Reborn as King of South America

Chapter 533: The Situation of Chinese Americans and the Situation in Southeast Asia

After sending away the representatives of the shipping company and returning to the reception hall in the shipyard, Chen Shen saw Zhong Wenyao and Niu Shangzhou talking to a young man.

"Minister Zhong, Deputy Director Niu, this must be Liao Enbai, Boss Liao, right? You finally get to meet each other today, and things are almost done now. Let's go to a restaurant outside and get together. I'll treat you all."

"You are too polite, Chief Chen. How can I let you spend a lot of money to entertain an old friend?"

"No need to be polite. Minister Zhong, Deputy Director Niu, General Qiu, and Boss Liao are all here to help. As the person in charge, I should pay for the meal. Everyone, stop arguing. It's settled. In half an hour, we'll go to the restaurant west of the port for dinner."

Chen Shen waved his hands and said with a smile.
At six o'clock in the evening, in a restaurant near the eastern port of Rio de Janeiro, Chen Shen, Qiu Mingzhang, and a group of more than 20 people sat down at three tables. Chen Shen sat at the same table with Qiu Mingzhang, Zhong Wenyao, Niu Shangzhou, Liao Zhubin, He Binghuan, Liao Enbai and others.

"Mr. Liao, Mr. He, Enbai, I originally wanted to treat you all to an authentic Chinese meal, but due to the war damage and Rio de Janeiro is the capital of Brazil, restaurants mainly serve Western food. I had no choice but to find a Western restaurant with good reviews. I would like to invite you all to dinner. If the hospitality is not good enough, please forgive me."

"It is an honor for us to be entertained by General Chen. Besides, Western food is considered a high-end place in the Far East and Southeast Asia. In China, the imperial government traces its roots back to the past and does not worship foreign things. That is why these foreign restaurants have not become popular."

"The food in foreign restaurants is simply processed and half-cooked, and tastes far worse than our Chinese food. Moreover, the elementary school textbooks compiled by the Ministry of Education all state that Western food is simple, greasy, and unbalanced in nutrition. Eating Western food for a long time is not good for your health. So, let's just eat it reluctantly, and when we return to our homeland, I will treat you all to a meal of authentic Jianghuai cuisine."

Chen Shen exchanged pleasantries with everyone for a while, then continued, "Mr. Liao, Mr. He, you two have ventured overseas in your early years, and in recent years you have also done business in Southeast Asia, the Far East, Europe and other places. You know more about the overseas situation. Can you introduce to us the real situation of various countries overseas?"

"What does Chief Chen want to know?"

“The actual living conditions of overseas Chinese and overseas trade.”

"After the Chinese Exclusion Act was enacted and implemented, Chinese people in the United States, Canada, Australia, Cuba, Venezuela and other places evacuated one after another and returned to South America to live. However, a small number of Chinese people were unwilling or afraid to return to their homeland because they could not let go of the houses, land and property they had accumulated throughout their lives, or because they were engaged in illegal activities, and they still stayed in the local area to live.

According to several old friends who still stayed in San Francisco, the number of Chinese in San Francisco has dropped to about 3. In the entire United States, the total number of Chinese is estimated to be less than 10. More than 80% of Chinese Americans and Chinese workers chose to take the fleet sent by the imperial government and settle in the mainland. The remaining people, because they no longer have the protection of the imperial government, have been exploited and bullied by the secret societies and Americans.

"The United States viewed the Empire as a potential enemy. After the severance of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Empire launched a strong crackdown on the armed intelligence personnel left in the United States. From 1882 to 1885, due to traitors' betrayal and targeted attacks by the US government, the Empire lost more than 100 peripheral intelligence personnel. In view of the serious situation in the United States, in 1885, the Empire stopped its intelligence exploration and intelligence personnel transportation work against the United States."

Chen Shen said with a serious expression.

The confrontation and competition between the two countries intensified, and the contradictions surfaced and intensified, which had a great impact on Chinese Americans and peripheral intelligence personnel. In order to avoid unnecessary losses, the Han country stopped the large-scale importation of armed intelligence personnel into North America, but the small-scale intelligence personnel transportation operation mainly composed of naturalized whites continued, and the peripheral intelligence personnel left in the United States continued to lurk, but according to the order of the Han country, all intelligence personnel executed the silent order and no longer carried out large-scale absorption and expansion of intelligence forces. The overseas intelligence exploration work carried out by the military was confidential. Except for Li Mingyuan, the Military Intelligence Bureau, the National Security Bureau, and the core senior officials of the Army and Navy, others knew less. As a government civil servant, Chen Shen did not know much about the real situation in this regard. At the same time, some of the content he learned was not told to Liao, He and others for confidentiality reasons.

