Chapter 988 Governing Hong Kong

How to govern Hong Kong, in addition to solving the intertwined forces here, one of the most urgent issues to be solved is the colonization of Hong Kong!

On August 18, 1940, under the circumstances that no one expected, Wang Hengyue, the president of the Republic of China, suddenly appeared in Hong Kong.

It was a public arrival and no form of concealment.

Wang Hengyue seems to want to express the Chinese government's attitude towards Hong Kong in this way. Since we can recover Hong Kong, we can also govern Hong Kong.

The arrival of the president also expresses the importance that the Chinese government attaches to Hong Kong.

In the former Hong Kong Governor's Palace, now the Hong Kong City Hall, Wang Hengyue summoned Hong Kong administrative and military officials headed by Hong Kong Mayor Chen Lifu.

Without much opening remarks, Wang Hengyue said to his subordinates straight to the point:

"The issue of decolonization is not easy to do, but it still has to be done, and the British are smart, and they are too smart, and we have to admit that. In the rule of Hong Kong, these British people gave full play to their wisdom! I'm not saying good things about the British, but it's true, and it's going to be difficult for anyone who takes over Hong Kong!

The Treaty of Nanking in 1842 turned Hong Kong into one of many colonies of the 'empire on which the sun never sets', but the British imposed a completely different approach to the other colonies, which also created a special identity crisis for Hong Kong. Not only did the British government not pursue a policy of assimilation in the colonies like Japan did in Northeast China and Taiwan, and France did not even implement measures of 'de-sinicization'. When the British landed on the island in 1841, they declared that the Chinese community was still governed by the Qing Statutes, which even raised doubts about whether the British were prepared to impose colonial rule in Hong Kong.

But one thing you must remember, ladies and gentlemen, is that the British did not do so out of mercy, but out of shrewd calculation.

Unlike the British colonies in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong did not have abundant natural resources, and all the British needed at that time was Hong Kong's excellent deep-water port. From the point of view of the cost of rule, it was clear that there was no need for the British to establish a strict top-down colonial system in Hong Kong for overall control. Just like the British did not choose Zhoushan, which is also a good port, because they thought that Zhoushan was 'too prosperous and inconvenient to manage'.

It doesn't matter to Britain whether Hong Kongers identify as British. The British colonial approach to Hong Kong can be described as 'indirect rule'. Under this line of thinking, the early British colonial rule was basically separated from the ordinary society in Hong Kong. Even later, the British did not accept Hong Kongers as their own people.

Britain is not even willing to admit Hong Kong people to the UK, and if there is a turmoil in Hong Kong society, such as now that we have successfully recovered Hong Kong. After we recover Hong Kong, as long as a small number of Hong Kong 'British-Chinese' pour into Britain, it will be a huge burden on Britain. It is precisely because of this national interest that the British have always been more inclined to seek a measure that would make the majority of Hong Kongers willing to remain in Hong Kong.

On the other hand, the British also realized that a Hong Kong with a strong 'China consciousness' was dangerous for colonial rule, so the British tried their best to dilute their identity in Hong Kong, and there were citizens but no national education. As a result, Hong Kong became almost the only modern civilized region in the world that did not have national identity education during the long period of British rule. ”

Speaking of this, Wang Hengyue took out a textbook and put it in front of him: "I have a book here, which is a textbook in Hong Kong middle school, in this middle school history textbook, Chinese history stays in the Opium War, and the nature of this war is described as 'a war that broke out because of commercial interests' I have to admit that this special colonial rule implemented by the British in Hong Kong is effective." In Hong Kong's colonial history, 96 percent of the Chinese population has had little sustained resistance to colonial rule, or even sustained hostility. …,

As a result, Hong Kong not only lacks the sense of pathos that is characteristic of ordinary colonies, but instead generates recognition of colonial rule

However, the Hong Kong people's 'Chinese roots' are still intact by the British, which has formed a unique ambivalence of the Hong Kong people, which I think can be called 'double allegiance'. ”

Speaking of this, Wang Hengyue suddenly thought of a novel from his time:

"The Legend of Deer and Ding"!

