Chapter 278: Targeting Indonesia

He tapped the table gently, and murmurs arose from the customers around him. In such a quiet environment, he quickly made up his mind. Rather than using Hollywood companies to boost the influence of Hong Kong films, it was better to rely on their own strength. Moreover, he believed that within a decade, Hollywood would surely collapse under Xiao Ran’s strategies, allowing Hong Kong films to achieve even better results.

After a brief pause, everyone else stopped eating and stared at Xiao Ran. He slowly opened his eyes, with a strange glint in them: “Since no one wants it to enter, let’s force it to withdraw within half a year.”

Yang Qi and the others breathed a sigh of relief. They had feared that if Xiao Ran actually agreed, things would get very complicated. Without hesitation, he came up with a plan: “In that case, spread the word—refuse to take on Warner’s projects and don’t give them any chance to break through. In half a year, they’ll have no choice but to withdraw!”

Before night fell, everyone in Hong Kong’s film industry was aware of the ban imposed by the four major companies. Some Japanese and Western filmmakers were attracted to the opportunity, but unfortunately, without any Chinese actors, the films, though made in Chinese, couldn’t be released under the name of Hong Kong films. As expected, half a year later, Warner withdrew in shame.

Xiao Ran’s victory stemmed from the fact that the four major companies controlled the theaters and distribution. Although Warner also had one of the largest distribution networks in the world, as an American company, its films would obviously not be seen as pure Hong Kong films. Coupled with the indifference of filmmakers, its withdrawal was inevitable.

Xiao Ran inwardly regretted it, as he had planned to use Warner a few more times before finally bringing it down. For this purpose, he even secretly contacted Master Shao, asking Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to act as a secret agent. Others thought he had a feud with Master Shao, but few knew that they had already reconciled completely through mediation by the central government.

With Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acting as a spy, the benefits would be far greater than before. But after careful consideration, Xiao Ran ultimately abandoned the plan, as it seemed too risky now.

In April, *In the Mood for Love* won only the Best Film award at the Golden Horse Awards. Although it was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, it was not selected. This made Xiao Ran decide to stop sending Hong Kong films to the Oscars and focus entirely on the Golden Horse Awards, aiming to make it replace the Oscars.

In 1995, Mirage contacted Cameron to start preparing *Titanic*, with Universal investing in its production. A year later, *Die Hard* was released during the summer vacation. More intense and exciting than the original, it became a huge success at the box office. Mirage handled its overseas distribution, earning $500 million globally.

Mirage’s fantasy animation studio finally created *Toy Story*, which was released in the summer and grossed $450 million worldwide. That same year, a series of adventure films produced by Mirage, *The Golden Story*, became a surprise hit of the year, earning $470 million globally outside of peak seasons. Another surprise hit was Basic Film’s romantic drama *Love in Paradise*, which grossed over $300 million worldwide.

DreamWorks’ war film “Never Yield” received high praise and earned $230 million worldwide at the box office. The most outstanding film of the year was undoubtedly “The God of Gamblers III,” which grossed $640 million globally. Excluding Universal, DreamWorks had six films on the global box office top 10 list, with three also making it onto the North American list, with “The God of Gamblers III” topping the charts.

That same year, “Schindler’s List” was released. American Jews watched the film in tears and developed a great deal of admiration for DreamWorks. Another film produced by DreamWorks, depicting the brutality of the Japanese army, was released globally and caused a stir. Also that year, driven by DreamWorks, Universal raised the highest salary ceiling to $20 million.

In April 1995, not long after “Schindler’s List” was released, in the spacious office atop the towering DreamWorks building, Xiao Ran was discussing a very important matter with Guan Xin—a matter he had to address as Asia’s richest man at the time.

Xiao Ran never liked to beat around the bush when dealing with his mentor Guan Xin, knowing that Guan Xin also disdained such tactics. “Master, is everything ready for the plan in Indonesia? It’s crucial. We must do as much as we can!”

