The General of Tiananmen Square, page 1
THE
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An Ava Lee Novel
The Triad Years
Ian Hamilton
The Ava Lee Series
The Dragon Head of Hong Kong: The Ava Lee Prequel (ebook)
The Water Rat of Wanchai
The Disciple of Las Vegas
The Wild Beasts of Wuhan
The Red Pole of Macau
The Scottish Banker of Surabaya
The Two Sisters of Borneo
The King of Shanghai
The Princeling of Nanjing
The Couturier of Milan
The Imam of Tawi-Tawi
The Goddess of Yantai
The Mountain Master of Sha Tin
The Diamond Queen of Singapore
The Sultan of Sarawak
The Lost Decades of Uncle Chow Tung
Fate
Foresight
Fortune
Finale
Bonnie Jack
Copyright © 2023 Ian Hamilton
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Published in Canada in 2023 and the USA in 2023 by House of Anansi Press Inc.
www.houseofanansi.com
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
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House of Anansi Press is a Global Certified Accessible™ (GCA by Benetech) publisher. The ebook version of this book meets stringent accessibility standards and is available to readers with print disabilities.
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Title: The general of Tiananmen Square : the Triad years / Ian Hamilton.
Names: Hamilton, Ian, 1946- author.
Series: Hamilton, Ian, 1946- Ava Lee series.
Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20220401810 | Canadiana (ebook) 20220401845 | ISBN 9781487010218 (softcover) | ISBN 9781487010225 (EPUB)
Classification: LCC PS8615.A4423 G46 2023 | DDC C813/.6—dc23
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Book design: Lucia Kim
Text design: Alysia Shewchuk
Cover image: Dashu83 @ iStock Photo
Ebook Design: Nicole Lambe
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House of Anansi Press respectfully acknowledges that the land on which we operate is the Traditional Territory of many Nations, including the Anishinabeg, the Wendat, and the Haudenosaunee. It is also the Treaty Lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit.
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We acknowledge for their financial support of our publishing program the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Government of Canada.
To my first readers — John, Catherine, Robin, Carol, Lam and CC — a huge thanks for the contributions you have made over the course of many books.
( 1 )
Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat
May
It was Ava Lee’s first visit to the French Riviera, and as she sat on the terrace of her hotel suite looking out onto the Mediterranean Sea, she knew it wasn’t going to be her last. What she couldn’t understand was why she hadn’t discovered it until now.
It was an early morning in the third week of May. The weather was perfect, with clear skies and temperatures that were warm but not humid, and every morning when Ava sat on the terrace to have coffee she was greeted by a gentle breeze infused with an aroma that was a combination of flowers and the sea.
The hotel — the Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Farrat — was as magnificent as the weather. It had been chosen by Ava’s business partner May Ling Wong. Ava had initially had doubts about staying there because it was more than forty kilometres from Cannes, and Cannes — specifically the Cannes Film Festival — was the reason they were in the south of France. But May had been told about the hotel by a friend whose taste she trusted and who thought its tranquil atmosphere would be more to their liking than the craziness that was Cannes during festival time.
Eighteen months previously, Ava could never have imagined being at the film festival for any reason, let alone having a film in it. But a series of events involving Ava’s lover, the actor Pang Fai, had led Ava to a chance meeting with Fai’s former husband, Lau Lau. There was a time Lau Lau had been regarded as China’s leading film director, but when Ava met him, he was a drug-addicted, unemployable wreck of a human being. But as she spoke to him at that first meeting, memories of the great films he’d made flooded over her and she found herself wondering what if?
What if — at her expense — she could convince him to go into rehabilitation? What if she offered to pay him to write a script? What if he created one that was good enough to be filmed? What if she provided the money to make that happen? What if Lau Lau could be trusted to direct it? What if he could stay clean throughout the filming — and beyond, into editing and promotion? The result of all those “ifs” was a film named Tiananmen, and an invitation to submit the film for consideration at Cannes.
“What are you thinking about? You look like you’re completely lost in thought,” a voice asked from the terrace doorway.
She turned towards Fai. They had been lovers and constant companions for more than two years. It was the most intense and happiest relationship of Ava’s life. Tall, willowy, and elegant, Fai was stunningly beautiful, but when it came to the roles she chose, she never cared about how she looked. Lau Lau had discovered her at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing, and she had starred in all of his most successful films. Those films were hard-hitting and emotionally challenging, as they dealt with ordinary people trying to cope with the brutal realities of events like the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. There was nothing glamorous about many of the characters she had played, but she had always been willing to mute her personality and appearance to fit the role.
“I was remembering meeting Lau Lau for the first time at that artists’ commune in Beijing,” said Ava, smiling as Fai stepped behind her and wrapped her arms around Ava’s shoulders.
