Principal, teachers, and students, good afternoon!

Today I want to share the book titled "Currency Wars." The title sounds very technical, but the content is closely related to everyone's daily life.

First, let me introduce the concept of "dollar hegemony." Imagine you're buying something at your school cafeteria, and the school rules state that you can't use Hong Kong dollars (including Hong Kong dollar e-currency, such as Octopus cards). You have to use "points" issued by a certain classmate. Doesn't that classmate control the entire buying and selling of goods at the cafeteria? If you don't get along with this classmate, you can forget about buying food at the cafeteria. In the world, the US dollar is like these "points." The United States uses its national power (or rather, military force) to maintain the dollar's exclusive right to buy oil and other essential goods worldwide—this is "dollar hegemony." With dollar hegemony, if the United States wants to sanction a country, it doesn't need to send troops; it only needs to cut off that country's dollar trading channels. Then that country can't buy oil and other essential goods, its economy will be paralyzed, and its society will be in turmoil. Therefore, the US dollar is a super weapon for the United States to influence other countries.

The above is just one example of how money can be used as a weapon. Since currency can be weaponized, nations must establish "financial security" to protect their assets. This is like installing firewalls and antivirus software on the nation's money. What happens if the firewall isn't strong enough? For example, in 1997, Asia experienced a financial crisis. Countries like Thailand and South Korea, due to vulnerabilities in their financial systems, were attacked by international financial predators, leading to a decline in the purchasing power of their currencies or near-collapse of their currency credibility. Citizens' savings were devalued overnight, and life became difficult.

Students might be thinking, "Does any of this concern me?" Actually, it has a huge impact! If the nation's financial system is insecure, prices will skyrocket. The money you could have used to buy two packs of noodles might only buy half a pack. Furthermore, your parents' savings and assets depend on the stability of the national financial system. Protecting financial security is protecting the wealth of each and every one of us.

Competition between nations is not just about technology, but also a contest of financial strength. As students, you can do two things now:

First, learn more: Understand basic financial knowledge and how money works. For example, read this book, "Currency Wars".

Second, think critically: When you see international news, consider whether there is a financial game between countries behind it. Don't jump into fixed thinking and draw superficial conclusions based on appearances alone.

Only by mastering the underlying logic of financial knowledge can we protect our country and ourselves in the complex world of the future.

Finally, I hope everyone remembers: safeguarding the nation's financial security is safeguarding the assets of each and every one of us.

Thank you everyone!