Volunteers from the International Red Cross, the Church, the American Cooperative, the Vietnam Charity Federation, the Vietnam Youth Association, and the Chinese Youth Association were divided into districts with a clear division of labor, and with the help of improvised "battalion teams", they counted how much food they needed in their respective areas for the next three days.

There is no need for Li Weimin to worry about how to distribute it, the so-called coming over to "preside" is just an excuse for Huang's Liliu. His job is to show his face, stabilize people's hearts, and accumulate some prestige for himself.

With the presence of the Catholic militia and the Nong brothers, there is no need to worry about safety. In fact, with his current reputation, anyone who expressed dissatisfaction with him would be beaten to death by the refugees.

Hugging children, visiting the elderly who are not in good health, going into literacy classes set up in large tents to encourage students and consoling teachers, randomly checking whether food has been distributed to individuals, sitting on the grass and watching a mockery with the refugees for a while, before you know it, the afternoon has passed.

After eating dinner with the refugees, it was late at night when I returned to the villa on the Tushan Peninsula. Nguyen Minh Xiu reminded in the afternoon that a group of uninvited guests had come from Saigon and Hanoi, and they didn't want to rest until they were settled.

"I went to the Hanoi refugee camp in the morning and it was impeccablely managed. Lee, you're doing a better job than I thought you would. ”

Wesley-Fischer gave him a warm hug, then put his arm around his shoulders and said, "Gentlemen, this is Li, the executive chairman of the 'Joint Conference on Refugee Relief', the chairman of the Vietnam Industrial Estate Investment Company, and the most outstanding student in the history of MSU, I am proud to have such a student and colleague." ”

An American in his fifties stood up and said, "Bernard Foer, Syracuse University." ”

"Milton Osborne, University of Melbourne, lad, it's a pleasure to meet you"

Henry, the Managing Director of the Bank of East Asia, personally accompanied them, and added with a smile: "Professor Osborne studied in the United States, a Ph.D. from Cornell University, and was employed by the Australian government on this trip. ”

Scholars from the MSU Government Research Agency and professors from Princeton University, Harvard University, and Syracuse University have organized and funded the U.S. government to conduct field surveys on Vietnam's economy, society, and security, and the results of their findings will serve as the main basis for formulating policies toward Vietnam.

Not a high-ranking government official, but no less influential than a high-ranking government official.

After introducing each other, Li Weimin modestly explained: "Professors, in fact, it is easier to organize the evacuation of refugees than to resettle refugees, they are not willing to live under the rule of the Viet Minh, they are in a hurry to leave North Vietnam, and they do not have much demand for the joint meeting. As long as we can help them leave, as long as we can provide the food we need to survive, then they will support our work.

And the Church has played a huge role in the management of refugees, and the priests and monks have an unrivalled influence and are respected by all. And in addition to the church, we have many volunteers from the International Red Cross, the Vietnam Charity Federation, the American Cooperative, the Vietnam Youth Federation and the Vietnam Overseas Chinese Youth Federation. ”

It was far from being as simple as he said, and Professor Bernard picked up his coffee and said seriously: "In peacetime, it is already a miracle to transport 1 million well-trained troops over long distances. It is an epic miracle that you need to transport a million or more unorganized civilians who have almost collapsed physically and mentally in one year. ”

Professor Milton lamented: "This is simply the Vietnamese version of 'Exodus', and what you have done now, my dear friend, can go down in history." ”

Referring to the achievements of our graduates, Wesley-Fischer smiled knowingly: "Li, the international community has a high opinion of you, and I spoke with Mr. Prime Minister before I came, and he was interested in recommending you to be a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross and President of the Vietnamese Red Cross. ”

I didn't expect that I would have the day when I became the chairman of the Red Ten Meeting.

Li Weimin was ridiculed, shook his head again and again, and said: "Professor, the industrial investment company has just started, and there are too many things to do. Besides, it was obviously not appropriate for me to take on such an important position at such a young age. ”

"I can't imagine anyone in Vietnam who is more qualified than you, and as for age, it's not a problem at all, you know, it's just a position in a humanitarian agency."

Fisher and Professor Henry looked at each other and added, "More importantly, being a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross will help you go to the free world to finance industrial investment companies." We have thought about this over and over again, and it is very necessary. ”

The next overseas financing can be summed up as "crying poor" and "pretending to be good", and it is undoubtedly much more convenient to have a member of the International Red Cross.

