Started from Hong Kong Island

Chapter 195 [Escape?]

Tuesday, March 5

The Sing Tao Daily published the news that Godber used his police ID to enter the airport restricted area, avoided immigration inspection, and flew back to the UK via Singapore to live in seclusion. As soon as the newsprint came out, it was sold out by Hong Kong citizens.

People from all walks of life in Hong Kong are talking about it, and a larger-scale march is being planned.

"Didn't the police force prohibit Peter Godber from leaving Hong Kong in accordance with Section 17, Section of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance? Why did the airport dare to let him leave?"

"Hong Kong is still the British territory. How can the British Chief Superintendent of Police accept sanctions? Don't be naive, my friend!"

"Corruption and bribery are rampant in Hong Kong. There are few good people in the police force. I don't believe the Governor can send all the police officers to Stanley Prison. Therefore, this campaign to crack down on corruption and bribery is doomed to end in failure."

"I think there's a chance this time. The Governor of Hong Kong personally held a press conference to announce the crackdown. If Godber escapes, he will have to stop being the Governor."

Tsim Sha Tsui Police Station
When Xu Shoukun saw the news, his face turned pale. He thought Godber could hold on for a while longer, but he escaped. This also proved the power of this anti-corruption operation. Even a white chief superintendent couldn't handle it, so how could a Chinese inspector like him escape?
He has done too many things like embezzlement and bribery, and there is no way to erase all the traces, so he is now extremely frightened.

Escape from Hong Kong?!
It's not that he hadn't thought about it, but Peter Godber had beaten him to it. It's impossible for him to escape now, because if he lets the senior police officers escape again, the face of Governor Murray MacLehose will be trampled underfoot, and those government officials will definitely strictly guard the airport and will not let the suspects escape from Hong Kong.

"What should I do? Should I really leave?" Xu Shoukun murmured to himself. Of course he didn't want to leave, because Hong Kong was everything he had. If he went somewhere else, he, Xu Shoukun, would just be an ordinary person. How could he continue to show off his power?

Besides, the official means of transportation out of Hong Kong have been blocked, and the only way to leave is through the connections of illegal boatmen.

That thing is not that safe. If he gets robbed on the way and the robbery attempts are made, who can he turn to for justice?

After thinking it over again and again, Xu Shoukun decided to wait a little longer, hoping that things might turn around and he could keep everything he had now.

Starlight Real Estate Company
Li Wendi watched the news of Peter Godber's escape for a long time without saying a word. As the situation further developed, the Hong Kong officialdom underwent a major reshuffle.

He believed that Governor Murray MacLehose would soon hold another press conference to stabilize the emotions of all sectors of Hong Kong. Otherwise, MacLehose's position as Governor would be unstable and the authority of the Hong Kong government would drop to freezing point.

A Governor of Hong Kong whose words are useless and cannot even sanction a Chief Superintendent of the Police Force, who would dare to believe the promises made by the Governor of Hong Kong?

Of course, MacLehose's situation had nothing to do with Li Wendi. Once the news came out, the conflict escalated to a very serious level, and the Independent Commission Against Corruption must take action. After all, if they wanted to stay in Hong Kong, they had to establish their authority and follow the Governor.

Therefore, Li Wendi was very worried that the ICAC would ask him to go back to assist in the investigation without any evidence, which would cause great damage to his reputation.

"There is no other way. We can only deal with it as it happens." Li Wendi sighed. There was no room for maneuver in this matter. It was only a matter of time before the anti-corruption company came to the door. Some issues still needed to be clarified.

Suddenly, Zhang Yan appeared in the office. Seeing Li Wendi's sad face, he looked at the newsprint in Li Wendi's hand and asked, "You have nothing to do with Ge Bo, right?"

It was then that Li Wendi realized that the person in front of him was Zhang Yan. "It doesn't matter! I'm just worried that Xu Shoukun will cause me trouble. You should also be careful. Those people may come to you as well."

Zhang Yan didn't know what Li Wendi had done, but he was worried that Zhang Yan would reveal some underworld things and cause trouble for everyone. Then Zhang Yan would definitely die and no one could save him.

Zhang Yan was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Don't worry, I won't say anything bad to you."

"It's not just me, don't talk about other people's affairs either. Find a good lawyer now and don't be afraid of spending money." Li Wendi said unhappily.