"After the withdrawal of the imperial forces, the suppressed and attacked secret societies became active again. According to some Chinese in San Francisco, more than 20 new secret societies have emerged in recent years. Some of them are remnants of old secret societies that were previously disbanded and banned, and some are gangsters and hooligans transferred from other parts of the United States. Now, within a radius of several kilometers in San Francisco's Chinatown, all the illegal businesses that were previously eliminated, such as opium dens, brothels, and gambling dens, have emerged. The secret societies are also increasingly oppressing ordinary Chinese in Chinatown."

"It's not anyone else's fault. The Empire tried to persuade them to leave one block at a time, but they refused to listen. They thought that if they were obedient and patient like before, the Americans would be kind and give them a chance to live. But didn't they know what kind of people the Americans are? They exploited Chinese workers and Chinese people and didn't treat them as human beings at all. Those secret society members were also servile and willing to be dogs for the white people, helping them exploit ordinary Chinese people."

Influenced by young overseas students like Xu Zhixuan, Liao Enbai has a more passionate temperament. When he heard his father worrying about the Chinese people staying in the United States, he couldn't help but speak out.

"The situation of Chinese Americans is a little worse, but now Americans and those secret society members who have joined them are afraid of being caught by the empire and considering factors such as their image in the outside world. They dare not kill Chinese people and easily cause deaths."

Finishing the question about the situation of Chinese in the United States, Liao Zhubin continued: "The situation of Chinese in Canada, Australia, Southeast Asia and other places is much better. Although countries restrict the import of Chinese labor and immigrants, the status of Chinese has improved a lot compared to before. In the local area, the status of Chinese is higher than that of indigenous people and slightly lower than that of white colonists. In terms of legal status, Chinese are already at the same level as white people."

"That's because the empire's power increased, and white people didn't dare to blatantly bully or massacre the Chinese. At the same time, 80% or even more than 90% of Chinese workers and immigrants left the area, so the white colonies such as Canada, Australia, Cuban colonies, and Philippine colonies improved the status of the Chinese. However, their policy of restricting the import of Chinese immigrants has not only not changed, but has continued to strengthen."

He Binghuan added.

"Today I heard from a Chinese businessman in Southeast Asia that Siam and the Dutch East Indies implemented discriminatory trade policies against Chinese merchants. They deliberately set restrictions on goods imported into the local area and obstructed the normal trade of goods in every possible way. What is the specific reason?"

"There is such a situation. The rubber shoes, cameras, canned food, flour, matches, finished dyed cloth, printed cloth, and various types of machinery and equipment produced in the empire are very popular among local people because of their superior performance and affordable prices. Sales are also rising year by year. The empire's industrial products sold by Chinese merchants are selling well, and the sales of the Dutch and Siamese products are affected. Although the East Indies and Siam are mainly based on agriculture and economic planting, and the purchasing power of the people is limited, the total demand for light industrial industries such as printing and dyeing, textiles, silk reeling, matches, papermaking, and agricultural product processing that are closely related to the lives of the people is not small. Therefore, the Dutch and Siamese are greedy. Since the quality and price of their products cannot compare with the empire's products, they set up obstacles in other aspects to disrupt the normal trade between the two sides."

"How much has normal business trade been affected? Is the situation serious?"

"The situation is still under control. After Lan Fang's independence, the Dutch learned their lesson and were worried that if they went too far, they would anger the imperial government and invite retaliation. So they only dared to resort to some shameful tricks to create some obstacles to the commercial trade between the two sides and disgust the Chinese businessmen, but they did not dare to go all the way."

Liao Zhubin explained: "The situation in Siam is a bit strange. Before 1889, the Thai royal family and government had always been polite to Chinese merchants. But since the Paraguayan war broke out, I don't know who instigated the Thai government to restrict the import of Chinese immigrants and interfere with the normal trade of Chinese merchants. Some people say that the British in the Straits Settlements were behind it. But didn't Britain reconcile with the empire and have a close relationship with the two sides? Why is it still secretly making trouble in Southeast Asia?"

"As for the British, it's possible. The Empire has cooperation with the British, but the cooperation is mainly limited to South America. Songkhla is close to the Strait of Malacca, which is an important waterway connecting the Indian Ocean, Africa, Europe and the Far East. The British take it very seriously and instigated Siam to restrict the expansion of Chinese businessmen's economic power. It's not surprising."

Chen Shen analyzed Siam's motives and explained
(End of this chapter)