Chapter 332 Asking the Governor's Office to Uphold Justice for Me!
Although Lin Haoran understood Shen Bi's words, inwardly he felt disdain.
It was well known that Shen Bi held supreme authority within Huifeng Bank, and even the powerful consortiums behind it could not influence his decisions.
Thanks to Shen Bi's outstanding leadership, Huifeng Bank had surpassed Jardines Matheson and stood proudly at the top of Hong Kong's business world, achieving record-breaking profits year after year.
This remarkable success had undoubtedly earned Shen Bi the respect and recognition of all Huifeng Bank's shareholders, solidifying his authority at its peak.
Therefore, in Lin Haoran's view, Shen Bi's explanation was nothing more than an attempt to play both sides, to scheme against him openly and then seek his forgiveness and reconciliation.
It was the behavior of a petty man.
Clearly, such a person was not to be deeply trusted.
However, Lin Haoran did not reveal his true feelings on the surface.
Maintaining a smile, he said, "Mr. Shen Bi, I completely understand your position. Please rest assured that as a member of Huifeng Bank's board, I fully recognize that prioritizing the bank's interests is correct. This matter will not affect our relationship."
"That's certainly the best outcome," Shen Bi continued, "Indeed, Mr. Lin, this incident has harmed your interests, but business is like war; it's impossible for everything to always go smoothly. You are still young. After experiencing more of these setbacks, you'll handle them with greater ease. I truly wanted to support you, but you also know, many times my hands are tied. Huifeng Bank is not run solely by me, and since Jardines Matheson had already agreed to remove you, even if I hadn't voted, the result would not have changed."
"Mr. Shen Bi, no need to say more. I completely understand. Rest assured, I bear no resentment toward you," Lin Haoran replied with a hearty laugh.
"That's good. Mr. Lin, when you have time, feel free to visit my office. We still have many topics to discuss. I have some urgent matters to attend to now, so I'll take my leave," Shen Bi said.
"Alright, take care, Mr. Shen Bi!" Lin Haoran waved him off.
Watching Shen Bi's figure disappear, Lin Haoran's smile slowly faded, replaced by a calm expression.
There was no longer any need to linger at Jardine House.
Staying here would only make him look like a joke in the eyes of others, even though he was clearly the largest individual shareholder.
Seated in the back of his private car, Lin Haoran pondered his next move.
The British consortiums banding together against him had indeed caught him off guard.
Originally, he had planned to announce his control of Jardines Matheson directly.
With the shares he now held, especially after acquiring Li Jiacheng's holdings in Jardines Matheson, he could completely control the giant corporation.
No one could oppose him anymore.
But now, seeing all the British consortiums united against him gave him new ideas.
"Boss, where are we going?" Li Weidong's voice interrupted Lin Haoran's thoughts.
"Back to Wanqing Building!" Lin Haoran ordered immediately.
"Understood, Boss!" Li Weidong replied, starting the engine.
Ten minutes later, Lin Haoran was already on the 30th floor of Wanqing Building.
Entering Burton's office, Lin Haoran immediately said, "Mr. Burton, I have a task for you."
Since it was the weekend, Huanyu Investment Company was not working, so Su Zhixue was not in the office.
However, Burton, now managing an ever-growing Wanqing Group, was passionate about his work. Even on weekends, he often came to the office.
"Boss, please instruct me," Burton said, setting aside his work curiously.
"Help me summon the major mainstream media outlets of Hong Kong. We'll hold a press conference at Wanqing Building at 1:00 PM. As many as can come. I have an announcement to make," Lin Haoran said directly.
"Understood, Boss!" Burton accepted the task without asking what the press conference was about.
Lin Haoran wasn't calling this conference to announce his control of Jardines Matheson.
After the board meeting where he was removed, he saw an opportunity to prevent the Governor's Office from intervening in his control over Jardines Matheson.
Returning to his own office, Lin Haoran stayed inside, watching TV.
At noon, he had Li Weidong fetch him a takeaway lunch.
At that time, Jade Channel was broadcasting the noon news.
"Breaking news: Our station has just received an announcement from Jardines Matheson. Effective immediately, Mr. Lin Haoran will no longer serve as Vice Chairman and board member of Jardines Matheson. Here are the full details..."
