HONG KONG’S TRIADS: The History of Crime in the “Fragrant Harbor”

00:52:03
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39qoPcFSp3I

Résumé

TLDRThe video discusses the unique cultural and historical landscape of Hong Kong, known as "The Fragrant Harbor," highlighting its blend of Eastern traditions and Western influence. Hong Kong's dense population and numerous skyscrapers are a testament to its rapid growth and unique cultural synthesis. The narrative delves into the history of the Hong Kong Triads, organized crime syndicates that played a significant role in the colony’s socio-economic landscape, especially from the 1950s onwards after political shifts in Mainland China made Hong Kong their primary base. These Triads were instrumental in illegal activities, deeply infiltrating local police and engaging in narcotics trafficking and extortion. The video also explores post-World War II developments, the impact of British colonial rule, and the eventual return of Hong Kong to China in 1997, which altered the Triad operations significantly, moving them away from overt violence to a more covert organization embedded in semi-legitimate businesses.

A retenir

  • 🌆 Hong Kong is a densely populated city with over 7 million residents squeezed into 1100 square kilometers.
  • 🏢 It holds the world record for skyscrapers, with 657 within its space.
  • 🌏 This region is famed for merging Eastern traditions with Western influences in a distinctive cultural mix.
  • 🎥 Hong Kong cinema in the 80s and 90s often depicted its notorious Triads.
  • 🔍 The Triads originated as secret societies, gradually shifting to large-scale organized crime.
  • 🚓 Political changes in 1950s China made Hong Kong the Triads' new hub, infiltrating its police force.
  • 🌊 Hong Kong was a land of pirates before its explosion into a major financial center under British rule.
  • 🎭 Triads have been represented in multiple forms in popular media.
  • 📈 After 1997, Triads emphasized business legality while maintaining some criminal ties, shifting many operations to Mainland China.
  • 🗝️ Triad rituals and hierarchies have historically been unique but are waning in modern times.

Chronologie

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    Hong Kong, known as the Fragrant Harbor, is renowned for its unique blend of Eastern and Western cultures. With over 7 million people and 657 skyscrapers, the city has a rich history, including its famous cinema and the notorious Triads, a criminal organization that gained prominence as Hong Kong evolved from being a British colony in the 1950s.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    In the 19th century, Hong Kong, under British colonial rule, became a haven for pirates and smugglers, offering strategic advantages due to its geography. The Triads, originally Chinese secret societies, found refuge here, eventually evolving into organized crime entities controlling trade and workforce.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    The Triads' influence expanded rapidly, infiltrating the police force and causing fear through violence, intimidation, and human trafficking. Despite efforts by the British authorities to curtail their power with laws like the society's ordinance, the Triads continued to thrive by integrating into legitimate businesses.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    During World War II, some Triad factions collaborated with the Japanese occupiers, exploiting opportunities in opium trade, gambling, and prostitution. This collaboration further solidified their power and influence, leaving them in a dominant position upon the British resumption of control in 1945.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    Post-World War II, the Triads capitalized on the influx of refugees from mainland China, consolidating power and expanding their operations internationally. With their influence unchecked, Hong Kong's Triads became a global force, competing with other major criminal organizations.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    Efforts to curb Triad influence intensified following the 1956 riots, resulting in thousands of arrests. Initiatives by the Hong Kong police and the creation of a specialist task force demonstrated a growing understanding of Triad operations, but corruption within police ranks posed significant challenges.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:35:00

    The 1970s corruption scandal involving high-ranking officials highlighted the Triads' deep-rooted influence within the police. This led to significant reforms, establishing the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) to combat the pervasive corruption, significantly weakening Triad control.

  • 00:35:00 - 00:40:00

    Despite these setbacks, the Triads adapted, turning more towards heroin trade and international drug trafficking, notably by figures like Ma Sik Chia and Limpy Ho. Their operations revealed extensive networks involving Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and even American mob connections.

  • 00:40:00 - 00:45:00

    By the 1980s, concerted efforts by Hong Kong police, including undercover operations, intensified, leading to several high-profile arrests and dealing significant blows to organizations like the 14K and Sun Yee On. These actions started changing public perception and eroding Triad power.

  • 00:45:00 - 00:52:03

    Entering the 1990s, Hong Kong's return to China and increased law enforcement activities led to a decline in overt Triad operations within the city. However, the organizations shifted focus to legal businesses or moved activities to mainland China, maintaining a subdued presence in Hong Kong.

Afficher plus

Carte mentale

Vidéo Q&R

  • What is the population of Hong Kong within its 1100 square kilometers?

    Hong Kong has a population of more than 7 million people within its 1100 square kilometers.

  • How many skyscrapers does Hong Kong have?

    Hong Kong has 657 skyscrapers, a world record.

  • What cultural blend does Hong Kong present?

    Hong Kong presents a unique cultural blend of Eastern tradition with Western influences.

  • What historical aspect of Hong Kong was prominent in the 80s and 90s?

    The Hong Kong Triads and their influence on Hong Kong cinema were prominent in the 80s and 90s.

  • What role did Hong Kong play in the Triad's expansion?

    Hong Kong became a new playground for the Triads, providing a base for organized crime after they moved from Mainland China due to political changes there.

  • What historical event in the 1950s affected Mainland Chinese gangsters?

    Dramatic political changes in China during the 1950s created a hostile environment for Mainland Chinese gangsters, pushing them towards Hong Kong.

  • When did Hong Kong first become a British colony?

    Hong Kong was ceded to the British after the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842.

  • What were the Hong Kong Triads known for in the past?

    The Hong Kong Triads were known for organized crime activities including drug trafficking, extortion, and infiltration of the police force.

  • How did the Triads influence change post-1997?

    Post-1997, the Triads' presence became less violent and more integrated into legitimate and shady businesses, with some operations moving to Mainland China.

