The Qing Dynasty ceded Hong Kong to Britain in the Treaty of Nanking after losing the Opium War, and after 99 years, Hong Kong returned to China's fold.
When China received Hong Kong back, it agreed to 'One Country, Two Systems,' guaranteeing its autonomy.
Accordingly, Hong Kong held separate elections and used the Hong Kong dollar instead of the yuan. Furthermore, it did not follow China's constitution and exercised its own judicial power.
However, as China's power grew, its influence over Hong Kong steadily increased. Recently, incidents where Chinese public security officers arrested people without permission from Hong Kong authorities and took them to the mainland beca commonplace.
Ellie was born to a Hong Konger father and a British mother. Ellie's father conducts business traveling between Hong Kong and Europe.
Compared to Ellie's mother, who is British, or Ellie herself, who has dual citizenship and lives in Korea, her Hong Konger father would find it difficult to escape the influence of the Chinese governnt.
When I heard this story from President Vysotsky, my first thought was that I had been too complacent.
Until now, I had thought about everything too comfortably. People around could easily be put in danger because of .
What kind of expression am I making right now? Am I terrified, or distorted with anger?
After a mont, President Zhang Pinghua spoke.
“Soone did suggest that.”
“What cri was he accused of to warrant talk of arrest?”
“Drug offense.”
I was startled but didn't show it and asked calmly,
“Did Ellie's father use drugs?”
“They said that wasn't important.”
“……”
Are they saying they would fra him as a drug offender even if he wasn't?
China suffered extre damage from opium in the late Qing Dynasty and has the painful history of losing the subsequent Opium Wars. As such, they treat drugs as a serious cri.
Possessing or distributing drugs above a certain amount can even lead to the death penalty. Foreigners are no exception, and several South Koreans have been executed for this.
The relevant countries strongly protested, but China never backed down when it ca to drug issues.
If he had been arrested as a drug offender, he would never have been released easily.
Fortunately, this plan was never actually carried out. Ellie's parents are still living well in Hong Kong.
President Zhang Pinghua looked at my expression and said,
“I believe that thod would have been quite effective. While so people in the world abandon even those around them for their goals, there are also those who would give up everything to protect the people close to them.”
If the Chinese governnt had taken Ellie's father hostage as a bargaining chip, what choice would I have made? Perhaps I would have apologized for making baseless accusations against Zhou Cha and backed down.
Then a question arises here. If they knew it was an effective thod, why didn't they do it?
President Zhang Pinghua put down his empty teacup.
“According to an old saying, a dragon can be tad and ridden by humans. But under the dragon's throat, there is a scale that grows in reverse (yeokrin). If that scale is touched, the dragon will surely kill the person.”
“The reversed scale.”
It's sothing Han Feizi talked about.
“People also have such a 'reversed scale.' If it's touched, it only ends when one of the two is dead.”
I nodded.
I would have conceded on the Zhou Cha matter initially to save Ellie's father, but afterward, I would have used every ans possible to attack China and publicize the issue.
Even if I suffered losses in the process, I wouldn't have stopped, and consequently, China might have suffered damage greater than the US-China trade war.
“I have one last question. Is Standing Committee mber Li Huoning's resignation related to that?”
President Zhang Pinghua gave a faint smile.
“Well... But if soone makes such foolish remarks without even understanding their opponent, they are hardly qualified to sit on the Standing Committee, are they?”
It was a virtual admission.
The official reason for Standing Committee mber Li Huoning's resignation was poor health, and experts analyzed it as him losing a power struggle, being from the Shanghai faction. But the truth is because he said those words?
“Words carry more weight than a thousand pieces of gold. Such a thing will absolutely never happen again.”
It's not because it's morally wrong or unjust. It just ans they won't touch my 'reversed scale'.
President Zhang Pinghua looked straight at and said,
“I believe that even those who once held knives to each other's throats can beco friends if their intentions align. I don't think the path Representative Kang Jin-hoo seeks to walk is different from the path China must take.”
I recalled Minister Li Xuewei's words and attitude towards . As I had sensed, it wasn't pretense but sincerity.
