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J.J. Woo
Business and
Politics in Asia's
Key Financial
Centres
Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai
Business and Politics in Asia’s Key Financial
Centres
J.J. Woo
Business and Politics

in Asia’s Key Financial
Centres
Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai
123
J.J. Woo
Nanyang Technological University
Singapore
Singapore
ISBN 978-981-287-983-7 ISBN 978-981-287-985-1 (eBook)

DOI 10.1007/978-981-287-985-1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015957802
© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016

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The registered company is Springer Science+Business Media Singapore Pte Ltd.
To Debbie,
for providing care, support and inspiration
Preface
The (re)emergence of Asia as an economic power has been accompanied by the rise
of Asian cities as the hubs of financial activity. This book focuses on three of these
cities: Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. Ranked among the world’s most
competitive financial centres, these three cities have established themselves as
Asia’s leading International Financial Centres (IFCs). In acting as intermediaries for
global flows of capital, these three cities have effectively become the nexuses of
power and finance. This book represents an attempt to understand the ways in
which the political-economic context impacts financial sector development and
policy-making.
In this book, I argue that each city is characterised by its unique policy subsystem
configuration, with financial sector development and policy-making “nested”
within the political-economic context of the IFC’s policy subsystem. In order to
provide a conceptual understanding of how the policy subsystem configuration
impacts policy-making, I introduce the “nested instrumental approach”. As an
integrative framework of analysis that draws on the insights of both the policy
subsystems and the policy instruments approaches, the nested instrumental
approach allows for a more integrated understanding of both political context and
policy considerations in the financial policy process. In doing so, it elucidates the
causal linkages between context and policy.
This focus on context answers an important question that has driven the research
behind this book: How have Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai achieved
comparable levels of success despite differences in their political-economic con-
ditions? While much of the existing analysis tends to focus on economic structural
variables of IFC development and hence compare and rank the three cities on the
assumption of their similarity, the reality is that IFCs differ in many respects.
Specifically, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai are characterised by their unique
and different political systems, models of financial governance and comparative
advantages. Such differences affect the development trajectory of each IFC and
determine the policy options available to its policy-makers.
vii
viii Preface
With Asian IFCs becoming increasingly influential and powerful, there is a need
to understand the political-economic mechanisms that make these cities “tick”.
Hopefully, this book provides a useful way for more research into these cities.
It also seeks to contribute to ongoing scholarly efforts at theorising the public policy
process. Given the increasingly complex policy environment of today, there is an
ever-greater need for more integrative and context-sensitive frameworks of policy
analysis. The nested instrumental approach presents one such possibility. In
addressing the “nested instrumentality” that is inherent in the financial policy
process, this book addresses the politics of finance, examining the inter-relations
between business and finance in three of the Asia’s top financial centres.
Acknowledgments
This book could not have been possible without the support of the Lee Kuan Yew
School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, where it was first
developed as my doctoral thesis. I am therefore immensely grateful to the School’s
Dean, Professor Kishore Mahbubani for his support and encouragement. My thesis
advisers, M. Ramesh and Michael Howlett, have also been instrumental in their
guidance, having read and commented extensively on earlier versions of this book.
I am also indebted to Darryl Jarvis, for having introduced me to the world of
financial centres and encouraging my interest in international political economy.
Throughout my research and conception of this book, I have had the privilege of
being mentored and guided by a stellar cast of academics. They include Kenneth
Paul Tan, Suzaina Kadir, Dodo J. Thampapillai, John Ravenhill and Richard
Carney. Their work continues to inspire me in my sojourn into the world of public
policy and international political economy, and I am grateful for having had the
opportunity to learn from them. I truly stand on the shoulders of giants.
Last but not least, I am extremely thankful to my family and friends for their love
and support. To my parents and my sister Huiwen, for their constant presence in my
life and the familial love that only they could provide. To Debbie, who has been a
wonderful companion and source of inspiration. I am also thankful to Leong Ching
and G. Nandhakumar for their friendship and hours of intellectually stimulating
conversations. I hope my work does justice to all the support and encouragement I
have received from all of you.
ix
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2 IFC Studies and the Politics of Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Financial Sector Policy and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
International Financial Centres. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
The Politics of Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3 Taking a Public Policy Theoretical Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Policy Instruments and the Design Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Policy Subsystems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Analytical Framework: The Nested Instrumental Approach . . . . . . . . . 39
Research Design and Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Case Study Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Qualitative Data. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4 Hong Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Determinants of Competitive Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Financial Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Regulatory Regime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Financial Policy Mix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Financial Policy Subsystem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
xi
xii Contents
5 Singapore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Sources of Competitive Advantage. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
6 Shanghai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Determinants of Competitive Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
7 Comparisons and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Comparative Advantages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Financial Governance and Regulatory Agencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Application of the Nested Instrumental Approach. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
Hong Kong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Singapore . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Shanghai. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
8 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Summary of Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Contributions to Literature and Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
Implications for Policy-Makers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Going Forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
About the Author
J.J. Woo is an assistant professor in the Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme
of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University.
He holds a Ph.D. from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National
University of Singapore, and a Master of Science in International Political Economy
from the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological
University. His research interests include Singapore politics, international financial
centres and the political economy of finance.
xiii
List of Figures
Figure 1.1 Nested instrumental approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Figure 3.2 Nested instrumental approach (detailed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Figure 3.3 Two channels of policy mix nesting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Figure 7.2 Hong Kong’s nested instrumental framework . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Figure 7.3 Singapore’s nested instrumental framework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Figure 7.4 Shanghai’s nested instrumental framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
xv
List of Tables
Table 7.1 Summary of comparative analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Table 7.2 Comparative advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Table 7.3 Financial governance models and regulatory agencies . . . . . . . 125
Table 7.4 Financial policy mixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Table 7.5 Financial policy subsystems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
xvii
Acronyms
AFC Asian Financial Crisis

