On May 3rd, the London Municipal Electoral Commission announced that Conservative MP Boris Johnson had been elected the next Mayor of Greater London, defeating Labour's incumbent Mayor Livingstone in the local municipal elections held on the 1st.
Johnson received 1.687 million votes, or 53.2%, while Livingstone received 1.028 million, or 46.8%.
Notably, Johnson is the first Conservative mayor elected in London in 30 years.
Following his election, he pledged to do his utmost to win the trust of Londoners.
Local council elections were held in England and Wales on the 1st of this month, electing approximately 8,000 councillors across 159 local councils and the new Mayor of London.
However, the ruling Labour Party suffered its heaviest defeat in 40 years in these local elections, winning only 18 councils and losing control of nine.
The Labour Party won a total of 2,368 local council seats, a decrease of 331 from the previous election.
The Conservative Party, on the other hand, secured control of 65 councils, an increase of 12 from the previous election, for a total of 3,154 seats, a 256-seat increase.
Labour's approval rating was only 24%, lower than the Liberal Democrats' 25%, while the Conservatives' was 44%.
Prime Minister Brown was "disappointed" with the results of the local elections on the 1st, believing that Britain's current economic pressures have become a weak point for the Labour Party.
Conservative leader Cameron, however, viewed the vote as a sign of confidence in the Conservative Party and a "significant moment" in its history.
Meanwhile, Joe Harriman was elected to the Greater London Council in this election, becoming a rising star within the Conservative Party.
"I need to congratulate you, Boris," Barron said, "I believe that over the next four years, or even eight years, under your leadership, London will see new developments..."
Barron also congratulated Johnson on his election over the phone.
By this time, he had arrived in Shanghai and settled into Devonshire Gardens, the Yan Family Garden he had previously purchased.
Living there with him were Fan Bingbing and their two children.
Since returning to China, Fan Bingbing had largely stopped filming.
Aside from participating in some of the affairs of Tianhe Film and Television Investment Company, her main priority now was "school"...
Yes, she had signed up for this year's Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business Executive MBA program and was attending classes regularly.
Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business was founded in 2002 by the Li Chaoren Foundation. Of course, not everyone could enroll in its EMBA program.
Generally speaking, the program costs nearly 700,000 yuan, and the minimum requirements are eight years of work experience and five years of management experience.
It only accepts 550 students each year, with only 60 spots
available for full-time enrollment. If Fan Bingbing had been just a celebrity before, she would have struggled to gain admission.
But for her now, it was just a matter of words... After all, not to mention Barron, her background at Tianhe Capital alone is beyond the reach of ordinary students.
Of course, many entrepreneurs, executives, and officials attend this program primarily to network. Many courses at the Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business are taught in small groups, and students address each other by self-created nicknames. This fosters a "brotherhood" of sorts, a bond that often carries over into later careers, forming strong networks.
But if you truly apply yourself, you can certainly learn something.
As the "representative" of Tianhe Capital, Fan Bingbing, despite her beauty, is no longer afraid of any "evil thoughts." As for networking, she possesses high emotional intelligence and a straightforward and generous demeanor, which has endeared her to many of her classmates.
More importantly, she truly wants to learn and enrich herself. Therefore, even after graduating from this EMBA program, she will continue to pursue further education.
Of course, as a full-time course, the classmates are all company bosses, executives, and officials. They can't really attend classes every day like students; they just organize study sessions periodically.
Now that Barron has come to China, Fan Bingbing spends most of his time by his side—she cherishes this rare opportunity to be with her man.
"Honey, you told me to pay more attention to these domestic film and television companies. I noticed that Guangguang Media has been performing well these past two years, with its films doing well at the box office. So I'm in touch with them about investing in them."
Barron hadn't expected Fan Bingbing to have such good vision. Of course, Guangguang Media has also been quite successful in the past two years.
They began to dabble in film distribution in 2006. Since the major directors in mainland China had been "divided up" by various film and television companies, Guangguang Media's owner, Wang Changtian, set his sights on directors from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Their first film, "The City of Pain," was a success.
This year, they will release a series of films, including "Painted Skin," which are all performing well at the box office.
If Tianhe Film and Television Investment can acquire a stake in Guangguang Media, it will not only generate good returns but also expand its influence.
Of course, for this type of investment, Fan Bingbing primarily provides advice and decision-making, while specific personnel will be responsible for the specific negotiations and execution. This isn't her true strength.
"Besides film and television investments, you could also pay more attention to cinema chains..."
Upon hearing Barron's words, Fan Bingbing's eyes lit up, and she asked,
"Will cinema chains be a good business?"
"Yes, I believe that with the development of China's economy, the number of young people willing to go to the cinema will explode. Box office revenue will continue to rise, and the profitability of cinema chains will also increase significantly."
At the end of October last year, Orange Sky Entertainment reached an agreement with Golden Harvest Chairman Zou Wenhuai to acquire all of the 24.78% Golden Harvest shares and convertible bonds held by Zou Wenhuai and his daughter for approximately HK$200 million. This made Orange Sky Entertainment Golden Harvest's largest single shareholder, with Li Chaoren as the second-largest.
By July of this year, Orange Sky Entertainment will increase its Golden Harvest stake to over 89%, thereby acquiring Golden Harvest and completing a backdoor listing to become Orange Sky Golden Harvest. Its cinema chain will also rapidly begin expanding into mainland China.
It can be said that this move by the other party is a very good one. Next, Tianhe Film and Television Investment can also use acquisitions and other methods to enter the cinema industry and continue to expand its scale.
By controlling a certain number of cinema chains, it will also be able to cut a lucrative piece of the pie in the future boom of China's film and television industry.