Chapter 758: Chapter 714 Assets do not Cover Debts_1
Nie Zhenbang’s tone was calm, and his voice was not too loud. However, his speech was clear and definitive, vigorous and forceful, creating a natural sense of trust in the listener.
Furthermore, Nie Zhenbang expressed his position clearly. His plan for the laid-off workers included not only reemploynt programs but also necessary compensation. His words, when spoken by him, conveyed a convincing assurance to the listeners.
Liu Liansteel and his colleague on the side looked at each other and then nodded in agreent. “Governor Nie,” Liu said, “we believe in what you said. I will give you both Han Bing’s and my phone numbers right away.”
Li Jupeng personally escorted Liu Liansteel and Han Bing out of the office. In front of them, he input their numbers into his mobile phone.
At this mont in the office, Nie Zhenbang was looking at Li Guisheng, who seed sowhat constrained and nervous. He was sure that this whole thing had been preditated. Otherwise, how could such a coincidence occur?
The Red Star Factory issue had been ongoing for quite so ti. Nie Zhenbang would never believe that there had been no group petitions. Indeed, he was sure that the Tianfu Municipal Governnt must have had a detailed plan in place. Nowadays, every local governnt was setting up chanisms for maintaining stability. If Tang Bingquan did not even have the ability to manage this, then how could he be a standing committee mber of the provincial party committee?
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“Director Li,” he began lightly, “dealing with petitions is a crucial task that connects the past to the future. While it may co with many challenges and understandably so, it offers us valuable lessons.”
This seemingly ordinary comnt left Li Guisheng drenched in cold sweat. The governor was expressing his dissatisfaction. Could the governor have caught on to his ga?
Even if he had, it didn’t matter. None of this could be traced back to him unless he admitted it; the governor couldn’t do anything to him then.
However, on the surface, Li Guisheng nodded and replied, “Yes, Governor. You are correct in your critique. I need to devote more effort to my studies, particularly with regard to central docunts related to handling petitions. I also need to focus on doing a good job with the petition work in our province.”
Nie Zhenbang had no interest in continuing to listen to these empty platitudes. He would keep Li Guisheng in mind.
While petitions may seem insignificant, they provide a key channel through which the governnt can understand public sentint. The way petition work is handled directly impacts the public’s trust in the party and governnt. And hence, Li Guisheng would need to be replaced when the ti cos.
With that thought, Nie Zhenbang waved his hand lightly and said, “Alright, Director Li. Petition work is a tedious job. Please go back to your work now.”
After Li Guisheng left, Li Jupeng walked in and lowered his voice, “Governor, I think…”
Nie Zhenbang laughed, “Jupeng, are you saying that this issue seems more complicated than it appears?”
Seeing Li Jupeng nod, Nie Zhenbang smiled and said, “It seems like soone in Bashu Province wants to embarrass .”
After a mont’s pause, Nie Zhenbang instructed, “Jupeng, go and find Secretary Fang. Go to the provincial governnt’s archives and get all the governnt work reports from the past five years. Also, bring all the financial data from these years. Hmm, I rember, Li Guisheng just ntioned that Secretary Zeng and my father both personally held on-site etings at Red Star Factory. There should be materials related to that as well. Bring all of those for review.”
Nie Zhenbang was being very cautious about the Red Star Factory issue. It wasn’t in his nature to ignore it. The laid-off workers had already made significant sacrifices in understanding the difficulties faced by the state and the governnt. However, they had not received any compensation yet, which seed sowhat excessive.
Still, the strategy of intervention was important. If he intervened in every issue of a municipally-owned enterprise, especially with his new arrival status, it could give the impression that he was overbearing and disrespectful to local governnts. Particularly in this case, as Tang Bingquan of Tianfu city was also a mber of the standing committee, even more prudence was required.
After so thought, Nie Zhenbang decided to discuss the matter with Tang Bingquan first. He picked up the phone, opened the leadership directory for the provincial party committee and provincial governnt, and found Tang Bingquan’s number.
As soon as he dialed the number, the phone was quickly picked up on the other end, and Tang Bingquan’s voice ca over, “Governor, hello. This is Tang Bingquan.”
Although they are both mbers of the standing committee, Nie Zhenbang is the second-in-command of the provincial party committee and holds a ministerial level post. In contrast, Tang Bingquan is just a vice-ministerial level official. This hierarchy is factual, hence Tang Bingquan’s politeness is normal.
“Old Tang, I hope I’m not interrupting your work.” After all, except for yesterday’s eting, this was the first ti the two were interacting directly. Nie Zhenbang was very courteous.
On the other side, Tang Bingquan’s hearty laugh ca through, “Ha-ha, a call from the governor is a directive. How can any other work compare to the importance of a directive from a senior leader?”
