Hong Kong Crossover: From Triad Punk to Financial Secretary

From leading the Changle Society to controlling the public purse! In 1994, Hong Kong Island was rife with undercurrents. While Chan Ho-nam was still brawling in the streets, I transformed from a gangster into a guest of honor in the British Hong Kong government! Patten's political reforms? A secret Xinhua News Agency meeting? I straddled both sides of the law. By day, I wore a suit in Central and held press conferences; by night, I put on a floral shirt, clinked glasses with 14K bosses, and shared cigarettes. A Cambridge doctorate? MI6 arranged it overnight! The British Foreign Secretary praised me as an “Eastern prodigy.” On the stormy night of June 30, 1997, I stood on the top floor of Government House, clutching the OBE medal bestowed on me by the Queen in my left hand and the appointment letter from Xinhua News Agency in my right. Chris Patten asked with a trembling voice who I really was. I am Zhang Longjun, Financial Secretary of Hong Kong Island!