  • What societal issues did the British face with the Triads after taking control of Hong Kong?

    The British realized the threat of Triads who were deeply involved in Hong Kong's workforce and criminal activities, requiring legal actions and police interventions.

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Sous-titres
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Défilement automatique:
  • 00:00:00
    Hong Kong The Fragrant Harbor this place
  • 00:00:03
    is truly special and fascinating in so
  • 00:00:06
    many different ways within 1100 square
  • 00:00:10
    kilm of space HK manages to squeeze in
  • 00:00:13
    more than 7 million people a world
  • 00:00:15
    record
  • 00:00:16
    657 skyscrapers and a whole bunch of
  • 00:00:20
    unique history and culture culture that
  • 00:00:23
    perhaps more than any other place in the
  • 00:00:25
    world perfectly Blends Eastern tradition
  • 00:00:27
    with Western influences creating its own
  • 00:00:30
    distinctive culture which is reflected
  • 00:00:32
    in everything from its language and
  • 00:00:34
    architecture to the local Cuisine
  • 00:00:37
    besides Japan which you can probably
  • 00:00:39
    tell by well my whole freaking Channel
  • 00:00:41
    revolving almost exclusively around it
  • 00:00:43
    Hong Kong has always been the place that
  • 00:00:45
    is intrigued me the most thanks not only
  • 00:00:47
    to the above mentioned characteristics
  • 00:00:50
    but also because in the 80s and '90s
  • 00:00:52
    especially this tiny little place off
  • 00:00:54
    the southern coast of mainland China
  • 00:00:56
    pumped out some of the greatest movies
  • 00:00:58
    that I've ever seen
  • 00:01:00
    I mean who could ever forget chaun fat
  • 00:01:03
    jumping out of an exploding Hospital
  • 00:01:05
    while hugging a
  • 00:01:09
    baby H get him out of
  • 00:01:14
    here Peak Cinema and one of the most
  • 00:01:17
    unavoidable but also endlessly
  • 00:01:19
    fascinating topics found in HK Cinema
  • 00:01:22
    from the 80s the '90s and to some extent
  • 00:01:24
    even the 2000s is of course organized
  • 00:01:27
    crime or to be more precise the Infamous
  • 00:01:30
    Triads of Hong Kong in one of my most
  • 00:01:34
    recent videos we explored how the
  • 00:01:35
    Chinese Triad started off as secret
  • 00:01:38
    societies around 2,000 years ago before
  • 00:01:40
    experiencing a gradual very slow shift
  • 00:01:43
    towards large scale organized crime with
  • 00:01:45
    the introduction of groups like the
  • 00:01:47
    infamous green gang but you won't often
  • 00:01:49
    hear the term Triads linked to Mainland
  • 00:01:51
    China these days dramatic political
  • 00:01:54
    changes taking place in China during the
  • 00:01:56
    1950s created a hostile environment for
  • 00:01:59
    the Chinese gangsters of old and with
  • 00:02:01
    that organized crime as a whole and so
  • 00:02:04
    Hong Kong then a rapidly growing British
  • 00:02:07
    colony became the triad's new playground
  • 00:02:10
    within a few short years they
  • 00:02:12
    transformed The Fragrant Harbor flooding
  • 00:02:15
    it with violence and illicit wealth
  • 00:02:17
    infiltrating the ranks of its police
  • 00:02:19
    force with their own men casting a long
  • 00:02:21
    Shadow over everyday life in the colony
  • 00:02:23
    and exporting their crimes far beyond
  • 00:02:26
    the borders of Hong Kong establishing
  • 00:02:27
    the Triads AS Global criminal power
  • 00:02:29
    houses their name arguably just as
  • 00:02:32
    feared as that of the mafia or the
  • 00:02:34
    Yakuza so what exactly made the Hong
  • 00:02:37
    Kong triy it so Infamous how did they
  • 00:02:40
    operate and where are they nowadays well
  • 00:02:43
    you already know that is exactly what we
  • 00:02:45
    aim to find out in today's video if you
  • 00:02:48
    like what you see then don't forget to
  • 00:02:50
    leave a like and if you want to see more
  • 00:02:52
    videos like this one pop up in your feed
  • 00:02:54
    in the future also make sure to
  • 00:02:55
    subscribe and maybe even check out my
  • 00:02:57
    patreon page link below if you want to
  • 00:02:59
    help me out out even more now without
  • 00:03:01
    any further Ado let's take a little trip
  • 00:03:04
    to Hong Kong shall we this is the
  • 00:03:07
    history of the Hong Kong Triads and
  • 00:03:09
    crime in The Fragrant
  • 00:03:20
    [Music]
  • 00:03:26
    Harbor it's hard to imagine these days
  • 00:03:30
    but not even 200 years ago the area that
  • 00:03:33
    now houses the place we call Hong Kong
  • 00:03:35
    and its hundreds of skyscrapers and
  • 00:03:37
    millions of inhabitants was nothing more
  • 00:03:39
    than a humble collection of fishing
  • 00:03:41
    villages hk's transformation into a
  • 00:03:44
    hugely important financial center and
  • 00:03:46
    one of the most densely populated areas
  • 00:03:48
    on Earth didn't start until the arrival
  • 00:03:50
    of a major foreign power from the other
  • 00:03:53
    side of the globe the British the
  • 00:03:55
    British first arrived in Hong Kong in
  • 00:03:57
    the early 1840s but the at now forms HK
  • 00:04:01
    had at that point long been a refuge for
  • 00:04:03
    southern Chinese undesirables Pirates
  • 00:04:06
    and the likes which mostly came down to
  • 00:04:08
    Hong Kong's advantageous geography those
  • 00:04:11
    looking to smuggle or steal found a Cozy
  • 00:04:14
    home here located just off the southern
  • 00:04:17