People are like this. The two n didn’t know each other well before, so there was no deep-seated animosity. Nie Zhenbang gave him face, so Tang Bingquan would not be so arrogant as to think he was invincible. He was also very courteous and slightly flattered him.
Nie Zhenbang was indifferent to Tang Bingquan’s mindset, and said with a smile, “Old Tang. This ti, I need to discuss the issue of the Red Star Factory with you. As soon as I started work today, two workers from the Red Star Factory created a disturbance at the provincial governnt’s petition office. I’m calling to invite you over. I’m not very familiar with the situation at the Red Star Factory. After all, it’s a matter concerning Tianfu City, so I’m calling you to get an understanding, to know the city’s stance on this matter. This issue, as I understand it, has been going on for over a year. If this continues, I fear a great ss will ensue. It would be better to resolve it as soon as possible.”
Nie Zhenbang’s words were filled with wisdom and strategy. Firstly, he expressed his attitude, acknowledging the visitors’ grievances, then pointed out that it’s an issue concerning Tianfu City and he wouldn’t directly intervene. Face would be given to Tianfu City, finally subtly hinting that this unstable factor was like a ti bomb, and it would be better to resolve it quickly to avoid creating a problem that might affect his own career.
Tang Bingquan also considered this at the mont. Nie Zhenbang’s mature style of handling affairs was eye-opening for him. Such expert manipulations were not what a thirty-six-year-old could typically do. His previous doubts and contempt for Nie Zhenbang vanished. After pondering for a mont, he replied, “Governor, Mayor Lu Chengdong is in charge of this matter. How about I bring him along when I co to report to you?”
Nie Zhenbang was expecting this response and imdiately nodded, “That’s fine. It would be good to have a consensus with both of you high-ranking officials from Tianfu City. I’ll wait in my office for you and Mayor Lu.”
Half an hour after he hung up the phone, there was a knock at the door. Shortly after, Li Jupeng knocked on the door, pushed it open, and walked in, “Governor, Secretary Tang and Mayor Lu from Tianfu City are here.”
Upon Li Jupeng’s report, Nie Zhenbang also stood up, “So soon? Please invite them in quickly!”
Guided by Li Jupeng, Tang Bingquan and Lu Chengdong walked in from outside. Tang Bingquan was about fifty years old, a robust official. Being a vice-ministerial level official at this age, there was a lot of potential for promotion. Not very tall, slightly chubby, he exuded an aura of strength. Beside him was the mayor of Tianfu City, Lu Chengdong, about fifty-one or fifty-two years old, approximately one ter seventy-five tall. Dressed in a dark suit with a dark blue tie, he gave an impression of formality.
Signaling the two of them to sit on the sofa, Nie Zhenbang also took a seat, picked up the special Panda cigarettes on the coffee table, and offered them to the two, “Comrade Bingquan, Comrade Chengdong, make yourselves comfortable. Do you smoke?”
Seeing the cigarettes, both paused slightly, but without showing any emotions, they each took one but didn’t light it, holding it in their hands instead.
At this mont, Nie Zhenbang appeared very informal, lighting a cigarette, then he began to talk with a smile, “Mayor Chengdong, could you give a detailed introduction to the issue of the Red Star Factory? Today, I listened to the workers from the Red Star Factory. They claim that Tianfu Municipal Governnt is selling the country’s assets at a low price.”
This statent made Lu Chengdong give a bitter smile, then he said, “Governor, we have a lot of difficulties regarding the Red Star Factory. It’s a chemical factory with severe pollution located within the city limits which greatly affects our city’s natural environnt. The pollution caused by the production of the chemical factory has upset the surrounding residents considerably. Furthermore, the factory has been running at a loss for years. There are currently 1,537 employees and 2,762 retired workers. The expenses for the workers’ dical insurance, social insurance, retirent wages, and various other paynts exceed 50 million a year from the city’s budget alone. Plus, the money invested in technological transformation and factory building renovations over the past few years has added up to over 500 million. It’s like an endless pit.”
Next to him, Tang Bingquan also continued the topic, “Governor, being straightforward, if the factory doesn’t run, it only costs us 50 million a year. But if we operate, we can lose up to 100 million a year. The decision to consider selling at auction is truly due to necessity.”
Once Tang Bingquan finished speaking, Lu Chengdong started again, “Regarding the issue of selling at a low price. The land value of the Red Star Factory indeed exceeds 1.2 billion. Adding the above-ground buildings and production equipnt, the overall evaluation is 304.31 million. However, the factory currently owes the bank 520 million. You can say that the Red Star Factory’s liabilities exceed its assets.”(.)
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