Hong Kong Island Old Events

"eight pm."

Jian Baoning was in uniform, stirring the coffee cup with a spoon.

"It's almost time."

"Let's welcome the newcomers at the airport together." He Dingxian put down his watch and said with a hearty smile: "As a local, you must be polite."

"OK."

"Sir."

Jian Baoning chuckled, took a sip of coffee, put the cup on the table, then picked up the hat on the clothes hanger, put it on his head, turned around and walked out of the office with He Dingxian.

main entrance.

"Sir."

"Sir He"

Lan Gang, Yan Xiong and others were wearing suits and carrying guns at their waists. They put their hands in front of their lower abdomens and bowed to say hello.

He Dingxian said casually: "Go to the airport."

A convoy of six police-licensed buses slowly drove out of Tai Kwun and drove all the way to North Point Pier. After arriving by boat at Kowloon City Ferry, they changed to Kowloon District Police vehicles and drove to Kai Tak Airport. Kai Tak Airport was founded in 1925. It was first reclaimed from the sea and land by the "Kai Tak Operating Company", a joint venture between Sir Ho Kai and Mr. Au Tak. It was planned to build garden-style residences. Every inch of the land was a reclamation project, hence the name. "Kai Tak Shore".

However, due to the bankruptcy of the "Kai Tak Operating Company", the land was leased by the Hong Kong government. It has been used as the Royal Air Force Airport, training center, Abbott Flying School, etc. Later, because the Hong Kong government planned to build an airport, they searched all over Hong Kong and found "Kai Tak Waterfront". "It is the largest and flattest piece of land in Hong Kong, and the Kowloon Bay next to it can park seaplanes. The Hong Kong government first purchased the Kai Tak Waterfront land in 1927 for HK$1 million 7,250.

There are currently two runways in Kai Tak, one is the east-west runway built by the Hong Kong government, and the other is the northwest runway built by Japan during the Japanese occupation during World War II. When there are flights taking off and landing at the airport, vehicles on Clear Water Bay Road need to be stopped. .

Whenever a plane makes a roaring sound, it always attracts many children in Kowloon City to look up and watch.

Although commercial flights have been opened on Hong Kong Island, including British Airways, Pan American Airways, Air France, and Eurasia Airways, Kai Tak Airport is still semi-military, with military personnel guarding it and dedicated hangars.

When the convoy arrived at the airport gate, they happened to see an Imperial Airways flight circling and landing, its landing gear getting closer to the ground.

"boom!"

The plane touched down and made a loud noise.

However, the motorcade that He Dingxian was riding in was stopped at the door by military personnel until Jian Baoning showed his ID and said: "Police Commissioner Jian Baoning came to welcome the Governor to perform his duties. Politicians and urban security are within the scope of the police force." , I hope you won’t cause any unpleasantness.”

After checking the certificate, the second lieutenant walked into the guard box and called his superiors. After receiving approval, he returned the certificate and saluted to allow passage.

"Mr. Governor."

"Hong Kong Island has arrived."

Bai Liji has thin cheeks and slender eyebrows. His legs are covered with a blanket and he is flipping through a magazine.

As a professional politician, his 27-year career was spent in the Colonial Office. He served in the Seafood Colony, Trinidad, North Borneo and Hong Kong. His last position as Governor of Singapore was on Hong Kong Island. Assistant Chief Secretary.

Returning to Hong Kong Island was a revisit to his old place, so he showed great calmness. At the gentle reminder of the waiter, he put down the magazine and nodded gently: "I understand."

"Okay, Mr. Governor." The waiter was in his twenties, a young and beautiful age. He was wearing exquisite makeup and stockings. He had no intention of admiring the beautiful scenery during the trip.

Several members of the ruling team brought from Singapore also began to pack their suitcases and luggage in an orderly manner.

"Sir."

"The door is about to open." At this time, a captain walked out of the cab and came to salute in person. After Bai Liji smiled and shook hands with him, the hatch made a pneumatic sound and slowly opened, revealing a piece of night. The moment the cabin door was completely opened, he was already standing in front of the gangway, wearing a suit and waving slowly.

"Crack!"

There is a red carpet between the gangway and the car.

A group of reporters took photos on both sides. Senior officials such as the Colonial Secretary, Government Affairs Bureau, and garrison representatives, a total of more than ten people, stood in front of the red carpet. Some stood at attention and saluted, and some bowed and bowed: "Welcome the Governor to Hong Kong to perform his duties."

Bai Liji walked down the gangway and shook hands with the officials one by one. In fact, he knew everyone's information well. Just as he was saying hello to the garrison representatives, a dazzling light suddenly swept over. He instinctively narrowed his eyes and looked sideways. It was a convoy arriving at the scene.

He Dingxian, Jian Baoning, Yan Xiong and others opened the door and got out of the car, came to the red carpet and saluted: "Sorry sir!"

"Sir."

Bai Liji smiled brightly, held his hand and patted his shoulder: "Long time no see."

"yes."

Jian Baoning didn't dare to say more.

Bai Liji looked at He Dingxian again and said, "Sir He."

"I've admired you for a long time."

He Dingxian was slightly surprised when he heard the Cantonese words coming out of his mouth, and saluted: "Welcome, sir!"