CBRC China Banking Regulatory Commission
CIRC China Insurance Regulatory Commission
CSRC China Securities Regulatory Commission
DBS Development Bank of Singapore
FSO Shanghai Municipality Financial Services Office
FWPC Shanghai Financial Work Party Committee
GFC Global Financial Crisis
HKEx Hong Kong Stock Exchange
HKMA Hong Kong Monetary Authority
HSBC Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation
IFC International Financial Centre
MAS Monetary Authority of Singapore
PBC People’s Bank of China
SGX Singapore Stock Exchange
SSE Shanghai Stock Exchange
xix
Chapter 1
Introduction
Asia has been experiencing rapid economic growth for the past few decades. This
rapid economic expansion has been accompanied by an equally precipitous growth
in the region’s financial markets. As a consequence of this widespread financial-
ization, Asian cities have grown in prominence as International Financial Centres
(IFCs). According to the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) 17 that was
released in March 2015, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo were, respectively,
ranked the third, fourth and fifth most competitive financial centres in the world
(Yeandle 2015). In other words, three of the world’s top five financial centres are
from Asia. Other Asian cities ranked within the GFCI’s top twenty most compet-
itive financial centres include Seoul (seventh) and Shanghai (sixteenth).
It is also impossible to talk about economic development in Asia without
mentioning the rise of China. Asia’s economic development has largely been a
beneficiary of China and its emergence as an economic superpower. Beginning with
the opening up of its economy in 1979 and leveraging on its ample workforce,
China has established itself as the world’s leading producer of goods and services.
With rapid urbanization and an increasingly affluent population, China has also
become a burgeoning consumer market for firms, with China’s growing domestic
demand strengthening Asian supply chains (The Economist 2015). This systematic
significance of China’s economy is even more pronounced in global finance.
China’s financial markets have deepened and grown over the past two decades.
Based on its high savings rate and inward foreign direct investments, China has
accumulated the world’s largest reserves, while outward capital flows have been
growing due to foreign direct investments and global lending by its sovereign
wealth fund Chinese Investment Corporation (CIC) and Chinese companies, both
state-owned and privately held (Dobbs et al. 2013). The Industrial and Commercial
Bank of China Limited (ICBC), a state-owned bank, has also been recognized as a
global systematically important bank by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) (ICBC
2013).
Among the GFCI’s top twenty global financial centres, three cities are strongly
affected by and involved in China’s financial growth. These three cities are Hong
Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. These three cities have experienced economic and
financial growth on the back of China’s economic rise. More importantly, all three
cities are important nodes in China’s ongoing efforts to internationalize its currency,
© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 1
J.J. Woo, Business and Politics in Asia’s Key Financial Centres,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-287-985-1_1
2 1 Introduction
the Renminbi (RMB). While Hong Kong and Singapore are leading offshore RMB
centres, Shanghai is generally recognized as China’s main domestic financial centre
and hence onshore RMB centre.
Given their systematic significance to Asian financial development, this book
focuses on the three IFCs of Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. It addresses the
political-economic conditions which have contributed to the success of the three
IFCs and emphasizes the importance of sociopolitical context in informing financial
policy processes. This contributes to existing studies of IFC development that tend
to be based solely on the analysis of economic variables and preconditions for
financial sector development. This existing IFC literature is reviewed in the next
chapter. Based on case studies of the three IFCs, I argue that political contextual
variables are important in determining an IFC’s success and defining the nature of
its development.
Based on these existing economic studies of IFC development, financial centre
rankings such as the GFCI tend to be relatively simplistic and overly reliant on
quantifiable measures of competitiveness and connectivity that overstate the
homogeneity of factors contributing to IFC success and development. These factors
typically include strategic location and time zone, clustering and agglomeration of
economic and financial activity, and the presence of transparent and robust regu-
latory and legal infrastructures. Hierarchies of IFCs have been built based on the
prevalence of these factors as well as the size of the financial sector in different
IFCs, implying a convergence among financial centres based on the development of
these common success factors. These hierarchies continue to inform the IFC
rankings that currently hold sway over policy-makers and public opinion on IFC
development and success.
In reality, IFCs are vastly differentiated from each other. Each IFC is involved in
a unique set of financial activities and follows variegated paths of historical and
policy developments. Expectations of regulatory and IFC convergence in the
existing literature provide an inadequate basis for understanding IFC development
and result in an insufficiently comprehensive understanding of the types of policies
required for IFC success. Furthermore, there has been insufficient emphasis on the
political-economic context and set within this context, the policy preferences of
policy-makers underpinning each IFC’s development.
As a result, the existing literature paints an overly homogenous picture of IFC
development, without adequately addressing the political-economic and policy
differences across different IFCs. This is an important point to note, given that
differences exist across the three cases of Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai in
terms of their political systems and context, models of financial governance, the
types of financial markets that each IFC is comparatively advantaged in, and the
financial policies used by their respective governments in IFC development.
Singapore’s rise as a leading IFC has been driven by its strategic geographic
location, political and economic stability, efficient and reliable infrastructure, high
regulatory standards and robust legal system. While offering a broad range of
financial services, Singapore’s financial centre is characterized by its formative role
in the Asian Dollar Market, its deep and liquid capital markets, and its emerging
1 Introduction 3
role as a leading hub for wealth management and insurance (Monetary Authority of
Singapore 2014). Although Singapore’s development as an IFC was initially
state-driven, with the financial sector recognized by the government as a priority
sector contributing to overall economic development, subsequent involvement of
the private sector in financial policy through extensive consultation and dialogues
has resulted in state–industry “co-creation” of financial policies.
Similarly, Hong Kong’s success as an IFC is based on its low taxes, sound legal
system and efficient infrastructure. Furthermore, it benefits from its economic and
political proximity to rising China. This availability of a Chinese “economic hin-
terland” has allowed Hong Kong to become China’s main offshore financial centre
and constitutes the Special Administrative Region’s (SAR) main advantage (Wilson
2012). Hong Kong has since capitalized on this “China advantage” by leveraging
on the ongoing liberalization of the RMB and positioning itself as the leading
offshore RMB centre (Ng 2012).
In contrast to the Singapore government’s more proactive financial policy role,
Hong Kong largely operates according to free market principles, with state inter-
vention kept to a minimum. However, this means that state–industry linkages are
less dense, since the government’s non-interventionist stance does not require as
much feedback from the industry. While industry consultation does take place, it
does not contribute significantly to financial policy-making. Nonetheless, the Hong
Kong government has recently played a more active role in developing a market for
trade in RMB and RMB-denominated investment products, vigorously promoting
itself as the leading offshore RMB centre.
Despite being a relative late comer, Shanghai’s rapid rise over the past decade
has made it the “domestic financial hub of mainland China” and a centre for a
diverse variety of Chinese financial activities (Laurenceson and Tang 2005). It is
also slated to become a full IFC by 2020 (Lim 2013) and aims to become a global
centre for RMB trading by 2015 (Bloomberg 2012). All this is intricately linked to
China’s overall national development, with the state “determining the timing, pace
and economic and spatial configuration of Shanghai’s development” (Lai 2006b).
Shanghai’s economic reforms are thus linked to national goals of economic
development and financialization.
Financial sector development in Shanghai is heavily state-driven, with both
central and municipal government agencies actively involved in financial
policy-making. Like Hong Kong, financial policy-making lies within the control of
the state. However, Shanghai exhibits a much larger extent of state intervention in
financial markets than Hong Kong. Given that a majority of the financial institu-
tions operating in Shanghai are state-owned or joint ventures with state-owned
enterprises, financial market participation in Shanghai is also state-dominated.
Unlike the case of Singapore, there is very little space for private sector industry
actors to influence financial policy-making in Shanghai.
In short, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai are each driven by their unique
political-economic circumstances, which further feeds into each IFC’s unique
financial policy practices and preferences. Observers have noted that “Asia’s
multiple and varied financial centres reflect not only the region’s vast geography but
4 1 Introduction
also its different economic realities” (The Economist 2007). Despite such distinct
differences in political-economic circumstances, all three cities have rapidly risen
up the ranks to become the fastest growing IFCs in Asia. A core argument of this
book is that such success was achieved through the respective governments’ roles in
formulating and implementing financial policies that are tailored to each IFC’s
political-economic circumstances.
This means that each IFC’s success is underpinned by a unique set or mix of
financial policies. Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai have thus attained com-
parable levels of success as the fastest growing IFCs in Asia based on the imple-
mentation of different mixes of financial policies that reflect their unique individual
political-economic contexts. This extends the analysis beyond the existing litera-
ture’s focus on IFC convergence, which does not adequately take into account such
differences in political-economic context and the types of financial policies
implemented within each IFC but instead overemphasizes commonality in eco-
nomic structural variables.
In short, this book seeks to provide a clearer understanding of how Hong Kong,
Singapore and Shanghai have each risen to their positions as leading Asian IFCs,
focusing in particular on the interactions between the political exigencies of policy
subsystems and policy considerations in the form of policy instruments and mixes.
Given that the existing literature does not provide the analytical tools that allow for
such an undertaking, this book develops an analytical framework termed the
“nested instrumental approach”, which combines the policy subsystem and policy
instruments approaches for a more integrated and nuanced analysis of IFC devel-
opment. This approach is briefly described in the next section and further discussed
in Chap. 3.
In combining the policy subsystem and policy instruments approaches, the
nested instrumental approach provides an integrated framework for analysis that
melds both political context and policy considerations in understanding IFC
development and success. While Chap. 3 provides a deeper discussion of the
approach by delineating its component parts and describing its inherent logic of
“nested instrumentality”, this section briefly introduces the nested instrumental
approach. Figure 1.1 provides a general illustration of the nested instrumental
approach.
As Fig. 1.1 shows, the nested instrumental approach takes the policy subsystem
as its basic unit of analysis. A policy subsystem is essentially a set of “actors with
sufficient knowledge of a problem area, or a resource at stake, to allow them to
Nested Instrumentality
Subsystem
Policy Mix Policy Output
Configuration
Fig. 1.1 Nested instrumental approach

