Fortune

by Ian Hamilton

  “We should leave now,” Ming said. “Traffic can be bad at this hour.”

  “You needn’t come with us, but I would appreciate the use of your car and driver,” said Uncle. “Can he wait for us at the restaurant and then take us to the train station after dinner?”

  “Of course. Let’s go and find him.”

  They left Ming’s office and went into the courtyard, where the driver was sitting in the car. Ming gave him instructions and then turned to Uncle and Fong. “He should get you there by six.”

  “Thanks for this. I enjoyed the afternoon,” Uncle said.

  As soon as the partition was up and the car was leaving the factory lot, Fong said, “I thought you handled it perfectly, but that’s hardly a surprise. Do you really want me to give the binder to Hui? Are you going to be calling a meeting?”

  “I wouldn’t mind Hui’s opinion, but there’s no need for a meeting. Ming’s plan is solid.”

  “He will expect me to call him tonight, when I get back to Fanling. I’ll tell him that you were favourably impressed. That should tide him over until Monday.”

  “Shit,” Uncle said suddenly.

  “What? Is something wrong?”

  “No, but I meant to call Tsuen Wan before we left Ming’s. I’m still worried that Man might try something stupid.”

  “I told everyone where we were going and to call us if anything happened. There were no calls, so I’m sure things are still calm,” said Fong.

  “I should have thought of that.”

  “You have enough on your mind.”

  The driver turned left onto a boulevard and then, a kilometre later, the BMW climbed a ramp onto an expressway going north. Traffic was heavy but moving steadily.

  “You haven’t told me why Leji is in Shenzhen,” Fong said. “He hasn’t been here in a while, and when he does come, it’s normally because his aunt wants him to get the customs department to send more business our way.”

  “That could be part of the reason, but there’s more to it. I just don’t have anything specific I can tell you. I’ve been talking to Leji about Man’s claims that the Chinese are going to run roughshod over the Hong Kong triads after the handover. He told me that’s completely untrue, and I’m hoping he brought some tangible proof with him.”

  “Why do you need it if the Mountain Masters are already onside?”

  “The gangs in the Territories are onside, but I still want to convince those in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. I would like to destroy whatever credibility Man has left,” Uncle said.

  Driving on the expressway was like riding in a canyon, except instead of being flanked by rocky cliffs, the cars were dwarfed by row upon row of towering apartment buildings and office skyscrapers. If Ming was right about the population tripling to ten million in ten years, what will the skyline look like then? Uncle thought.

  Uncle almost felt a sense of relief when they left the expressway for another boulevard. They were still flanked by tall buildings, but at least spaces were visible between them that made the experience seem less oppressive. The Pearl Boat was on the ground floor of a thirty-storey office building. The driver parked behind a black Mercedes out front.

  “That’s Ms. Ko’s car,” Fong said. “She’s always early. I’m sure Leji and his wife are with her.”

  The Pearl Boat was Ms. Ko’s favourite restaurant in Shenzhen. They had been meeting her there since it opened many years before. Uncle thought the food was only passable and not worth the trip across the city. Fong claimed — without proof — that Ms. Ko was a part-owner, and that’s why she always chose it.

  Uncle mentioned Ms. Ko when they were greeted by the host at the door. Her name generated a slight bow of respect and an escort to a private room off to one side of the main dining room. The host knocked on the door, opened it slightly, and said, “Your guests are here, Ms. Ko.”

  “Send them in,” she replied.

  Leji stood up and came towards them with his hand extended. He was wearing a grey suit, a white shirt, and a colourful Hermès tie, and looked every bit the successful senior official. He was still lean and fit; the only change Uncle saw in him was his greying hair, and that just made him look more distinguished.

  The men shook hands and then Ms. Ko appeared at Leji’s side. “My dear Uncle, it’s so wonderful to see you.”

