Hong Kong Movie: At the beginning, Big Boss B asked me to draw the death lottery

Chapter 158 If you respect human rights so much, then send all these refugees to Britain.

Around 4:50 p.m., reporters began to enter the Longjiang Hotel.

This is not the first time Ho Yiu-chung has held a press conference here, but the security procedures for entering the venue this time appear to be more professional and rigorous.

"NO! How can you be so rude to a lady? Is this how you treat your guests?"

At the main entrance, two henchmen were about to search a female reporter from Britain, but the reporter waved her hands repeatedly and stepped aside in disgust.

One of the henchmen put down the security equipment he was holding and gave him a cold look.

"March 8th, there's a security checkpoint over there specifically for women entering."

"Who told you to be so frivolous and insist on coming here?"

Another henchman chimed in with a sneer: "Can't you read?! What kind of reporter are you if you can't read?"
See that sign hanging here? It's a men-only lane!

The female reporter was embarrassed by the two men, and her expression immediately became even more unpleasant.

"You are so uncivilized! Holding a press conference and then conducting a body search?"
I feel it's necessary to report this in the newspapers; you are suspected of human rights violations and sexual harassment!

"You're violating your own mother!"
"Sexual harassment, my foot! Don't you even know if you're got any meat on your stomach? Just looking at you makes me want to vomit!"

"Fuck your mother, don't you British guys have to go through security checks when you come to Buckingham Palace for interviews?"

This is private property now. Are you going in or not? If not, get out!

The two henchmen didn't tolerate the female reporter's bad temper. They immediately launched into a fierce attack, which stunned her.

She had come with an interview assignment, so she could only hold her nose and walk to the women-only lane to obediently undergo a body search.

……

At 5 o'clock sharp, all the reporters had arrived.

On the makeshift stage, He Yaozong was already seated, looking calm, while the sound of flashing cameras occasionally rang out in the hall.

He specially reserved the center position below the podium for the TVB reporter.

Today, the person in charge of the live broadcast process at TVB is none other than Lok Wai-ching, with whom he had some previous interactions.

He glanced at his watch, coughed lightly into the microphone in front of him, tested the microphone, and then spoke.

"Everyone, I know you've all been waiting anxiously."

Actually, I was anxious too. Starting from noon, I received no less than twenty phone calls.

I know you don't want to hear what I have to say right now, and you have a lot of questions you're ready to ask me.

To save everyone's time, I've decided to have everyone ask questions one by one.

As He Yaozong spoke, he looked at the BBC female reporter, couldn't help but chuckle, and pointed at the reporter.

"Let the reporters who have come from afar ask their questions first. The sooner we finish the interviews, the sooner you can catch your flights back!"

A low gasp of surprise rippled through the audience.

Everyone knows that the BBC is focusing its attacks on the violent crackdown on refugees in Silvermine Bay.

He Yaozong dared to let them step forward to seize the initiative in public opinion, probably because he wanted to cut the Gordian knot quickly.

If he can out-argue a BBC reporter, that would certainly be a good thing for him.

If he loses the argument and the BBC reporter uses it as an excuse, Ho Yiu-chung will likely suffer a crushing defeat, and the pressure from public opinion will be overwhelming. It remains to be seen how he will handle the situation.

The BBC reporter was clearly a little surprised, but she quickly recovered.

Leading her team to the front of the stage, she faced the camera and immediately posed her first pointed question.

"Mr. He, in the early hours of this morning, a bloody massacre targeting Vietnamese refugees occurred in Silvermine Bay."

As far as I know, it was your security company that fired on the refugees, resulting in over thirty unarmed people being shot.

I'd like to hear your opinion. In your eyes, aren't these refugees even considered human beings?

He Yaozong couldn't help but sneer. This gossip was digging a hole for himself from the start. She didn't mention that she had bought the land in Silver Mine Bay to develop it, and directly labeled herself as cold-blooded, ruthless, and indiscriminately killing innocent people.