“No problem, though I don’t understand why you need to do this!” Guan Xin shrugged. He wasn’t stupid; he just didn’t want to overthink things, and he wasn’t suited for such scheming tactics. But after everything he had experienced, he knew well that if Xiao Ran decided to take action, it surely wouldn’t be for no reason.

Xiao Ran sighed softly. How could he ignore the atrocities committed against the Chinese in Indonesia? If he lacked the ability to help, that would be one thing, but since he had the influence and capability, he had to do something.

Seeing that Xiao Ran didn’t say anything more, Guan Xin calmly asked, “If we can’t find evidence of the Indonesian president’s corruption, could that affect your plans?”

“It’s fine. That would just be an added bonus.” Xiao Ran remained silent for a while. Having that evidence would be ideal, but even without it, the impact wouldn’t be significant.

After Guan Xin left, Wei Dongling and Bai Pengfei, CEO of Shuxiang Media, arrived. It was Xiao Ran who asked them to come. Since it was a well-planned operation, it needed to be executed flawlessly. “A Dong, send out invitations in my name to representatives of wealthy Chinese in Indonesia. Invite them to Hong Kong. I need to discuss a very important matter with them!”

“Pengfei, riots are likely to break out in Indonesia soon. Shuxiang Media must mobilize all resources immediately to cover the story,” Xiao Ran said, staring at the somewhat confused Bai Pengfei. “And I suspect those riots will be extremely serious. Journalists could be in danger. Treat all participants like war correspondents and increase their insurance coverage.”

Thinking about those riots, Xiao Ran knew that if his plan succeeded, it might prevent a similar situation from happening in 1998. Moreover, it would undoubtedly benefit him as well. If successful, he would gain considerable influence globally and establish authority among governments around the world.

“During that period, you can mobilize any resources from the seven flagship companies to do this!” Xiao Ran stared at Bai Pengfei, then suddenly turned away, leaving behind one sentence: “In short, use every possible means—my world must see all those scenes!”
Bai Pengfei was shocked. It was rare for Xiao Ran to attach such importance to something. Moreover, allowing him to use all the resources of the seven flagship companies showed just how serious he took it. But what exactly was it? Only Wei Dongling had a vague idea.
After Bai Pengfei left, Wei Dongling couldn’t help but question, “Could your judgment be wrong? If it doesn’t happen, we’ll suffer huge losses!”
“If it does happen, the losses for the Chinese in Indonesia will be truly enormous!” Xiao Ran said. He preferred it not to happen. But now he wasn’t relying solely on historical knowledge to make decisions; instead, he was relying on his own insight into strategic situations: “As long as that happens, Indonesia will never be able to recover internationally!”
Xiao Ran, the richest Chinese man, still had immense influence. Almost all the invited representatives of wealthy Chinese in Indonesia showed up. For this reason, Xiao Ran held a banquet at the Junyue Hotel to welcome them. After the banquet, and after carefully checking to ensure there were no eavesdroppers or surveillance devices, Xiao Ran invited them to a special hall.
Standing on the temporarily set up stage, Xiao Ran looked at everyone below with a very serious expression: “Everyone, I’ve invited you here today to tell you something. The situation in Indonesia is unstable recently. To avoid unnecessary losses, you should evacuate Indonesia as soon as possible!”
There was a stir among the crowd. What did he mean by unstable political situation and the need to evacuate immediately? The famous banker Li Wenzheng questioned Xiao Ran, “President Xiao, if even we aren’t aware of impending political turmoil locally, how can you be sure?”
“That’s my speculation. You don’t have to believe it,” Xiao Ran said with a calm smile. “But I’m warning you because we’re all compatriots. Anyway, I hope that if anything happens, you can protect the local Chinese people!”
“President Xiao, are you trying to take over the Indonesian market while we evacuate?” one of the younger men protested angrily. His name was Huang Jiawen, a wealthy man who had inherited his family’s fortune.
Xiao Ran frowned slightly. How could Huang Jiawen be so foolish? Even a blind person could see that Shadow’s core industries were high technology and entertainment media. What market in Indonesia did he need for rubber?
In any case, this negotiation was a complete failure. Xiao Ran did have influence globally, but since he hadn’t done anything particularly notable internationally, it was hard for him to gain prestige.
On May 7, 1995, just as Xiao Ran had analyzed, large-scale anti-Chinese riots broke out in Indonesia, with many Chinese people killed overnight. The journalists from Shuxiang Media were already on high alert, using every means at their disposal to document everything thoroughly. Of course, some used covert photography.