Wang Hengyue still remembers that Jin Yong designed a monologue for the Manchu Emperor Kangxi at the end of the novel:

"Which of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty was better than me? Now that the three feudatories have been leveled, Taiwan has been taken, and the Rakshasa country does not dare to invade the border, the world is peaceful from then on, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. The thieves of the Heaven and Earth Society will definitely return to Zhu Ming, could it be that the people will live a better life than today under the rule of the emperor surnamed Zhu? ”

"The Legend of the Deer and Ding" was written in the early 1970s, when Hong Kong experienced the "anti-British and anti-riot" movement in 1966, the British government in Hong Kong rectified the rule of officials, established the Independent Commission Against Corruption, provided a good business environment for the businessman, launched a series of welfare measures for the grassroots class, and Hong Kong's economy also entered a golden age, which greatly strengthened the sense of identity of Hong Kong people with colonial rule.

Kangxi's monologue cannot but be said to be a metaphor for Hong Kong people at that time, and it was also a euphemistic confession of Hong Kong people at that time

Thinking of this, Wang Hengyue couldn't help but say:

"It's not that the people of Hong Kong are numb, it's that the rule of the British is so effective that even if we succeed in recovering Hong Kong, we have to make us work tenfold or a hundred times more hard to regain their sense of belonging to China."

The words of the great president have been hovering in the ears of all officials.

From the words of the president, I can feel a sense of urgency.

It is true that Hong Kong has been reclaimed, but it is only a formality. Where are the hearts of Hong Kong people? Where the British or here are the Chinese?

What if Hong Kong people have a sense of belonging?

"Two words." Wang Hengyue suddenly said: "The governance of Hong Kong is nothing more than two words, one is 'ruthless' and the other is 'stable'. Be ruthless, be ruthless, don't be afraid of being scolded. The greatest influence on Hong Kong after British rule came from the successive governors of Hong Kong. Queen Victoria's influence on Hong Kong was exerted through the Governor as the supreme ruler, but there were no major specific demands and policies from the Queen. During the Victorian era, the queen's direct influence on Hong Kong was that some Hong Kong place names were named after her, such as Victoria Bay, which remained in Hong Kong as a symbol.

Such place names with strong colonial names were resolutely removed. It doesn't matter if it is changed to you Chen Lifu Bay, or it is changed to Yang Sen Bay, or you are embarrassed, I will do such a cheeky thing, it should become Wang Hengyue Bay, in a word, these names with a strong British colonial style must be changed! ”

A smile appeared on the faces of the officials.

The people present are all the descendants of the president, and they are the most core group, and it is precisely because of this that Wang Hengyue has nothing to scruple about when he speaks in front of them.

Wang Hengyue continued: "There is also a cultural issue. The history of China ended with the British writing about the opium war position in the textbooks, and what happened in China later? How is it unified? How did I, the great president, come to power? What scales of war have we waged abroad? It is not written in the textbook. The British don't write, we write, write according to our will! I have to thank the British, thank them well."

The officials didn't quite understand what the president meant, so they only listened to Wang Hengyue continue:

"It's hard to erase what you have written, but you can write whatever you want in a blank space. Since the British have left us with such a big problem, we need not worry about anything more. I want to tell those children in Hong Kong that Hong Kong will always be China's Hong Kong, and Hong Kong people are all nationals of the Republic of China and have nothing to do with Britain! These things must be done as soon as possible, without delay at all, Chen Lifu, you personally supervise! ”…,

"Yes." Chen Lifu hurriedly responded.

"The other one is stability." Wang Hengyue said slowly: "I have to thank the British again, I have thanked the British several times today." They left Hong Kong with a large number of well-equipped buildings and a well-functioning economy. Yang Sen, I ordered you not to attack Hong Kong with heavy weapons, for this purpose, to return a completed Hong Kong to our hands. I heard that your subordinates have a lot of opinions, is there such a thing? ”

"Yes." Yang Sen readily admitted: "But I now understand why Heng Shuai did this. ”

"It's good to understand!"

Wang Hengyue smiled and said: "A complete Hong Kong can make our future governance much easier. Don't blow up Hong Kong and make us have to start all over again. As the old saying goes, the predecessors planted trees and the later people enjoyed the shade, which is not wrong at all. Now we're going to cool off under the trees planted by the British! Don't touch the existing economic order, it is still relatively perfect, and I am only talking about the economic order. ”

Wang Hengyue glanced at Chen Lifu and said: "Where you want to move, there is no harm in moving small, try not to move where you can, don't let Hong Kong people create a kind of illusion, we just got Hong Kong, we have to make a big move, we have to come to a new official to take office three fires, burn everything before clean, not a single grass grows, everything has to be knocked down and restarted, this will only cause panic." Once people's hearts are chaotic, this place will be difficult to manage, and everyone will naturally be willing to listen to you again. ”

Chen Lifu carefully tasted the president's words, and after a while, he nodded and said:

"President, I understand what to do and in what direction!"