"It seems that Miss's Chinese is quite good; she even knows how to use idioms."

Can you tell me your name?

"My name is Sophie Lloyd!"

"Miss Sophie, I have a question for you."

If someone is vandalizing your home, and you've exhausted all means to stop them, and you have a gun, and you see these thugs about to harm your family, would you choose to shoot them, or stand by and watch them assault your family and property?

"Mr. He, you are using a fallacy to confuse the issue."

How can these refugees be compared to the thugs who broke into a private estate?
Even if we use a similar analogy, you can resolve this issue through legal means and by contacting the Hong Kong Island Police Force!

It's important to understand that these refugees arrived in Hong Kong Island through the Refugee Act signed by the British government!

"Hmm, you've reminded me. As far as I know, when my construction team was attacked by these Vietnamese refugees last night, there were police officers standing by and watching, and they didn't even fire a single shot to maintain order at the scene."

Since you've brought up the law, then I should have a proper talk with you about it.

In Hong Kong Island, anything not prohibited by law is permitted. So, what law did my employee break by firing a gun?!

This is yet another subtle exchange.

The female reporter named Sophie deliberately steered the conversation toward the legal level.

By upholding the rule of law, Hong Kong Island will then be qualified to pursue further accountability against Ho Yiu-chung through the Refugee Act passed by the United Kingdom.

But Ho Yiu-chung immediately steered the conversation in a different direction.

He directly stated that his actions were entirely in accordance with Hong Kong law.

He also made his stance clear—the work was done by the security company's employees, and whether he gave the orders was another matter.

In a battle of public opinion, one must never act rashly or hastily. A single wrong word could expose a fatal weakness to the other side.

Clearly, the female reporter was getting impatient. Since she couldn't find any legal loopholes in He Yaozong's case, she started talking about human rights and civilization!
The vulgar words spoken by the security guard at the entrance left her speechless with grievances.

But now she really hopes that Ho Yiu-chung, who is sitting on the podium, will spout nonsense at her!

“Mr. Ho, even if Hengyao Security Company’s actions are in accordance with Hong Kong law, don’t you think you’ve gone too far?”

You are dealing with a group of homeless refugees who are already struggling to survive.

They crossed the ocean to Hong Kong Island, just trying to survive!
It was you who demolished their shelters and forced Hong Kong Island to repatriate them, Mr. Ho. I don't believe you were in such a hurry to develop that land. You didn't even give the relevant departments on Hong Kong Island responsible for resettling refugees a moment to react.

In my opinion, you simply don't want these refugees to settle down on Hong Kong Island; you are a barbaric executioner who has been plotting to slaughter them!

He Yaozong sat up straight, his eyes icy cold as he looked at the female reporter.

"I think you'd be better off using the word 'executioner' to describe your British people!"
More than a hundred years ago, you British, with your superior ships and cannons, used the guise of free trade to burn, kill, plunder, and commit atrocities on various lands in the East.

I wonder if you self-proclaimed civilized gentlemen would nowadays call your ancestors barbaric executioners in front of the media!

wow——

The scene was immediately detonated.

Since Hong Kong Island opened to foreign trade, no one has ever dared to bring up the dark history of foreigners in front of the media!

Especially when Lok Wai-ching was adjusting the camera with the photographer, she heard Ho Yiu-chung's answer and turned around in disbelief to look at Ho Yiu-chung on the podium.

To be fair, these young journalists from later generations did not experience that turbulent era.

Most of them don't necessarily have a good impression of foreigners, but they also generally don't harbor any ill will.

What puzzled them was that He Yaozong was so bold, it seemed he was prepared to completely break ties with the foreigners!

In an instant, all the cameras were pointed at He Yaozong, and the sound of camera shutters filled the air.

The BBC reporter was naturally taken aback. She never expected that Ho Yiu-chung would flip the table so directly, making it clear that this media incident was a conflict between him and the foreigners!
She decided to quickly steer the conversation back on track.

