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Organized
crime is everywhere. It’s
an ugly outgrowth of society, so engrossed in drugs, extortion, and
violence, that it cannot be hidden. Every
ethnic group has it, and it feeds off every man.
But of the world’s cartels and criminal enterprises, Chinese
Triads are perhaps the most ruthless; their influence is wide-felt, their
tradition is long established, their crimes are brutal, and they are
phenomenally successful. The
clutches of Chinese organized crime are slowly squeezing the globe.
The
first Triads were actually brotherhoods of political rebels.
Formed in 1674 to oppose oppressive Manchu rule, the Hung League
was one of these groups. Emperors
of the Q’ing Dynasty issued various edicts against all and then specific
secret societies like the Hung League. Circles of rebels responded in revolt, and thousands died in
the resulting bloodshed.
Another
fraternity, called the Tien-Ti Hui, coalesced in the mid-eighteenth
century for the benefit of peasants and migrants.
It soon spiraled into blatant criminality. Fortune-seekers looked to membership as a means of increasing
personal wealth, instead of standing strong with fellow countrymen.
Banks, storehouses, and homes of rich officials were raided for the
purpose of fund-raising, and the motto of these robbing hoods became
“Hit the rich and help the poor.” Yet virtually everyone was poor.
Branches of this society carried on in like fashion, and Triads
were officially being organized with criminal intentions in mind.
A
new chapter of the Triad saga was opened with the Taiping Rebellion
(1850-1864), a movement headed by disenchanted scholar Hung Hsiu-ch’uan. After failing his civil-service examinations despite strong
qualifications, Hung became resentful of the government and eventually
embraced the Protestant faith. He
grew ever delusional as he gained supporters, and at one point claimed to
be the younger brother of Jesus Christ.
Operating under his own Ten Commandments, Hung and his
devoted army of followers raged through sixteen provinces in a three-year
coup until even the capital city, Nanjing, had fallen.
Hung condemned all Triads as sinners and outlawed many of their
practices. If the Triads
wanted to survive, they had to relocate.
And so, fleeing the twisted Christian fury that laid the mainland
to waste, the Triads packed bags and left their burning countryside for
Hong Kong.
Presently,
descendants of these societies claim headquarters in Singapore, Thailand,
Burma, and Malaysia, run by overseas Chinese, and their influences are
felt in every other country where Chinese have settled.
Modern
Triads generally conform to some version of the traditional leadership
structure, in which positions are assigned a name and a number, as well,
that holds special significance in the Buddhist and Taoist faiths.
At
the head of the enterprise is the Shan Chu, or “Master of the
Mountain.” At his side is
an assistant, the Fu Shan Chu. Together,
these men pull strings from behind the curtain.
Their word is law, and they can place death warrants on any Triad
members.
A few steps down are the Incense Master (Heung Chu) and Vanguard (Sin Fung),
who control initiations and conduct all rituals.
They are present as spiritual overseers and are responsible for
establishing new Triad branches.
Then
there is the Hung Kwan, or Red Pole.
He exercises command of a street gang and organizes the protection
of its territory. He must be
a supreme fighter, martial arts-trained.
Of equal importance is the Pak Tsz Sin, or White Paper Fan, who
acts as advisor and bookkeeper. On
the same tier is the Grass Sandal (Cho Hai), liaisons director.
He communicates with other organizations, and his judgment dictates
any consolidations of power.
On
the bottom rung of the Triad ladder are the common gangsters, the Sze Kau,
who carry out the dirty work and act as street enforcers.
Mostly new recruits fill Sze Kau ranks.
Gang bangers communicate on the street with secret Triad hand
signs.
Some
Triads may have altered the upper levels of this pyramid, opting instead
to function under a corporate structure, what with a chairman and
assistants.
As
Triads exist solely for making money, they involve themselves in a variety
of schemes to pull in wealth. High-end
and low-level criminal activity includes: drug trafficking, extortion,
illegal gambling, prostitution rings, alien smuggling, loan sharking,
murder, fraud, and kidnapping and ransom.
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