In the early hours of the next day, Xiao Ran received the news. He thought quietly for a moment. In fact, his previous arrangements were already quite thorough; he didn’t even need to get involved personally to resolve things.

On that very day, all of Shuxiang Media’s media outlets outside North America covered this event as a top priority, while in North America, the networks under Universal Media were responsible for reporting. As the bloody and brutal scenes on television screens were shown worldwide, shock spread across the globe.

That same morning, Xiao Ran received a call from Beijing, where they hoped he could step in on behalf of the government and use his influence to save as many people as possible. Xiao Ran could only force a bitter smile—what could he do in such a situation? He was merely the mastermind behind the seven flagship projects, not the president of the country.

Nevertheless, as planned, he held a press conference in the afternoon. Reporters from various countries attended, including some from Indonesia. The moment Xiao Ran saw them, he almost drove those Indonesians out of the venue. If not for their potential use and the fact that it was being broadcast live, he would have done just that.

Facing the crowd of reporters and cameras, Xiao Ran still hadn’t prepared any speech. He always preferred to improvise. But to the surprise of all the reporters, some of the staff from Shuxiang Media were dressed in black and white. What surprised them even more was that Xiao Ran’s group of “Phantom” members also wore black and white attire. Glancing at the sixty or so reporters below, Xiao Ran stood up solemnly and said slowly, “Morality—with deep sorrow and anger, I must announce that yesterday, large-scale anti-Chinese riots broke out in Indonesia. Countless atrocities were committed against us Chinese, including burning, killing, and looting. From last night until one hour ago, according to incomplete statistics, at least 300 Chinese people have lost their lives!”

The reporters weren’t surprised; they had already seen this news on television. Xiao Ran spoke in an extremely sorrowful tone, “As the chairman of the Shuxiang Media board, I must announce that due to these atrocities, a female reporter sent by Shuxiang Media was kidnapped and then raped to death!”

At this point, filled with rage, Xiao Ran barely managed to pick up a folder. When he opened it, a brutally graphic photo of the death, along with the reporter’s personal information, was displayed before everyone. The photo immediately became the focus of all the reporters. But as Liang Jiabao and the others took a look, they felt nauseous. Their eyes turned red, and each reporter trembled, eager to curse Indonesia mercilessly.

At that moment, Xiao Ran stepped aside, helped two middle-aged man and woman who had suddenly started crying, and turned to the reporters, saying, “These two are the parents of the brutally murdered female reporter. On behalf of the Shuxiang Media board, I offer them my deepest apologies. Due to the group’s negligence, their daughter lost her precious life in the riots in Indonesia!”

“She is an excellent journalist, and losing her is a loss for Shuxiang Media!” Xiao Ran closed his eyes slightly, his sorrow indescribable. If he hadn’t sent anyone, if the bodyguards had protected her better, the journalist wouldn’t have been hurt. “She’s gone, and we’re sad. But this must not make us lose our professional ethics. We have the right to report all the truth to the world—that’s our professional duty. Neither an individual nor a country can stop us.”
All the journalists on site fell silent and took off their hats. Now they understood why Liang Jiabao and the others were dressed in black, but it only made them feel even more despondent. If it were them, would they suffer the same fate? If it happened elsewhere, would something like this occur? They didn’t know, but they knew they could do something.