  Ms. Ko was a tiny woman; when she offered her cheek for him to kiss, even Uncle had to bend down. Both she and Chan Meilin, Leji’s wife, were fashionably dressed and elegantly coiffed and made-up. There was nothing casual about either of them, and their attitude was equally formal with everyone except Leji and Uncle. Fong, who dealt with them most often, couldn’t understand why the two women didn’t seem to like him. Uncle had never detected any animus directed at Fong by Ms. Chan, but he couldn’t help but notice that Ms. Ko treated him with something bordering on disdain. On this occasion, after the kiss on the cheek from Uncle, she said, “Ah, I see you brought Fong with you.”

  “Lan, my understanding was that building some additional cold-storage warehouses could be on our agenda, and Fong does handle our day-to-day business affairs with Meilin,” Uncle said. He used Ms. Ko’s given name, something she had requested he do as a sign of the respect she had for him.

  “Of course I’m not unhappy to see him. I’m just happy to see you,” she said.

  “Let’s sit down,” Leji said. “We have a variety of drinks on the table and my aunt has already ordered dinner. The food will start appearing shortly.”

  “I hope you don’t mind,” Ms. Ko said to Uncle, “I ordered some of your favourite dishes.”

  “I don’t mind at all,” Uncle said, reaching for a Tsingtao beer. “How is your husband? Is he giving any thought to retirement?”

  “None whatsoever,” she said, and laughed. “It was so hard and it took so long for him and Deng to get to the top that now they’re there, they can’t let go.”

  “I thought Chairman Deng had retired,” Uncle said.

  She furrowed her brow and looked at Uncle as if he’d told a joke. “Death will be his only retirement, and we hope that isn’t for many years. China still needs Deng to show us the way. He may no longer carry the title, but make no mistake, he’s still the paramount leader.”

  “I admire their dedication.”

  “We all do. And Uncle, you should know that my husband has the greatest admiration for you. There is no one he respects more than a person whose word can be trusted, even when sticking to that word comes at a horrific cost. This family will never forget how bravely you refused to denounce us when our enemies made it easy for you to do so.”

  Uncle took a sip of his beer, hoping to disguise his discomfort. In the years since he had been held and tortured by elements within the Chinese government opposed to the Liu family, the subject had never been raised by him or by them. “Those were difficult times. I only did what I thought was right,” he said, wondering what had caused her to mention it.

  Ms. Ko began to say something else but was interrupted by a loud knock at the door.

  “Who’s there?” Leji asked.

  The door opened and an officer in a People’s Liberation Army uniform appeared. “The Minister has just arrived and is ready to meet with you,” the officer said to him.

  “We’ll be right there,” Leji said as he stood up. “Ladies and Fong, Uncle and I have to attend another meeting. Start dinner without us, and by all means discuss the cold-storage additions. I’m all for them.”

  Uncle looked at Leji. “What is this?”

  “Come with me and you’ll find out.”

  The PLA officer waited for them by the door, then led the way across the main dining area to another private room. Two PLA soldiers with guns held across their chests stood on either side of the door. The officer knocked, waited a few seconds, and then opened it.

  Uncle followed Leji into the
room. Three people sat at a round table with a pitcher of water and glasses on it. Two of them leapt to their feet when they saw Leji; the third remained seated, his eyes fixed inquisitively on Uncle.

  “This is Uncle Chow Tung,” Leji said, and then gestured with an open palm towards the seated man. “And Uncle, let me introduce you to Tao Siju, Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  Uncle stood rooted to the floor. He couldn’t remember being more surprised, and he found himself struggling to find something appropriate to say.

  “Come and sit,” Tao said to Uncle and Leji. Then he turned to the young man and woman who had been sitting at the table with him. “You can leave now. I’ll send for you if I need you.”

  Uncle and Leji took seats directly across from Tao. He smiled at them. “I am told you are a prominent triad leader in Hong Kong,” he said to Uncle.

  Uncle glanced at Leji.