    coast of the Mainland the area was close
  • 00:04:19
    to the entrance of what was the only
  • 00:04:21
    major river system flowing through
  • 00:04:23
    southern China a place where trade was
  • 00:04:25
    to be found in abundance and with had
  • 00:04:28
    lots of valuable cargo to steal
  • 00:04:30
    while close enough to the mainland to
  • 00:04:32
    reach it in no time the Hong Kong area
  • 00:04:34
    was also far away enough from it to be
  • 00:04:36
    somewhat isolated from the strict
  • 00:04:38
    Imperial rule that could be found there
  • 00:04:41
    Imperial rule that as you can imagine
  • 00:04:43
    had just about zero tolerance for pirate
  • 00:04:46
    activities of all kinds the fact that
  • 00:04:49
    the area was home to a collection of
  • 00:04:50
    hundreds of different Islands made
  • 00:04:52
    hiding from the authorities a Bree as
  • 00:04:54
    well safe to say this place was more or
  • 00:04:57
    less a Chinese Pirates wet dream
  • 00:05:01
    in the 19th century foreign trade mostly
  • 00:05:04
    dominated by the British arrived in
  • 00:05:06
    southern China meaning that there was
  • 00:05:07
    now more precious cargo to Rob than ever
  • 00:05:10
    before but things got even better at
  • 00:05:13
    least for the local Pirates constant
  • 00:05:16
    turmoil plagued China at the time and
  • 00:05:18
    following the end of the first Opium War
  • 00:05:20
    between Britain and China and the
  • 00:05:22
    subsequent signing of the Treaty of
  • 00:05:23
    Nanjing in 1842 Hong Kong Island one
  • 00:05:27
    part of what forms modern day Hong Kong
  • 00:05:30
    was seeded to the British the southern
  • 00:05:32
    cowon Peninsula and Stone Cutters Island
  • 00:05:35
    followed in 1860 and the new territories
  • 00:05:38
    and its many offshore Islands were
  • 00:05:40
    leased from China for 99 years starting
  • 00:05:42
    in
  • 00:05:43
    1898 if the harbors of Hong Kong
  • 00:05:46
    represented a Cozy home for Chinese
  • 00:05:48
    Pirates and criminals before they were
  • 00:05:50
    now a straight up five-star ultr luxury
  • 00:05:52
    Mansion because more than ever before
  • 00:05:55
    the area was now completely out of reach
  • 00:05:57
    of the Imperial Chinese authorities
  • 00:06:00
    the area's population grew quickly
  • 00:06:02
    merchants and coolies attracted by the
  • 00:06:04
    seemingly Endless Possibilities in terms
  • 00:06:07
    of trade offered by the well situated
  • 00:06:09
    harbors of Hong Kong among those who
  • 00:06:12
    found themselves attracted to both these
  • 00:06:14
    chop possibilities and the idea of
  • 00:06:16
    gaining some distance from the mainland
  • 00:06:18
    authorities was one particular
  • 00:06:21
    collection of Chinese societies the
  • 00:06:24
    Triads as we saw in my previous video
  • 00:06:27
    though things were certainly moving at
  • 00:06:29
    the Direction starting in the 19th
  • 00:06:31
    century especially the Chinese Triads
  • 00:06:33
    weren't inherently criminal the Triad
  • 00:06:36
    members that arrived in HK however were
  • 00:06:38
    different they were either actively
  • 00:06:41
    escaping the law or looking to engage in
  • 00:06:43
    activities that would be much much more
  • 00:06:46
    difficult on the mainland illicit
  • 00:06:48
    activities of course and the criminal
  • 00:06:50
    triats were quick to set up shop in a
  • 00:06:53
    new British colony by 1843 only one year
  • 00:06:58
    after the British took over Hong Kong
  • 00:07:00
    Island four different Triad societies
  • 00:07:02
    had already been active in the area
  • 00:07:04
    among them one society which was raided
  • 00:07:06
    and subsequently arrested by none other
  • 00:07:08
    than the first ever chief of the HK
  • 00:07:11
    police force Captain William Cain in
  • 00:07:14
    1844 a few months prior in April of
  • 00:07:17
    1843 that same tried Society broke into
  • 00:07:21
    and burgled the house of Sir Henry
  • 00:07:23
    Pinger the first ever governor of Hong
  • 00:07:26
    Kong and they reportedly also stole from
  • 00:07:28
    their three most prominent traders in
  • 00:07:30
    town only 2 Days Later the British
  • 00:07:33
    realized that the tried societies could
  • 00:07:35
    be a real threat to their grip in Hong
  • 00:07:37
    Kong by 1845 they estimated that the
  • 00:07:41
    trits had around 70% of the area's fast
  • 00:07:44
    growing population under their thumb but
  • 00:07:46
    what worried the British authorities the
  • 00:07:48
    most was the fact that the trites pretty
  • 00:07:50
    much ran Hong Kong's entire Workforce at
  • 00:07:53
    the time that coupled with their sheer
  • 00:07:55
    number of members and exceptional
  • 00:07:57
    organizational skills meant that by 18
  • 00:07:59
    45 illegal tried activity akin to the
  • 00:08:02
    aforementioned crimes had become
  • 00:08:04
    increasingly common in a newly
  • 00:08:06
    established colony and so that same year
  • 00:08:09
    the earliest version of the society's
  • 00:08:12
    ordinance was introduced the society's
  • 00:08:14
    ordinance basically criminalized
  • 00:08:16
    membership in a tried Society a law that
  • 00:08:20
    though undergoing many changes over the
  • 00:08:22
    years still stands to this day the
  • 00:08:25
    punishment consisting of a 3-month
  • 00:08:28
    prison sentence combined with with a 100
  • 00:08:30
    bamboo cane lashes however was Child's
  • 00:08:33
    Play compared to what happened to
