, they immediately stopped and stood up to greet Li Jianhui.
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After asking everyone to sit down, Li Jianhui said with a smile: "I have not been in Xiangjiang these days. I only understand some situations through phone calls, but I don't know the complete situation.
I don’t know what went wrong, so many of our members urgently want to move their families and leave the city they have lived in for decades.
Brother Domestic Security, today our Xiangjiang branch members and probationary members are all gathered here, please tell everyone in detail about your meeting with Li Jueshen and your own thoughts."
After hearing this, Li Guobao explained to everyone the meeting and conversation with Li Jueshen at Yixuan Teahouse two days ago, focusing on the opinions that Li Jueshen conveyed to Li Jianhui and the Tung Wah Association Xiangjiang members on behalf of the northern high-level officials.
When talking about his own opinions, Li Guobao said bluntly: "This is the north forcing us to leave. Not to mention the northern market, let's talk about Xiangjiang. At present, we are in a dominant position in many industries and have even formed a monopoly in some industries.
The North is absolutely not willing to see this aspect. Once returned, we will inevitably become the primary target.
If we just want to be an ordinary businessman who is at the mercy of others, then it doesn't matter that we have always been based on Xiangjiang. At worst, we will just choose to give in when the time comes.
But our goal is to take the initiative ourselves, so it is not advisable for us to stay in Hong Kong all the time, and it is not conducive to us building the Nanyang market into our solid backing.
I think that rather than being forced to leave when the time comes, it is better for us to leave on our own while the initiative is in our hands.
And although we are moving, it does not mean that we have given up our industrial layout in Xiangjiang, especially the industries that involve the basic life of Xiangjiang citizens.
If there is really no other way, we will never give up, such as Donghua Mobile Communications, Kowloon Bus, Heung Kong Electric Power, Heung Kong Gas, Heung Kong Water and other enterprises, which will also be a bargaining chip for us facing the north in the future."
After Li Guobao finished speaking, Li Jianhui did not immediately express his opinions and views. Instead, he asked everyone present to talk about their inner thoughts.
As the father-in-law of Li Jianhui, Chen Zhiyong, who had fought desperately against foreign invasion for the sake of his nation and country, obviously had no intention of leaving Xiangjiang.
"I know that because of the northern system, the young generation who have received Western ideological education since childhood are naturally resistant in their hearts. Therefore, they always believe that if their own industrial development becomes bigger and stronger, they will be targeted and suppressed by the north.
The National Security Bureau is like this, Jianhui is like this, and even Zongxue is like this. They all feel that once they are under the jurisdiction of the north, they and their family will be targeted and persecuted.
I cannot say that this idea is wrong. After all, it is human nature to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and your idea is also for the safety of yourself and your family.
But since we are still focused on business, we can't just focus on the present, but also look at it from a long-term perspective.
The north has a market of one billion people. As the reform and opening up process continues to advance, the market size will increase linearly.
Because of the northern policy, there will be a huge difference between having Xiangjiang status and not having Xiangjiang status. After the transfer, it means that we will lose the opportunity in the northern market and will not be able to enjoy a series of preferential policies.
Moreover, we have lived in Xiangjiang for decades. This is our roots and our last retreat.
Once we move, there will only be one way to reach the dark side, and there will be no way out."
Obviously, the younger generation does not agree with Chen Zhiyong's words. Feng Yubin, chairman of the board of directors of Daoheng Bank, retorted:
"Uncle Chen, I know that you have sacrificed a lot for your nation and country, and many of your comrades have sacrificed their lives for this. Therefore, you will never go to a foreign country unless it is absolutely necessary. I can understand this.
But for the sake of a better future for the Tung Wah Association and our respective families, we had to choose to transfer.
The storm in the north has been going on for nearly a month, and there is still no intention of stopping.
Although the main public opinion is still focused on Japanese capital, no one knows whether our Donghua Society will become the opponent's next target.
I admit that there is a market with a population of one billion in the north, but a market that cannot be entered by many industries and cannot be transferred out even if it makes a profit, is of much use to us.
Moreover, it is difficult for us to predict whether the events of more than 30 years ago will happen again. We do not want the industry that we have worked so hard to develop to cease to be ours one day.
I support the idea of the national security brother. Instead of staying in Xiangjiang without any embarrassment, it is better to go all out to Malay and let it truly become our basic base.
Our Tung Wah Association's relationship with it should be like that between the Rose Consortium and England, the Japanese Consortium and Japan, and the American Consortium and the United States.
We can never have a solid foundation and backing by running many boats like this. Take Malay for example. Our registered residence is not in Malay, and our family does not live in Malay. Why should the Malay government and the Malay people be our
Solid backing?
As for the retreat mentioned by Uncle Chen, ever since our Donghua Society took that step, there has been no retreat for a long time. To the extent that Uncle Chen said, maybe the North will be the first to liquidate our major families.
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In this regard, even Chen Zongxue, who was a probationary member, also opposed the opinions of his father Chen Zhiyong.
He even said bluntly: "Dad, you paid so much, but what did you get?
Think about how many of those who fought against the invasion don't even have a monument, and some even have their graves dug up.
Think about the old Tiu Keng Ridge, think about the current situation of those who retreated to the Golden Triangle, and think about the living conditions of the once glorious Rong family who stayed on the mainland ten or twenty years ago.
Although history has passed, it should not be forgotten, but the lessons within it should be remembered.
Even though the head of the Rong family in the north is in trouble again, the Rong family today is no longer the Rong family it once was, and I don’t want our family to suffer the same hardships the Rong family suffered ten or twenty years ago."
The younger generation such as Pan Desheng and Lei Zhaoguang have spoken out in support of the transfer to Malay, allowing the Tung Wah Association to become the real Tung Wah Foundation in Malay.