Li Weimin weighed it and asked in a low voice: "What about the industrial investment company, if it mixes humanitarian undertakings with business, it may be counterproductive." ”

All funds of the company are settled by the Bank of East Asia, and all bonds are sold by the Bank of East Asia.

Professor Henry didn't want to be the president of the small bank all the time, so he said as a matter of course: "Li, I think the industrial investment company can be managed like the Bank of East Asia, and Liu is very capable, you can rest assured." ”

"Downplaying the board of directors and highlighting management?"

Wesley-Fisher nodded slightly: "The industrial investment company is different from ordinary commercial companies, and can almost be regarded as a government agency. And the board of directors is not responsible for specific matters, and diluting the publicity will not affect the overall situation. ”

Li Weimin could imagine that Diem had three considerations in this proposal: First, in terms of meritorious deeds, others could be promoted to knighthood and become high-ranking government officials. He is young and not Vietnamese, and his appointment as a senior government official will undoubtedly attract criticism.

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Vietnamese Red Cross Society is not even a government official, he has no oil or water, which is equivalent to an honor, and he has made remarkable achievements in the evacuation of refugees from the south, not to mention that there will be no one to fight, even if there is a fight, there will be no competition;

Second, in order to develop South Vietnamese industry and promote South Vietnam's economy, because with this humanitarian status, it is more convenient for him to help the government seek assistance from the international community; Third, in terms of how to settle the Nong people, the government has not done a very authentic job, and giving an honorary unofficial position can ease the mutual relationship.

The Red Cross is the Red Cross, anyway, it has several members and a temporary executive chairman, and it doesn't care about serving as one more.

Li Weimin weighed it again and agreed: "Okay, for the sake of the overall situation, I can take on the same role." ”

"Actually, I came here this time to discuss with you the economy of South Vietnam."

Wesley Fischer put on his glasses and pulled out a document: "We have noticed that after the armistice, many French and Chinese merchants took advantage of the foreign exchange profits earned in the war to purchase and export Vietnamese commodities such as rice and tea, and freely remitted their funds to France, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and even the United States.

It can be said that the current flight of funds has reached an extremely obvious level, and it has occurred at the same time as the mass migration of refugees. Some sold off North Vietnamese assets and brought money to South Vietnam, and all the wealthy people transferred almost all of their assets to South Vietnam, and thought that Saigon was only a stage of their retreat, just waiting for the time to leave, and take their possessions abroad.

In short, the political crisis caused by the war created an extremely difficult currency problem for South Vietnam. The commodity import plan we have formulated will not curb inflation at all, and it will not stop the depreciation of the currency at all. If the US-Aid Management Mission de-regulated, if the government is not clean enough and the market is flooded with dollars, it will have far-reaching implications for the industrial estate program. ”

Professor Henry added: "More foreign exchange is not necessarily a good thing, and if people can purchase imported goods with very little money, South Vietnamese industry will not develop at all, because it has lost its most basic market competitiveness." ”

"Professor, the problem of the Foreign Exchange Administration is still in the hands of the French, and they will not be easily handed over to the new government. Even if it were handed over to a new government, the government would not necessarily be able to agree to adjust the exchange rate. ”

"That's true, I spoke to Mr. Prime Minister, and he thinks that adjusting the exchange rate, announcing the depreciation of Piast, will affect the people's confidence in the government."

Li Weimin frowned slightly and asked, "What can we do?" ”

Fisher put down the material and said: "The industrial village plan must be carried out, but there will be some necessary adjustments, such as increasing tax breaks and raising funds for subsidies, which is the opinion of all the consultants and experts of the Government Research Agency. ”

Controlling imports was one solution, but the problem industrial village project had just been rolled out, and even the factories had not broken ground, and there were simply not enough goods to produce to meet the needs of South Vietnam.

As soon as the opening is opened, it will be difficult to block it, which means that all the factories in the industrial park will have to compete with their counterparts in Western countries such as the United States, Japan, West Germany, and France, and it will not be possible to protect Vietnamese industry at all.

I thought of it before, but I didn't expect it to be so deep.

This is not a trivial matter and needs to be seriously studied. Li Weimin pondered for a moment, then raised his head and said, "Professor, I asked the Development Research Center of the Industrial Investment Company to consider it and strive to come up with a set of plans as soon as possible." ”