Chapter 303: A big market of 500 million people (Second update, please subscribe)
On August 27, at the end of the day’s negotiations, in the Chief Executive’s Office in Sandakan, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, Xu Bei On behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Tes signed the Treaty of Sandakan, transferring Dutch Borneo and its affiliated islands to the North Borneo Company. According to the treaty, the North Borneo Company would assist the Netherlands in returning to the Dutch East Indies.
In addition, there is a corresponding secret agreement in the treaty, that is, the Netherlands needs to hand over Japanese prisoners of war in Sumatra and other places to Borneo. Some people can never be let go. After all, labor is very important.
Two days later, Huberts, the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies, finally returned to Jakarta after his long absence. At the same time, 5,000 Dutch soldiers landed in Java.
Their arrival was naturally met with protests by the Javanese, and even armed conflicts broke out in some areas, but none of this had anything to do with Borneo.
Only those who have fought in war will know how talented people are.
As for the previous proposal, it was just an introduction in the hearts of the Dutch.
As for the passage from Sulawesi to Siiri, handing it over to the Dutch does not mean that you will withdraw your troops.
Withdraw the troops. You can withdraw slowly.
Three years, four years...
Who knows?
If the Dutch don’t agree, there are other ways to do it!
What about autonomy and independence? In short, there are ways.
Anyway, by then the Dutch will no longer be in charge.
When the Dutch returned to the Dutch East Indies, the founding of Borneo was finally put on the agenda.
In fact, people have long been mentally prepared for the arrival of this day, and many people are even full of expectations. After all, being a company employee and a founding father are two completely different concepts.
But statehood in Borneo was not easy.
“First of all, North Borneo is a company, and it is a colonial company with a protection treaty with Britain.”
As the judicial director of the Commissioner’s Office, Zheng Tianxi, it was Li Yi’an who found talents from Switzerland—— A former judge of the International Permanent Court of the League of Nations, this judicial director, uh... was also recommended by my uncle. I have to say that the mainland is really full of talents.
As a legal expert, Zheng Tianxi pointed out the biggest problem as soon as he came up.
"Then there is Sarawak. It is an independent country in name, but it also has a protection treaty with the United Kingdom. This also means that unless North Borneo and Sarawak are excluded after the establishment of the country, the establishment of the country requires the permission of the United Kingdom."
Li Yian was dumbfounded by Zheng Tianxi's words. To be honest, he really didn't expect such a result.
“Requiring British permission...this...seems inappropriate.”
Then Zheng Tianxi made another stab.
“Then there is the national system. From a national system point of view, North Borneo is a company and Sarawak is a kingdom. Even if the British factor is not taken into account, if you want to build a country, you must consider two points - first, North Borneo is a kingdom. The issue of ownership of a Borneo company is not just about property, but also involves debts and other issues. The second is the Kingdom of Sarawak, Mr. Li, and this involves your throne... If the kingdom is extended, then the country will inevitably be a constitutional monarchy. Is this... against the trend of today's world? After all, there was the Yuan family back then. This is a lesson from the past, please let Chief Li think twice!”
Look, at first I just wanted to buy at the bottom and get good results, but now there’s a problem!
Li Yian frowned and said.
“This seems to be a problem!”
Isn’t it the biggest problem!
North Borneo is a company with a "state", while Sarawak is a kingdom. Since I am the boss and the king, what next?
Somewhat embarrassed.
"Director Zheng, do you have any good suggestions?"
Facing the boss's suggestion, Zheng Tianxi said.
“First of all, a country must be established! If we do not build a country, the name will not be justified, and it will also involve matters such as joining the United Nations and claiming compensation from Japan in the future. If we do not build a country, we will not be able to integrate into the international community. "
As a legal expert who has served as a judge of the International Court of Justice, Zheng Tianxi is very clear about the necessity of founding a country. In fact, he has also carefully studied Borneo. It should be said that Borneo is his private property. "But considering the special circumstances of North Borneo and Sarawak, I think the North Borneo Company is your private property, so it should continue to maintain the company system, and the company holders will appoint or entrust the local governor in the future."
