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Triads and the Making of Modern Chinese History

10/1/2019

1 Comment

 
Header graphic featuring text reading
Image source: Edwin Lee https://www.flickr.com/people/edwinylee/
Started on June 9th, 2019, protests in Hong Kong had sustained over 110 days. It is going strong well into the 70th National Day of Communist China. Shockingly, what started as a protest against an extradition bill continued well into weeks after the bill was canceled. The involvement of triads in Hong Kong in the protest has also attracted international news. ​
During the latest protests, triad members with white shirts with swords and sticks chasing protesters look as if they are characters in a kung fu movie from Hollywood. ​
​

Since Hong Kong’s handover in 1997, the authorities in Hong Kong have relaxed their enforcement toward the triad members. Triad members have extended their business from illegal to legal sectors of the economy. There are currently about 57 triad groups in Hong Kong with 14 of them under police surveillance. This current development of triad societies are effects brought by socioeconomic changes in Hong Kong. They are behind gambling, drug trade, prostitution, and whatever that could bring them money. They have not always been about money and have had historically been more of a multi-faceted brotherhood organization. 


But this is not the first time the triads and mafia members rolled out on the streets as they owned it. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during WWII, triads blocked streets to establish gambling territories. Some of them went as far as to helping the Japanese soldiers to establish comfort stations. 
​History of Hong Kong’s Triads
​

Hong Kong’s triads date back to 17th century China when the Manchus defeated the Chinese and established the Qing Dynasty. Triads were established then when they tried to revive the Ming Dynasty. The movement 反清復明, which translates to Rebel Against the Qing and Reviving the Ming caught on and encouraged smaller triad groups to form. Their emblem is Guan Yu or Guan Di. Guan Yu served under the warlord Liu Bei during the Eastern Han dynasty of China. He is known popularly for his brotherhood relationship with Liu Bei and his ever-ending loyalty. This is the value of triads in one emblem. 
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Statue of Guan Yu
Throughout history in China, triads were involved in every issue as long as they can benefit. The British viewed them as a group that would make Hong Kong impossible to rule if they were allowed to roam free in the city and punished most triad members making their underground activities even more secretive. During the Japanese occupation, most triad members welcomed them as occupiers as anarchy reigned in Hong Kong. As the Imperial Japanese Army came in, the Triads robbed civilians at gunpoints and looted the stores clean. The entire three years of eight months period, not only were civilians living in fear of the Imperial Japanese Army, they were also living in fear of the Triads. 

After WWII, Hong Kong was under British ruling again. Triads were again more secretive of their activities. After Mao took over China, triad activities were punishable by law. However, as the latest activities show, some triads are now pro-Beijing as their businesses are depended on Mainland China. However, similar to most issues in Asia, this is not a simple one as most of the triad members are related to KMT in one way of another. 14K was founded by a former Lieutenant-General of Kuomintang.

References: 
https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/china-history/guan-yu.htm
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/triad-pro-democracy-protesters-hong-kong-1.5221382
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/world/asia/hong-kong-triads-protests.html
https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2067890/brief-history-hong-kongs-triad-gangs
https://unitedgangs.com/14k-triad/
https://www.scmp.com/article/69070/sun-yee-heads-list-57-triads

Related books: 