  • 00:08:34
    criminal Triads on the mainland and the
  • 00:08:36
    prisons found in 1840s HK are said to
  • 00:08:39
    have been pretty comfy as well all in
  • 00:08:42
    all the positives of being a tried
  • 00:08:44
    member in Hong Kong greatly outweighed
  • 00:08:47
    the relatively minor inconveniences and
  • 00:08:49
    risks that came as a result of such
  • 00:08:51
    membership for those who made their way
  • 00:08:53
    from Southern China to Hong Kong
  • 00:08:55
    sometimes completely on their own and
  • 00:08:57
    with no connections whatsoever the Tri
  • 00:08:59
    societies provided a crucial sense of
  • 00:09:01
    community and belonging a fundamental
  • 00:09:04
    purpose shared by many of their secret
  • 00:09:07
    society predecessors from the mainland
  • 00:09:10
    as the decades went by more and more
  • 00:09:12
    Chinese from the mainland made their way
  • 00:09:13
    to the colony in search of New
  • 00:09:15
    Opportunities and away from the chaos
  • 00:09:18
    that constantly made life in their home
  • 00:09:20
    country at Shore by the mid 1880s the
  • 00:09:23
    tries were the dominant force in the
  • 00:09:25
    colony in terms of trade they ran quote
  • 00:09:28
    unquote travel AG agencies for hundreds
  • 00:09:30
    of thousands of workers trying to make
  • 00:09:32
    their way to America too basically
  • 00:09:34
    robbing them Blind by charging insane
  • 00:09:36
    boarding fees for vessels leaving from
  • 00:09:38
    ports across Hong Kong and Southern
  • 00:09:41
    China the stuff that came into the
  • 00:09:43
    fragrant Harbor wasn't safe from the tri
  • 00:09:45
    either be it fish meat rice or
  • 00:09:48
    vegetables nothing made it into Hong
  • 00:09:50
    Kong's numerous Market stalls without
  • 00:09:52
    going through their hands first and
  • 00:09:54
    their hands usually demanded a quote
  • 00:09:56
    unquote Tri a tax be paid giving them a
  • 00:09:59
    sizable Fortune to work and expand with
  • 00:10:02
    they were also feared throughout the
  • 00:10:04
    colony and for good reason violence
  • 00:10:08
    intimidation human trafficking and the
  • 00:10:10
    collection of protection money became
  • 00:10:12
    the tried members full-time jobs and not
  • 00:10:14
    even those who were supposed to Monitor
  • 00:10:16
    and punish these sorts of activities
  • 00:10:18
    were safe police informers were straight
  • 00:10:21
    up murdered and as early as 1885 the
  • 00:10:24
    Hong Kong police force reported the
  • 00:10:26
    existence of at least one Triad member
  • 00:10:28
    employ de loyed at each police station
  • 00:10:31
    in the area it was the beginning of a
  • 00:10:33
    tried organized infiltration of not only
  • 00:10:35
    the HK police force but in some case
  • 00:10:37
    even low ranking government posts a
  • 00:10:40
    problem that as we will see later
  • 00:10:42
    wouldn't be probably addressed until
  • 00:10:44
    close to a century into the
  • 00:10:46
    future as Hong Kong progressed
  • 00:10:49
    throughout the early 1900s the trits
  • 00:10:51
    became increasingly integrated into
  • 00:10:53
    everyday life in Hong Kong by investing
  • 00:10:55
    their money into legitimate businesses
  • 00:10:57
    as cover for their illegal activi ities
  • 00:11:00
    often registering their societies as
  • 00:11:02
    Charities or social and sports clubs
  • 00:11:04
    Hong Kong's tride societies grew bigger
  • 00:11:06
    and bigger some more than others until a
  • 00:11:09
    good amount of disunity and
  • 00:11:11
    fragmentation started to plague the big
  • 00:11:13
    societies starting in the 1930s with
  • 00:11:16
    increased competition violence and
  • 00:11:19
    internal rivalries became more and more
  • 00:11:21
    common more and more people disappeared
  • 00:11:24
    more and more dead bodies appeared the
  • 00:11:26
    HK police force while never allowing
  • 00:11:28
    Hong Kong based RS to achieve quite the
  • 00:11:31
    same levels of influence as many of
  • 00:11:33
    their Mainland counterparts were in many
  • 00:11:35
    respects powerless to stop the
  • 00:11:36
    infighting and violence at that point
  • 00:11:39
    and things were about to get much worse
  • 00:11:42
    very
  • 00:11:43
    soon Japan's brutal World War II
  • 00:11:46
    campaign and with it the conquest of the
  • 00:11:48
    Asian continent was in full swing by the
  • 00:11:51
    late 1930s the invasion of Hong Kong an
  • 00:11:54
    invasion that had been at work since the
  • 00:11:56
    1920s was up next and the Triads would
  • 00:11:59
    profit greatly from it or at least those
  • 00:12:02
    who sided with the Japanese
  • 00:12:04
    Invaders In general the Japanese
  • 00:12:07
    encouraged the activities of the tries
  • 00:12:08
    in Hong Kong they took their share out
  • 00:12:11
    of the profit made from illegal
  • 00:12:12
    businesses like gambling and especially
  • 00:12:14
    narcotics opium to be precise opium
  • 00:12:18
    despite being smuggled by the triats in
  • 00:12:20
    the past had up until that point
  • 00:12:22
    actually never been an exclusively
  • 00:12:24
    criminal commodity in Hong Kong having
  • 00:12:26
    been legally available and taxed Through
  • 00:12:28
    official Distributors that all changed
  • 00:12:31
    with the invasion when the Opium Market
  • 00:12:33
    fell almost completely into the hands of
  • 00:12:35
    the Triads the drug was provided by the
  • 00:12:38
    Japanese themselves who had long since
  • 00:12:40