This suggestion is entirely based on safeguarding Li Yi'an's property. After all, as far as Zheng Tianxi knows, this North Borneo was bought by someone else, and even the funds for large-scale construction were provided by him personally. Even a lot of the infrastructure costs are paid for by him personally, so there is absolutely no problem in maintaining his property.
Nodding, Li Yian did not speak, but asked again.
“What about Sarawak?”
“As for Sarawak, it’s very simple... You are still the king, and you still retain the throne. After all, you bought that country with your money. And you have won the approval of the local people. I think the system of the two places will not change. This is the basic principle of the founding of the country. ”
Zheng Tianxi said again.
“Then the remaining question is...what about the rest of Borneo?”
This is the real question.
Li Yian looked at Zheng Tianxi, waiting for him to give an answer.
“Isn’t this problem solved?”
Zheng Tianxi's words stunned Li Yian and he didn't react for a while.
“The North Borneo Company and the Kingdom of Sarawak can be temporarily shelved, and the Borneo part can be established as a separate country. This can not only avoid British interference, but also temporarily avoid the issues of the Company and the Kingdom until the future. Let’s discuss it again. After all, the most important thing now is to participate as a country in the issue of Japan’s surrender and future demands for war compensation!” Is it a good choice?
Seeing that the chief was lost in thought, Zheng Tianxi said from the side.
“For now, this is the best choice. As for the future, the state can acquire the company or complete the transition in other ways. As for the Kingdom of Sarawak, the same can be done... Yes, also There is a transition period.”
Taking a deep breath, Zheng Tianxi told the reason why he was like this.
“Moreover, for now, establishing a separate state is beneficial to Borneo’s economy. After all, both North Borneo and Sarawak are signatories to the British Empire’s preferential system. If we establish a state through foreign trade , then as a signatory, we are facing a completely different market! A huge market with hundreds of millions of people will be completely open to us. Not only will it be open, but many products will even have zero tariffs. If we are separated from the Commonwealth, it will be difficult for us to enjoy such tax benefits and customs clearance preferences!”
The “Empire Preferential System” mentioned by Zheng Tianxi refers to the trade between the United Kingdom and other members of the Commonwealth. A system of mutual preferential treatment. Developed at the Imperial Conference in Ottawa in 1932. The main content is: to provide preferential tariff treatment to imported goods between member states, reduce tax rates or exempt each other. About 80% of the goods can be imported duty-free, and about 20% of the other goods are only subject to low tariffs of about 10%. High tariffs were levied on imported goods from countries outside the Commonwealth and colonies. In order to implement the agreements of the Ottawa Conference, Britain signed a series of agreements with various dominions and colonies. North Borneo and Sarawak were both signatories.
In other words, most of the products from factories located in the two places can enter the British-ruled world at zero tariff. How huge is this world?
The United Kingdom is now the world's largest colonial power. Its colonial area is about 30 million square kilometers, accounting for 1/4 of the world's total land area. Canada, Australia, India, South Africa, New Zealand, etc. are all British territories. Britain's colonies have a population of 400 million, accounting for 1/6 of the world's total population.
For Borneo, which needs to develop overseas markets, such a huge market cannot be given up.
After Zheng Tianxi analyzed the benefits of staying in the Commonwealth one by one, he emphasized again.
“...So, economically speaking, it is beneficial to our economy to keep the North Borneo Company and Sarawak. After all, we only have a market of a few million people, while the Commonwealth and colonies, There is a market of more than 400 million people. ”
Population, market, and resources are all indispensable for economic development in Borneo.
“There is another problem, which is the name of the country after the founding of the People’s Republic of China.”
"Nanyang!"
Why is it called Nanyang?
Because this is history... After all, starting from the first century AD, the Han people came to this land, Nanyang, to a certain extent, the south of the south.
(End of this chapter)