It was as if Li Wendi wanted to use him as a scapegoat, not understanding that Li Wendi was doing this for his own good. "It can't be that serious, right?" Zhang Yan still felt that this anti-corruption campaign was "much ado about nothing".

"Just in case! If you don't have enough money, I can help you." Li Wendi looked at Zhang Yan with some dissatisfaction.

Zhang Yan curled his lips and said, "No need, I still have this little money."

Li Wendi complained, "The anti-corruption campaign is real, otherwise Peter Godber, a street thug, wouldn't have run away overnight. We interact with quite a few police officers, and if those cops expose us, we'll be in even bigger trouble."

Zhang Yan has helped Li Wendi deal with many shady things, and the outside world knows that Zhang Yan is Li Wendi's spokesperson. If something happens to Zhang Yan, how can Li Wendi stay out of it? So Li Wendi has to protect Zhang Yan first.

Zhang Yan is very clear about the status of the British in Hong Kong. The Chief Superintendent of the Police Force is one of the most powerful people. Now that they are all running away, the entire police force will face a major purge.

"Okay, I will hire the best lawyer." Zhang Yan couldn't help but feel shocked. No wonder Wendy was so worried.

A few days later, Hong Kong welcomed the second anti-corruption march and rally, which was much larger in scale than the first one. The marchers included elites from all walks of life. They demanded the repatriation of Peter Godber and let him be sanctioned by Hong Kong laws, and at the same time, they demanded the rectification of corrupt elements in Hong Kong.

The marching crowd was huge, and the riot police were on high alert. It seemed that a big fight was about to break out between the two sides.

The marchers ignored the warnings of the riot police commander and headed towards Central, wanting to let the whole world know about the dire environment in Hong Kong.

Just when the riot police wanted to attack the crowd, Sir David Barrymore, head of the Peter Godber Corruption Commission, stepped forward to stop them and gave a speech to the marchers, asking them not to go to Central because it is the economic center of Hong Kong and will affect the economy. He also emphasized that they will be the ones who will be affected in the end.

After Bailiqu's patient persuasion, the marchers finally did not go to Central, but changed their route to North Point.

The police force was aware of the Hong Kong government's "malice" towards them, so with the help of some people, they wrote a petition to Governor Murray MacLehose, which detailed the contribution of the police force to Hong Kong's public security, and said that the police force's style was very good, Godber was just an individual case, and the police force could conduct self-inspection without the need for the Governor's Office (the predecessor of the Independent Commission Against Corruption) to investigate.

The Governor's Office investigating police personnel can easily cause instability in the police force and may lead to the last public security problem. I hope the Governor will think twice.

There was a hint of threat in his tone, but MacLehose did not take it seriously, because if the public security in Hong Kong deteriorated, it would be the people of Hong Kong and the credibility of the Hong Kong government that would be harmed.

However, MacLehose believed that the Hong Kong government could not be coerced by the police force, otherwise the Hong Kong government would have no authority at all, so he became more determined to clean up corruption in Hong Kong.

However, being determined does not mean one can act rashly, so while MacLehose was negotiating with the police, he asked his office staff to speed up the investigation and try to obtain solid evidence as soon as possible.

Moreover, MacLehose obtained the support of the House of Commons, which announced that a new anti-corruption department, the Independent Commission Against Corruption, would be established in February 74, which would be responsible for investigating corruption issues among all civil servants in Hong Kong.

Such a decision gave the ICAC unprecedented power to expand. Not only did they want to recruit talents in Hong Kong, but they also sent out recruitment notices to the world, as if they wanted to control the situation in Hong Kong before it was established.

There were still people within the police force who wanted to resist, but unfortunately MacLehose took advantage of the internal conflicts and won over a group of police officers to work for him, thus initially stabilizing the police force.

At first, a police officer suggested burning all the information about the laundry shop (where the ICAC is located) and instructing the gangsters to cause trouble for the ICAC. However, before the plan was implemented, he was reported by his opponent and was directly imprisoned.

The ICAC encountered many problems during its investigation, most of which were man-made. However, the committee allowed its staff to carry pistols so that they could shoot in emergencies to protect their own lives. Of course, in order to comply with the law, staff must also provide evidence of being threatened, otherwise it will be considered intentional homicide.

At this time, Li Wendi had no intention of paying attention to these things, because the stock market had recovered for more than a week. At the critical time point, any carelessness would result in serious losses, so he needed to concentrate on the changes in the stock market.

(End of this chapter)