From smuggling & counterfeiting to human trafficking & murder, these ruthless gangsters show no
mercy.
Today we present to you frightening facts about the Chinese Mafia, aka the Triads.
Number 7: History ‘Triad’ is an approximate translation
from the Chinese term ‘San Ho Hui’ also known as ‘Triple Union Society’ as it
is symbolic of the union between Heaven, Earth and Man.
Triangle imagery is a predominant motif present throughout the organization.
The origins of the Triads can be traced back as far as 1000 B.C.
At first they reportedly were secret groups formed by peasants who were being oppressed
by their rulers.
Among the many legends regarding the roots of the Triads is also one which claims that
they were initially created by Chinese monks, who had pledged to combat the injustice they
saw in their society.
In the 1760s a fraternal organization called The Heaven and Earth Society was founded by
the Hung clan.
As its influence throughout China grew, it separated into smaller groups which also adopted
the triangle emblem.
The symbol was often found in the same context with portraits of Guan Yu, a legendary Chinese
general whose spirit and warrior prowess is still worshipped in places around East Asia.
The overall objective of these secret societies was to restore the Ming Dynasty by overthrowing
the Qing Dynasty.
During the 19th century, at the time when Hong Kong was a British colony, there was
a strict policy against secret societies.
Many suspected members of the Triads were imprisoned under British law.
The decline of Triad activity in Singapore during the 1890s was attributed to the British
ban on brothels, prostitution and the opium trade.
However, the influence of these groups was so great, that some historians even suspect
Triad rebellions to have contributed to the 1911 revolution, which toppled China’s last
emperor.
The vacuum generated by the transition of power lead to the rise of warlords in certain
parts of mainland China, who refused to follow the policies of the new regime.
The University of Hong Kong attributes the creation of over 300 groups between 1914 and
1939.
After the Communist Party came to power in 1949, law enforcement became stricter and
the punishments more severe.
This eventually led to reduced Triad-related activity.
Number 6: Structure The Triads are essentially family-run forms
of organized crime which mainly operate in China, Hong-Kong, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
However, their influence is also present in Chinatowns across the world, in countries
such as Canada, Australia, the US, New Zealand and many others.
The total number of members is unknown mainly due to the constant flow of new recruits.
Some specialists and law enforcement authorities place the figure at 250,000 members worldwide
while others believe it to be much higher (over 1 million members).
Individuals within the organization consider themselves ‘family’ and refer to each
other as ‘brothers’.
The numerological code used to distinguish between ranks and positions within the Triad
is based on the Chinese ‘Book of Changes’ a divination text and one of the oldest writings
in Chinese history.
Triad leaders are called ‘Dragonheads’ or ‘Mountain Masters’ and their code number
is 489.
The sum of the digits is 21, which is viewed as 3 (which stands for creation) multiplied
by 7 (which stands for death) thus implying the idea of resurrection.
438 is the ‘Deputy Mountain Master’, or the leader’s righthand man.
However, a ‘438’ may also be the ‘Incense Master’ responsible for the induction of
new members.
The sum of the digits is 15, a number associated with ‘good luck’ according to Chinese
Tradition.
The military commander, or ‘Red Pole’ is 426 while ordinary members or ‘Monks’
have the number 49 attributed to them.
4 multiplied by 9 is 36, the number of oaths members have to take upon initiation.
Uninitiated members are called ‘Blue Lanterns’.
They are similar to Italian Mafia ‘associates’ and are not given a number.
Although the hierarchical structure of the leading figures is iron clad, the Triads have
been described as having looser affiliations than the Yakuza or the Italian Mafia.
Smaller gangs working for the Triad can sometimes have complete autonomy and are not obligated
to consult the dragonhead or share its profit with the organization.
Number 5: Initiation The recruitment of new members often involves
a recommendation from one of the older ‘brothers’ of the Triad.
A trial period follows, during which the new recruits perform a series of crimes with the
established members, to determine their loyalty to the organization.
When the decision is made that the new recruit should enter the ranks of the Triad, an elaborate
initiation ceremony takes place.
Information provided by an undercover police officer described that the traditional ritual
usually follows 18 steps.
During the ceremony the initiates are taught codes and secret handshakes.
Some steps involve going through a fire pit, eating 5 seasonal fruits, drinking water from
3 different rivers but also reciting Buddhist and Taoist prayers.
One of the most important parts of the ceremony is reciting the 36 oaths, which serve as the
laws of the Triad.
They are based on those initially created by the Hung clan and describe how one should
live one’s life upon entering the ‘family’.
The first oath is ‘After having entered the Hung gates I must treat the parents and
relatives of my sworn brothers as my own kin.
I shall suffer death by five thunderbolts if I do not keep this oath.’
Wai Hen Cheung, a former Triad hit-man described his initiation for a British news outlet.
The ceremony reportedly took place in the basement of a London restaurant.
The restaurant’s owner, Lo Ng, performed the ritual in an old Chinese dialect as Cheung
along with nine other initiates were about to join the Shui Fong gang.
They were told to kneel on ten triangle-shaped pieces of paper in front of an altar.
Then they were told to recite the oaths.
As it was customary the middle finger from Cheung’s left hand was pricked with a pin.
'I was told to put my finger in my mouth and he asked me how it tasted.
I said it was sweet’.
Loyalty to the gang was one of the most important points made throughout the ritual.
“They said 'if one of your brothers was in trouble and the police seek him and are
willing to pay for information, do you want money or your brothers?'
I answered 'my brothers'.
I then got slapped with the back of the flat blade of the knife.”