1 Introduction 5
participate in the process of developing possible alternative courses of action to

address the issues raised at the agenda-setting stage” (Howlett et al. 2009). While
policy subsystem configuration has been related to the openness of a subsystem to
new actors and ideas (Howlett and Ramesh 1998), this book defines policy sub-
system configuration around relations of dominance and dependence among sub-
system actors. This means that subsystems are configured around a dominant actor
or set of actors. This concept of subsystem actor dominance draws from Sabatier’s
work on advocacy coalitions, which posits the presence of dominant coalitions
within a subsystem (Sabatier 1988).
Policy subsystem configurations subsequently define policy mix design, which
in turn determines the attainment of desired policy outputs. In other words, a policy
mix is “nested” within its policy subsystem, with the design of the policy mix and
its component instruments defined by the interests, preferences and beliefs of
dominant actors. This use of policy instruments as a means for achieving policy
outputs within the political-economic context of the policy subsystem connotes a
logic of “nested instrumentality”. Furthermore, dominant actors influence policy
mix design through two channels: an instrumental channel that involves instru-
mental constituencies and an ideational channel involving advocacy coalitions.
Such a logic of nested instrumentality underpins IFC development in Hong
Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. As will be discussed in later chapters, all three
cases show how individual subsystem configurations have led to the design of
unique policy mixes that both reflect and cater to the interests, preferences, and
beliefs of dominant subsystem actors and which are implemented for the attainment
of desired policy outputs such as financial system stability or IFC development. The
nested instrumental approach will be discussed at greater length in Chap. 3.
Based on the nested instrumental approach, I argue that IFC success in all three
cases is related to the way in which policy mix design is embedded within each
IFC’s unique policy subsystem configuration. As discussed in later chapters,
financial policy mixes typically comprise stabilizing, developmental and enabling
policies in varying weightage, reflecting the interests and preferences of dominant
subsystem actors. Specifically, dominant subsystem actors are able to influence
policy mix design, in terms of the weightage of these three types of financial
policies within a financial policy mix, through two channels: an instrumental
channel involving participation in instruments constituencies and an ideational
channel involving the formation of advocacy coalitions.
As the rest of this book will show, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai have all
attained success as IFCs by nesting policy mix design within the political-economic
context of prevailing policy subsystem configurations. The presence of a unique
policy subsystem configuration in each IFC has led to the adaptive formulation and
implementation of policy mixes tailored to the IFC’s subsystem configuration. This
is largely achieved through the influence of dominant subsystem actors working
through instrumental and ideational channels to exercise and enforce their instru-
ment preferences and policy beliefs in policy mix design.
The nested instrumental approach provides a useful conceptual framework for
exploring this causal linkage between subsystem configuration and policy mix
6 1 Introduction
design, by combining and integrating the policy instruments and policy subsystems
approaches. While the nested instrumental approach contributes theoretically to
public policy theory, this book is also an empirical study of Hong Kong, Singapore
and Shanghai as IFCs. These three cases are also highly suited for a comparative
IFC study, given their similarities and differences.
The three IFCs are highly comparable. Consistently ranked among the top five
most competitive IFCs globally, Hong Kong and Singapore are the most successful
IFCs to have emerged from Asia. While Shanghai’s position in global rankings has
fluctuated, it remains ranked among the top IFCs in Asia. Furthermore, the Chinese
central government has made clear its intentions to establish Shanghai as a leading
IFC by 2020. Taken together, Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai are the fastest
growing IFCs in Asia. Furthermore, all three IFCs have emerged from similar
historical roles as trading entrepot. While Hong Kong and Singapore first started off
as trading ports for their British colonial masters, Shanghai has a long history of
being a key port for Chinese trade with the rest of the world.
In all three cases, the emergence and development of early financial institutions
was predicated upon the presence of substantial trade activity. As a consequence of
their positions as global trade and finance hubs, Hong Kong, Singapore and
Shanghai are all considered major or “Alpha+” global cities (Sassen 2001; GaWC
Research Network 2011). The three cities also share a similar colonial history. Both
Hong Kong and Singapore started off as British colonies, while Shanghai experi-
enced occupation by Britain, France, the USA and Japan between the Opium War
and the Second World War. The presence of foreign powers in all three cases had
stimulated increased cross-border trading activities and the emergence of financial
services related to foreign trade.
In terms of governance, all three IFCs are run by highly capable and autonomous
governments.1 Since its independence in 1965, Singapore’s People’s Action Party
(PAP) has retained one-party rule. Given continued popular support for the PAP,
the Singapore government possesses an extraordinary amount of policy autonomy
and capacity. Although Hong Kong was returned to Chinese rule in 1997, its status
as a Special Autonomous Region (SAR) has allowed the Hong Kong government to
retain a high level of autonomy in economic policy-making. While Shanghai is
neither an independent state nor an autonomous region but a municipality under
Chinese central government rule, the Shanghai municipal government enjoys sig-
nificant autonomy from the centre (Wu 2000; Lai 2006a), bolstered by the presence
of a pro-growth coalition led by the local government (Zhang 2002).
However, the three cases are also different in two important ways. These dif-
ferences provide a useful basis for comparative study. First, political and policy
arrangements differ across the three IFCs. The Hong Kong government operates
within a highly liberal political environment and plays a minimal role in financial
1
Hong Kong and Singapore are both ranked highly on government effectiveness by the World
Bank’s Governance Indicators, http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/index.aspx#reports; for
the effectiveness and autonomy of the Shanghai government, see (Wu 2000).
1 Introduction 7
sector development due to its belief in the free markets. In contrast, the Singapore
government is much more hands-on in its approach to financial sector development,
although industry actors are also heavily involved and influential in the formulation
of financial policies. While Shanghai is similarly state-driven in its financial sector
development, it does not feature private sector actors in financial policy-making due
to the dominance of state-owned banks and financial institutions in its financial
markets.
As such, financial policy-making in Shanghai is almost completely
state-dominated, while that in Singapore is state-led with strong private sector
participation and Hong Kong’s laissez-faire approach features minimal government
intervention that allows private sector actors to drive financial sector development
within the boundaries of the legal and regulatory infrastructure. These differences in
political-economic context flow into differences in the types of policies enacted to
develop the respective financial sectors. This linkage between political context and
the policy process is further discussed in later chapters.
Second, the three IFCs feature distinctly different types of financial markets and
activities. This has resulted in the formation of different comparative advantages
across the three IFCs. Hong Kong’s deep and liquid securities market and proximity
to China have allowed it to establish itself as a loan syndication and offshore RMB
centre. Based on its first mover advantage in establishing the Asian Development
Market and the government’s successful efforts at attracting private banking and
fund management activities, Singapore is well-established as a Foreign Exchange
(Forex) and Wealth Management Centre. Owing to the Chinese government’s fiscal
policies and the size of Shanghai’s primary and secondary sectors, Shanghai has
relatively large and active markets for debt and commodities futures (Jao 2003).
While similarities across the three cases make Hong Kong, Singapore and
Shanghai comparable as case studies, differences in the three cities’ political sys-
tems and financial governance models provide useful independent variables for
studying IFC success in the three cities. Such differences in political context and
financial policy practices are important for illustrating how different financial policy
regimes can lead to comparable levels of IFC development and success. Drawing
on the example of Hong Kong and Singapore, Tan and Lim note that similar levels
of IFC success may be driven by “different philosophies” and different extents of
government intervention (Tan and Lim 2007).
Importantly, differences in the financial sector specializations of the three IFCs
refute the existing literature’s expectations of IFC convergence and suggest the
need for a deeper study of how unique comparative advantages are developed as a
consequence of different policy instruments and mixes used in IFC development.
By delving into the subsystem configurations and policy mixes of each IFC and
how these have driven their individual successes, this book addresses existing gaps
in current understandings of IFC development and success.
The remainder of this book serve to further elucidate and explicate the points
introduced above. A review of the relevant literature is provided in Chap. 2. In this
chapter, I first review the literature on financial policy and financial sector regu-
lation in general, followed by the more specialized IFC literature. However, these
8 1 Introduction
literatures do not adequately explain the exact means through which governments
of IFCs attain success nor do they address the impact of the political-economic
context on IFC development. Hence, there is a need for a new theoretical frame-
work based on an amalgamation of the existing work on policy subsystems and
policy instruments.
This is provided in Chap. 3, which delves into the theoretical framework and
research methodology underlying this book. The theoretical framework that will
guide the analysis in the rest of this book is the “nested instrumental approach”.
This is based on a combination of the policy instruments and policy subsystems
approaches, both of which are discussed in this chapter by way of a brief literature
review. Having provided an overview of the policy instruments and policy sub-
systems literature, this chapter will then discuss the theoretical and conceptual
foundations of the nested instrumental approach. This is followed by a discussion of
the methodology that has informed and guided the research behind this book.
Chapters 4–6 delve into the actual cases, with Chap. 4 focusing on Hong Kong,
Chap. 5 on Singapore, and Chap. 6 on Shanghai. These chapters provide a
descriptive introduction to each IFC, focusing on aspects related to the components
of the nested instrumental approach. Each chapter briefly introduces the IFC and its
historical background and describes its unique comparative advantage, model of
financial governance, regulatory regime, policy mix and policy subsystem config-
uration. Taken together, Chaps. 4–6 provide in-depth descriptions of the cases, with
an emphasis on the political-economic context of each IFC and the policies enacted
to build and develop these IFCs.
Description is naturally followed by analysis. Chapter 7 provides a comparative
analysis of the three cases, explaining similarities and differences across the cases in
terms of their comparative advantages, financial governance models, regulatory
agencies, financial policy mixes and financial policy subsystems. The “nested
instrumental approach” is then applied to the analysis of the three cases, providing
an integrated comparison that combines both political and policy variables.
Chapter 8 summarizes the findings, insights and core arguments of this book,
highlighting in particular its theoretical and empirical contributions to existing IFC
studies. Policy implications and recommendations associated with these findings
are also discussed, along with other potential avenues for research on IFCs. This
chapter will serve as a conclusion for the book.
References
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Dobbs R, Leung N, Lund S (2013) China’s rising stature in global finance. McKinsey Q
GaWC Research Network (2011) The World according to GaWC 2010. Loughborough
University, Leicestershire, UK
Howlett M (2009) Governance modes, policy regimes and operational plans: a multi-level nested
model of policy instrument choice and policy design. Policy Sci 42:73–89
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Sabatier PA (1988) An advocacy coalition framework of policy change and the role of
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The Economist (2015) Made in China? The Economist
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City. Urban Stud 37:1359–1377
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Authority, London, UK
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Rev 37:475–499
Chapter 2
IFC Studies and the Politics of Finance
The agglomeration and clustering of financial sector activity within cities has
resulted in the establishment of the IFC as a subject of research and academic
inquiry. IFC studies have also drawn from an existing literature on financial sector
development and policy. Policy-makers seeking to develop their cities as financial
hubs have long recognized the importance of understanding the nature of financial
sector development as well as the financial policies that underpin an IFC’s success.
A well-established literature on financial sector policy and development provides
the analytical tools required for understanding how government policies facilitate or
affect IFC development.
Yet, this literature does not adequately take into account contextual and spatial
variables, focusing instead on financial policy only at a general level and within the
domestic economy. The recognition of these flaws prompted the development of a
more specific literature on IFCs that sought to document and understand the rise and
success of leading IFCs such as London and New York. Predominantly driven by
the work of economists and geographers, these studies contributed to the formation
of a specific literature on IFCs that accounts for spatiality and temporality in
financial policy. Taken together, the literatures on financial policy and IFCs provide
the background information and conceptual knowledge necessary for studying the
success of Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai as IFCs.
Furthermore, there has been a growing interest in the “politics of finance” among
economists and financial experts, with a focus on the influence and implications of
politics on financial sector development. However, this emerging strand of research
remains at a relatively nascent stage. The remainder of this chapter will provide a
critical review of the existing literature on IFCs, financial sector policy and
development, as well as emerging studies on the politics of finance. In providing an
overview of these literatures, this chapter situates the rest of the book within
existing IFC studies and points out the ways in which it contributes to this literature.
© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 11

