Chapter 460 This "Killing Two Birds with One Stone" Worked Too Well!
It should be known that whether it was Sing Tao Daily, Overseas Chinese Daily, or Hong Kong Industrial & Commercial Daily, they were all ranked among the top ten newspapers in Hong Kong.
Among them, Sing Tao Daily had long secured a stable position within the top three.
Yet now, they had been shut down just like that.
The moment the announcement was released, it spread like wildfire throughout Hong Kong.
The publication of the statement was like a bombshell, igniting a massive uproar across all sectors of society.
On the streets and in the alleys, people were talking non-stop, marveling at the Governor's Office's swift and decisive action.
At newsstands, the usual spaces where Sing Tao Daily, Overseas Chinese Daily, and Hong Kong Industrial & Commercial Daily once sat were now completely empty.
The Governor's Office had ordered an immediate withdrawal of all their publications, and no one dared to defy the command.
Radio and television stations weren't far behind, launching special programs and inviting legal experts, current affairs commentators, and public figures to deeply analyze and discuss the announcement.
Public opinion was polarized—some praised the Governor's Office for maintaining market order and protecting public interest, while others voiced concerns about press freedom and the shrinking space for free speech.
After all, Hong Kong had always prided itself on its freedom of expression.
Yet this time, the Governor's Office acted so swiftly that the three newspapers had no time to react.
On Jardines Matheson's side, although no immediate legal action had been taken, internally, panic was spreading.
Last night, Jardines Matheson's senior management had hastily convened to discuss countermeasures.
Although Bautista was unwilling, he had no choice but to accept Simon Keswick's decision: to quietly leave Hong Kong by boat during the night, travel to Manila, and from there board a flight to South Africa.
South Africa was one of Jardines Matheson's important markets, with holdings like Rembrandt Group that they had acquired years ago.
Despite Bautista's major mistake, considering his abilities, Simon Keswick was unwilling to completely abandon him.
Thus, he arranged for Bautista to take over operations in the South African branch to at least recover some of the losses.
This way, when pushing the blame onto Bautista, Jardines Matheson could also claim that he had fled out of guilt.
After the Governor's Office meeting ended, Simon Keswick quickly received word about the outcome.
Realizing how serious the situation had become, he personally went to Government House, hoping to explain that everything had been Bautista's personal actions.
However, to his surprise, Governor MacLehose refused to see him.
He was forced to leave, achieving nothing.
For now, they could only wait until legal proceedings commenced to try and push the blame onto Bautista.
From the meeting earlier that morning, Simon Keswick had detected a slight opening:
The Governor's Office, after all, still harbored some reluctance to treat Jardines Matheson as harshly as they did the three newspapers.
Otherwise, he, the taipan of Jardines Matheson, might already be behind bars.
That was perhaps the only good news.
In truth, Simon Keswick never even considered calling upon the Rothschild family or other powerful stakeholders to intervene.
He knew that if outside forces got involved, it would jeopardize the Keswick family's control over Jardines Matheson.
After all, the plan to retaliate against Lin Haoran had been the Keswick family's idea, carried out by their people.
If external forces intervened, their family's misjudgment and execution errors would be fully exposed.
The Keswicks would be seen as the biggest culprits, bearing full responsibility for the disaster.
Simon Keswick knew clearly that any reckless move now could push Jardines Matheson even closer to destruction.
He had to proceed carefully—protecting the company's interests while safeguarding the Keswick family's dominance.
Unless absolutely necessary, he would not seek help from Britain.
"Ah..." Simon Keswick sighed heavily, his brow deeply furrowed.
This was the most troublesome situation he had faced since becoming the taipan of Jardines Matheson.
Fighting Lin Haoran was something he did not regret; after all, Jardines Matheson had suffered huge losses because of him.
But he bitterly regretted sending Bautista to execute the plan.
Despite Bautista's capabilities, he had been too careless this time, allowing the whole affair to be photographed, leading to their exposure.
Had Simon personally handled it, he was confident he wouldn't have made such amateur mistakes.
If so, the conspiracy would have remained buried, invisible to the public forever.
Now, however, there was no turning back.
Pacing in his office, Simon Keswick finally picked up the phone again and dialed Henry Keswick's number in Britain.
Given the massive losses suffered by the Governor's Office, even with Jardines Matheson's prestige, they wouldn't be spared so easily.
Thus, it was no longer something Simon could handle alone.
Only Henry Keswick, with his greater experience, could now steer Jardines Matheson through the storm.
"Big Brother, it's Simon. The situation has spiraled beyond our control. The Governor's Office won't let us off lightly..." Simon Keswick detailed everything to Henry Keswick.
"I understand. I'll leave for Hong Kong today and personally help Jardines Matheson weather this crisis," Henry Keswick replied without hesitation.
At the Lin family's villa on Sassoon Road, just past noon, Lin Haoran had just finished lunch and was washing his hands when he heard the telephone ring urgently from the study.
Given how many calls he had received since his televised speech, he wasn't surprised to hear the phone again.
He walked briskly into the study and picked up the receiver.
"Boss, there's an important development!" came the excited voice of Cui Zilong.
"Oh? Good news, I hope?" Lin Haoran smiled as he asked.
"For us at Oriental Daily, definitely good news. Just moments ago, the Governor's Office released an official announcement..."
Cui Zilong quickly relayed the content of the announcement in full detail.
"They directly shut them down? Isn't Hong Kong supposed to value freedom of the press?"
When Lin Haoran learned that the three newspapers had not only been shut down but their executives arrested, he was so shocked that his mouth couldn't close.
He had originally thought that by revealing the photos exposing their collusion with Jardines Matheson, the worst that would happen would be fines or public warnings.
At most, he figured, the newspapers would suffer a loss of public trust, leading to declining sales.
But reality had far exceeded his expectations.
The Governor's Office had acted with incredible ruthlessness, eradicating the newspapers and detaining their top figures.
Such decisiveness and strength left even Lin Haoran impressed.
"Boss, you know better than anyone:
When Jardines Matheson bid at the auction, acquiring the plots at the starting prices, it inflicted tremendous financial losses on the government.
Normally, those plots would have fetched much higher prices.
Thus, despite valuing appearances, the Governor's Office had no reason to show mercy."
"As for Jardines Matheson, they are a powerful British entity—harder to touch.
But the three newspapers? Easy prey," Cui Zilong analyzed.
"Hmm, you're right," Lin Haoran agreed with his assessment.
This "killing two birds with one stone" tactic had worked out spectacularly.
He felt no pity for the three newspapers.
Once allies with Oriental Daily, they had now chosen to side with Jardines Matheson against him.
They deserved no sympathy.
Their sudden downfall was the perfect revenge.
With them dealt with, only Jardines Matheson remained.
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