1982 Started from Hong Kong

Chapter 518: Each other’s plans

"Due to industrial transformation, many European and Western countries have left behind a lot of polluted land, which is known as brownfields."

Before the Sino-British negotiations began in 1983, Lau Wong-fat, chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk, applied to convert a piece of farmland in So Kwun Wat into a building materials storage area, which was rejected by the Hong Kong government. Subsequently, his subsidiary, Sang Fat Property Investment Company, appealed to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, and the court ruled against the Hong Kong government. This led to the introduction of the concept of brownfield sites to Hong Kong, resulting in a large number of lands being converted into brownfield sites.

However, the brownfields in the New Territories have nothing to do with industry, let alone pollution. Instead, they are large areas of idle farmland left behind by indigenous people who used to make a living by farming.

Farmland converted into brownfield sites was then sold to developers at high prices. The developers built cheap tin shacks on the land, with an average of thirty rental houses per acre. Each rental house, with a monthly rent of HK$3,000, was still in high demand and became a shelter for a large number of Vietnamese and South Asian refugees, seriously affecting the security of Hong Kong.

In addition, many rural gentry have converted brownfield sites into open-air warehouses, subdivided car yards, recycling centers, and even electronic waste assembly plants. They not only illegally dismantle various types of electronic waste, but also pile up countless waste materials, causing various potential crises. In the three months since the beginning of 1990 alone, there have been 12 fires in recycling and assembly plants in the New Territories, of which 3 are classified as level 2 fire hazards.

Brownfields were originally created to clean up contaminated land and redevelop it, but in the New Territories, they have gone against this purpose and become synonymous with refugee camps, recycling plants, and garbage dumps.

The severity of the problems with brownfield sites in the New Territories today is inseparable from the collusion between developers and landowners.
Over the years, a land rent economy has been formed that is much larger than that of Dingquan and Dingwu.

Now that the first phase of the Kowloon Walled City relocation project has been completed, I don't believe the New Territories are more chaotic than the Walled City.

Therefore, today, in my capacity as Governor of Hong Kong, I authorize Director Yi-Shun of the Lands Department to revise the land use approval process for brownfield sites in the New Territories, to remove these brownfield sites that breed crime, pollution, and even illegal industries, and to transform them into land truly suitable for living and development…”

Upon returning to Hong Kong, Wei Yixin held a press conference at the Government House.
The article was so detailed and the language so sharp that it seemed to have been prepared for many days, just waiting for this opportunity to be unleashed.

Following Zhai Yuan's revelation of the Dingquan Dingwu in the New Territories,
Wei Yixin went a step further, bringing up the topic of brownfield sites directly, a topic that the Hong Kong government had previously avoided due to its legal defeats.

"This is an attempt to completely resolve the land issues in the New Territories."

At the Heung Yee Kuk in the New Territories, a group of rural gentry watched Wai Yik-shun's serious speech on television, their hearts sinking to the bottom.

The Governor of Hong Kong is not a paper tiger.

All the governors of Hong Kong held the highest level of power in Hong Kong, but due to the constraints of the relationship between China and Britain, many of their policies were difficult to implement. They had to rely on the three secretaries and their respective offices to represent them, which made them easily overlooked.

However, once the Governor personally intervenes, rather than speaking through the three departments, it means that he has at least the support of the Chinese and British sides, leaving little room for maneuver.

"The third public consultation survey has begun in Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Town."

Deng Zhaotang glanced at the silent Liu Huangfa and slowly said, "Currently, there are many negative opinions about land in the New Territories, and the call for amending the New Territories Ordinance has reached 61%... Brother Fa, you need to think about a way out."

Lau Wong-fat stubbed out his cigarette and looked around at everyone: "I hope that we should unite more than ever, especially in times like these. The power of the Heung Yee Kuk came from British Hong Kong in the past and will come from the mainland in the future. As long as we hold onto this position, no matter how the situation changes, the New Territories will still be our New Territories. At most, we'll just earn a little less."

"Let the women or the Tanka people share the land price, no problem. As long as I, Liu Huangfa, remain seated on this bench, whether it's the Dingquan or the brownfield land, it will still be in the hands of our Heung Yee Kuk. Just think of it as the stock market temporarily crashing."

"Let's lay low for now and wait for things to calm down. Then I'll contact the real estate developers to readjust the land use and raise the price. As long as we still have the land, there's nothing to worry about."

At this point, Liu Huangfa's smile faded, and he picked up his teacup, saying, "But if, during this difficult time, I find out that someone is secretly betraying us and colluding with outsiders, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

The voice just fell,

Deng Zhaotang suddenly stood up, grabbed the hair of a country gentleman sitting next to him, and slammed his head heavily onto the table!

boom!
The teacup trembled, and tea splashed.