Before they were taught secret signs and signals the initiates were also shown a piece of paper
cut like a man and were told that it was an informer, a person who had betrayed the Triad.
When asked what his punishment should be, the resounding collective answer was ‘Death’.
Number 4: Signs & Symbols Members of the Triads can speak to each other
without uttering a single word.
Many of the body language techniques they use to communicate are still unknown.
They use certain hand gestures to indicate the rank of a member or to talk about someone
who has committed a serious crime in the Triad’s name.
Other forms of communication are even more subtle.
Members can tell each other something by the way in which they arrange the table, fold
a cigarette or hold the chopsticks.
Much like the Yakuza, the Russian Mafia or other criminal organizations, the Triads also
have a long standing tattoo tradition, which dates back to the time of the Qing Dynasty.
The tattoos often feature different symbols, animals or mythical creatures.
Some of the symbols include triangle imagery or sacred digits while others have secret
meanings which the authorities have not yet deciphered.
The image of a snake is typically associated with wisdom while a turtle is meant to symbolize
longevity.
Among the most frequent tattoos encountered on Triad members is that of the dragon and
the phoenix.
The presence of the dragon is representative of the dark energy, the ‘Yang’, while
the phoenix is meant to represent ‘Yin’, the light.
Number 3: Criminal Activity The 19th century brought about the first bans
on the opium trade.
While Hong-Kong was under British administration in 1946, drug distribution became illegal.
The Triads took control of the underground market and became involved in international
drug trafficking.
The drug trade intensified in the 60s and 70s.
The opium was taken from plants in the Golden Triangle (an area famous for massive drug
production which overlaps three countries: Myanmar, Laos and Thailand).
Then it was transformed into heroin in China.
The product was then distributed to Europe and North America.
The 14K, the second largest known triad, is a major player in large-scale heroin distribution
around the world.
Prostitution and gambling are among other operations.
There are numerous facilities in Hong Kong which offer sex services.
Organized prostitution is illegal and many believe it is controlled by the Triads.
In Hong Kong, legal restrictions have pushed the Triad’s gambling operation underground.
A Hong Kong police officer described the situation “When a new casino opens, the 'owners' tell
their acquaintances about it and they tell theirs.
It is impossible for an ordinary man to get there.
Casino is administrated not by certain triads, but by the members of different gangs who
organize a joint business.
There are no people stupid enough to open a casino on their own.”
However, in Macau gambling is not only legal but also extremely profitable.
Members of organized crime are among those who reap the benefits.
In 2013, the total revenue of Macau’s gambling industry was seven times larger than that
of Las Vegas.
The Triads have also been suspected of contract murders and gun running.
Another major source of revenue is human trafficking.
People are taken to other countries, where they have to work for the Triads to pay off
their debt.
37-year-old Jing Ping Chen, also known as Sister Ping was responsible for bringing more
than 200,000 illegal immigrants into the EU between 1997 and 2003.
At that time, her boyfriend was the head of the 14K Triad in Rotterdam.
Ping used her connections to dominate the human-trafficking market between Holland and
Britain.
She was eventually arrested under suspicion of being involved in the death of 58 Chinese,
whose bodies had been found in an air-tight truck in Dover, in 2000.
In 2015, after a three month long investigation, authorities in Hong Kong, Macau and the province
of Guangdong have made over 19.000 triad-related arrests.
The charges were gambling, drug trafficking and prostitution.
The effort was meant to underline that the governing forces would not tolerate the existence
of organized crime.
Number 2: Notorious Triads Although there are many other organizations
based around the world, the most powerful and most influential Triads are based in Hong
Kong.
The largest is the Sun Yee On with more than 56,000 members worldwide.
Their main rival is the 14K Triad with 25,000 members worldwide, who are divided into 30
subgroups.
Sun Yee On was founded in 1919 and throughout the years its criminal activity has included
narcotics, prostitution, human trafficking, gambling and extortion.
Its current dragonhead is unknown, although many suspect that Heung Wah-yim, the eldest
son of Heung Chin (the original founder), has taken control of the organization.
The 14K is the second-largest and most violent Triad based organization in the world.
Their violence is a consequence of the lack of a central dragonhead to govern all the
separate factions.
Some believe the gang’s name is derived from the fact that there were 14 initial members
who were all part of the Kuomintang (the Chinese Nationalist Party).
Wang Kuok-koi also known as ‘Broken Tooth’ Koi was the leader of the Macau 14K branch
during the 1990s.
Under him the 14K had reportedly been involved in assassination attempts, drive-by shootings
and car bombings.
Broken Tooth’s right-hand man was gunned down by a rival triad in 1997, while Broken
Tooth himself was arrested in 1999 for various crimes, including the attempted murder of
police chief Antonio Marques Baptista via car bomb.
Number 1: Triad Violence As is the case with many criminal organizations,
the Triads fight among themselves over power, influence and territorial control.
The symbolic instrument of Triad punishment, torture and execution is the kitchen meat
cleaver.
Severed limbs are sometimes sent to enemies as warnings.
The bodies of Triad victims found by the police often have disfiguring cuts and other forms
of mutilation.
In Macau, 14 people lost their lives in 1997 because of Triad-related violence.
Members go to extreme lengths in order to respect their 36 oaths.
In August of 2009, Lee Tai-hung, a senior Triad member, was hacked to death by three
knifemen outside the Shangri-la, a five-star hotel in Hong Kong.
Jimmy Lai, a newspaper editor who had a firebomb thrown in his yard by the Triads, told the
New York Times ‘I think they're very powerful---no doubt.
But if they threaten me, they won't kill me.
If they want to kill me, they won't threaten me.’