Days in Hong Kong variety shows

Central, a commercial district, the law firm of Wong & Chan.

This law firm ranks third among all law firms on Hong Kong Island, with the top two being firms founded by barrister Ng Man-lok.

The reason why the law firm "Huang & Chen" was able to surpass other law firms and rank third is because of its two co-founders, Huang Da-wen and Chen Tian-yi.

Both are senior barristers, with Wong Tai-man even being dubbed the "Queen's Counsel," receiving special treatment in court.

Senior barrister Chen Tianyi was originally a university law school professor. After starting his own law firm, he became a seasoned lawyer, winning every case he handled without a single defeat.

The most famous case was the cash-in-transit robbery at Kai Tak Airport earlier this year, in which the robbers stole HK$1.6 million. Cheung Sai-ho was identified as the mastermind behind the robbery, but Chan Tin-yee successfully defended Cheung Sai-ho and secured his release from custody after nearly two months of detention. The police also compensated Cheung Sai-ho with nearly HK$800 million.

This case further enhanced the reputation of the "Huang & Chen" law firm. Industry insiders generally believe that if the top two were not purebred law firms, the top three rankings might have changed.

The ten barristers employed by "Wong & Chan" include the two founders and the other eight who had worked for "Wong & Chan" since they were practicing lawyers and were automatically promoted to partners of the firm after obtaining their barrister licenses.

In addition, the law firm has over a hundred licensed lawyers and support staff.

Therefore, Cao Tai and his two companions only met with a practicing lawyer who was proficient in immigration policy, since top lawyers don't have that much time to focus on small cases.

After learning all the details and paying HK$28,800, the law firm will arrange a support staff member to follow up with the Hong Kong student throughout the naturalization process. The ID card is expected to be issued in 10 working days!

After shaking hands and thanking the practicing lawyer who received him, Cao Tai asked the secretary's office to let him see Barrister Chen Tianyi so that he could consult on some business matters.

The "Wong & Chan" firm occupies three floors of office space in a commercial building in Central, with each floor measuring 21,000 square feet.

The 15th floor houses the secretariat, the main office for support staff, and the client reception area; the 16th floor contains the offices of practicing lawyers and several meeting rooms of various sizes; and the 17th floor comprises the offices of the two bosses and the senior lawyers.

Climb the internal staircase to the 17th floor, walk along the corridor past the offices of several top lawyers, and the two offices furthest inside, on the left and right, are the offices of the two big bosses of the law firm.

The secretary knocked on the left door, and when a "come in" was heard from inside, the secretary opened the door and gestured for the three of them to enter.

The office, which is nearly 200 square meters in size, has a full glass curtain wall that offers a panoramic view of Victoria Harbour and Tsim Sha Tsui across the water.

A huge desk was placed in front of the curtain wall, and a slightly overweight middle-aged man sat in the boss's chair with his back to the entire Victoria Harbour. Through the gold-rimmed glasses, you could see the occasional glint of shrewdness in his eyes.

As the secretary led the group closer, the man stood up and stepped over the desk from the side.

"Attorney Chen, this is Mr. Cao, who is here for the consultation appointment. The two people next to him are Ms. Wang and Mr. Wang," the secretary introduced the three people first.

"Mr. Cao, this is our firm's founder, senior lawyer Chen Tianyi."

"Hello, Attorney Chen!" Cao Tai extended his hand and shook hands lightly with Chen Tianyi.

"Mr. Cao, this way please!" Chen Tianyi shook hands and led the three to the reception area to sit down.

"What would you three like to drink?" Chen Tianyi asked casually as he sat down, without first asking Cao Tai and the others what they needed to consult.

"Tea, or even just water, is fine. I'm really not used to coffee." Cao Tai also sat in a relaxed posture.

"Amy, brew four cups of tea, using this year's pre-Qingming Longjing tea," Chen Tianyi instructed his secretary, then turned to Cao Tai with a smile and said, "I have some pre-Qingming Longjing tea that just came from this year's harvest. I specially had someone go back to the inland producing areas to purchase it. Mr. Cao, please try it and give me your opinion."

"Oh, then I'll try it."

Soon, Secretary Amy entered with a tray carrying four white porcelain covered bowls. She knelt down and gently placed a cup of tea in front of each person before quietly leaving and closing the office door.

Cao Tai reached out and picked up the covered bowl in front of him. The porcelain was warm and smooth like jade. He gently lifted the lid, and steam rose up, carrying a faint fragrance of orchids.

The cup of tea was steaming hot, but the thin porcelain bowl in my hand didn't feel hot to the touch; it was just warm.

Seeing that Cao Tai seemed quite interested in the teacup, Chen Tianyi said, "This is a thin-walled white jade porcelain from the Gaobei Kiln in Dapu, Jiaying Prefecture. The price is not very high, but I think it is quite beautiful, so I specially had someone buy a batch."

Mr. Cao also has expertise in porcelain?

"Oh no! I just think this porcelain bowl isn't much thicker than a piece of paper, but it insulates so well. Holding a cup of hot tea in it, I don't even feel the heat in my hand. It's truly amazing."

"This must involve the porcelain clay and the firing process, which are the secrets of the kiln! As users, we just need to appreciate its beauty and don't need to investigate why it's so beautiful!" Chen Tianyi seemed to be implying something.

Taking a sip of the tea, the clear tea is still a little hot, but that doesn't diminish its refreshing taste. After swirling it around in my mouth a couple of times, it slowly flows down my throat, leaving a sweet taste and a cool sensation in my throat.

Although he doesn't know how to appreciate tea, Cao Tai felt that this cup of tea was indeed delicious.

Setting down his teacup, Cao Taiwei sat up straight. "Attorney Chen, I came here today to consult on a matter for a friend."