“What a mess he was. The world had decided he wasn’t fit to be part of it, and he had accepted the world was right until you came along,” said Fai. “Chen and I were speaking about that last night. We still don’t know what you saw in Lau Lau that made you think he was salvageable.”
Chen Jie had been Fai and Lau Lau’s agent, but had been recruited by Ava to produce Tiananmen. He was sharing another suite at the hotel with Silvana Foo, who along with Fai was starring in the film. “I wasn’t sure he was. I just thought he was worth the effort,” Ava said. “Even if he was half the director he had been, I thought he’d still turn out better work than the schlock that dominates Chinese cinema these days.”
“It turns out he’s a lot more than half of what he was. In fact, Chen, Silvana, and I think this could be the best film he’s ever made,” Fai said, moving alongside. She looked at her watch. “But in half an hour we’ll have the first indication of what the international film community thinks of it. I don’t imagine either Lau Lau or Chen slept much last night, thinking about this morning.”
“Amanda also didn’t sleep well. She called me fifteen minutes ago from Hong Kong to ask me if we’d heard anything yet,” said Ava, referring to Amanda Yee, the third partner in Three Sisters. She was also Ava’s sister-in-law through her marriage to Michael, Ava’s half-brother. “She thought it was crazy that they would schedule Tiananmen’s first viewing at seven thirty in the morning. I repeated what you told me about the tradition of morning screenings for critics and other industry people, but Amanda still can’t help thinking they’re slighting us somehow.”
“I thought it was strange the first time I came here, but it’s the way things have always been done — the morning screening for critics, and the evening premiere for the public. The premiere is the main event, and the critics are expected to hold back their reviews and opinions until it’s over, but word always leaks out. And in this case, we have Harris Jones on the inside. He told Chen he’d call him as soon as the screening is finished.”
“Are we paying him to do that, or is he simply being unethical on our behalf?” Ava asked with a smile.
“Harris is a film critic, and even if it is for London’s most prestigious newspaper, the job doesn’t require him to pass a morality test,” Fai said. “Besides, I also think he genuinely fell in love with our movie when he saw the rough cut in Taipei. It was very shrewd of Chen to let him be the first outsider to see it. He became our champion and promoted the hell out of it to the programmers at Cannes. And when Harris champions, people listen. Chen says he’s the most influential film critic in the English language since Pauline Kael.”
“All those months of work, all those months of anticipation, and it all comes down to what a bunch of strangers think of your work at seven in the morning,” Ava said. “What amazes me is how calm you are.”
“Lau Lau has made a great film. I’ll believe that regardless of what the critics think.”
“Looking back, I remember you were as calm in London when we launched the PÖ line at Fashion Week,” Ava said. “The rest of us we
“What made me nervous that day was the lunch after the London show. I decided to flirt with you — except you didn’t pick up on it,” said Fai.
“I was too star-struck to believe it was possible you could be interested in me.”
“Well, it was a good thing that I persisted,” Fai said, and then kissed Ava gently on the lips.
“Do you want to go back to bed?” Ava asked.
Fai smiled, but before she could say anything, her phone rang. She almost leapt at it. “Wei,” she answered, listened for a few seconds, and then said, “Chen, you have to slow down. I can barely understand what you’re trying to tell me.”
Ava couldn’t hear Chen, but she kept her eyes locked on Fai and tried to discern her reaction. Her face was impassive until her eyebrows rose and her mouth formed a large O. “That should make tonight’s preview more interesting,” Fai said. “We’ll see you at five-thirty in the lobby.”
“Well?” Ava asked as Fai put down the phone.
“Jones told Chen that people stood and clapped when the film ended. Chen is so overwhelmed he could hardly talk,” she said.
“What a relief. I’m so happy for Lau Lau,” Ava said. “So that’s one group down and one to go. I pray that the public screening goes as well.”
“That’s never a guarantee, but this is a wonderful start.”
“Are Chen and Silvana going to join May and us for lunch today? I’d like to hear everything Jones had to say,” said Ava.
“I don’t think we’ll see Chen. We still need to find a distributor, and he’ll want to initiate more talks while the iron is hot,” Fai said.
“He did explain his strategy to me. I wasn’t sure it was smart to gamble so much on Cannes and hoped we’d be able to land a deal with one of the big international distribution companies here, but if this morning went as well as Jones said then Chen may be right again.
“And if he is, you’ll get back the money you invested, and maybe even more, and if we don’t get a mega-deal then he can still piece together a bunch of smaller, regional ones.”
“What would the impact be if we managed to win the Palme d’Or?” Ava asked.