J.J. Woo, Business and Politics in Asia’s Key Financial Centres,
DOI 10.1007/978-981-287-985-1_2
12 2 IFC Studies and the Politics of Finance
Financial Sector Policy and Development
Given the financial sector’s role in generating revenues and supporting real eco-
nomic growth, research and scholarly work on financial policy have long been
related to the impact of the financial sector on the real economy. Financial sector
development has been shown to be an important driving force for economic growth
through what is known as a “finance–growth nexus” (De Gregorio and Guidotti
1995; Jayaratne and Strahan 1996; Levine 1997; Beck et al. 2000; Levine et al.
2000; Rajan and Zingales 2001a; Calderón and Liu 2003; Demirguc-Kunt and
Levine 2008; Zhang and Chen 2013), with financial depth identified as a significant
contributing variable to real economic growth (King and Levine 1993). Financial
sector development also stimulates growth less directly by boosting manufacturing
activities and stimulating trade (Beck 2002). Conversely, real economic growth
may also stimulate financial sector expansion via increased savings, suggesting a
“reciprocal externality” between the financial and real sectors within an overall
process of endogenous growth (Berthelemy and Varoudakis 1996).
Given this important contribution of financial sector development to economic
growth, scholarly work in the fields of economics and IPE has largely been focused
on understanding how states promote economic growth and competitiveness
through financial sector development. However, economists have tended to view
financial sector development as a market-driven consequence of burgeoning supply
and demand for financial services, while IPE scholars have focused on the active,
targeted and often strategic government interventions that drive financial sector
development (Cerny 1993a). Nonetheless, economists have since taken a greater
interest in the stabilizing role of government interventions in financial markets,
especially after the 2008 GFC. This brought a renewed focus on financial policies
as both the cause of and potential solution to financial crises (Krugman 2009;
Claessens et al. 2010; Stiglitz 2010; Demirgüç-Kunt and Servén 2010; Rötheli
2010; Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission 2011; Rajan 2011; Roubini and Mihm
2011; Peters et al. 2011; Gertler et al. 2012).
However, these studies remained focused on crisis management measures rather
than measures geared towards building up and developing new financial markets or
sectors. This more developmental focus would be taken up by scholars of IPE, who
in the 1990s focused on the role of the state in promulgating policies aimed at
financial sector development. This state-centric approach has yielded key theoret-
ical innovations such as the developmental state and competition state models
(Cerny 1993a, b; Leftwich 1995; Palan et al. 1996). Other IPE scholars have sought
to understand financial sector development in the context of the international sys-
tem by identifying liberal, realist, pluralist and cognitive models for understanding
global finance (Cohen 1996; Dombrowski 1998). However, these IPE studies did
not as yet provide a sufficiently clear understanding of the precise measures used by
the state to facilitate financial sector development.
This lacuna would be addressed by researchers who focused specifically on the
study of financial policies. At the heart of financial sector development is financial
Financial Sector Policy and Development 13
policy. According to Polak, financial policies relate to both the domestic financial
structure of the economy and the external financial structure, with the latter
including exchange rates, and the rules and institutions that guide capital flows
(Polak 1989). Polak reaffirms the “finance–growth nexus” by noting that economic
development is the “yardstick by which financial flows and financial policies can be
made commensurate” (Polak 1989). This necessitates a strong regulatory role of the
state, with government interventions focused on reducing market failure (Stiglitz
et al. 1993).
Demirguc-Kunt and Levine have emphasized the importance of financial policies
in shaping the “structure and functioning of financial systems” by ensuring political
and macroeconomic stability, establishing the legal and information infrastructure
necessary for financial transactions to take place as well as a regulatory and
supervisory infrastructure that “enables” and empowers markets by encouraging
financial market competition, liberalization and access (Demirguc-Kunt and Levine
2008). Similarly, the World Bank’s recent GFDR report emphasizes the role of the
state in better aligning private incentives to private interests, establishing sound
regulatory and supervisory frameworks, encouraging financial market contestability
and competition, promoting transparency of information and strengthening the
governance of state-owned banks (The World Bank 2013).
Hellman, Murdock and Stiglitz have also suggested that a set of “financial
restraint” policies form the core of government efforts at financial deepening and
financial sector development (Hellman et al. 1997). Financial restraint policies aim
to create rents in the financial sector through selective government interventions
such as deposit rate controls, regulations on entry and restrictions on competition, in
the process reducing opportunistic behaviour and inducing efficiency among private
market actors (Hellman et al. 1997; Hellman and Murdock 1997). Financial restraint
policies also contribute towards the build-up of ‘reputational capital’ among
private agents and the development of strong governance mechanisms in financial
institutions (Hellman and Murdock 1997).
Of particular importance is the policy instruments that contribute to the man-
agement and governance of the financial sector. Seen from this instrumental per-
spective, financial policy involves seeking the “right balance among policy
instruments”, with financial regulation being part of a set of “complementary
financial policy instruments” (OECD 2006). Financial policy involves a wide array
of government interventions, with financial regulation representing merely one
aspect or type of financial policy. This is particularly the case in East Asia, where
the state’s role in financial markets has involved creating, regulating and even
directing credit to financial institutions, with financial policies serving to both
ensure market stability and encourage financial sector growth (Stiglitz et al. 1993).
Similarly, Carmichael notes that the public sector participates in the financial sector
through its various roles as a regulator of financial institutions, owner of financial
institutions, market participant, fiduciary agent and through direct intervention in
market operations (Carmichael 2002).
This focus on financial policy instruments has culminated in more recent
attempts to provide a typology of financial policy instruments, differentiating
between the following: (i) market-developing policies that focus on the long-term
building of institutions and infrastructure; (ii) market-enabling policies that involve
regulatory reforms and encouraging greater competition and (iii) market-stabilizing
policies such as regulatory oversight and macro-prudential management (Barajas
et al. 2013). Much of the existing literature has thus far focused on
market-stabilizing policies, with efforts at understanding market-developing and
market-enabling policies at a relatively nascent stage.
According to mainstream conceptions of financial policy, the raison d’être of
financial policy is essentially the maintenance of market stability and the prevention
of crises. This stabilizing aspect and its inherent objectives of market stability and
investor protection remain the most commonly held view of financial policy. Under
this view, the “core goals” of financial policy are basically the maintenance of
financial system stability and integrity, protection of depositors and investors, as
well as ensuring that financial intermediaries perform their fiduciary duties to their
clients and shareholders (OECD 2006). Financial regulation is a particularly
important stabilizing financial policy that exploits the coercive power of the state to
ensure market stability and protect investors (Stigler 1988).
However, this exercise of coercive state power is founded on an “essential faith
in capitalism” that precludes direct government intervention in markets (Snider
2011). Rather, financial regulation is focused on establishing the systems and rules
that ensure the efficient functioning of markets and prevent the occurrence of any
market failure that may arise from market distortions or information asymmetry
(Vittas 1991).
However, this commonly accepted stabilizing view of financial policy does not
take into account the more active and direct roles of financial policy-makers in
financial sector development. Due to distributional concerns inherent in the political
process, financial regulation has often been used by governments to achieve
objectives that may not be related to market stability and consumer protection, such
as protecting domestic financial institutions or “supporting specific industrial or
regional policies by channelling funds to particular sectors” (OECD 2006). In
conflating financial sector development with industrial policy, financial policy may
also be “strategic” or “developmental” in nature (Cerny 1993). Such
development-oriented financial policies can further be separated into enabling and
developmental policies.
Financial policies can be used to build markets through “enablement—the cre-
ation not merely of incentives but of those conditions that allow activities to take
place” (Baldwin et al. 1998). This often involves the allocation of financial
resources to targeted sectors (Haggard and Lee 1993). Enabling policies also allow
for the establishment and maintenance of “national comparative advantages”, by
constructing conditions and resources that are favourable or necessary for the
efficient functioning of financial markets (Arndt et al. 1988; Porter 1998). In such a
way, enabling policies can be used to reach economic and social policy objectives
by stimulating growth and productivity as well as enhancing competitiveness
through “sectoral liberalization” (International Finance Corporation 2010).
Financial Sector Policy and Development 15
Financial policy also plays a developmental role in ensuring that the financial
system and infrastructure is geared towards the attainment of developmental goals.
Such “development-oriented financial regulation” typically involves the allocation
of financial resources towards developmental goals or the appropriate investment
projects that contribute towards sustainable and equitable economic development
(Chang and Grabel 2004; Murinde and Mlambo 2011). Strategies and policy
instruments for doing so include influencing bank lending to key sectors, long-term
financing by development banks and managing financial firms’ asset holdings
through “variable asset-based reserve requirements” (Chang and Grabel 2004).
Such developmental financial policies are therefore used by states in “devel-
opmentalist fashion” to favour desired market outcomes (Hira 2006). According to
Stiglitz and Uy, financial regulation as a form of development-oriented government
intervention contributed to the rapid growth of emerging Asian nations during the
“East Asian Miracle” (Stiglitz and Uy 1996). Gordon and Li further note that the
Chinese government tends to choose regulations that maximize social welfare
objectives and facilitate the collection of revenue from both foreign and domestic
investors, by using regulation in place of taxes to extract rents (Gordon and
Li 2003).
In short, financial policy comprises three types of policy instruments, namely
stabilizing, enabling and developmental instruments. Stabilizing instruments largely
include financial regulations that are geared towards ensuring financial sector sta-
bility and investor protection; these have traditionally formed the bulk of a financial
policy-maker’s toolkit. Enabling instruments are typically used to establish or
develop the market conditions necessary for financial institutions to operate and
thrive and are closely related to industrial policy. Lastly, developmental instruments
refer to financial policies that allow policy-makers to directly channel resources
towards financial sectors or markets which in turn contribute to the overall eco-
nomic development of the IFC. As later chapters will show, stabilizing, enabling
and developmental instruments are used in varying extents by financial
policy-makers in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai, based on the sociopolitical
contexts within which these policy-makers are enmeshed.
However, the existing scholarly work on financial sector policy is limited by its
assumption of a unitary monolithic state. Almost all the studies reviewed in this
section take the “state” or “government” as the basic unit of analysis and agency. In
reality, the formulation and implementation of financial policies are carried out by a
wide variety of state and non-state actors. These typically include public agencies at
all levels of government as well as industry actors, whether exerting their influence
over the financial policy process directly or working through industry associations.
Litan et al. (2002) provide a more nuanced approach to understanding financial
policy by including the entire “range of institutions and practices by which
authority is exercised”, terming such an approach financial sector governance rather
than policy. This book takes a similar approach by emphasizing financial gover-
nance in its totality of policy subsystems and instruments over a narrow focus on
financial policy.
However, the largest shortcoming of this existing literature on financial policy is

