GBP Chapter 440: The Education Bond That Shocked the Nation
Chapter 440: The Education Bond That Shocked the Nation
The sun in Myitkyina was as scorching as ever, but on this morning, the atmosphere in the whole city was unusual.
A crowd formed a small line in front of the newsstand on the corner.
Old Zheng, who is about fifty years old and wearing a neat blue cloth gown, lined up in front of the queue early, holding a few coins tightly in his hand.
When it was his turn, he bought three different newspapers at once. When he opened them, he saw that the front-page news was, as expected, all headlines about the three White Eagle soldiers being tried in the Myitkyina Local Court.
The Anmin Army enforces the law with iron fists, and the White Eagle soldiers will eventually be put on trial
General Zhang Chi strongly fights back against foreign privileges and safeguards the dignity of local justice
White Eagle officials compromised for the first time, acknowledging their non-extraterritorial status
The South China Morning Post, in particular, reported on the incident in great detail, with special writer Yu Wen providing a poignant editorial.
"The era of rampant imperialism is over. This incident will surely become a touchstone for the new equal order of the future."
Of course, some Western-loving people have also made comments, saying, "Even a country as powerful as the United States has a sense of shame. It is worthy of the name of the beacon of the free world. It relies on its strength but does not bully the weak. It is a moral benchmark for the new era."
In short, the news of this confrontation spread throughout Southeast Asia like thunder, reaching every corner of the area controlled by the Anmin Army, and even reaching the mountain city, and even the fog city and spring city thousands of miles away.
In the foggy capital of the United Kingdom, The Times published a commentary with subtle words:
"The Myitkyina incident shows that the South China military-political system is developing a strong sense of judicial sovereignty. The way this incident was handled seems to provide a new model for military diplomacy in the new era. In any case, we will wait and see whether the United States will retaliate in the next development."
On the other hand, in the Republic of China, left-wing newspapers expressed it unequivocally:
"General Zhang's actions not only served as a vindication for the people of Myitkyina, but also dealt a resounding slap in the face to the Western powers on behalf of all the colonized and despised Eastern peoples."
The White Party's mouthpiece was vague on this matter. After all, even the White Party's top leaders themselves were watching and waiting for the trial results and the subsequent actions of the White Eagles.
If the White Eagles do not retaliate, cut off aid to the Anmin Army, and stop trade with the Anmin Army, then they will naturally take advantage of the situation and use this incident to settle accounts with those White Eagle soldiers who have committed crimes in the Republic of China.
If the White Eagles only compromise temporarily and then launch a fierce retaliation, the White Party’s top leaders will be ready to stop and, by the way, ridicule the Anmin Army for its presumption in public opinion.
However, for the local Chinese in Southeast Asia, this is not just news, but an echo of national dignity.
At this moment, under the rule of the Anmin Army, whether it was the people, soldiers or officials, they all knew one fact in their hearts.
The cannons, tanks and tough actions of the military police deployed to seek justice demonstrated not only military discipline and authority, but also the determination of the People's Security Army as an independent political force to look at and even confront traditional powers on the international stage.
This is undoubtedly a victory with political implications.
Even the once arrogant White Eagle had to bow his head and cooperate at this moment.
The chairman of the Singapore Chinese Association excitedly said at a tea party:
"Fifty years ago, our ancestors were beaten in the streets by white policemen and had no way to appeal. Fifty years later, our army dared to let White Eagle soldiers stand trial in court. This is a huge change!"
This incident seemed to have ignited something.
According to the plan, a new round of education bond subscription will begin on October 7.
This was originally just an attempt by the Finance Department under the Ministry of Finance and the Department of Education to jointly raise education funds. The initial budget was five million dollars, with a term of five years and an annual interest rate of two percent.
Since the central bank was still in the preparation stage, the banknotes were issued by the Bank of South China on behalf of the central bank, and the target audience was mainly the middle and upper classes in various parts of Southeast Asia.
But no one expected that this bond, driven by the momentum of the trial of the White Eagle soldiers, would trigger such a large-scale national response.
"Once the government debt is issued, the people will go to justice." Someone wrote these eight words in a newspaper, and on the same day, countless people copied, posted, and even printed them on banners and carried them on the streets.
The subscription craze, starting in Myitkyina, quickly spread to Mandalay and Yangon, then to Bangkok in Siam, and then to Ipoh, Penang, Seremban, and Sandakan on the Malay Peninsula, before spreading to Singapore across the Johor Strait.
Enthusiasm spread everywhere.
Even the Chinese in Kuching, Medan, Surabaya and other places still under the control of the Japanese learned the news, but unfortunately they were unable to participate because of the sea.
On the streets and alleys, not only wealthy businessmen came to the government bond sales points with checks and bank certificates to subscribe, but even ordinary people, workers, farmers, and vendors went to the sales points to line up and make small purchases of ten or dozens of dollars.
Zhang Chi stood at the window on the second floor of the Nan Hua Bank Building in Myitkyina, looking at the crowd downstairs, a rare touch of emotion appeared on his face.
Among the crowd downstairs were old shop owners leaning on bamboo sticks, women with children, laborers with bare upper bodies, and soldiers who had just been released from the barracks for leave.
Some of them held wrinkled money bags, and some even brought a few silver dollars and banknotes, just to subscribe to one or several ten-dollar education bonds.
The original plan of 5 million dollars could not dampen everyone's enthusiasm at all, and the South China Bank had to urgently print more government bonds and quickly transport them to various places using military transport planes.
Soon after, the newly established South China Bank announced that the subscription value of the new round of "National Education Bonds" exceeded 12 million US dollars in just three days.
The most surprising thing was that several local Chinese industrialists in Singapore tore up the paper certificates of the bonds they had received in public after purchasing large amounts of government bonds with gold pound notes at the subscription site.
Facing the crowd around them, they shouted loudly:
"We buy education bonds not for the small interest, but so that the next generation can become people who understand etiquette and have a sense of shame. We want them to avoid being illiterate and be able to hold their heads high!"
The news caused a huge sensation and was even photographed and published by photographers.
After the liberation of Singapore, the newly re-launched Sin Chew Daily even used an entire front page to publish large photos of the scene. The headline in the largest font was short and powerful: "For the nation, not seeking repayment!"
Upon hearing the news, Zhang Chi immediately held a press conference and announced that all bond funds would be used for the following purposes:
120 new public primary schools were built across Nanyang; Nanhua University was expanded to establish two major experimental research buildings for physics and chemistry; and funds were allocated to support the "Work-Study Private School" program jointly initiated by local entrepreneurs in Yangon and Singapore.
He looked calm on the stage, but his words were powerful:
“Education is not a handout, but the foundation of a nation and the basis for a nation to stand tall in the world.”
"In the future, everyone, from the 80-year-old to the 5- or 6-year-old, will have the right to receive an education."
These words were published in major newspapers the next day and became a golden sentence.