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1 Comment
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  • Home
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    • Supplementary Research Guides >
      • Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Background of Biochemical Warfare Development
        • Imperial Japan's Chemical Warfare Development Program
        • Map of Unit 731
        • Personnel of Unit 731
        • Duties of Unit 731
        • Human Experimentation
        • [GRAPHIC] Germ Warfare Attacks
        • Cover Ups After the War
        • [OLD] Cover Ups After the War
      • Philippines' Resistance - Guide >
        • Philippines World War II Timeline
        • The Japanese Invasion & Conquest of the Philippines
        • Bataan Death March
        • Formation of Underground Philippines Resistance
        • Supplies of the Guerrilla Fighters
        • The Hukbalahap
        • Hunter's ROTC
        • Marking's Guerrillas
        • United States Army Forces in the Philippines of Northern Luzon (USAFIP-NL)
        • The Aetas
        • Chinese and Filipino-Chinese Nationalist Guerrilla Units
        • The Female Faces of the Philippine Guerrillas
      • Rising Sun Flag - Guide >
        • History of the Rising Sun Flag
        • Atrocities Committed Under the Flag
        • Rising Sun Flag in Pop Culture
      • Pinay Guerrilleras - Guide >
        • Japanese Occupation of the Philippine Islands: Pinays Answering the Call to Arms
        • The Fierce Heneralas and Kumanders of the Hukbalahap Guerrillas
        • Amazons of the Pacific Theater
        • Filipina American Veterans: Recovering the Extraordinary Feats of the Ordinary Pinays
        • The Legacy of the Asian Women Soldier
      • Fall of Singapore - Guide >
        • Singapore World War II Timeline
        • History of World War II in the Pacific
        • History of Singapore
        • Japan's Conquest in Asia
        • Japan's Invasion of the Malay Peninsula
        • Sook Ching Massacre
        • Double Tenth Incident
        • Social Changes and Challenges in Singapore
        • Voices from Syonan
        • Return to British Rule
      • Three Years and Eight Months - Guide >
        • Hong Kong before WW2
        • Buildup to World War 2
        • The Battle of Hong Kong
        • Life during 3 Years and 8 Months
        • East River Column Guerrilla Fighters
        • Prisoners of War Camps
        • End of Japanese Occupation
        • War Crimes Trials
      • Siamese Sovereignty - Guide >
        • The Land of Smiles
        • The Thai-Japanese Relationship
        • Phibun’s Domestic and International Policies
        • The Free Thai Resistance Movement
        • Post WW2 Aftermath of Thailand
      • The Khabarovsk War Crimes Trial - Guide >
        • Defendants of Khabarovsk War Crime
        • The Japanese Empire and USSR in WW2
        • The Employment of the Bacteriological Weapon in the War
        • Planning of Japan invasion to USSR
      • Unit 731 Cover-up : The Operation Paperclip of the East - Guide >
        • Establishing Manchukuo
        • The Development of Unit 731
        • Plan Kantokuen and Bacteriological Warfare
        • The Downfall of the Japanese WW2 Era
        • Three Stages of Interrogations
        • Lasting Impacts
      • Marutas of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • How did Ishii Shiro start unit 731?
        • A Beta Testing Site
        • Establishing Pingfan
        • Experiences at the Human Experimentation Complex
        • Vivisection at the Unit 731
        • Anta Testing Grounds
        • Overall Advance from the Laboratory Creations
        • The End of the War
      • Prince Konoe Memoir - Guide >
        • Who is Prince Konoe?
        • Preparation to Tripartite Pact
        • Emperor Hirohito and Prince Konoe
        • The End of Prince Konoe
      • Competing Empires in Burma - Guide >
        • What was the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • When did the China-Burma-India Theater Happen?
        • Who Fought in the China-Burma-India Theater?
        • The Second Sino Japanese War
        • Japan in the South
        • Operation U-Go
      • Battle of Shanghai - Guide >
        • The Battle of Shanghai. Background
        • Shanghai Before War
        • The First Battle of Shanghai 1932
        • Battle of Shanghai 1937
        • Aftermath of Battle for Shanghai
      • Ishi Shiro - Guide >
        • History of Biological Weapons and The Young Ishii Shiro
        • Establishment in Manchuria
        • Pingfang District - Harbin
        • Failures and Corruption
        • Post War
      • Taiwan The Israel of the East - Guide >
        • Background of Formosa
        • Industrialization of Japan
        • China During WWII
        • Taiwan under Kuomintang
        • New Taiwanese National Identity
      • Seeking Justice for Biological Warfare Victims of Unit 731 - Guide >
        • Introduction of Wang Xuan
        • Colonel Memorandum
        • The Beginning of Biological Warfare
        • The Bacteriological Warfare on China
        • Victims in Zhejiang’s Testimonies
        • After the War
      • Rice and Revolution - Guide >
        • The French Colonial Period
        • Anti-Colonial Resistance
        • The Rise of the Communist Movement
        • Imperial Japan’s Entry into Indochina
        • The Portents of Famine
        • The Famine (1944-45)
        • Legacy of the 1944-45 Vietnam Famine
      • Clash of Empires - Guide >
        • Japan’s Imperialist Origins
        • Japan’s Competition against the West: Nanshin-ron and Hokushin-ron
        • Japanese Imperialism Through the Lens of French Indochina
        • The U.S.-Japan Relations and the Pearl Harbor Attack
      • Hunger for Power and Self-SufficiencyI - Guide >
        • The Influence of War Rations on Post-War Culinary Transformations
        • How World War II Complicated Food Scarcity and Invention
        • American Military Innovations
        • Government-Sponsored Food Inventions in Europe during World War II
        • Feeding the Army: The Adaptation of Japanese Military Cuisine and Its Impact on the Philippines
        • Mixed Dishes: Culinary Innovations Driven by Necessity and Food Scarcity
    • Lesson Plans >
      • Reparations
      • Ethics in Science
      • Writing the Narrative of a Pinay Fighter
      • Privilege Journal
      • Environmental Injustices
      • Female Guerrillas
      • Hunter's ROTC
      • Scientific Advancements
      • Seeking Justice: A Humanities Lesson Plan
      • The Hukbalahap
      • Trading Immunity
      • Bataan Death March
      • Biochemical Warfare Development
Contribute