its neglect of spatiality. These studies tend to locate financial policy-making at the
national level, with few attempts to situate this understanding at the level of the city
or IFC. This is a weakness that permeates both the work of economists and IPE
scholars alike. While studies of financial policy by economists have tended to focus
on the national government, IPE scholars have tended to focus on the international
financial system, similarly taking the state as the basic unit of analysis. In reality,
financial policy-making takes place at the level of the IFC, with city or local
governments playing a particularly important role. Furthermore, the IFC is itself an
intersection between domestic policy-making and international systemic pressures.
A small but significant literature on IFCs, driven by scholars of economics and
geography, has sought to understand financial policy-making in the context of the
IFC. This literature is crucial for the direction which this book has taken.
International Financial Centres
The origins of the IFC literature can be traced back to early studies by economists on
financial centres, which were largely based on a desire to understand the emergence
of financial centres as centralized locations of financial and economic activity in the
1950s. These studies allowed scholars to establish clear definitions of what a financial
centre is and understand the factors which have contributed to the emergence of
major successful IFCs such as London and New York. An oft-cited and succinct
definition of a financial centre is provided by Kindleberger, who defines a financial
centre as “a single worldwide center with the highly specialized functions of lending
abroad and serving as a clearinghouse for payments among countries” (Kindleberger
1974). This means that financial centres typically perform “medium-of-exchange”
and “interspatial store-of-value” functions (Kindleberger 1974).
According to Reed (1981), a “financial center is an urban area which contains a
concentration of specialized institutions that possess, at least marginally, the
international skills and capabilities necessary to facilitate the flow of goods, ser-
vices, information and capital between its own national economy and the other
national economies of the world”. Park (1982) provides a more nuanced approach
by differentiating between “primary, booking, funding and collecting” financial
centres, with each type of centre based on the range and type of international
financial transactions that take place within it.
Aside from providing broad general definitions of financial centres, these early
IFC scholars also sought to delve deeper into the exact characteristics which make a
particular location a financial centre. An important characteristic is the size, liquidity
and complexity of financial markets as measured by the number of financial insti-
tutions and mobility of capital or funds (Kindleberger 1974; Giddy 1983; Choi et al.
1986; Pagano et al. 1990). Reflecting the international nature of financial centres, a
related characteristic is the presence of foreign financial institutions and non-resident
market participants (Dufey and Giddy 1978; Choi et al. 1986; O’Brien 1992).
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Tal era el lado cómico de este personaje. Fiar en sus chistes,
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IV
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como lo era para todos sus discípulos en cuanto dejaban de serlo.
Á mi modo de ver, era un pobre hombre poseído de un demonio: el
demonio del fanatismo, el fanatismo de la enseñanza. Si castigaba á
un discípulo con un día de calabozo, dejaba de comer para ir á
tomarle la lección de la tarde en el calabozo mismo. Iba á clase
hasta con calentura á cumplir con su deber, y su deber era enseñar
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de sus alumnos. Presentaba los buenos en un examen con el
orgullo y el amor de un general que ve desfilar, en ostentosa parada,
á sus valientes veteranos cargados de cruces; y hablaba de ellos en
todas partes, y los seguía con la atención á la Universidad, y aunque
allí claudicasen, jamás los apartaba ya de su memoria. Llena de
esos nombres la tuvo hasta la hora de su muerte. Muchas veces me
los citó conmovido y entusiasmado, y por el menos brillante de
aquellos «chicos» hubiera dado él, sin titubear, á ser preciso, la
diestra con que tantas veces le deslomó á varazos.
En una ocasión, después de haber oído la razón que le dió un
discípulo de haber faltado á la clase el día antes, le oí decir:
—Candonga, ¿y por eso no vino? ¿Sabe cómo vengo yo todos los
días y cómo vivo? Pues óigalo, calabaza. Hace veinte años que
estoy enseñando latín, y quince que la mujer no sale de la cama; me
consume cuanto gano, y no tengo más que lo puesto; los únicos
ahorros que había hecho se los presté á un compañero que no me
los ha de pagar en los días de su vida, y lo mejor de cada noche me
lo paso en claro velando á la enferma. ¿Les parece poco? ¡Ah,
candonga! ¡Si os cogieran los tiempos que á mí me cogieron para
aprender latín, ya os darían confites en estos lances, y os
guardarían los miramientos que yo os guardo! Enfermo, y con la
nieve á la rodilla, fuí yo una noche á casa de un compañero que
tenía Calepino; para sacar un significado de la traducción del día
siguiente... Y ¡pobre de mí, candonga, si llego á ir al aula sin
sacarle!... Y sepan, calabaza, que para entonces ya había servido
yo al rey seis años en una compañía de fusileros: dos de soldado
raso, uno de furriel y tres de sargento.
He aquí algo á que se agarrarían los fisiólogos llamados á explicar
las crueldades profesionales de un hombre tan manso y apacible.
Don Bernabé enseñaba como le habían enseñado á él: á estacazos.
La costumbre fué haciéndose naturaleza poco á poco. La escasez
de entendimiento, lo extremado del amor al oficio, los resabios del
cuartel y las tradiciones del sistema, hicieron lo demás. No era á sus
ojos mayor delito que echar malè en una lección, faltar con palabras
un soldado raso á un triste cabo segundo; y, sin embargo, la
Ordenanza militar castiga estas faltas con el presidio, si no con la
muerte, ¡y él se conformaba con apalear á los delincuentes de su
cátedra!
Hasta dónde llegaban su sencillez y su puntillo de hombre de cuenta
y razón, muéstralo el hecho siguiente, que no fué el único en su
género:
Llegóse una vez á cobrar la paga del mes á secretaría, y diéronsela
con la merma de cierta cantidad que le correspondía pagar por no
sé qué gastos hechos por todo el Claustro de profesores.
—Venga mi paga entera,—dijo don Bernabé negándose á recoger lo
que le entregaban.
—Pues ahí la tiene usted—le replicaron.—Tanto que usted debe, y
tanto que le entrego, hacen lo que le corresponde.
—¡Venga mi paga entera, candonga!—insistió.
Diéronle lo que le faltaba.
—¿Cuánto debo yo?—preguntó al tener todo el dinero en la mano.
—Tanto.
—Pues ahí va,—dijo entregándolo y guardándose el resto después
de contarlo.
—¿Cuánto le queda á usted ahora?
—Tanto.
—Lo mismo que yo entregaba á usted antes.
—Nunca lo negué, candonga; pero yo soy hombre de cuenta y
razón, y para tan cortos caudales no necesito mayordomos; y como
pago de lo mío, quiero pagar con mi mano, ¡calabaza!
El nuevo plan de estudios le transformó radicalmente. Continuó
siendo en la cátedra una fiera, pero con bozal y sin uñas. Perdió así
lo mejor de sus bríos, y se entibió su entusiasmo por la enseñanza.
No la comprendía sin palos y sin sangre. Andaba triste y
desperdigado; y como ya era viudo y sin hijos, se casó con la criada.
Le dieron una cencerrada espantosa: tres noches duró; y no duró
más, porque habiéndole insultado groseramente los actores, los
dispersó á tiros desde el balcón, en lo cual obró como un sabio y en
justicia.
Murió el año de 1865, víctima del cólera que diezmó la población de
Santander; y es de advertir que ni este espantoso azote pudo doblar
aquel rígido carácter antes de romperle, puesto que don Bernabé
fué á cátedra invadido ya por la enfermedad, salió á la hora
reglamentaria, y sólo se metió en el lecho para rendir cristianamente
el alma á Dios.
En resumen, lector: en mi sentir, las crueldades del dómine, aunque
lamentables, é hijas, más que del corazón, del tiempo, de las
costumbres y de las leyes que las toleraban y hasta las aplaudían,
no hacen al íntegro y virtuosísimo personaje indigno de la
estimación de las gentes hidalgas. Me complazco en declararlo así,
en honra del hombre que más me ha hecho padecer en menos
tiempo. Pero no me arrepiento de haber pintado á Filipo por los dos
lados; pues si el vivir bajo el imperio de su barbarie me acongojaba
entonces, hoy, que tengo hijos, me espanta el pensar que puede
quedar todavía algo de ella en los centros de enseñanza...
Obra es, pues, de caridad sacar esa barbarie al rollo, para lección
de incautos y castigo de verdugos.
1878.
LAS TRES INFANCIAS[7]
AL SEÑOR DON TOMÁS C. DE AGÜERO
He de decirlo, aunque el atrevimiento me cueste una multa

