The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 342 Sanctions
Director Huang immediately understood Liu Hua's thoughts and nodded, but still advised, "All of this is legally earned, and it's high-tech. The country not only allows it, but also highly approves of you earning so much money. What are you afraid of?"

“The government understands, but the people don’t.” Liu Hua shook his head: “Most people only earn a hundred or so yuan a month, and I can donate more than ten million yuan at once. Guess what the people will say.”

Liu Hua patted Director Huang on the shoulder: "Gossip can be a real fearsome thing."

Director Huang nodded: "Alright, I'll mention it to the leadership. Your concerns are not unfounded. There are still some bad people around, so it's really not appropriate to publicize this."

The faculty and staff at Tsinghua University all knew that Liu Hua had donated research funds and scholarships; some praised him, while others were dismissive.

There's no way around it; people are all different, and it's understandable that they have different opinions.

As for the Four Star Group, Liu Hua quickly put it out of his mind. It was really just a very minor incident that didn't cause any ripples at all.

However, to Liu Hua's surprise, Four Star Group shamelessly issued him a sanctions document.

At first, we didn't pay much attention to South Korea. After all, in our eyes, they were defeated opponents. Although their economy has developed in recent years, they are still not in our eyes.

However, from the 1960s to the 1990s, four countries in Asia stood out because of their rapid economic development and were known as the Four Asian Tigers.

The title alone is eye-catching enough, but South Korea is the only region that is not predominantly Chinese, which makes it even more remarkable.

After learning about this, a Hong Kong media outlet published a report saying that the South Korean government had sanctioned a mainland Chinese company.

Of course, this media outlet did not know the specifics of the company; it was merely making unfounded claims and spreading rumors.

As a transit hub and bridgehead for our opening up, the events in Hong Kong naturally attracted attention from the mainland, and some news media in southern China reprinted this article.

The news gradually spread to the north, and people began to investigate which company this Taiyi Group was, as it didn't sound like a state-owned enterprise.

As a result of investigation by those with ulterior motives, the backgrounds of Taiyi New Materials and Taiyi Heavy Industry were uncovered.

The founder was actually a professor at Tsinghua University, affiliated with the Commission of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He was the chief engineer of my country's supercomputer and also a leading figure in the steelmaking and rolling industries.

This background is absolutely illustrious and truly remarkable.

Opinions in society are divided regarding Liu Hua's decision to go into business. Some people, who are more open-minded and have been exposed to Western society, believe that this is a positive phenomenon that can promote the progress of my country's industry.

The vast majority of people hold conservative views. They believe that if you are a scientist, you should honestly do scientific research in the laboratory instead of wasting your life on business, which is irresponsible to yourself and the country.

Because it caused a huge reaction in society, some newspapers even opened columns to accept letters from readers to discuss the matter.

This is because people don't know how much money Liu Hua has. If they did, the discussion would probably be even more heated.

The voices from below are too loud, and they reach the ears of those above. We are a genuine democratic country, not a so-called populist country that merely wears the banner of democracy. Therefore, we need to find out the reasons and give the public an explanation.

The Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Industry all inquired with Liu Hua about why South Korea was imposing sanctions on his company.

Liu Hua answered truthfully, but no one believed him. Liu Hua could only ask Director Huang, a witness, to give the same answer, and added at the end: "That person has limited generosity; he didn't fulfill his promise to donate money to us."

The leaders were quite speechless. It was indeed a lack of magnanimity, but they were also astonished that a businessman could orchestrate the first sanctions imposed on a country.

No matter how hard they try, they can't understand how a businessman could have such power. Even the United States, the center of capitalism, would find it difficult to operate in this way.

The people in the foreign affairs department couldn't help but laugh, because Director Huang's answer was so concise and to the point; he was reporting exactly what Liu Hua had said that day.

When he heard the phrase "South Koreans are bold enough to establish their nation on a large American military base," he really couldn't hold back; it was such a vivid description.

After discussing it, the head of the foreign affairs department said, "Since it's not your responsibility, let's hold a press conference and explain the matter clearly. We can't let the public speculate. If they keep guessing, who knows what kind of jokes they'll come up with."

So several departments jointly organized a press conference. More than a hundred media outlets, both domestic and foreign, attended. After all, this was the first time that the South Korean government had sanctioned a Chinese company. The whole world was watching and laughing at this.

The foreign affairs department officials explained the matter clearly, using the most accurate and rigorous terminology to clarify the situation to the media.

The reporters were speechless. Just because Four Star Group rejected your acquisition, you got the government to impose sanctions? South Korea is hopeless. Using public resources for private gain to this extent, where is the country's credibility?
After the foreign affairs officials gave a summary and explanation, expressing the country's support for Liu Hua, they invited Liu Hua to come up and speak.

Liu Hua stood in front of the microphone and said with a smile, "First of all, I want to thank Four Star Group, the greatest 4A advertising agency of the 20th century, for designing one of the most classic advertisements in the world."

The reporters were quite puzzled. How did Four Star Group, a comprehensive conglomerate, become an advertising company?

Liu Hua continued, "If it weren't for the Four Star Group joining forces with their government to sanction me, I believe very few people in the world would know me. However, after they made this advertisement, media outlets all over the world were interviewing me. Without any advertising fees, they joined forces with the South Korean government to present the most classic advertisement in the world, probably unprecedented and unparalleled."

The reporters burst into laughter, and most of them turned their attention to a corner where South Korean reporters, including those from KBS and Dong-A Ilbo, were gathered.

Even with their thick skin and lack of morality, they felt extremely embarrassed at this moment, but they couldn't think of a rebuttal for the time being, since their country's vocabulary was so limited.

At this moment, a reporter from a southern newspaper stood up and asked, "Professor Liu, why is the South Korean government sanctioning your company?"

Liu Hua took the opportunity to advertise himself: "Naturally, it's because our company's technology is quite advanced."

"Is there a sanction because it's advanced?"

Liu Hua nodded: "Of course, they certainly won't sanction any particular cabbage-growing production team in our Shandong Province."

(End of this chapter)