The gentryman, who was slammed against the table, immediately suffered a nosebleed, cried out in pain, and sat down on the ground with a look of horror on his face.

"That bastard! Taking advantage of the recent unfavorable winds, he secretly contacted real estate developers to sell land. He surrendered before the battle even started, a traitor!"

Lau Wong-fat hurled the teacup at the other man, stood up, and said fiercely, “Let me tell you, even if Hong Kong returns to China in 97, all the real estate developers in Hong Kong will have to look after me. They will need Grandpa’s permission to develop every inch of land in the New Territories. I am Grandpa of the New Territories!”

The atmosphere in the room grew increasingly heavy.

Apart from the country gentleman who was covering his nose and groaning,
The remaining gentry looked at each other, avoiding eye contact with Liu Huangfa.

Liu Huangfa chuckled and looked around at everyone: "Alright, that's all for today's meeting. I hope you all remember that I consider you all one of my own, so I least want to see anyone have any disloyal thoughts. As I said before, it's up to you whether we live or die together."

The local gentry greeted Liu Huangfa and Deng Zhaotang with smiles and then rose to leave their seats.

Soon, only Liu and Deng remained in the village council.

"To think that a young man could cause such a mess..."

Liu Huangfa braced himself on the table with both hands, his fierce demeanor from a moment ago completely gone, and let out a long sigh.

He walked out of the conference room and stopped in front of a bronze statue directly opposite the stairwell.

When he was promoted to chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk and helped the local gentry win the brownfield land lawsuit, Lau Wong-fat's influence was at its peak. His subordinates then erected this bronze statue, making him the true king of the New Territories.

"First they use public opinion to discredit us, then they exchange a piece of legislation for our decades of wealth. Great!"

Liu Huangfa patted the shoulder of his bronze statue, turned to look at Deng Zhaotang, and smiled: "Atang, what are your plans for the future?"

"Of the five major clans in the New Territories—the Tang, Liao, Man, Peng, and Hau clans—only Liao Shuren has fully supported Zhai Yuan from the beginning; the other four are still on the side of the Heung Yee Kuk."

Deng Zhaotang smiled and said to Liu Huangfa, "Brother Fa, we've known each other for over thirty years, there's nothing to say. As long as I'm still the representative of the Deng Clan Association, I will make sure the villagers fully support you. Whatever you say, I'll do."

“My master said that I am having a bad year. If I want to know the plains, I should look at the water clearly. It would be best to choose a place to move.”

Liu Huangfa stroked the bronze statue and slowly said, "So I plan to leave Hong Kong before the 97 handover."

Deng Zhaotang frowned: "It can't be that serious, can it?"

Liu Huangfa shook his head: "I've dealt with the British for so many years, but this time I really can't guess what the mainland will do next. If you look at history books, we gentry are the so-called landlords. What is the fate of landlords?"

Deng Zhaotang was silent for a moment after hearing this, then asked, "Where to?" "Taiwan." Liu Huangfa took a deep breath: "I have already arranged for the Ye brothers, Ye Qiang and Ye Guang, to go there first. I will go and reunite with them after I finish dealing with my business in Hong Kong."

Deng Zhaotang nodded knowingly.

"But don't worry, I have too much land and companies in my hands, and it's difficult to sell them all in a short time. We can still be old friends in Hong Kong for a few more years."

Liu Huangfa laughed again: "Judging from the current situation, even Wei Yixin is personally involved, so the New Territories Ordinance will definitely be revised. While land prices haven't fallen too much yet, I've already contacted several major real estate developers to estimate the price of the land, and your share is included. I guarantee I'll give you a high price."

Deng Zhaotang nodded and laughed, "Brother Fa was farsighted. Otherwise, land prices would have been halved by the time the new regulations came out."

If those local gentry were still here, they would have turned on him on the spot upon hearing these words.

Liu Huangfa strictly forbade them from selling the land, but then turned around and sold it off with Deng Zhaotang.

“The British are implementing an immigration plan, and Hong Kong’s population will decrease in the future,” Liu Huangfa said slowly. “This is one of the reasons why I decided to leave. No matter how much land you hoard, in the end, no one will live in the buildings you build, and the prices will only keep falling.”

“Looking at it this way, now is indeed the best time to sell.” Deng Zhaotang rubbed his face and looked at Liu Huangfa with a smile. “Brother Fa, do you have any connections in Taiwan? Let my Jing’an go with Ye Qiang and Ye Guang to explore the possibilities.”

A smile appeared in Liu Huangfa's eyes: "The Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission of Taiwan, are you interested?"

…………

After Wei Yixin returned to Hong Kong, the third public consultation on the issue of New Territories reform saw support increase by an average of 15% per day.

The Hong Kong government personally stepped in and organized a large-scale publicity campaign.

