The United States's support for Japan's large-scale global free dumping may well be an attempt to contain Hong Kong. After organizing the trivial data in front of him, Shek Chi-yik put down his pen with a headache, thinking to himself.
Currently, the stationery and hardware industries in Hong Kong are most severely affected by Japanese dumping. Taking several pencil factories in Hong Kong as examples, last year they produced over 400,000 boxes of pencils, exporting 320,000 boxes and selling the remainder in the Hong Kong domestic market. Of the 320,000 boxes exported, 200,000 were sold to London, Britain territories, and the Middle East, while 120,000 boxes were sold to secondary markets such as Australia, Africa, Europe, India, Indonesia, and Egypt. However, this year, with the rapid recovery and dominance of Japanese dumping in Asia thanks to United States support, it has had a huge impact on the industry and commerce of Hong Kong, a former Britain colony in the Far East. This year, apart from London, other Britain colonies and the Middle East are still maintaining their original sales volumes for Hong Kong's stationery industry. However, the markets for Hong Kong stationery in Australia, Africa, Europe, India, Indonesia, and Egypt have all been invaded by Japanese goods, with landed prices even lower than Hong Kong's ex-factory prices, easily squeezing Hong Kong stationery out of these regions. But Hong Kong lacks the strength to wage a price war with Japan because the rising cost of raw materials for stationery in Hong Kong makes it impossible to compete for market share through price wars.
According to figures from the stationery industry, Hong Kong's stationery sales to overseas markets this year are likely to be less than half of last year's.
This is just one obvious example. There are many other cases where the effects of the Embargo Order have not yet materialized but are already fraught with crisis, such as the battery and cable industries. The main reason these industries were able to suppress Japan and United States products in Southeast Asia is that their raw materials were supplied from Mainland China. However, with the Embargo Order in place, raw material prices are expected to rise rapidly. If previously inexpensive Hong Kong goods increase in price, will they still be able to compete with United States and Japan goods in the Southeast Asia market?
Damn Embargo Order! Damn United States! Damn Japan!
Shek Chi-yik let out a frustrated sigh and cursed inwardly.
Just then, Shen Wenkang, the Customs Department, called. When Shek Chi-yik answered, Shen Wenkang's voice sounded somewhat puzzled:
"Deputy Director, the Likang Company, which you asked me to cooperate with, is blatantly moving the seized drugs out of the Customs warehouse, and at the same time, they're also sending new drugs in. In short, they're probably doing something like passing off inferior goods as superior ones."
"How much are they planning to ship?" Shek Chi-yik asked, pausing for a moment.
In fact, he had just arrived at his office that morning when he received a call from Government House informing him that the British Army assisting the Customs in guarding the warehouse had been ordered to withdraw. The Governor and the Secretariat hoped that the Industrial and Commercial Administration Office and the Customs Department could complete the investigation into the Hong Kong pharmaceutical issue quickly and diligently over the next two days.
"Quick and serious "—Shek Chi-yik certainly understood the meaning behind these two words. The Governor of Hong Kong had probably already been bribed and a deal was reached with the Zhang Family, so he needed to make sure the Customs completed the investigation as soon as possible and returned the medicines to the companies, out of consideration for those bribes. But at the same time, it had to be done seriously, meaning that something had to be found out. He couldn't just conduct a high-profile investigation and end up with nothing.
"Judging from that secretary's performance, he shouldn't have acted so stupidly." Shek Chi-yik muttered to himself, holding the phone receiver and thinking about Song Tianyao and Likang's behavior.
Shen Wenkang on the phone didn't hear clearly. "What did you just say?"
"It's nothing, let them do it. They have two days. If they can't handle this, their unauthorized removal of the seized goods from the Customs warehouse will make them the perfect target for Customs investigation," Shek Chi-yik said to Shen Wenkang. "You just need to keep the list of the medicines in the Customs warehouse safe. If Likang Trading Company can't provide a reasonable explanation, they'll have to bring them back exactly as they moved them out, and they'll bear full responsibility for the whole thing. Have Customs officers and the Marine Police keep a close eye on the whereabouts of those medicines. It's fine for Likang to move those medicines to their own warehouse, but they're not allowed to transport the medicines away before the whole matter is settled. If they try to load medicines onto a ship, have the Marine Police seize the cargo ship docked at the pier immediately."
"Understood, sir. I'll arrange for someone to do it right away." Shen Wenkang hung up the phone after saying that.
After much hesitation, and out of consideration for the Hong Kong dollars 150,000 given to him by Song Tianyao and Angie Perlis, Shen Wenkang concealed from his superior the fact that one night he and a dozen British Army had staged a photo shoot in Customs warehouse to commemorate the seizure of military funds.
For Shen Wenkang, those photos posed no threat, only benefit, because the photos couldn't prove whether the batch of military-grade hemostatic powder belonged to the Zhang Family or Likang. If Likang ultimately took responsibility for the whole thing, he could easily claim that the batch of military-grade hemostatic powder actually belonged to Likang.
After hanging up the phone, Shek Chi-yik continued to calmly review the documents at hand. He had already given Song Tianyao a chance. As a Hong Kong business leader, it was already quite rare for him to give a company a chance, especially considering that Secretary Song had helped his wife gain reputation. Otherwise, he wouldn't have even bothered to glance at Likang Trading Company. If the other party failed to seize this opportunity or made things worse, then when he finally stepped in to clean up the mess and turned the knife on Likang, Song Tianyao shouldn't blame him; he could only blame his own incompetence.
"Actually, that secretary is still quite young, so it's normal for him to lack some ability." As Shek Chi-yik Zhiyi opened the report in his hand, the image of the eloquent young man he had met with Song Tianyao at Cathedral of St John flashed through his mind, and he remarked with a sigh:
"The Governor is probably the happiest man; he's already enjoyed a sumptuous meal before the whole affair is even over."
Chapter 165 Zhang Yujie's Killing Intent
"Without my Foreign Girl around, I really feel... uncomfortable." Song Tianyao said as he drove, expressing his discomfort with his newfound presence in Hong Kong after Angie Perlis's return.
The passenger in the passenger seat Rotten-Life Ju, was a competent follower, but not a competent communicator or executor. While Song Tianyao was reminiscing about Angie Perlis, Rotten-Life Ju was still pondering the first topic of conversation Song Tianyao had brought up. Five or six minutes had passed, but he still couldn't figure it out.