Sir Li, the titan of the television industry, was a man of remarkable shrewdness. Although he had never dared to take risks on the scale of Nie Zhao, he was never stingy when it came to charity for the Mainland, a trait that earned him genuine admiration. Furthermore, the silhouette of Chen Rou—that "Mainland spy"—remained an immovable fixture as the opening graphic for the evening news.
Gradually, the people of Hong Kong had become so accustomed to the idea of Mainland agents that they were often mentioned in the same breath as James Bond.
It was understandable, then, that when Colonel Rango—who held significant industrial interests overseas, particularly in Ceylon, under the protection of the British—threatened to ruin those holdings unless Sir Li found a way to cut the live broadcast and limit the apology to a mere whisper, Sir Li had no choice but to comply. Because of this, he had even restricted himself to the television station, avoiding the venue itself.
Chapter 663