As long as the technology and capital I possess are helpful, China will continue to show favor. Because a cat that catches mice well is a good cat.
Should I call this Chinese pragmatism, or the spirit of the mainland?
“China and OTK Company will be of great help to each other. I hope today's eting marks the beginning of that.”
***
[President Zhang Pinghua: South Korea is an Important Economic Partner for China!]
[China-Korea Have a Long History of Friendly Relations]
[Support for South Korean Companies' Investnt in China]
[Seeking China-Korea Cooperation to Vitalize the Three Northeastern Provinces]
Chinese dia outlets continuously broadcast photos and videos of President Zhang Pinghua and shaking hands and talking, emphasizing the importance of economic cooperation between South Korea and China.
President Zhang Pinghua said at a press conference:
“China will allow more foreign capital equity ownership and independent managent. We will strengthen intellectual property rights protection and severely punish infringent activities. We will gradually abolish tariffs, maintain the opening-up policy, and continuously open the doors of the Chinese market.”
The next day, a eting with South Korean business leaders, presided over by Premier Bo Shaoyu, was held.
“This eting was created to hear your honest opinions. If you face any difficulties in conducting business in China, please speak frankly.”
The atmosphere felt like a division commander gathering privates and telling them to speak up about difficulties in military life, so no one readily opened their mouth.
Inevitably, I decided to take the initiative.
“This might be grating to the ear or not pleasant to hear, but may I say a word?”
Premier Bo Shaoyu imdiately replied.
“Of course. Whether it grates on the ear or pierces the heart, please speak openly.”
“The Chinese governnt says it will expand investnt by foreign companies, but in practice, local governnts often refuse to issue permits, or impose various difficulties through strict censorship or regulations. We hope the authorities will take a stronger stance in resolving these issues.”
Premier Bo Shaoyu nodded with a serious expression.
“You said it might be grating to the ear, but those words penetrated the heart. I believe your statent just now was not a complaint, but an honest account of the problem. We need such talk now, and we want to hear more opinions from all of you.”
Following this, Chairman Im Jin-yong, Chairman Han Chan-young, and others spoke in turn, and then other business leaders also expressed their respective difficulties.
“The Chinese governnt will continue to give everyone a chance to speak and listen sincerely. And we will do our best to cooperate so that the difficulties ntioned today can be resolved promptly.”
Chairman Im Jin-yong, sitting next to , whispered to in a low voice.
“Sanctions have continued, though not overtly, but now things might ease up a bit. That's a relief.”
“Didn't Seosung Electronics remain largely unaffected anyway?”
“Not entirely. Semiconductors and batteries were mostly B2B, so there wasn't much problem, but smartphones, TVs, refrigerators, etc., didn't sell well. We'll have to start selling hard again from now on.”
Other business leaders also looked relieved.
***
Russia promoted the success of its TWR experint daily, and President Vysotsky began a tour of Europe. The general view was that the purpose was nuclear power plant sales.
China announced it would cooperate with Russia on TWR comrcialization.
The South Korean governnt, which had been focusing on nuclear power exports, found itself in an even more awkward situation. The Czech Republic nuclear power plant bid was already a lost cause, and talk erged that other countries like Saudi Arabia would also be difficult.
Concerns grew that South Korea might effectively be pushed out of the global nuclear power market.
Various countries rushed to contact Rosatom, but officials from KHNP (Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power) kept their distance, mindful of the governnt's stance.
The governnt was in deep thought. When the nuclear phase-out roadmap was first announced, it received strong support. It wasn't long after the Fukushima nuclear accident, the whole world was moving towards phasing out nuclear power, and it seed like the era of renewable energy would dawn imdiately.
The problem was that the required amount of electricity had increased significantly compared to when the plan was made, while the expansion of the renewable energy share was progressing slowly.
Despite past efforts, South Korea's share of renewable energy was less than 10 percent. In contrast, dependence on nuclear power generation was absolute.