    been using opium as a means of keeping
  • 00:12:42
    the population of mainland China weak
  • 00:12:44
    and addicted a tactic that they sought
  • 00:12:46
    to continue in Hong Kong as well it also
  • 00:12:49
    made both the Invaders and the TRS a
  • 00:12:51
    large sum of money and so did gambling
  • 00:12:54
    and prostitution the latter representing
  • 00:12:56
    an especially dark chapter of the
  • 00:12:58
    Japanese World War II campaign due to
  • 00:13:00
    the existence of the notorious Comfort
  • 00:13:03
    houses set up for Japanese soldiers in
  • 00:13:05
    both Hong Kong and China in many cases
  • 00:13:08
    with the assistance of local Triad
  • 00:13:11
    societies not all Hong Kong Triads
  • 00:13:14
    supported the Japanese invasion though
  • 00:13:16
    they were basically split between
  • 00:13:18
    supporting the Invaders supporting the
  • 00:13:20
    British supporting the Chinese
  • 00:13:22
    nationalist gu Tong or supporting no one
  • 00:13:26
    as if the presence of the Japanese Army
  • 00:13:28
    in Hong Kong was wasn't enough these
  • 00:13:30
    differing opinions led to even more
  • 00:13:32
    violence between the tried societies at
  • 00:13:35
    the same time food scarcity became a
  • 00:13:37
    real problem giving birth to black
  • 00:13:38
    markets which were then also controlled
  • 00:13:40
    by you guessed it the Triads and in many
  • 00:13:44
    cases the only way to survive the
  • 00:13:46
    invasion and get some actual food on
  • 00:13:48
    your plate was to become a tribe member
  • 00:13:50
    yourself for everyone involved the
  • 00:13:52
    Japanese invasion of Hong Kong which
  • 00:13:54
    finally came to an end in 1945 was a
  • 00:13:57
    harrowing experience
  • 00:13:59
    except for the big tried societies
  • 00:14:01
    because after 4 years of doing pretty
  • 00:14:04
    much whatever day felt like without any
  • 00:14:06
    sort of police intervention they were in
  • 00:14:08
    a better position than they had ever
  • 00:14:10
    been before and to further add to their
  • 00:14:13
    firm grip on the HK Underworld the
  • 00:14:15
    Japanese had destroyed most existing
  • 00:14:17
    police records on the Hong Kong Triads
  • 00:14:20
    meaning that they were also guaranteed a
  • 00:14:21
    certain sense of anonymity when a
  • 00:14:23
    British took back the colony and
  • 00:14:25
    speaking of the police more triats than
  • 00:14:28
    ever before found their way into the
  • 00:14:30
    ranks of the police force when after the
  • 00:14:31
    war the police department was incredibly
  • 00:14:34
    underst staffed which led to countless
  • 00:14:36
    Triad members successfully applying for
  • 00:14:38
    a job the rest of tribe business
  • 00:14:40
    continued just as it did during the
  • 00:14:42
    Japanese invasion just underground also
  • 00:14:46
    the black market an important part of
  • 00:14:48
    everyday life in postwar Hong Kong where
  • 00:14:49
    everything was still in short supply was
  • 00:14:52
    still in the hands of the Triads in
  • 00:14:54
    addition the British military
  • 00:14:56
    government's Hasty prohibition of opium
  • 00:14:58
    inadvertent ly transformed it into a
  • 00:15:00
    lucrative tried Monopoly far exceeding
  • 00:15:03
    previous profits simultaneously tried
  • 00:15:06
    societies maintained a strangle hold in
  • 00:15:07
    the local labor market a critical factor
  • 00:15:10
    in the immense reconstruction efforts
  • 00:15:12
    following the devastating invasion of
  • 00:15:14
    Hong Kong immense was also the influx of
  • 00:15:17
    refugees coming in from mainland China
  • 00:15:19
    following World War II for them the war
  • 00:15:22
    was far from over because the
  • 00:15:24
    Nationalist communist War flared up once
  • 00:15:26
    again consequently Hong Kong Kong
  • 00:15:29
    witnessed an absolutely insane spike in
  • 00:15:32
    population growing from 600,000 in 1945
  • 00:15:36
    to 2.1 million in 1951 it was thanks in
  • 00:15:40
    large part to these Mainland immigrants
  • 00:15:43
    among them landlords Factory owners and
  • 00:15:46
    Traders that HK soon turned into an
  • 00:15:48
    industrial Powerhouse but they also
  • 00:15:51
    brought something else with them
  • 00:15:53
    competition because the established
  • 00:15:55
    local HK Triads that build up a strong
  • 00:15:57
    power base in their area were now joined
  • 00:16:00
    by societies from the mainland where the
  • 00:16:02
    existence of Triads was simply no longer
  • 00:16:04
    tolerated after the ccp's victory and
  • 00:16:07
    subsequent takeover of China perhaps the
  • 00:16:09
    most prominent Mainland Triad immigrant
  • 00:16:12
    was the infamous Big Ear du yashang who
  • 00:16:15
    operating from Shanghai controlled
  • 00:16:17
    pretty much the country's entire opium
  • 00:16:19
    industry for a few decades becoming
  • 00:16:21
    perhaps China's most powerful gangster
  • 00:16:24
    in history in communist China however
  • 00:16:27
    opium was out of fashion and so du spent
  • 00:16:30
    the last few years of his life trying
  • 00:16:32
    his luck in Hong Kong by attempting to
  • 00:16:34
    keep his Infamous green gang alive there
  • 00:16:36
    but like so many other gangs that tried
  • 00:16:38
    to gain a foothold in HK after the Civil
  • 00:16:40
    War ended the green gang faded away in a
  • 00:16:43
    matter of only a few years one tried
  • 00:16:46
    Society founded on the mainland that did
  • 00:16:48