This vote included women from the New Territories, marking the first time that female indigenous people had the right to vote spontaneously, followed by the participation of the Tanka people.

In just a few days, the voices supporting the reform have exceeded 72%.

"This is the true way to use the weapon of public opinion."

In the Government House protocol room, Wei Yixin and Zhai Yuan sat facing each other with relaxed smiles on their faces: "Most of the time, the public will think that the crisis at the top is caused by public opinion, but in reality, power is only responsible for the source. The Tanka people's group incident has already happened once. If the villagers in the New Territories continue to cause trouble, the consequence will be alienation and discontent, and they will be condemned by everyone."

Historically, distribution has always been based on making a scene, but it also depends on how much trouble you cause and how powerful your background is.

Otherwise, no matter how big the commotion gets, it will be suppressed.

In retrospect, the backgrounds of the female indigenous people and the Tanka people in the New Territories are more profound than those of the rural gentry in the Heung Yee Kuk of the New Territories.

"So the Rural Council has been playing dead lately," Zhai Yuan said with a smile, then asked, "When can we reconvene the drafting meeting?"

“We will expedite the process,” Wei Yixin said. “Then the new airport project can be implemented, along with your China-Hong Kong Communications... and more. As long as the land in the New Territories is utilized, Hong Kong will have great development potential in the future.”

Hong Kong is a city divided into three major districts.

Hong Kong Island and its neighboring islands cover an area of ​​80 square kilometers.

Kowloon is only 46 square kilometers.

The New Territories alone cover 750 square kilometers, and when you add the outlying islands near Lantau Island, the total area easily exceeds 1,000 square kilometers.

Ten ports, nine as many as that.

"With land prices falling, the investment cost of the new airport will be reduced by at least tens of billions of Hong Kong dollars."

Wei Yixin sighed, "When I was in Yanjing, I made another suggestion to the leaders: to continue investing the saved costs into the development of the new town to snowball the growth. However, the leaders thought the expenses were too high, and this matter is still under consideration and discussion."

Upon hearing this, Zhai Yuan smiled again and teased, "There's an idiom called 'having gained Long but wanting Shu,' which probably describes your current state, Officer Wei."

Wei Yixin laughed heartily, looking smug and triumphant.

From a long-term development perspective, the benefits of developing highways and bridges around the new airport and building new towns definitely outweigh the drawbacks.
In a parallel universe, the new airport, driven by Wei Yixin, transformed Hong Kong from one of the largest shipping ports into one of the largest air transport ports, thus maintaining Hong Kong's international status.

However, the investment amounts of tens or hundreds of billions were still too exaggerated for the mainland at that time, and it was reasonable to be conflicted and hesitant.

"And you?" Wei Yixin changed the subject, looking up at Zhai Yuan and asking, "What are your plans for the future?"

Zhai Yuan narrowed his eyes, playing with his older brother's phone in his hand, and suddenly grinned: "Taiwan wants to cooperate on the Nanjing City development project. They've been very nice to me lately and have helped me a lot... Also, Uncle Fa is still at the village council. Ever since he gave me three bullets, I haven't been able to sleep well lately, so I really don't have the mood to think about the next steps!"

…………

As night falls, the waters along the coast of the island shimmer.

A cargo ship slowly sailed out of the port.
Inside the cabin, two young men were tied back to back to a wooden stake with their hands tied behind their backs, their mouths covered with thick duct tape, only able to make muffled noises.

"I'm sorry to trouble you two young masters to stay here for a while."

Having just received a copy of "Jurassic Park," Cai Songlin strolled down from the cabin with a friendly smile on his face: "Our island is too small to offer much hospitality, so I've arranged for someone to take the two young masters to the high seas to relax. Don't worry, your father will be here to reunite with you soon."

The footsteps sounded again.
A figure walked down the cabin stairs and stood next to Cai Songlin.

Deng Jing'an, the eldest son of Deng Zhaotang of the New Territories Deng family, appeared before him, ignoring the angry stares from the two young men in the cabin.

"Sorry, Brother Ye Qiang, Brother Ye Guang."

Deng Jing'an smiled slightly and said slowly, "What my father means is that our Deng family has been in the New Territories for hundreds of years, and has followed countless ships. Now that Uncle Fa's ship is about to sink, we can simply follow the custom and switch to another ship. There's no need to tie ourselves to him and let it sink with us... There will be a reshuffling of the New Territories Heung Yee Council next. During the election period, I'm sorry to trouble you two brothers to rest here for a while. Of course, our five major clans will definitely still follow the largest one. It's not easy to be the first to stick your neck out! So, after the Heung Yee Council elects a new chairman, if Uncle Fa is re-elected, I will personally kowtow to you and admit my mistake."

(End of this chapter)