“It is almost too much to imagine, but I can’t deny that Chen and I have fantasized about it. But that’s what it is, a fantasy. I’m just happy we’re here and that our film is being seen.”
( 2 )
Tiananmen was scheduled to be shown at seven thirty that night, and a public relations firm Chen had hired would manage Fai, Ava, and May’s arrival at the Palais des Festivals, guide them up the red carpet, handle the media and photographers who would be there, and get them into their seats in time for the start of the film.
Ava and May had been reluctant to do the red carpet, but Fai and Chen insisted they join them. May actually didn’t put up much protest, and spent a day in Shanghai with Clark Po looking at dresses he had created for her before flying into Nice.
Fai didn’t visit with Clark, but they had communicated online. She had always worn Chinese dresses at premieres, and asked him to carry on the tradition. He had made two cheongsams for her, and she insisted Ava decide which one she should wear.
The first was made of red silk with fine ribbons of green and silver, but was rather traditional with a short collar and sleeves, and a moderate slit up one leg.
The second was an electric-blue colour shot through with bright gold strands, a collar that reached almost to Fai’s cheekbones, bell-shaped split sleeves that dangled over her wrists, and a slit that went all the way to her upper thigh.
“What do you think?” Fai asked. “The red one is beautiful, but rather safe, while the blue dress is unlike anything I’ve ever worn. Is it too much?”
“It will certainly attract attention, but what’s the point in coming to Cannes and walking the red carpet if you don’t do that?” Ava said. “Truthfully, the dress by itself is fantastic, and on you it is even more fantastic. This is a special night. The blue cheongsam is a special dress. It’s the one to wear.”
“Then that is what I’ll have on,” Fai said. “I have to say, though, I wish you would wear something a little more colourful than your black dress.”
“Clark made it for me to wear at the reception the night before we introduced the PÖ brand in Shanghai. It makes me feel really feminine. It has also been lucky, and you know how I value luck.”
“Well, it is sexy. Every time I see you in it, it makes me amorous.”
“I’m sure that would make Clark very happy.”
“It should, and so will the fact he’ll have four dresses on the red carpet tonight, when you count May and Silvana.”
Ava hadn’t yet seen what May and Silvana were going to wear, and the way their day was structured, there wouldn’t be the chance until it was time to get into the limos. After the call from Chen, Ava and Fai had gone back to bed and then spent the rest of the morning by the pool. The women were excited when they met for lunch with May and Silvana, where they talked about the critics’ screening, and then they went to their suites to wait for the hairstylists and makeup artists hired by the public relations company.
Ava rarely wore makeup other than a touch of mascara and lipstick, and her hair hadn’t changed in years. She either wore it parted down the middle and let it hang to her shoulders, or pulled it back and fastened it with a chignon pin. Her trips to the hairdresser were for trims and not much more. The last time she had experienced anything different was when she was a maid of honour at Amanda’s wedding and had to undergo her hair being piled on top of her head and sprayed into a solid block. She had hated it, and was determined not to let anyone do that again, so when the hairstylist arrived at her and Fai’s suite, Ava waved off the attempt to sculpt her hair. She did submit to some extra makeup when the artist pointed out that, without some colour added to her cheeks and lips, her skin was going to look washed out under the camera flashes.
While the beauty crew worked on Fai, Ava slipped on her dress and went to sit on the terrace. Before partnering with May Ling and Amanda, she had been in the debt collection business with an elderly Hong Konger named Uncle. He was a wise man, and he had loved her like a granddaughter and provided her with advice that she continued to value and use. One of the things he’d said to her often was: “We should never get ahead of ourselves or assume too much. We should accept things for what they are and not what we want them to be.” And that’s what she thought as she waited for Fai’s hairstylist to finish. It was terrific that the film had been well-received by the critics, but was that because they actually liked it, or was it possible that some had reacted positively because they wanted to see Lau Lau make a comeback and were willing to embrace whatever he made? The audience reaction that night would be a better gauge, she decided. Then her phone rang and she saw Chen’s name on the screen.
“I thought we were meeting at five thirty, that’s only minutes from now,” she answered. “What happened that you can’t wait until then? Have you already sealed a distribution deal?”
“No, but there is definite interest and we’ll get offers,” he said. “But I’m calling to give you and Fai a heads-up about tonight. When I was in Cannes today having lunch with a distributor, I found myself sitting two tables away from Mo and a group of his executives. They are here in force.”
Ava hesitated. “Mo who is chairman of the China Movie Syndicate?”
“Yes, one and the same.”
“What is he doing here?” she asked.
“Well, given that he manages the organization that has to approve every film made in China, and every film that foreign companies want to screen in China, it is logical that he would attend one of the most prestigious film festivals in the world,” Chen said.