    manage to make an impact in Hong Kong
  • 00:16:50
    however was the infamous 14k which to
  • 00:16:54
    this day remains as one of the largest
  • 00:16:56
    tried Societies in all of H K the
  • 00:16:59
    founding history of the 14k can be
  • 00:17:02
    traced to the guint tong or kmt the
  • 00:17:05
    Nationalist party of China under Chang
  • 00:17:07
    kek that had just lost the Civil War to
  • 00:17:09
    Mao sedong and the CCP in 1945 kmt
  • 00:17:14
    Lieutenant General kotsu Wong was tasked
  • 00:17:16
    with uniting several tried Societies in
  • 00:17:19
    southern China's guangong Province under
  • 00:17:21
    one Banner forming a large Triad Army
  • 00:17:24
    That was supposed to Aid the
  • 00:17:25
    nationalists in defeating the Communist
  • 00:17:27
    Party the name of this collection of
  • 00:17:29
    tried societies was to be sapwe or 14
  • 00:17:34
    Association likely a reference to the
  • 00:17:36
    address of the society's founding
  • 00:17:38
    location and original headquarters
  • 00:17:40
    located at 14 powa Road in 1949 when a
  • 00:17:44
    kmt had lost the Civil War its members
  • 00:17:46
    and supporters were forced to leave the
  • 00:17:48
    country a good chunk of them including
  • 00:17:51
    kmt leader chanek ended up in Taiwan but
  • 00:17:54
    some chose to make Hong Kong their new
  • 00:17:56
    home instead and among them were the 14
  • 00:17:58
    14k Triads and their founder
  • 00:18:02
    kotan where exactly the K in 14k comes
  • 00:18:05
    from is by the way somewhat of a mystery
  • 00:18:08
    some argue that it stands for cowon as a
  • 00:18:10
    reference to Hong Kong's koooon
  • 00:18:11
    Peninsula others think that it might
  • 00:18:14
    represent carrots of gold and with it
  • 00:18:16
    good luck and luck was certainly on
  • 00:18:18
    their side because after fleeing to Hong
  • 00:18:20
    Kong the 14k really HED stride they
  • 00:18:24
    immediately got to work on Conquering
  • 00:18:26
    the Koon area for themselves including a
  • 00:18:29
    gang war against the local Yun Society
  • 00:18:31
    in cun's monok District their numbers
  • 00:18:34
    ballooned in no time 2 years after
  • 00:18:37
    arriving in HK they counted around
  • 00:18:40
    10,000 members by 1955 880,000 people
  • 00:18:44
    and not just in Hong Kong but also in
  • 00:18:46
    other parts of Southeast Asia called
  • 00:18:49
    themselves a 14k member but whenever you
  • 00:18:52
    hear about these insane tried membership
  • 00:18:54
    numbers keep in mind that while being
  • 00:18:56
    part of a tried Society is against the
  • 00:18:58
    law HK meaning that technically every
  • 00:19:01
    member could be considered a criminal
  • 00:19:03
    not every single member of a tried
  • 00:19:04
    Society was actually involved in
  • 00:19:06
    criminal activities like violence murder
  • 00:19:09
    drug trafficking and the likes some or
  • 00:19:13
    actually most members joined either out
  • 00:19:15
    of sheer convenience or to avoid trouble
  • 00:19:18
    or they were straight up forced into
  • 00:19:20
    doing so even still the 14k undoubtedly
  • 00:19:23
    boasted a massive number of actual
  • 00:19:26
    active criminals whose extortion tactics
  • 00:19:28
    were in some cases so violent that they
  • 00:19:31
    left even the other tried society's
  • 00:19:32
    leaders in shock it was perhaps this
  • 00:19:35
    shock and fear that also allowed the 14k
  • 00:19:37
    to capture a large chunk of hk's booming
  • 00:19:40
    narcotics trade next which would soon
  • 00:19:42
    result in an InterContinental and even
  • 00:19:44
    International drug trafficking Network
  • 00:19:47
    when Chang kek now the president of the
  • 00:19:50
    Republic of China in Taiwan noticed just
  • 00:19:52
    how much influence the 14k which was
  • 00:19:55
    originally his brainchild held he sought
  • 00:19:58
    a society potential as a way of
  • 00:19:59
    overtaking all of Hong Kong and once
  • 00:20:02
    again being able to gain a foothold in
  • 00:20:04
    mainland China a classic Chang Kai pipe
  • 00:20:07
    dream that never materialized but
  • 00:20:09
    nevertheless he invested a ton of
  • 00:20:11
    resources into the 14k which only AED
  • 00:20:14
    its already massive growth the 14k was
  • 00:20:18
    far from the only tried Society making
  • 00:20:20
    an impression in post-war Hong Kong
  • 00:20:22
    though generally the 14k is nowadays
  • 00:20:25
    regarded as one of three tried societies
  • 00:20:28
    that are the biggest that HK has ever
  • 00:20:30
    seen the other two being the sunon and
  • 00:20:33
    the war group the war group might
  • 00:20:36
    actually be the oldest still existing
  • 00:20:38
    tried Society in Hong Kong while the
  • 00:20:41
    founding of the war group's main Wasing
  • 00:20:43
    War faction is officially dated as 1930
  • 00:20:46
    the roots of the war group as a whole
  • 00:20:48
    date back all the way to China's Tai
  • 00:20:50
    ping rebellion of the mid 1800s and the
  • 00:20:52
    subsequent influx of Mainland immigrants
  • 00:20:55
    into Hong Kong the Wasing War played a
  • 00:20:58
    big role during the Japanese invasion of
  • 00:21:00
    Hong Kong spying and Reporting
  • 00:21:02
    anti-japanese activity throughout HK to
  • 00:21:04
    the much dreaded Kee Thai military
  • 00:21:07
    police of the Japanese Army in the 1950s
  • 00:21:10
    the war group's different factions some
  • 00:21:13
    of them small and with no criminal