There is no doubt that the police force rushed into the airport to show off its power, but Bai Liji gave people the impression of being unfazed by honor and disgrace. He did not care at all about the police force's intention to show off its muscles. Not only did he shake hands with He Dingxian and Jian Baoning, He also shook hands with Yan Xiong, Lan Gang and others, and offered to be escorted by the police to Taiping Mountain. He Dingxian, Jian Baoning and others naturally agreed happily, and the motorcade drove out of the airport soon.

On a car.

He Dingxian held a cigarette in his mouth and said in a playful tone: "Sir Jian, this new governor looks difficult to deal with."

"Sir Bai was the personal secretary to Sir Kim Tai-moon, the governor of Sanzhou Prefecture, in his early years. He was admitted to the Colonial Office after graduating from university and has very rich experience in colonial management." Jian Baoning said: "And he enlisted in the army during World War II. He is An officer of the Federal Far East Intelligence Corps, responsible for special operations in Malaysia, and also organized guerrillas to resist the Japanese army in the North Borneo region. However, he was captured when all of Malaysia fell and was imprisoned in a prisoner of war camp until the end of World War II."

Ho Dingxian knew some of Bai Liji's resume in Singapore, but he didn't know that he had also led the Malaysian guerrillas. He was a man who had been tempered by war. No wonder he could endure many things and didn't care. He didn't have the arrogance of a governor at all.

"I heard that Bai Liji resolved many constitutional crises in Singapore during his tenure?" After he asked, Jian Baoning nodded: "Yes, if Sir Bai did not mediate, there would have been a large-scale rebellion in the Sanzhoufu area."

Sanzhoufu is the collective name for Singapore, Penang, and Malacca, three important port cities on the Malay Peninsula. In a broad sense, it also refers to the attached Malaysian archipelago. Before World War II, these places were all under the management of a governor, officially known as the "Straits Governor" and privately known as the "Sanzhoufu Governor". After World War II, the Governor-General of the Straits was split into three. Eleven states including Malay, Penang, and Malacca formed the "Malaysian Union", which was managed by the Governor-General of Malay. Labuan and North Borneo merged and were managed by the Governor-General of Brunei. Singapore was split off separately and a Governor-General of Singapore was appointed to govern.

This is obviously because the British officials were aware of the emergence of the colonial independence trend and consciously separated the three continents to avoid the emergence of a medium-sized sovereign country in the Strait of Malacca. If there is autonomy and independence in the future, it will be better for three countries to check and balance each other than for one country to control the straits.

Victoria Peak.

Governor's Palace.

After Bai Liji got off the car at the official residence, he did not rush in. Instead, he smiled at He Dingxian and Jian Baoning and said, "Sir Jian, Sir He, if you don't mind the trouble, can you come in for a drink?"

"Yes, sir."

He Dingxian and Jian Baoning quietly looked at each other, saluted and agreed.

There were a group of accompanying officials responsible for carrying the luggage. In fact, the three of them had nothing to be busy with. The official residence had already been cleaned and they only needed to add some items according to their personal habits. Bai Liji brought the two of them to the reception area of ​​the office, smiled and asked the secretary to make tea, and said softly: "The office has not officially started today, and this is not a formal office. Just treat it as if I invite you two to my home." Small talk.”

"I still remember that the last time I came to Victoria Peak, I was still serving as the Colonial Secretary. Seven years have passed in the blink of an eye. Sir Jian was still the Senior Assistant Commissioner at that time, right? Now he is the head of the police force. What was Sir Ho doing at that time? Well?"

He Dingxian thought about it and said with a smile: "Go to the police academy."

"Times have changed, and many things have changed. For example, Singapore has become a semi-autonomous state, and I believe it will soon achieve its goal of autonomy. The population of Hong Kong Island has also more than doubled, and while it has gained labor to develop the economy, it has also caused many social conflicts. ." Bai Liji pointedly said: "Last year's Double Ten incident was an outbreak of conflicts. Sir Gerard's policy of developing the economy and absorbing the population was right, but he only focused on developing the economy along the way, regardless of digesting social conflicts and adjusting the status of the Chinese. Social conflicts only It’s going to get more and more intense.”

He Dingxian was silent, because the governor in front of him was not an arrogant, arrogant, and powerful person, but a smart man who knew how to analyze social contradictions and international situations. In other words, every governor must be a qualified politician. , but the longer you stay in the position, the more vulnerable you are to being kidnapped by ambition and interests.

He asked: "Mr. Governor, how do you plan to resolve social conflicts?"

"Haha, the first step is to revitalize industry, solve the heavy labor force in society, and allow more Chinese to enter factories from docks and transform from coolies into skilled workers. Although the social class has not changed, the productivity surplus brought by industry is enough to The Chinese can live a better life than in an agricultural society." Bai Liji stared at him and said: "You can't deny that only 1% of people in Hong Kong Island live in modern society, and the remaining 90% Nine people still live in an agricultural society."

"For the Chinese, there is no difference between today and a hundred years ago. When Hong Kong Island's industry improves, it will naturally feed back into the fields of people's livelihood such as medical care, education, water and electricity, and liberalism will be adopted in the capital field."

"So Sir, I need the support of the police force to put aside disputes and develop together. When Hong Kong Island is better, the life of every Hong Kong person will get better. In the field of people's livelihood, the people who enjoy the most are the citizens, and the people who enjoy the most are the Chinese."

Bai Liji took a sip of tea: "There is an intermission in a war, let alone a political struggle? Why sir."