municipal: para un hombre de mi temperamento, por no decir
idiosincrasia, tiene gravísimos inconvenientes la amistad de un
señor alcalde, á cuya persona se profesa un arraigado y (por
desgracia mutua) ya viejo cariño, afianzado con el doble remache de
sus raros talentos y no comunes virtudes. Cuando un amigo
semejante se nos acerca, y, otorgando á nuestro ingenio una
alcurnia que no tiene, nos pide una chispa de su luz para convertirla
en pan para los menesterosos, no hay medio de resistirle, ni de
negarle un esfuerzo heroico en pro de su noble intento. Y entonces
se llama á las puertas del ingenio, holgado y desprevenido; pero el
ingenio, que parece fundido en corazón de avaro, echa todos los
cerrojos de su mazmorra, y más se esconde cuanto más se le
invoca.
Y aquí las perplejidades y las angustias; porque la súplica es
mandato, y el tiempo avanza, y el término fatal se acerca, y lo que
era crepúsculo en la mente, llega á hacerse noche tenebrosa.
Expongo estos hechos ante el insigne jurisconsulto, para que en
aprecio los tome el magistrado, como razones atenuantes, si mi
franqueza llega á parecerle merecedora del papel en que se saldan
con la autoridad las cuentas por desacato á ciertos preceptos de sus
Ordenanzas; ó no la halla bastante castigada con haberme sacado
al palo, que no otra cosa es, en substancia, poner á un hombre
avezado á la obscuridad de todos los aislamientos, en estas alturas
por tantos soles alumbradas y expuestas al rigor de los huracanes
de la crítica.
Siguiendo en mis propósitos, digo que es fama que el aire libre, sin
los ruidos ni el vaivén de la civilización, es un gran inspirador de
ideas y un desinteresado y docto consejero.—Yo no lo dudo, aunque
tengo para mí que con esta receta se han cogido más catarros que
pensamientos. Pero es innegable que hay un instinto que le arrastra
á uno lejos del rumor de las gentes cuando tiene necesidad de
reconcentrar las fuerzas del espíritu; y que ese instinto me sacó de
mi guarida en la ocasión citada, y me condujo, si no al campo,
porque estaba éste lejos y yo perezoso, á cosa que en algo se le
parecía, bien que no en colores, en aromas ni en frescura. Sentéme
al pie de añoso tronco, como dicen los bucólicos; y no en mullida y
olorosa alfombra, sino en duro y empedernido banco, á la sombra
del escueto y desgarbado ramaje, porque las tiernas hojas aún
dormían arrebujadas en los pliegues entreabiertos de sus yemas.
La condición humana tiene tendencias inexplicables. En los
conflictos más graves del espíritu, suelen los hombres preocuparse
con los sucesos más triviales. El reo que aguarda la sentencia del
tribunal que puede enviarle al patíbulo, acaso se entretiene en
contar los clavos de la puerta tras de la cual deliberan sus jueces, ó
en traer á su memoria el día y el precio en que compró los zapatos
que lleva puestos.—No hay ejemplo de persona que al resbalar en
la calle y caer al suelo y quedar en él descalabrada y quizá sin
sentido, no trate de indagar, antes que la gravedad de su herida, la
causa del resbalón, ni que deje de disputar acaloradamente sobre si
la cáscara que pisó es de limón ó de naranja, como haya quien
sostenga lo contrario.
Solicitado yo de la propia inexplicable tendencia, al sentarme aquel
día en demanda de una idea adecuada á mis intentos, comencé por
hacer rayitas caprichosas en la arena del suelo con mi bastón;
después puse todo mi conato en demostrar prácticamente, sobre el
propio terreno y con la misma herramienta, la exactitud del teorema
geométrico que dice que la superficie de un rectángulo es igual al
producto de la base por la altura, cosa que siempre me tuvo sin
cuidado, como ustedes pueden comprender, sin que yo lo afirme;
después tracé caprichosas cifras, y dibujé barcos, y hasta retraté de
perfil á mis amigos.
Cuando me cansé de dibujar, di en el ansia de reparar en los
transeúntes: si eran rubios ó trigueños, si altos ó bajos, si pobres ó
ricos; en qué iría pensando el de la cara hosca y encorvada cerviz;
de dónde vendría la que á tales horas tan menudito pisaba, y con
empeño recataba la faz; adónde iría á comer, qué comería, qué
habría cenado, en qué lecho dormiría aquel infeliz de rostro
macilento, mal calzado y peor vestido, en cuya mirada triste y
angustiosa parecía reflejarse el deseo de trocar la memoria de
pasadas abundancias por un mendrugo de pan y una camisa; cómo
y de qué viviría el exótico chulo de ceñidos pantalones, charolada
bota, rizada pechera, relumbrante leontina y exagerado chambergo;
por qué funesta preocupación juzgaría un mozuelo sin chaqueta y
desaseado, que el ser descortés y blasfemo, al pasar por delante de
mí, le daba gran importancia y respetabilidad; por qué no hay leyes
que castiguen á los blasfemos como á los ladrones, mientras llega á
ser un hecho que la cultura no es enemigo mortal de la taberna,
como aseguran los que dicen entender mucho de achaques de
moralizar sin Decálogo ni carceleros...; por qué el mísero jumento
que por más allá pasaba zarandeando las orejas, con una carga que
le doblaba el espinazo, no recibía de su ingrata conductora, en
recompensa de sus fatigas, más que una lluvia continua de varazos;
si, bien pesados el entendimiento de la una y el instinto bestial del
otro, no tendría la balanza el capricho de inclinarse hacia el platillo
del cuadrúpedo; qué papel le estaría destinado en el sublime
escenario de la creación, donde nada huelga, al diminuto insecto
que se retorcía, esforzándose por apartar un grano de arena que le
obstruía su camino... Preocupéme, en fin, con todo menos con lo
que debía preocuparme en aquellos momentos, cuando acertó á
pasar por delante de mí un verdadero enjambre de niños, corriendo
como liebres perseguidas por un galgo. Habíalos rubios, morenos,
rollizos, cenceños, y el más talludo no pasaba de esa edad
encantadora de la sinceridad y de la inocencia; niños, verdaderos
niños, libres, sueltos, revoltosos y bullangueros, que gritaban
saltando, y, corriendo sin cesar, sudaban más por los gritos que por
lo que corrían.—No podía ofrecérseme tentación que más lejos de
mis intentos me arrastrara.
Mi vista se fué tras ellos, y con la vista el último recuerdo de mi
compromiso.—Jugaban al marro, y me interesé en el juego lo mismo
que si en él tomara yo parte.
De pronto observé que los gritos crecían, que los dispersos se
agrupaban, y que del grupo salía uno como disparado hacia mí, con
la hermosa faz desencajada y los ojos anhelantes, perseguido por
un camarada, que, según apretaba los dientes y la carrera, debía de
tener gran empeño en alcanzarle. Al ver la expresión angustiosa de
aquella linda criatura, y temiendo lo que al cabo le sucedió,
levantéme para salir á su encuentro. Pero ya era tarde. El pobrecillo
dió un paso en falso, y cayó al suelo; y únicamente pude evitar que
se lastimara la cabeza con los guijarros. El otro niño retrocedió
como una exhalación, en cuanto vió caer al fugitivo.
Apresuréme á levantar á éste, y procuré consolarle, esperando que
tan pronto como se incorporara empezaría á poner el grito en el
cielo. No bien estuvo de pie, fijó en mí sus grandes ojos azules, de
los que se escapaban dos enormes lágrimas, y lanzó de lo más
hondo del pecho un suspiro trémulo é interminable.
—Ahora empieza—dije para mí.—Pero me llevé chasco. El
atribulado niño sorbió sus lágrimas en cuanto llegaron á perderse
entre los húmedos corales de sus labios, y devoró otro suspiro que
aún se le escapaba.
—¡Bravo!—exclamé dándole un beso.—Así se portan los valientes.
¿Te has hecho daño?
Y el chico, sin contestar á mi pregunta, se sacudió el traje precioso
de terciopelo que vestía, con el gorrito escocés que se quitó de la
cabeza, y se limpió el sudor de su linda cara con un pañuelito que á
duras penas, y después de meter el brazo hasta el codo, sacó del
bolsillo de su pantalón bombacho. Limpiábale yo también y le
arreglaba los desordenados rizos de su caballera rubia, cuando,
después de lanzar el tercer suspiro, me dijo, poniéndose muy
cuadrado:
—¿Ve usté qué taidoría?
—Pero ¿qué te ha pasado, hijo mío?—le pregunté.
—¡Ese Gabielón!...—me respondió con ira,—que estábamos
juegando al marro, y salí yo, y dipés toqué; y como él me pillaba, ya
no me podía pillar, porque yo toqué... y dipés saqué un poquitín el
pie... así, así no más; y porque le saqué, dice que no toco, y me
pilla, y dice que ¡apillao!; dipés digo yo que eso no vale... y me
escapé... y va él y me quiere pillar otra vez; y como me tiene tirria...
me caí.
—¡Picardía como ella!—¿Y por qué te tiene tirria?
—Porque esta mañana sabí el Feuri mejor que él, y á mí me dieron
vale, y él echó tes borrones en la plana... Por eso.
—¡Dígole á usted con Gabielón!... ¡Habráse visto envidioso y
desaseado!... ¡Tres borrones en una plana!... ¿Y qué le dijo el
maestro?
—Le pegó tes coquetazos.
—¡Bien hecho!
—Y dipés le volvió á palotes.
—¡Chúpate ésa!... ¿Y de qué escribes tú?
—De Zaramagullón.
—¡Hombre!... ¿Y qué es eso?
—De pimera con ese letero.
—¡Ya! Y ¿cómo te llamas?
—Pelín Benabé de lo Zantos.
—¡Cáspita! me parece mucho.
—¿Po qué?
—Porque eres tan chiquitín...
—¿Y qué?
—¡Y son tantos los nombres!... no podrás con ellos.
—Ya queceré yo más.
—Cierto es. Y cuando crezcas ¿qué vas á hacer?
—Cuando yo sea gandón, gandón, voy á ser general.