  • 00:21:15
    intentions started to diversify and
  • 00:21:18
    focus on different areas of expertise
  • 00:21:20
    things like lone sharking and protection
  • 00:21:22
    rackets were a big part of the W group's
  • 00:21:24
    business portfolio though but they also
  • 00:21:27
    had a hand in many other underworld
  • 00:21:29
    activities like illegal gambling
  • 00:21:31
    prostitution theft and narcotics you
  • 00:21:34
    know the usual stuff what really made
  • 00:21:37
    them so powerful though is the fact that
  • 00:21:39
    they also controlled much of Hong Kong's
  • 00:21:41
    large pool of Doc workers as you can
  • 00:21:43
    imagine a very influential thing to
  • 00:21:45
    control in a world famous fragrant
  • 00:21:47
    Harbor the sun yon founded as simply the
  • 00:21:50
    Yon in 1919 started Life as a society
  • 00:21:53
    for Hong kongers of tiu origin ahead of
  • 00:21:57
    them were four decades which saw the
  • 00:22:00
    society appear and disappear disband and
  • 00:22:03
    reform on multiple occasions until
  • 00:22:06
    finally uniting under the name sunon in
  • 00:22:08
    the 1950s the word Sun meaning new in
  • 00:22:12
    Cantonese the sunon grew at an insane
  • 00:22:15
    pace and was soon competing with even
  • 00:22:17
    the war group's warhop tour faction over
  • 00:22:20
    protection records in Hong Kong's one
  • 00:22:21
    chai area what's particularly
  • 00:22:24
    interesting about the tried societies is
  • 00:22:27
    that unlike other organiz crime groups
  • 00:22:29
    like The Italian mafia or the Japanese
  • 00:22:31
    Yakuza there seems to have been at best
  • 00:22:34
    a very loose hierarchy within these
  • 00:22:37
    organizations and rarely is there ever a
  • 00:22:39
    single hierarchical structure that
  • 00:22:41
    applies to every society a one- siiz
  • 00:22:44
    fits all hierarchy if you will Triads
  • 00:22:47
    operated more like franchises where
  • 00:22:49
    members and factions despite owing dues
  • 00:22:51
    to higher-ups worked independently from
  • 00:22:53
    one another there were however a number
  • 00:22:56
    of ranks and positions and for the basic
  • 00:22:59
    hierarchical structure of most societies
  • 00:23:01
    all with certain numbers associated with
  • 00:23:03
    them that all start with the number four
  • 00:23:06
    there are many possible explanations for
  • 00:23:08
    where exactly these rank numbers
  • 00:23:10
    originated from but the trits are so
  • 00:23:12
    damn old that it's hard to confirm what
  • 00:23:15
    the real origins of some of their
  • 00:23:16
    Traditions actually are to give an
  • 00:23:19
    example the number 489 was connected to
  • 00:23:22
    the rank of dragon hat alternatively
  • 00:23:24
    called Mountain Lord I prefer dragon hat
  • 00:23:27
    because it sounds sick so let's go with
  • 00:23:30
    that the dragon hat didn't just have the
  • 00:23:32
    coolest sounding title in the whole
  • 00:23:34
    organization he was also its highest
  • 00:23:36
    ranking member the dragon head served as
  • 00:23:38
    the ultimate Authority within the
  • 00:23:41
    organization responsible for resolving
  • 00:23:43
    internal disputes and charting the
  • 00:23:44
    society's overall course he also
  • 00:23:47
    maintained a largely hands-off approach
  • 00:23:49
    to daily operations his directives
  • 00:23:52
    however were absolute and unquestionable
  • 00:23:55
    just below the dragon hat you had three
  • 00:23:57
    different positions all carrying the
  • 00:23:59
    number 438 and all of equal importance
  • 00:24:02
    assistant Mountain Lord incense master
  • 00:24:05
    and Vanguard the assistant Mountain Lord
  • 00:24:08
    acted as the dragon Hat's right-hand
  • 00:24:09
    person providing Counsel on critical
  • 00:24:12
    matters and assuming leadership
  • 00:24:13
    responsibilities in the dragon Hat's
  • 00:24:15
    absence the incense master was
  • 00:24:17
    responsible for initiation rituals which
  • 00:24:20
    the Vanguard assisted him with but the
  • 00:24:23
    Vanguard also functioned as a sort of
  • 00:24:25
    operations officer and it is now believ
  • 00:24:27
    that often times s the Vanguard actually
  • 00:24:30
    had the most acting power within a tried
  • 00:24:33
    organization another three positions
  • 00:24:35
    follow below that the white paper fan or
  • 00:24:38
    415 basically the bookkeeper and legal
  • 00:24:40
    expert the straw sandal or 432 who acts
  • 00:24:44
    as a messenger and organizes tride
  • 00:24:45
    meetings and of course the famous red
  • 00:24:48
    Pole or
  • 00:24:49
    426 the enforcer who takes care of the
  • 00:24:53
    unpleasant stuff with up to 50 men under
  • 00:24:56
    his command he takes care of every thing
  • 00:24:58
    that requires intimidation or an
  • 00:25:00
    unhealthy dose of violence or both the
  • 00:25:04
    lowest tier of the traditional Triad
  • 00:25:06
    hierarchy and the one that actually
  • 00:25:07
    makes up a good majority of their
  • 00:25:09
    membership consists of the 49s or
  • 00:25:12
    49ers no relation to the San Francisco
  • 00:25:16
    49ers or is that just what they want us
  • 00:25:18
    to believe the 49ers could be considered
  • 00:25:21
    Triad foot soldiers and the only ones
  • 00:25:24
    even less important than them in terms
  • 00:25:26
    of rank at least are the so so calleded
  • 00:25:28
    blue lanterns uninitiated members who
  • 00:25:31
    don't even get assigned one of those
  • 00:25:33