After a few local news reports, Lin Haoran finally saw the news about his dismissal.
In fact, ten minutes earlier, Shao Yifu had called him to ask if he wanted the news reported.
Even Shao Yifu had been shocked upon receiving Jardines Matheson's announcement; he hadn't expected such a major event to happen so early in the morning.
Lin Haoran simply told him to report it normally.
Even though he was one of TVB's owners, TVB still had to report such events objectively.
This wasn't considered negative news, and Lin Haoran didn't oppose it.
Not only TVB but also Rediffusion Television had reported the news.
Television media's advantage was the speed at which it could disseminate information compared to newspapers.
As the anchor read the report about him being ousted from the board by unanimous vote, Lin Haoran couldn't help but feel a trace of sarcastic amusement.
The British consortium members were clearly eager to announce their "victory" to the world, trying to uphold the glory of the British consortiums and conceal their decline.
But could such self-deception really work?
At around 12:50 PM, Burton came to report: "Boss, the media are here. Over twenty major outlets, including Oriental Daily, South China Morning Post, Overseas Chinese Daily, Sing Tao Daily, TVB, Rediffusion Television, Hong Kong Radio, etc., are gathered in a staff training room on the 28th floor. Security has been arranged. You can go straight down."
"Good, thank you," Lin Haoran nodded.
Accompanied by Burton, Li Weidong, and Li Weiguo, Lin Haoran arrived at the 28th-floor training room.
The room was already filled with forty or fifty people, with each media outlet sending two or three representatives.
When Lin Haoran entered, the room, which had been buzzing with chatter, immediately quieted down.
Everyone already knew about the morning's events.
They were curious as to why Lin Haoran was holding this press conference.
"Everyone, I believe you are all aware of what happened this morning. Indeed, I, as the largest individual shareholder of Jardines Matheson, have been stripped of my seat on the board.
You all know that I am just a Chinese businessman, yet my rights within Jardines Matheson have been so disregarded. Therefore, I have gathered you here to assist me in conveying a message to the Governor's Office and the Securities and Futures Commission.
I respectfully request that the Governor's Office uphold justice for me, Lin Haoran!
As one of Jardines Matheson's largest individual shareholders, I find it a gross injustice that I cannot even retain a board seat. I urge the Securities and Futures Commission to provide a reasonable and convincing explanation!" Lin Haoran declared solemnly.
Of course, he could have privately contacted Governor Murray MacLehose or the chairman of the SFC to seek a resolution.
But that was not his true intention.
His goal was not to rejoin Jardines Matheson's board.
Since he could already control Jardines Matheson through Jardines Matheson, why bother returning?
His true aim was to stop the Governor's Office and the SFC from interfering in his battle with the British consortiums.
Private communications would remain behind closed doors and have no broader influence.
More importantly, he knew full well that both the Governor and the SFC chairman would naturally favor the British consortiums.
Thus, Lin Haoran decided to take a more aggressive approach—publicizing the matter so that all of Hong Kong society would know of the injustice.
By making it a matter of public opinion, he could pressure the authorities into standing down.
Lin Haoran's words immediately caused a stir among the gathered media.
They hadn't expected his goal to be this.
After several rounds of questioning, Lin Haoran answered a few key questions before announcing the end of the press conference.
His purpose—to have the media relay his message to the Governor and the SFC—had been achieved.
The reporters, excited, left Wanqing Building.
Today's events had been incredibly dramatic, and their writers would have plenty of sensational material to craft headlines with.
However, none of them returned to their offices.
Instead, all of them headed straight to a new destination—the Securities and Futures Commission office.
They wanted to interview the SFC chairman, Max, for his view on the matter.
Half an hour later, a group of reporters flooded into Max's office.
Faced with a barrage of questions, Max, after careful consideration, solemnly responded, "Regarding the incident between Jardines Matheson and Mr. Lin Haoran, I am already aware of the situation.
I regret that Mr. Lin Haoran has been removed from the board.
However, to my knowledge, this was purely a matter of normal business decision-making by Jardines Matheson's board, exercised according to their rights. In such circumstances, as an official of the Securities and Futures Commission, I have neither the authority nor the appropriateness to interfere."
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