—¡Hola!
—¡Á mí me gusta mucho ser general!
—¿Por qué?
—Porque los generales tienen pumero en el ticornio, y banda, y
sable de oro, y muchas cuces en la casaca; y cuando pasan, todos
los soldados les hacen la venia; y van á caballo... y comen con el
rey.
—Bien está eso; pero los generales, amigo Pedrín, van á la guerra,
y allí...
—Dice papá que no.
—Muchos hay de ésos, según cuentan; pero algunos van á ella y
salen heridos.
—¿Y se mueren?
—Á veces... Pero vamos á ver: si tú fueras general ahora mismo,
¿qué harías?
—Lo pimero, llamar á los civiles y pender á Gabielón.
—Lo sospechaba.
—Poque Gabielón me hace mucho de rabiar.
Mientras así, y por el estilo, departía yo con Pedrín, el llamado
Gabielón había llegado junto á sus camaradas, un tanto
sobresaltados al ver caer al fugitivo, y no poco recelosos al
contemplarle luego bajo mi protección. El causante, más valiente ó
más curioso, después de enterarse de todo y de meditar un
momento, salió del grupo; y arrimándose á los árboles, y haciendo
una paradita en cada uno de ellos, durante las cuales se roía la
yema del índice, sin dejar de mirarme de reojo, llegó hasta el banco
inmediato al que yo ocupaba. Pronto imitaron el ejemplo sus
camaradas, acercándoseme poco á poco, con las caras
compungidas y dando á sus respectivos continentes el aire más
inofensivo y bonachón.
Era el enemigo de Pedrín trigueño, de ojos de terciopelo, tan negros
como centellantes, de blanca y apretada dentadura, labios finos y un
tanto desdeñosos, muy rollizo y bastante desaliñado en el vestir.
—¡Ven acá, buena pieza!—díjele cuando estuvo á pocos pasos de
mí.—¿Por qué tienes tirria á Pedrín?
Decir yo esto y rodearme la infantil muchedumbre, fué una misma
cosa. Saeteábanme sus ojuelos con verdadera avidez; y aquel
racimo de angelicales cabezas y de cuerpos entrelazados, traíame á
la memoria el famoso capricho de la Fecundidad, que eternizó el
pincel del Tiziano.
Callóse Gabrielón á mi pregunta, y respondióle un camarada
desdentado, por estar en la mudanza de los incisivos:
—¡No le tiene tirria!
—Pues ¿qué le tiene, sino?—repliqué fingiéndome muy serio.
—No sé yo qué le tendrá,—repuso, muy grave, el entremetido.
Otras voces salieron también del grupo; y aunque negando todos los
supuestos rencores de Gabriel, acusáronle, unánimes, de ser muy
dado á pintar sabandijas en los márgenes de las planas, y hacer
pajaritas con las hojas del Catecismo; cargos que escuchaba el
acusado balanceando el cuerpo, recostado contra el árbol, y
arrancando media suela descosida de uno de sus zapatos con el
otro pie.
Toméle yo de todo esto para entrar en animado diálogo con todos
ellos; y tras larga y bulliciosa sesión, á duras penas los puse en
orden y en silencio, contándoles, entre otros, el cuento de Alí-Baba,
ó sea el de Los cuarenta ladrones exterminados por una esclava.
Cuando los vi más hechizados con los recuerdos del tesoro, que yo
les había descrito á mi manera, de la caverna misteriosa que
franqueaba sus puertas á la mágica frase de ¡Sésamo, ábrete!
propuse la paz entre los dos enemistados camaradas.
—¡Es un cascarruña... y muy acusón!—dijo Gabriel.
—¡Mecachis!—respondió Pedrín con cierta sonrisa irónica.
—¡Y sí!—añadió el otro:—siempre está poniéndome en mal con don
Moisés.
—¿Quién es don Moisés?
—Un señor muy viejo que juba aquí con nosotros.
—Pues es preciso que hagáis las paces, ¡caramba!
—¿Yo con ése?...
—¡Para él estaba!...
—Ahora lo veremos.
Dije, y saqué la cartera. Al verla, el enjambre se echó sobre mí.
Teníala bien repleta de estampitas y otras puerilidades análogas;
porque es de saberse que, aun sin las eventualidades de la calle, no
me faltan ocasiones de desocuparla muy á menudo. Ofrecí las
mejores á los dos enemigos rapaces, á condición de que se
abrazaran; y sin quitar los ojos de la cartera, estrujáronse
heroicamente. Cumplí mi palabra en el acto; y mientras les
entregaba las estampas, los ojos de los demás no cesaban de ir de
los míos á la cartera, y de la cartera á los míos, á la vez que sus
manos tanteaban las inmediaciones de las estampas, con una
inquietud nerviosa. Comprendí la mímica y repartí una figurita á
cada uno.
—¡Contra, qué lápiz!—exclamó el más talludo. Y tuve que dársele.
Así me arramblaron cuanto en la cartera flotaba ó relucía.
Noté que, según me iban desvalijando, se mostraban menos
pegajosos; y cuando nada tuve que darles, bastó media palabra
para que desaparecieran de mi vista como bandada de gorriones al
ruido de una palmada.
Entonces advertí que en el banco de enfrente se habían sentado
hasta media docena de incipientes galanes; mozos de semillero,
metidos de cuajo en la edad más antipática de la vida humana;
conjunto desgarbado de brazos, zancas y pescuezo, en la cual edad
todo en el hombre es transitorio y pegadizo, y nada completo ni
armonioso; pájaros en tiempo de muda, como ellos son
escalofriados y angulosos; huyen de los niños porque se juzgan
hombres, y los hombres los rechazan porque los toman por niños.
Para remate de desentono, hasta los sastres se complacen en
extremar sobre ellos los caprichos de la moda con tajos y recortes
atrevidos, que sólo conducen á poner en evidencia el armazón que
falta en el tronco, ó el esqueleto que sobra en las extremidades. En
mis tiempos se los conocía con el adecuado nombre de pollos; hoy
se les llama, si no estoy mal informado, sietemesinos y gomosos.
Llegaban perceptibles hasta mí sus declamaciones, altisonancias y
discreteos; pues hablando ellos para ser oídos de sedentarios y
transeúntes, buscaban de propio intento lo más sonoro y atractivo
del habla castellana. Quien de los seis mostrábase mal ferido de
punta de amor, y lloraba y gemía contrariedades y discordancias;
quien, más feliz en sus empresas, dábale amparo y consejo, y
afanábase por pintarle como artificios y disimulaciones lo que el
atribulado tomaba por desdenes ciertos y coqueterías probadas;
quien, pellizcándose el musgo mal nacido de su labio, y frunciendo
los dos con menosprecio, burlábase del candor de los amantes que
aún creen en el amor y en las mujeres, porque él, á los diez y ocho
años que á la sazón contaba, tenía petrificado el corazón á fuerza
de desengaños y mentiras.
Otro, nacido para amar, no hallaba ocasión propicia para mostrar su
corazón abierto á tantas mujeres que parecían venidas al mundo
para corresponderle.
Otro estaba por las glorias de la inteligencia, y no aceptaba el amor
sino como resorte para mover á los personajes de sus creaciones
en proyecto. Tenía un drama comenzado y tres novelas en embrión,
y estudiaba el carácter y la situación de aquéllos sus amigos para
reproducirlos en la escena y en el libro. El último, lacio, encanijado y
escrofuloso, no hablaba sino para echar por aquella boca estocadas
y pistoletazos, los cuales medios, según la experiencia se lo
demostraba cada día, eran los únicos que todo hombre de corazón,
como él, debía aceptar para desembarazar de dificultades el
sempiterno drama de la vida.
Á lo mejor del cacareo, venían á enardecerle el sastre y el zapatero,
como accesorios del asunto principal; pues no faltó quien achacase
parte de un fracaso galante, á la influencia de un levitín con dos
centímetros de más en la longitud de las haldillas, ó á la de un punto
menos en la altura de los tacones. De aquí se pasó á ponderar la
fortuna de los elegantes que hallan, en las grandes capitales,
artistas de talento que comprenden la filosofía del corte y la estética
de la moda, haciendo así que las clases no se confundan, y brillen
en todo su esplendor de cuna los jóvenes distinguidos y elegantes.
En éstas y otras, comenzó á poblarse el sitio de paseantes, y noté
que algunas parejas femeninas, sólo con pasar por delante de los
gomosos, dejáronlos como petrificados en el banco. Callaron todos
de repente, y el tierno y el desdeñoso, el poeta y el espadachín, el
más tímido y el más osado, pusieron los ojos tiernos, y en exhibición
el atractivo que en más estima tenían: quién la cabellera, quién la
curva del pecho, quién la rectitud de la pierna, quién los dientes,
quién el pie, y todos, unánimemente, los puños de la camisa.
Después se dividieron en parejas, y cada una de ellas se fué detrás
de la femenil de sus preferencias, cuál suspirando, cuál hablando
recio y escogido, cuál alardeando de agudo y de chistoso, pero
todos en busca de un corazón y una mirada. Entonces noté con
gusto que las damas de ahora, como las de mi tiempo, en cuanto se
visten de largo, ya no gustan de muñecos. Pero los seis de marras
creían lo contrario, y así se divertían.
Pues éstos—dije para mí—son otros niños felices, y no se
diferencian de Pedrín y sus camaradas sino en que visten de otro
modo y juegan al amor, al talento y á otras cosas serias, mientras
los primeros juegan al marro ó á las aleluyas. Por lo demás, créense
hermosos y opuestos, y son ridículos; admíranse de sus propios
talentos, y son tontos de capirote; júzganse amados, y nadie los
puede ver. Su vida es una constante equivocación. ¡Envidiable
felicidad!
Un rayo de sol bañaba entonces el sitio que yo ocupaba, y el miedo
de que me calentara los cascos con exceso, llevóme al otro extremo
del banco. En el instante en que me acomodaba en el sombrío
rincón, llegaba á ocupar el que dejé vacío un anciano octogenario,