  “The Minister has met with my uncle. They were candid with each other. There is nothing to fear here,” Leji said.

  “Yes, I am a triad, a member of the Heaven and Earth Society. I am also the leader of my gang, but it is only one of about twenty triad gangs in Hong Kong.”

  “You are not what I expected a senior triad leader to look like,” Tao said.

  “We come in all shapes and sizes.”

  “As do senior members of the Chinese Communist Party. Who could have imagined what an impact a man of Deng Xiaoping’s physical stature would have on the world?” Tao said.

  “I was fortunate enough to meet the Chairman some years ago,” Uncle said. “He is a truly remarkable man.”

  “My colleague Liu Huning describes you in the same way. On our flight here, his wife expanded on that. I think I can say from experience that she is the harder of the two to impress,” Tao said.

  “The Minister and my uncle have a shared past, not dissimilar to the one my uncle has with the Chairman,” Leji said. “The Minister knew success early in his career, was purged, then resurrected, and is now a key member of the Party’s Central Committee, as well as being in charge of public security.”

  As Leji spoke, Uncle looked at Tao. He was in his sixties, he guessed, thick across the shoulders and chest, with a broad face, large eyes, and a thick head of jet-black hair parted on the right. He wore a navy-blue suit, white shirt, and plain light-blue tie. Unlike Deng and Liu Huning, he wasn’t a man who would stand out in a crowd.

  Tao smiled again. “I’m sure Uncle is interested more in hearing why I want to meet with him than listening to a recital of history,” he said.

  “Of course. I’m sure he is, but I wanted him to understand that you are here representing more than just yourself, that there are connections and friendships that go back many years,” Leji said.

  Tao looked at Uncle. “That is true, so let me tell you why I’m here, on their behalf as well as my own.”

  “You have my complete attention,” Uncle said.

  Tao nodded. “As you know, in two years Britain will return Hong Kong to its rightful owner. It will be an exchange fraught with complications, some of them immediate but others that are anticipated to appear some years from now,” he said. “Although we will reclaim Hong Kong, there are conditions that will impede our ability to integrate it as fully as we’d like. One of those conditions is that my ministry and the PLA will have no presence in the new administrative region. We are to leave policing in the hands of the Hong Kong Police Force, and we have committed not to interfere with the way they carry out those duties.”

  “I know this may not sound pleasing to you, but I can tell you the prevailing opinion among triads is that retaining the status quo with the Hong Kong police is a good thing,” Uncle said.

  “Leji has explained that to me, and I can understand why you think that way. But does that mean you wouldn’t consider establishing a relationship with us? Given that we will never cede control of Hong Kong again, and that the terms of the handover agreement will end in 2047, wouldn’t it be forward-thinking to find a way to work with us? Your society hasn’t lasted for nearly three centuries by being short-sighted.”

  Uncle felt a jolt as he struggled to contain his surprise. He reached for the pitcher of water and poured himself a glass.

  “I know this might have caught you off guard, and I apologize for not briefing you earlier, but I thought it should come directly from the Minister,” Leji said. “After you and I talked about the triads’ uneasiness over how the Chinese government might treat them after the handover, I went to see my uncle. He spoke to the Minister, and they both spoke to Chairman Deng.”

  “In fact, we spoke several times over several days,” Tao said. “Although Liu Huning’s initial idea came spontaneously, it required a lot of additional questioning and reasoning before we reached a conclusion.”

  “And the conclusion was that you want to work with the triads?” Uncle said. “I hope you understand why I have a problem believing that.”

  Tao leaned forward. “After we sign the handover agreement, Hong Kong will be China’s, but, as I said, it won’t be completely ours for another fifty years. For some parts of our government, that’s a tolerable situation. For my ministry, it isn’t. We will have no presence. We can’t openly impose one without breaking the agreement, and trying to create one covertly would pose tremendous risks. If it were to be discovered, we would receive international condemnation for breaching the agreement. And besides, my experience is that no covert operation stays covert very long, especially if it’s trying to function in a hostile environment full of smart, mistrustful people. Does that type of environment sound like the Hong Kong of today as far as attitudes towards the mainland Chinese are concerned?”

