On the third day after handing the remaining people implicated in the case over to Lau Kit-fai, registration officially opened for the election of the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Island's next Special Administrative Region government.
Zhou Quan and the men under his command also began preparing once again for security work at the Convention and Exhibition Centre.
By the end of October 1996, a total of thirty-one prominent figures from various sectors of Hong Kong Island society had registered to run.
In early November, the Hong Kong Island Reunification Preparatory Committee began vetting the candidates under the direction of Old Mr. Wang of Big Xinhua.
The first Chief Executive of the Special Administrative Region government after Hong Kong Island's Return could almost be said to hold the power to determine Hong Kong Island's future.
Naturally, vetting the candidates required the utmost caution and the closest scrutiny.
Otherwise, if a deeply concealed covert operative whose loyalties leaned toward the foreigners became the first Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Island Special Administrative Region government,
that would be an immensely heavy blow to all of Hong Kong Island, and even to the Motherland.
During the vetting process, it was not only Big Xinhua's special intelligence agents who operated in secret.
Old Mr. Wang also made a point of communicating with the Police Force and the Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Even Old Mr. Zhou, who had returned north to Beijing, personally called Zhou Quan and specifically instructed him to cooperate with the work.
The Security Department was a core department of the Police Force, and Zhou Quan in particular controlled a secret intelligence network like TUI.
Even though TUI specialized in Triad Society organizations, resources from elsewhere could sometimes prove useful.
Perhaps Zhou Quan might produce unexpectedly good results here.
After all,