"Mr. He, I don't understand what the East calls history, and I'm not here to discuss history with you!"
All I know now is that your massacre of Vietnamese refugees is an undeniable fact.

I think all my friends in the media want to know what you're really thinking!

"It's easy!"

He Yaozong said slowly, "I have already given you my answer. Whoever acts recklessly in my house, I will expel these thugs within the bounds of the law."

"Then let me ask you this: if the people who caused trouble in Silvermine Bay last night were a group of native Hong Kong residents, would your security company members still have opened fire?"

“The people of Hong Kong Island aren’t so bored as to go to Silvermine Bay to cause trouble!”

"This is just a hypothetical question, please answer me!" Everyone knew that this female reporter named Sophie was setting a trap, waiting for He Yaozong to jump in.

Lok Wai-ching stepped forward from the audience and quickly shook her head at Ho Yiu-chung, indicating that this was not a courtroom and that he could choose not to give a hypothetical answer to the reporter's question.

Unexpectedly, He Yaozong seemed not to have noticed, and simply smiled and responded generously.

"If they were residents of Hong Kong Island, of course they wouldn't be harmed in any way!"

"it is good!"

The female reporter exclaimed, "Does that prove, Mr. He, that you deliberately discriminate against Vietnamese refugees?!"

Before answering your question, I would also like to ask you whether your British government deliberately discriminates against these refugees.
Will you adhere to your own definition of human rights and regard these refugees as God's people?

The female reporter, unaware that she had unwittingly fallen into He Yaozong's trap, immediately spoke up.

"Of course! Mr. He, please answer my question!"

"I can now tell you very clearly that I do discriminate against these Vietnamese refugees!"

He Yaozong paused for a moment, then, ignoring the noise around him, asked the female reporter another question.

“Miss Sophie, as far as I know, you were invited by the Governor’s Office to come to Hong Kong Island for an interview.”

I'd like to know, does your viewpoint represent that of Hong Kong Governor Wilson?

Sophie now faces two choices—

One is noble, the other is despicable.

It's self-evident which one will be chosen to raise the banner of 'justice'.

Sophie felt much more at ease and proudly raised her head.

"That's for sure. I believe the Hong Kong Island government also respects human rights and leads the way in civilization!"

"Alright! Don't say that Hengyao Real Estate doesn't know how to respect human rights."

As you just mentioned, it was the Refugee Act that your Great Britain signed, and Great Britain is happy to provide shelter for these refugees.

When I was preparing to develop Silvermine Bay, I arranged for people to discuss the relocation of these refugees with the police. The response I received was that refugee camps throughout Hong Kong Island were overcrowded, and they were unable to properly resettle these refugees.

At this point in He Yaozong's speech, the female reporter seemed to realize something, and her face began to show unease.

However, He Yaozong didn't give her a chance to speak. He moved closer to the microphone and his voice suddenly became louder.

"Since Great Britain respects human rights so much, I hereby make this promise—"

I can arrange ships and cover all the transfer costs to send all these foreign refugees from Hong Kong Island to your Britain!
By the way, I've already arranged the ships. The refugees who stayed in Silvermine Bay last night and didn't run away can board the ships to civilized England tonight.

Miss Sophie, you don't need to spend a single penny!

quiet--

The scene was dead silent!

Being generous with other people's money is no skill.

You only know the pain when you get hit on the head.

Sophie didn't think He Yaozong was bluffing her; someone had told her this before she was assigned to the interview—

This is a public opinion task involving a higher level.

If these refugees are indeed brought to the English Channel boat by boat, will the British government choose to accept them or not?

There's only one answer—go back to where you came from!
However, if the British government clearly refuses to accept refugees, wouldn't that mean that this propaganda war, which was orchestrated by the British Hong Kong government from beginning to end, is just shooting itself in the foot?

