Chapter 246 Boss, Something Big Happened
Time passed little by little.
In the blink of an eye, it was already evening.
The joint publication by the four major newspapers completely turned the Hong Kong Times into a public enemy in Hong Kong, like a rat crossing the street that everyone wanted to beat.
Normally, fake news fabricated by the media was considered a common thing; citizens had long grown used to it, and even if discovered, it would quickly be forgotten without much fuss.
But this time was different.
With several major news outlets joining forces to expose it, Hong Kong Times received a devastating blow, and the resulting public outrage was far greater than usual.
Just when everyone thought the matter had settled, another unexpected twist occurred.
At 7 p.m., most families and convenience stores had their televisions turned on.
After the collapse of Commercial Television two years earlier, the Hong Kong TV market had again become a duopoly, dominated by Rediffusion Television and TVB.
Although Rediffusion Television had gained an edge in ratings for some programs and time slots, TVB still held a strong base of classic shows and loyal audiences. Both stations held significant shares of the TV market.
Currently, the drama The Good, The Bad and The Ugly had not yet started airing. Rediffusion Television slightly led in ratings at this moment, but not by much.
Thus, more than 50% of Hong Kong's viewers were tuned into Rediffusion Television.
This station was still a purely British-owned enterprise, 100% held by Rediffusion Group from Britain.
However, one year later, in March 1981, Rediffusion Group would sell 61% of its shares to an Australian consortium, and another year after that, Far East Group Chairman Mr. Yau would take full control and rename it Asia Television.
But for now, it was June 1980, and Rediffusion was still a purely British-controlled station.
Originally, at this time, Rediffusion was supposed to air The Good, The Bad and The Ugly, a drama directed by Mak Tong Hung and Lau Ka Ho, starring Chan Koon Tai, Kong Han, and Ma Mun Yee.
Set in a small town after the victory in the War of Resistance Against Japan, it portrayed the complicated relationships between brothers Stone Kar Po and Stone Kar Wai in the underworld.
The show gathered some of the top actors of the Hong Kong TV scene and was extremely well-received, reflecting society's thirst for dramas about reality and human nature during the rapid economic growth and social change of the 1980s.
However, just as viewers were eagerly waiting, the broadcast did not show the expected opening of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.
Instead, the screen showed a familiar face: TV presenter Wei Qiu Hua, who had joined Rediffusion after the collapse of Commercial Television.
Everyone watching was baffled.
At this time, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly was supposed to be airing!
Yet, curiosity kept viewers glued to the screen instead of switching channels.
"Breaking news! The Good, The Bad and The Ugly will be delayed by ten minutes. We have just received explosive news. Hong Kong Royal Police Department's Technical Superintendent Mr. Tong Kit has fled Hong Kong today with his family. Before escaping, he recorded a video and mailed it to our station. Please watch the following footage," Wei Qiu Hua announced.
The screen changed again.
"Don't watch TVB, switch to Rediffusion now! Big news!"
In many parts of Hong Kong, people shouted at their neighbors to change channels.
Instantly, Rediffusion Television's ratings skyrocketed, while TVB's plummeted.
Families across Hong Kong stared at their TVs, eager to find out what was happening.
After all, the earlier joint exposé by the four newspapers and Hongkong Electric's press conference had already made the Fortress Electrical scandal the talk of the city.
Everyone had thought the matter was settled.
But now, another twist?
In the video, the police officer recounted how he had been bribed by Fortress Electrical's general manager to falsify a technical report—speaking with an air of sincerity.
He even apologized emotionally to Hong Kong citizens, claiming his conscience forced him to reveal "the truth."
The video was short, only about two minutes.
But once it ended, it triggered a massive uproar across Hong Kong.
"Whoa! A total reversal!"
"Hong Kong Times was telling the truth after all—we wronged them."
"Fortress Electrical bribed a cop? Disgusting!"
"Absolutely shameless!"
"Boycott Fortress Electrical forever!"
"If your products kill people, just admit it. Don't bribe officials and fabricate lies!"
"Exactly!"
Just like that, Fortress Electrical, which had just gotten out of crisis, fell into an even bigger pit.
Ordinary citizens were easily swayed by public opinion.
Fortress Electrical's key piece of evidence was the police's technical report.
Now, with the officer's confession, the report was invalidated.
In less than half an hour, the news spread like wildfire across Hong Kong.
...
At the Lin family villa on Shixun Road, Lin Haoran had just finished dinner and was about to go upstairs to inspect the newly arrived Apple III.
This computer had been shipped to him by Steve Jobs himself and had arrived today. Li Weidong had helped carry it to the upstairs study.
According to Jobs, it was Apple's latest and greatest product.
As a major shareholder in Apple, it would be ridiculous for Lin Haoran not to at least be familiar with it.
The Apple III was designed to compete with IBM for the business and corporate computing market.
The product had launched just last month.
However, Lin Haoran already knew from his previous life (having read Jobs' biography) that Apple III would be a huge failure.
Its downfall was due to several issues: overheating, software/hardware incompatibilities, and high prices.
Primarily, Jobs had insisted on a design without a cooling fan, causing severe overheating.
Overheating often caused chips to detach from the motherboard or the screen to malfunction. Some users even reported that floppy disks melted inside the drives.
Additionally, the Apple III's poor software support and frequent crashes deterred users.
Finally, its price—between $4,340 and $10,000—was much higher than many CP/M-based business computers, scaring off potential customers.
Even though Lin Haoran knew the product would flop, he never intended to interfere.
From the beginning, he decided not to meddle in Apple's operations, including product development.
Failure was part of the process. It was important for Apple's future trajectory.
If he interfered too much, he might alter Apple's future unpredictably.
Though he was an investor, his position was purely financial—no intervention in management.
Thus, his investment wouldn't disrupt Apple's natural growth path.
If he started giving input on products, the entire timeline might change dramatically.
Thus, he left Apple alone.
Turning on the Apple III, the familiar Apple logo appeared.
Yet, what seemed so advanced in this era looked primitive to Lin Haoran—like electronic junk, really.
After a brief trial, he lost interest.
Switching off the machine with boredom, he was about to leave the study and watch TV when the phone rang.
Picking up, he answered, "This is Lin Haoran."
"Boss, it's Chen Shoulin. Something big happened! Fortress Electrical has been set up again. Just now, Rediffusion aired a video.
In it, the officer who issued our technical report turned around and accused us of bribing him..."
On the phone, Chen Shoulin explained the situation in full detail.
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