I t was 1928 , and after the Shanghai Massacre of 1927 and constant mass terror attacks , the British Regime gave into the pressure . The continuous riots and protests as a response to these acts of terrorism ( secretly arranged by the Green Gang , an underground criminal organisation ) were ceaseless , and eventually the British reached breaking point . It was up to the leader of the flourishing Gang , Yan Tao Ming ( who was secretly leading an operation involving the trade of opium to sustain the gang economically ) to secure the Green Gang ’ s position as the leaders of Shanghai . It was up to his skills of persuasion and propaganda to rocket his gang into success . Will his skills be enough ? Or will he crumble under the pressure of having the power to transform the path Shanghai will go down forever ?

Ming counted the moments to his speech . Every second felt like centuries , and one mistake , one wrong word or move , could bring the whole thing down ; and so , as the previous British Prime Minister said his remarks and stepped off the stage , it was down to Yan Tao Ming . He stepped up , anxious yet surprisingly confident . Ming was wise , he understood that to successfully gain control over Shanghai he had to please the people , and to do so he had to persuade …

“ The unjust British regime has fallen , and it is now up to us to decide the path our beloved city of Shanghai will go down . This revolutionary act will go in the history books , and with it will come a new era . This time in history acts as a mere stepping stone in Shanghai ’ s history for us to once and for all live in happiness and prosperity , and after much pondering and many discussions the conclusive decision has come to be that from this point on , Shanghai needs to be run by The Green Gang .

Now dear comrades , don ’ t let our title fool you . Many have ‘ assumed ’ that we are the ones responsible for the horrible acts of terrorism we have been victims of . However , don ’ t let this hatred for Shanghai fool you . Don ’ t you see it my dear friends , it is the British who have caused this all ! They not only planned these attacks but also fell under the pressure of suffering the consequences . Our rule , together with prosperity , will bring a body of government which will stop at nothing to please our people and fulfil their needs . Yes , I say ‘ our people ’, because we are one , we are a family , no matter how much the British try to prevent it .

Now , the British are bringing up the topic of the defense of the country , and how we need to have a proper body of government with experience . However , we have more experience than any other , and when there was a need for defense and for us to fight , what ’ s very ironic is that The BRITISH THEMSELVES were the ones that hid behind our shadows , while we fought and risked our lives in order to defend our beloved country . Now comrades , The British will say that our memories are flawed , that I ’ m lying , that I ’ m manipulating you , but the truth is , our biggest enemies aren ’ t the wars and defense which come with sustaining a country , but rather the British and THEIR regime . Time and again it is evident that the British claim that something happened for their benefit when in reality the majority remember differently .

You know what , at least when the British weren ’ t here we were a single unit , we worked as a team , and we were one big family ; now , because of the British and the British only , we have been divided . They stripped you of your rights , and you questioned nothing . They began increasing taxes whilst none of the money went into improving OUR lives ,

Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction Group 3 - 2017 | Page 81