Sophie was already feeling exhausted, and she knew that this interview was beyond her capabilities.

However, in order to reverse the downward trend, she felt that she still needed to make an effort.

"Mr. He, your statement is incorrect."

Hong Kong Island is a port of refuge approved by international law, but the British mainland is not a legal place of refuge…

She lost the debate miserably and momentarily lost her composure, even using a respectful title when addressing He Yaozong.

As soon as she said those words, a chorus of curses erupted from the crowd.

Reporters from mainland China and Macau immediately began to hurl insults.

"Isn't this like wanting to have your cake and eat it too?"

"They claim to govern Hong Kong with the people of Hong Kong and respect the sovereignty of Hong Kong Island, yet they treat Hong Kong Island as a port of refuge!"

"Can't you British people take the lead first?"

……

Sophie's face flushed red and then turned pale, but she couldn't care less about that now.

Compared to losing this so-called battleground of public opinion, the real disaster is the influx of tens of thousands of refugees into the English Channel!

He Yaozong did not pursue the matter further, knowing that arguing with a junior reporter about these things would not change anything.

Having said what needed to be said and achieved his goal, he decided to change the subject and talk about what he wanted to say.

"Friends, I'm going to talk to you about something unrelated now."

As the BBC reporter just mentioned, the Vietnamese people detained in the refugee camps are homeless and pitiful, and they deserve the care and assistance of the international community!
Now I'd like to ask the BBC reporter a few questions.

After speaking, He Yaozong's sharp gaze swept over the female reporter.

He then asked, "Miss Sophie, do you know how many people live on Hong Kong Island?"

Seeing that Ho Yiu-chung had changed the subject, the exhausted female reporter was naturally happy to answer and replied without hesitation.

"Four.8 million!"

"Wrong, that's a number from six years ago."

The current population of Hong Kong Island is 5.7 million.

To be precise, it should be 5,704,500 people!

After a pause, He Yaozong continued to ask.

"Do you know how many of these 5.7 million people are still living in squatter areas, and how many of them can't even afford three meals a day?"

Sophie frowned. After her previous confrontation with He Yaozong, she was now hesitant to answer his questions carelessly.

Besides, she had no idea how to answer that question.

Ho Yiu-chung was certain she wouldn't know, so he immediately looked around at the group of reporters present.

Then he spoke: "Gentlemen, this matter should not be brought up to you by an ordinary businessman like myself."

But since everyone is here today, I feel I have to say a few more words.

Based on information released by the Population Management Department and charitable organizations such as Po Leung Kuk, I had someone compile a statistic.

At least 300,000 people are still crammed into squatter areas on Hong Kong Island, and hundreds of thousands of families are squeezed into public rental housing that resembles pigeon coops!

At least 200,000 teenagers did not even finish Form 3 because of the burden on their families, and chose to make a living on their own.

You can't just see the booming economy of Hong Kong Island. I'd like to ask this BBC reporter another question: In the eyes of the British Hong Kong government, were these citizens even considered human beings?!

"Mr. He, you...you're making baseless accusations!"

"Slander? What a joke!"

To accommodate these refugees, the Financial Secretary allocated over a billion dollars just for building refugee camps on Hong Kong Island!

From the mid-1970s to the present, the amount spent on resettling these Vietnamese refugees has approached HK$10 billion!

I'm a rather materialistic person, and there are many things I just can't understand. Why can't this money be spent on resettling the underprivileged residents of Hong Kong Island?

Are the lives of ordinary citizens on Hong Kong Island less important to some people than those of these Vietnamese refugees?!

As He Yaozong spoke, he stood up and slammed his fist on the table.

"I came from a poor family living in a housing estate, and what I'm about to say is purely my personal, foolish opinion—"

Damn it! They haven't even sorted out their own problems in Hong Kong, yet they're throwing money around settling some random refugees!

This is what they call human rights and care, this is what they call democracy and freedom!

(End of this chapter)