  “I think it does. Not everyone feels that way, but a majority do.”

  “So tell me, how successful do you think we’d be if we tried to insinuate mainland officers loyal to my ministry into the Hong Kong Police Force?”

  “I don’t think it would work.”

  “Neither do we, which is why we’re having this meeting.”

  “What are you trying to say?” Uncle asked.

  “We would like your organization to be our presence in Hong Kong.”

  “Which organization? As I said, there are twenty or so gangs in Hong Kong, and they all operate independently.”

  “We’ll come back to that later. For now I’d like to know if you think it’s possible for us to work together,” said Tao.

  “Work how? Do you want us to be spies or act like police?” Uncle asked. “I can tell you now, those are roles we aren’t fit to play, even if we wanted to.”

  “We envision a relationship that is less structured, more fluid, although its exact nature is difficult to predict. After all, no one knows what challenges will present themselves over the next fifty years. But for now, let me give you an example,” Tao said. “To our certain knowledge, a large number of hardened criminals are using Hong Kong as a sanctuary. Some are hiding beneath the cloak of Hong Kong’s British legal system to avoid Chinese laws. Others were convicted in China but contrived to flee. Among them are murderers, kidnappers, drug dealers, swindlers, and so on. None of them has — as far as we know — any triad connections, and if a few do, we can leave them aside for now. As for the rest, we want them returned to China to serve their sentences or face trial.”

  “You can’t get them extradited?” Uncle asked.

  “Extradition is a complicated business. Matters of nationality are involved. The impartiality of the Chinese legal system is considered questionable by Hong Kong authorities. Even the evidence we present when we make a request is regularly dismissed as being fabricated.”

  “I have had dealings with your legal system and the way evidence can be gathered,” Uncle said.

  “Yes, I know. Liu Huning told me you were arrested and abused by a rogue mili
tary element. Please don’t draw a comparison between them and us,” Tao said softly. “My understanding is that your ordeal was ended by people who represent the system I am part of, and that, moreover, there was compensation for the suffering you endured.”

  “Uncle, in the ten years since then,” Leji said, “you have been back and forth between Hong Kong and China countless times. You have deep-seated business relationships here that have lasted just as long. Your friend Xu has been living and working in Shanghai for years. Do either of you feel unsafe? Do you feel oppressed by the weight of the Chinese legal system?”

  “No, in truth I do not, and neither does Xu,” Uncle replied, and then looked at Tao. “But that aside, Minister, what did you mean by issues of nationality?”

  “Let me answer that by asking you a question,” Tao said. “I know you were born in Hubei province and that you are also a citizen of Hong Kong. When you are asked what you are, how do you respond? Do you say you’re a citizen of Hong Kong or do you say you’re Chinese? Or do you say that you are Chinese and a citizen of Hong Kong?”

  “I’ve never been asked that particular question. But if I was, I’d say I’m Chinese and a citizen of Hong Kong.”

  “I’d like you to note that you placed your Chinese birth before your Hong Kong citizenship,” Tao said. “That’s how we view anyone born in China. They will always be Chinese, and we claim them as such. Just as many ships fly flags of convenience as a way to avoid paying taxes in their real home country, we think of the foreign passports carried by Chinese criminals living in Hong Kong as their way of avoiding justice at home.”

  “You believe we can help you bring them to face that justice.”

  “Yes, but carefully and selectively. It isn’t something we’d want you to rush into. We’d start with individuals whose departure from Hong Kong would go unnoticed,” said Tao.

  “Uncle, these are people who have committed horrendous crimes,” Leji said.

  “I have no doubt that could be true. What I’m struggling to understand is what’s in it for us.”