"Oh," Chen Tianyi put down his teacup, his sharp eyes fixed on Cao Tai. "My fees are very high, Amy should have told you that, right?"

"Of course! But I think there must be a reason why it's expensive. After all, we often say that you get what you pay for when we buy things."

"Attorney Chen, your fees are high, which means there's a chance my friend's case might improve. It's worth the price!"

"So what exactly happened to Mr. Cao's 'friend'?" Chen Tianyi asked, crossing his legs and emphasizing the word "friend".

"My friend, because he didn't come to Hong Kong Island through the proper channels! You know, once this is discovered, he will be deported."

So he got someone to make him an ID card, and he heard that even if the police checked ID cards, they wouldn't be able to find anything wrong with them. He wanted to know if having this kind of ID card meant he was basically no different from a local resident?

Chen Tianyi glanced at the three of them. Cao Tai sat calmly, Gang Sheng sat quietly next to Cao Tai like a meek and obedient wife, while the short Xiao Fu was struggling with his teacup, seemingly indifferent to his surroundings.

"Mr. Cao, how about I tell you a story first?"

"Oh," Cao Tai said, pretending to listen attentively.

"The story goes that when a man swam to Hong Kong Island, the resistance policy had been abolished, and the Hong Kong government implemented a new policy of immediate arrest and release. Because he had no relatives or friends, he hid for a period of time. Then, he met a powerful person by chance. After paying some price, the powerful person used his connections to help him get an identity card."

It's a genuine and valid ID card, a resident ID card that's registered with the police.

However, when he committed a crime, the police needed to check his family relationships. They went to the Immigration Department's Personnel Registration Department to check his information, only to find that there was no household registration information for him in the archives.

But his ID card is genuine, and the police department has his identity information recorded.

Finally, the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was alerted, and the whole incident became clear after the ICAC intervened in the investigation.

That "powerful figure" bribed several staff members in the Personal Documents Section of the Immigration Department to process the identity cards. Because they used the same machine that processes genuine identity cards, the identity cards were made using the same process.

However, he had no connections with the personnel registration department, so his information was not kept on file there. This ID card was actually a "ghost ID card." On the surface, it looked like a real ID card, but it had no record in the household registration information!

The actual certificate application process involves first processing household registration information. After the information is filed, the certificate department issues the ID card based on the household registration information. Then, the information must be submitted to various departments with law enforcement authority.

This person has no information in the personnel registration database; only a single copy of his information was mixed in with other documents sent to the police station and filed there.

So on the surface, when the police contacted the headquarters to check his ID card, they were able to find that the ID card was correct. However, upon further investigation, the household registration information in the Immigration Department's personnel registration was completely blank.

The case implicated many people, and Immigration Department's Bridgman OBE resigned to take responsibility.

The current Director General, Dad, only took office at the beginning of the year.

Chen Tianyi spoke as if he were telling Cao Tai a case, or perhaps offering a subtle reminder.

"Does Attorney Chen have any way to help my brother?"

"Shall I tell Mr. Cao about another case?" Chen Tianyi asked, as if he were about to continue his case analysis.

"Attorney Chen, please speak." Cao Tai gestured with his hand.

"Many years ago, Zhang, an old lady from an outlying island, had her son and daughter-in-law take their 10-year-old grandson out to sea to fish, but they never returned. The police searched for them without success and treated it as a missing person case!"

Ten years later, a young man in his early twenties returned to the outlying island, claiming to be the grandson of Granny Zhang who had disappeared ten years ago. He said that his parents took him out to sea to fish when they encountered a shipwreck, and his parents disappeared. He drifted at sea for two days before being rescued by passing fishermen.

But because the people on that boat weren't Hong Kong fishermen, the fishing boat took him to live in another country, and now that he's an adult, he's come back to find his family.

The fishermen who rescued him provided him with a certificate, and then Grandma Zhang's neighbors and others also testified. More importantly, a councilor from the outlying islands district spoke out to help provide the certificate, so the subsequent procedures went smoothly.

Grandma Zhang's grandson's household registration and ID card were processed quickly.

This is actually a very typical case of a missing person returning! In Hong Kong, as long as the police have kept the original police report, if a missing person returns years later, even if their family has applied for a declaration of death, they can still regain citizenship as long as they provide the necessary supporting documents.

After speaking, Chen Tianyi gave Cao Tai a meaningful look.

"Listening to Attorney Chen's case analysis today was truly eye-opening. I really need to come online more often to chat with you, Attorney Chen!" Cao Tai said with satisfaction.

"Of course, Mr. Cao is welcome to come up for tea and a chat anytime, but you'll need to settle the bill at the finance office on the 15th floor!"

"That's only right. Speaking of which, with your level of expertise, Attorney Chen, I think HK$5000 per hour is a really good deal. I think HK$10,000 per hour would be fine too." Cao Tai said, taking out a Jockey Club betting slip and placing it on the coffee table in front of him. Then he bent down and pushed the betting slip in front of Chen Tianyi with his finger.

"Attorney Chen, I just looked at this betting slip I found at your door. It actually won more than 200,000 yuan. I didn't expect Attorney Chen to be so lucky. He won more than 200,000 yuan with just one betting slip!"

Oh, by the way, there must be quite a few missing persons cases in Hong Kong Island. I'd like to hear more of these stories, but I don't know...

Chen Tianyi glanced at the betting slip on the coffee table in front of him, then gave Cao Tai a meaningful look. "If Mr. Cao likes to hear stories, I've heard of a Mr. Cheng Fuquan from Saigon. His 'Quan Ji' is a seafood business in Saigon. He has a lot of dealings with local fishermen and should know a lot about the stories of these people living at sea."

What a coincidence! Quan Ji, Cheng Fuquan, and Big Fool Brother, they've connected!