According to the basic energy plan initially announced by the governnt, the goal was to raise this to the OECD average of 30 percent, but many experts questioned its feasibility.
In this situation, the ergence of TWR was tantamount to shaking the governnt's basic energy plan to its core. While phasing out nuclear power, the governnt had pointed out the large external costs of nuclear plants.
However, TWR uses depleted uranium as fuel, can operate for over 50 years once started, and burns fuel rods completely, leaving almost no nuclear waste.
Fuel costs, operating costs, decommissioning costs, and waste disposal costs are dramatically reduced. Experts claid TWR is at least 50 tis more efficient than light-water reactors.
A recent public opinion poll showed that support for the nuclear phase-out policy was even lower than the ruling party's approval rating. This ant that many even among the ruling party's supporters opposed it.
The opposition Liberty People's Party continued its offensive regarding the nuclear phase-out controversy, and opinions were even divided within the ruling New Politics Party.
So argued to push ahead as it was a key presidential pledge, while others suggested reconsidering the policy from square one.
Amidst the political chaos, an incident occurred that inflad public opinion.
A mber of a chaebol family assaulted a caddy at a golf course. The alleged assailant was Kim Se-yeon, the wife of Yuan Logistics President Park Min-woo.
The reason for the assault was supposedly that the car got scratched while the caddy was loading the golf bag into the vehicle. The assault and verbal abuse lasted for 20 minutes. Several other chaebol wives were present but none intervened, rely watching.
The caddy was hospitalized with injuries requiring eight weeks of treatnt and psychological shock, but the golf course, far from reporting or protesting against the assailant, instead fired the victimized employee.
This incident, which might have been swept under the rug, beca known when a fellow caddy reported it to the internet and the dia. Parking lot CCTV footage obtained by the police clearly showed the assault.
The public was enraged by this incident of chaebol 'gapjil' (abuse of power), which seed to erupt periodically.
However, another related story erged. It was alleged that Kang Jin-hoo's mother was also part of this golf group.
She wasn't present on the day of the incident, but that wasn't the important part.
Congressman Myeong Jin-wook stood up in the National Assembly, waving docunts and shouting.
“Does it make sense for the mother of the world's richest man to carry luxury bags bought with her son's money, use 5-star hotels like her ho, and go golfing with chaebol wives, engaging in power abuse? Besides this, it's said she received Chanel bags, shoes, jackets, etc., as gifts from various chaebol wives on her last birthday! The total value of the gifts alone exceeds $50,000. At this level, these can be considered bribes, not gifts! We must imdiately conduct a thorough investigation to uncover the truth and apologize to the public!”
***
We were in a eting when Taekgyu suddenly jumped up and shouted.
“Hey! We have a big problem!”
I waved my hand dismissively.
“Be quiet. If you're going to use your phone during a eting, do it outside.”
“No, no, it’s really serious! Look at the news.”
“Huh?”
Seeing his expression, it really seed like a big deal. Did Lost Fantasy Online suddenly implent an ergency update or sothing?
I took the phone Taekgyu handed , and the others quickly pulled out their own phones from their pockets.
I was shocked to see the headline on the portal site's main page.
“What is this?”
[(Breaking) Kang Jin-hoo's Mother, Ms. Choi, Confird to Have Received Chanel Bag Gift from Kim Se-yeon of Golf Course Assault Incident!]
[Is Ms. Choi Connected to the Golf Course Power Abuse?]
[Shocking Revelation: Lavish Lifestyle in 5-Star Hotels Using Son's Money!]
[Held Regular Golf etings with Chaebol Matriarchs]
[Investigation Needed for More Hidden Cases of Power Abuse...]
I stopped the eting and called my mother. But she didn't answer after several attempts.
Worried, I was about to hang up and call the hotel when the call connected.
“It's , Mother.”
[Ah! Representative Kang Jin-hoo!]
“Manager Im Soo-mi?”
The person who answered wasn't my mother, but Manager Im Soo-mi.
[Can you co here right away?]
“Yes? What's wrong?”
Manager Im Soo-mi shouted urgently.
[The Madam has collapsed!]
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