arrastrando los pies sobre la arena, y con el cuerpo vacilante
encorvado sobre una cachaba. Eligió el punto en que más
copiosamente se desparramaba el manojo de sol, y sentóse allí
poco á poco y agarrándose, como si temiera romper en una brusca
sacudida el hilo desgastado y tenue de su existencia. Saludóme con
una penosa inflexión de su pescuezo y una mirada yerta, y devolvíle
el saludo con respeto.
—Usted huye del calor—me dijo con voz desentonada y trémula,
cuando se hubo sentado:—yo le busco con ansia. ¡Ineludible ley del
equilibrio!... Á su edad de usted yo hacía otro tanto... Me sobraba el
calor. Desde entonces, ¡cuántos inviernos han pasado sobre mí!...
¡Cuánto calor me han robado sus hielos!...
Sin dejarme decir algunas palabras de pura cortesía, continuó así el
buen señor:
—Se reirá usted de mí, porque apenas despliego los labios,
comienzan á asomar la oreja mis manías de viejo... Así llaman los
jóvenes á nuestra afición á evocar recuerdos de otras edades... Hay
mucha injusticia en eso. Quien, como yo, no tiene por delante más
que una tumba y una mortaja, cuadro en verdad poco risueño y
deleitable, necesita volver los ojos á lo pasado para no morirse de
tristeza; y cuanto más lejos, mejor... Por eso me gustan tanto los
niños. Ellos vienen, yo me voy; nos encontramos á la puerta del
mundo, unos entrando y otros saliendo. Viajeros con opuesto
rumbo, que hacemos una parada en una misma estación y
comemos en la misma mesa. Ellos me hablan de lo que vienen á
buscar; yo les hablo de lo que por acá dejo... Esto divierte y
consuela. El resto de la humanidad ya no me pertenece, como no
me pertenece lo que conduce el tren que se cruza con el que á mí
me lleva á la eternidad. Alargar todo lo posible los momentos de
parada, á fin de que dure un poco más la compañía de la mesa, es
ya mi único negocio. Á él me consagro tiempo ha, y aquí me vengo
todos los días, como un niño, á jugar con estos niños... ¿Por dónde
andan esos diablejos?... Helos allí... ¡Qué monísimos son!... Verá
usted lo que tardan en asaltarme... y en desvalijarme...
Afortunadamente vengo hoy bien pertrechado de metralla para
defenderme. Caramelos... rosquillas... estampas; y en este otro
bolsillo, medio quintal de paciencias... ¡Cuánta necesito á veces
para armonizar tantas cabecitas sin tornillo, y para no enfadarme!...
¡Sí, señor, para no enfadarme!... ¡Ahí anda un Gabrielón, travieso y
mal intencionado!... Ayer me tiró con una aceituna desde su
balcón... Pues mire usted, sentí aquel golpe como si hubiera sido un
balazo... porque ni yo le había dado motivos para ello... ni está bien
que así se trate á los mayores, bajo ningún pretexto... ¿No lo dije?
¡Ya está la nube encima!...
En efecto, la misma que poco antes había caído sobre mí, pero
lenta y apacible, envolvió al octogenario, tormentosa y rugiente.
Entre gritos de «¡papá Moisés, señor don Moisés!» y alguno de
«¡Señor Matusalén!» que yo jurara que procedía de los pulmones de
Gabrielón, aquella muchedumbre estrujó al anciano, asaltándole por
piernas, brazos y cabeza. Quién le besaba, quién le sacudía, quién
le interpelaba, quién, más osado, le registraba los bolsillos... hasta
que, falto ya de respiración, arrojó por encima de las cabezas de
todos un paquete de almendras, que se desparramaron en el suelo;
cebo estimulante sobre el cual se echó en el acto aquella bandada
de pájaros golosos. Empezó luego el reparto de lo que quedaba en
los bolsillos, y no faltaron entonces reclamaciones, protestas y
refunfuños de una y otra parte, y aun llegó á riña formal, entre el
anciano y Gabriel, lo que empezó por quejas del primero sobre el
incidente de la aceituna, al ofrecer su ración, un tanto mermada, al
segundo. Intervine poniendo paz, cuando vi que las sequedades del
muchacho iban á hacer llorar de pena al pobre viejo; dióle un beso
cada cual, como firma de amor y de alianza; y, ya todos unos, como
dijo don Moisés hecho unas pascuas, pusiéronse á jugar los
rapazuelos delante del anciano, haciéndole juez árbitro de sus
contiendas, lo cual le deleitaba y entretenía.
Pues éste es otro niño—dije para mí, contemplándole;—y con él son
ya tres los ejemplares. Es decir, que de tres no bajan las necesarias
infancias del hombre, las que son inseparables condiciones de otras
tantas edades de la vida... porque si á sumar vamos las que son el
fruto de las mundanas flaquezas, casi son tantas como los años que
vivimos.
Niño es, en efecto, el hombre que de vanidades se nutre y al huero
relumbrón endereza todas sus aspiraciones; niño cuando se
pavonea con un cintajo en la solapa, como si fuera señal de sus
virtudes y no de la amistad de un prócer dadivoso; niño cuando se
desvela por adquirir un diploma que le autorice para estampar en
coches y tarjetas dos calderos y una escoba, ó cualquier otro
emblema heráldico no menos expresivo y linajudo; niño cuando, ya
con canas, se prenda de su apostura, y despilfarra ante el espejo las
horas que niega á más honrosos y transcendentales afanes; niño
cuando... cuando se parece á tantos y tantos nietos de Adán por el
estilo; y niño, en fin, soy yo, que con frecuencia me enredo en tales
filosofías.
Pero volviendo á los niños ochentones, ¡cuántos hay en uno y otro
sexo que han tomado la ciencia, las letras, las artes ó la caridad por
juguetes, y dejan el sendero de su vida lleno de luz y de beneficios,
en bien de sus semejantes!... Preciso es convenir en que estos
niños tienen mucho de ángeles... Y conviniendo en ello, forzoso es
declarar que la raza de Caín no es tan mala como su fama la pinta.
Pensando así, levantéme con rumbo á mi casa; pero nuevos aires
me soplaron, y á otras regiones más intranquilas me condujeron las
ideas. Y extendí la mente por los campos de la historia; y al ver la
haz de la tierra cubierta de ruinas y de cadáveres; á las razas
luchando contra las razas; á las ideas contra las ideas; al ver la
fuerza convertida en derecho y á los pícaros en la cumbre de los
honores, y á los buenos en el abismo de todas las desventuras; á la
mujer holgada y consentida, arrojando á los pies de su amante el
honor de su marido; al marido, mancillando en torpes mancebías la
fe jurada en los altares; al ver al poderoso explotar al necesitado, y
al necesitado escupir la mano que le da la hogaza; al ver aquí el
látigo, allí la tea, acá el atropello, allá la asechanza, y en todas
partes y en todos tiempos y á todas horas, el orgullo, la soberbia, la
envidia, la venganza, imponiéndose al mundo como una calamidad
incontrarrestable—¡ay! exclamé en mis adentros,—niño es el
hombre, y aun con frecuencia es ángel; pero también es tigre
carnicero en cuanto arroja á Dios de su conciencia.
Dicho está que este hallazgo no me satisfizo tanto como el anterior;
pero consoléme mucho al caer en la cuenta de que si Dios entregó
el mundo á las ambiciones y á las disputas de los hombres, también
infundió en los buenos el sublime sentimiento de la caridad para
ejemplo de verdugos y consuelo de perseguidos y desheredados.
Y andando, andando, con la mente abismada en tan santas
cavilaciones, mi capa no parecía.
Y las horas corrieron, y los días pasaron, y la inspiración no vino, y
llegó el trance fatal, y trajéronme al banquillo de los reos... desde el
cual me atrevo á suplicaros, después de llamar á las puertas de
vuestro corazón con las narradas dificultades, como testimonio fiel
de una heroica voluntad, que la toméis en cuenta para absolverme
de las confesadas culpas de mi torpe ingenio.
1878.

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Business and Politics in Asia s Key

Financial Centres Hong Kong

The British Official Film in South-East Asia:

Oral Histories of Older Gay Men in Hong Kong Unspoken

Politics Managerialism and University Governance

Urban Marginality in Hong Kong s Global Diaspora Hee

Hegel s Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Politics 1st

Routledge handbook of banking and finance in Asia 1st

Budgets and Financial Management in Higher Education

Organizational Learning in Asia. Issues and Challenges

Business and Politics

ISBN 978-981-287-983-7 ISBN 978-981-287-985-1 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015957802

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016

Printed on acid-free paper

This Springer imprint is published by SpringerNature

2 IFC Studies and the Politics of Finance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

3 Taking a Public Policy Theoretical Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

7 Comparisons and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Figure 1.1 Nested instrumental approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Table 7.1 Summary of comparative analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

AFC Asian Financial Crisis

Fig. 1.1 Nested instrumental approach

participate in the process of developing possible alternative courses of action to

© Springer Science+Business Media Singapore 2016 11

Financial Sector Policy and Development

However, the largest shortcoming of this existing literature on ﬁnancial policy is

International Financial Centres

AL SEÑOR DON TOMÁS C. DE AGÜERO

He de decirlo, aunque el atrevimiento me cueste una multa

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