Chapter 1242 "Illegal" School Running
August 12, 1916, Bangkok.
Bangkok is the capital of the Kingdom of Siam, the largest city in the country, and one of the most prosperous cities in Southeast Asia.
Since the 19th century, in the face of Western aggression and expansion, Siam, the most typical ancient country in Southeast Asia, has also initiated a series of changes, including the end of the "isolated" policy.
Yes, Siam also implemented a policy of seclusion. After all, most backward countries facing threats from Western forces, in order to ensure the stability of their rule and maintain their traditional markets, seclusion is the most effective in a short period of time.
However, seclusion is obviously not a long-term solution, especially for a backward country like Siam. After all, the West's strong ships and guns are no joke.
Therefore, after the 19th century, Siam could not withstand the pressure after all, and carried out a series of measures to keep pace with the times, among which opening up was an important one.
As the royal capital, Bangkok also ushered in great development in the mid-to-late 19th century. The introduction of steam engines, factories, modern roads, etc. gave Bangkok unprecedented prosperity.
On a street in the southeast of Bangkok, it was particularly lively today.
This is a Chinatown in Bangkok. The whole street can be seen with a strong cultural flavor of the Far Eastern Empire.
"Crackling..." With the sound of firecrackers, Lin Jiawen lifted the red curtain on the sign hanging on the roof of the house.
I saw six big characters "Jiawen Chinese School" written in silver with a stylus on the sign.
He walked up to the people who came to join in the fun and said: "Welcome to come and support me. I, Lin Jiawen, am a Chinese enthusiast who is committed to promoting the culture of the Far Eastern Empire to the world. To this end, he founded a Chinese school in Guibao, so I hope Neighbors and friends, if you have anyone in your family who loves Chinese, you can come and learn.”
For the Chinese in Nanyang, education is an extremely important matter, so there are many Chinese schools in Nanyang.
Of course, Bangkok's Chinatown is also a gathering place for Chinese, but the people on the street are obviously not very enthusiastic about what Lin Jiawen is doing.
An old man stepped forward and said: "Young man, what you are pursuing is naturally a good thing, but how dare you make such a big show of blatantly opening a Chinese school in a prosperous place like Bangkok? Now the government is strictly investigating, even if you want to establish such a 'Illegal schools' are also mostly conducted in private."
Lin Jiawen politely said to the old man: "Old man, this is wrong. I opened the school for education. What does this have to do with the Siamese government?"
The old man said: "Young man, from the tone of your voice, which is mainly spoken in the northern vernacular of the Far Eastern Empire, it must be your first time to come to Siam, right?"
Lin Jiawen did not admit or deny, but asked: "Oh, what's the significance of this?"
The old man said: "Well, most of the Chinese in the Kingdom of Siam are from the south, especially from Guangdong and Guangxi. For example, I am already the third generation in the local area. It is rare to see immigrants from the north of the Far East Empire in Siam."
"In addition, you are now opening a Chinese school, so I infer that you have just arrived in Siam not long ago. You are not familiar with local policies and have few connections. Otherwise, you would not be able to do such illegal things in Bangkok."
"It is not allowed by the authorities to open Chinese schools or spread the Chinese language in Siam. Even if they are done, they are done secretly. Your blatant approach obviously does not work."
"Take our street as an example. You should have seen it. It can be said that most of the people here are from the Far East Empire. But have you seen any Chinese advertisements on the street?"
Lin Jiawen shook his head and said, "No."
"Under such circumstances, if you openly open a Chinese school in a busy city, the authorities will come to your door soon. By then, let alone teaching, the school will be closed down for you." Lin Jiawen said to this kind old man: " Thank you for your warning, but I am determined to spread the culture of the Far Eastern Empire, how can I give up halfway because of such a trivial matter. "
The old man said with hatred: "This is someone else's territory. Do you still want to twist your arm over your thigh? Let alone your arm, you are not even as good as a hair on someone else's body, so you better stop!"
"I think your school is quite big. Wouldn't it be good to use it for some business? If you have to quarrel with the Siamese government."
Lin Jiawen said to him: "I appreciate the kindness of the old gentleman, but I am a stubborn person. Is it possible that the Siamese government really wants to cause trouble for me for a school?"
"Even if they really cause trouble for me, I'm not afraid. After all, this is my ideal..."
Seeing how stubborn this young man was, the old man had no choice but to say: "Forget it, just take care of yourself!"
The passers-by who were watching also said to Lin Jiawen: "You really don't understand good people's hearts. As the saying goes, the people do not fight with the officials, let alone the officials of Siam. You cannot open this designated school."
Someone else said: "Anyway, I won't let my children attend this school. The spotlight is so tense now, so I can't joke with my future and life..."
What's more, some people have begun to sneak away from the streets quietly, preparing to expose Lin Jiawen and obtain rewards from the Siamese government.
Lin Jiawen didn't care at all. He still went his own way in recruiting students. He told everyone: "Jiawen Chinese School has more than 20 faculty members and offers courses in calligraphy, Chinese, Far Eastern Empire and world history, world geography, etc. …”
It sounds like this school is quite formal, but there are only a few responders.
This is of course not that the Chinese in Siam do not value Chinese education, but that under the current situation, no one is willing to take risks with Lin Jiawen.
There are naturally many Chinese schools in Siam, but they all recruit students and conduct teaching work secretly. There are none like Lin Jiawen who run the schools openly.
Moreover, Lin Jiawen's school has obviously not registered with the Siamese government, so no normal person would choose to attend this school.
When Lin Jiawen launched a large-scale open enrollment in Chinatown, the Bangkok Police Department also received the news.
Director Nessala said to a whistleblower: "Is your information reliable? Someone really dares to blatantly carry out illegal school activities in my jurisdiction, and it is a Chinese school."
"Officer, the information is absolutely reliable. That person is still enrolling students on the street! His school is at No. 231 Kunbu Street. It is quite large and the signs are all in Chinese with Chinese characters written openly."
Director Nessala said: "Very good, if it is confirmed, it will be of great benefit to you."
The man asked: "Officer, let's go over and seal this school now. Do you want me to lead the way?"
Naisara waved her hand and said: "No need, we can't alert the snake now. After the Jiawen Chinese School starts its teaching activities, we will go and seize the stolen goods together. Then it will be a great achievement. After all, we have not encountered this kind of thing for a long time." It’s stinging.”
In Siam, it is expressly forbidden to spread the culture of the Far Eastern Empire, and the Siamese government has carried out many nationwide crackdowns. Currently, there is not a single Chinese school in Siam that is officially open.
The emergence of Jiawen Chinese School made Director Nessala very interested, especially after learning that the school was quite large. After all, it could buy such a large piece of land in downtown Bangkok and employ more than 20 people. With so much money, Certainly a lot.
If this case can be confirmed, Naisala thinks he can definitely make a lot of money, so he is prepared to stand still now. If the news leaks out, the principal will not run the school. What Naisala has to do is to take away the stolen goods. .
(End of chapter)