    fancy numbers that's the basic model the
  • 00:25:36
    tried organizations are thought to have
  • 00:25:38
    been built around but as mentioned
  • 00:25:40
    before these hierarchical structures
  • 00:25:42
    could vary greatly from organization to
  • 00:25:45
    organization the dragon head for example
  • 00:25:47
    was usually an elected position but as
  • 00:25:50
    we will see later on in this video the
  • 00:25:52
    sunon for example maintained a
  • 00:25:53
    hereditary leadership structure at least
  • 00:25:56
    for a while and none of this stuff seems
  • 00:25:58
    to be all it relevant anymore these days
  • 00:26:01
    though over the last couple of decades
  • 00:26:03
    most of these ranks have slipped further
  • 00:26:05
    and further Into Obscurity with Ds now
  • 00:26:08
    often consisting exclusively of 49s and
  • 00:26:11
    red poles with multiple red poles
  • 00:26:13
    forming a sort of council where a
  • 00:26:15
    chairman is then elected kind of sad to
  • 00:26:17
    see an amazing title like dragon hat
  • 00:26:19
    just disappear like
  • 00:26:21
    that what also faded away or at least
  • 00:26:24
    changed significantly over the past
  • 00:26:26
    couple of decades were the famous Triad
  • 00:26:28
    initiation rituals there are again many
  • 00:26:31
    different versions of how these rituals
  • 00:26:33
    actually went down it's safe to assumed
  • 00:26:36
    that much like the hierarchical
  • 00:26:37
    structures that we just looked at every
  • 00:26:39
    tried Society chose to do things at
  • 00:26:41
    least a bit differently but again there
  • 00:26:44
    were some key elements that seem to have
  • 00:26:46
    found their way into pretty much every
  • 00:26:48
    initiation ritual in the past these
  • 00:26:51
    rituals generally took place inside a
  • 00:26:54
    temporary space called a Triad Lodge
  • 00:26:56
    which could be anything from a BAS
  • 00:26:58
    basement to an Alleyway the tried
  • 00:27:00
    initiation ritual compris a series of
  • 00:27:03
    symbolic actions all rooted in the
  • 00:27:05
    traditions of their ancestral Chinese
  • 00:27:07
    secret societies these included the
  • 00:27:10
    passing through various Gates and
  • 00:27:12
    performing certain rituals culminating
  • 00:27:14
    with the initiate washing his face and
  • 00:27:16
    body symbolically washing his old Life
  • 00:27:19
    Away ready to be reborn as a Triad
  • 00:27:21
    member he then sips from a bowl
  • 00:27:24
    containing a mixture of wine animal
  • 00:27:26
    blood and burnt ashes from a yellow
  • 00:27:28
    paper to illustrate what happens to
  • 00:27:30
    traitors the Bist and broken into pieces
  • 00:27:33
    and last but not least the initiates
  • 00:27:36
    wors the famous 36 Oaths which demand
  • 00:27:39
    from the new member complete loyalty and
  • 00:27:41
    secrecy this whole process used to take
  • 00:27:44
    up to six freaking hours in the past but
  • 00:27:47
    due to increased pressure from law
  • 00:27:49
    enforcement these elaborate rituals have
  • 00:27:52
    been replaced by much simpler procedures
  • 00:27:54
    that can be performed in about 15
  • 00:27:56
    minutes where the initiates simply
  • 00:27:58
    swears the 36 Oaths in front of an altar
  • 00:28:01
    dedicated to Guan Yu the God of War the
  • 00:28:04
    gradual intensification of police
  • 00:28:06
    pressure on a Triad throughout the
  • 00:28:07
    latter half of the 20th century can be
  • 00:28:10
    traced back to one single pivotal event
  • 00:28:13
    on October 10th
  • 00:28:15
    1956 October 10th or double 10 day is an
  • 00:28:19
    important date for Chinese nationalists
  • 00:28:21
    marking the day of the First Act of the
  • 00:28:23
    1911 Revolution under sunen that led to
  • 00:28:26
    the establishment of the Republic of
  • 00:28:28
    China it was a day of celebration for
  • 00:28:31
    hundreds of thousands of Hong Kong
  • 00:28:33
    citizens but on the double 10th of 1956
  • 00:28:36
    an argument between Nationalist and
  • 00:28:38
    communist supporters escalated into
  • 00:28:40
    full-on riots that lasted for three
  • 00:28:43
    whole days taking the lives of 59 people
  • 00:28:47
    injuring hundreds more and causing
  • 00:28:49
    damages upwards of $20 billion the
  • 00:28:52
    Communists blame the nationalists the
  • 00:28:55
    nationalists blame the Communists but
  • 00:28:57
    the PO police blamed the Triads and they
  • 00:29:01
    weren't exactly wrong either the 14k
  • 00:29:04
    which as you may remember had received
  • 00:29:06
    funds from none other than chanai Sheek
  • 00:29:08
    were found to be heavily involved with
  • 00:29:10
    much of the violence and Chaos that
  • 00:29:12
    occurred around October 10th of 1956
  • 00:29:15
    they set up roadblocks and charged hols
  • 00:29:18
    citizens were threatened with violence
  • 00:29:20
    if they didn't buy guing tongue flags
  • 00:29:22
    for ridiculous prices Banks were stormed
  • 00:29:25
    factories burned and communist
  • 00:29:27
    sympathized and foreigners were beaten
  • 00:29:29
    or even worse killed by 14k members it
  • 00:29:33
    was a dark chapter in Hong Kong's
  • 00:29:35
    eventful history but the 14k and all
  • 00:29:38
    their tried Rivals and Brethren would
  • 00:29:40
    pay dearly for their actions more than
  • 00:29:43
    10,000 Triad members were arrested over
  • 00:29:45
    the 18 months following the riots with
  • 00:29:48
    the help of not only a newly established
  • 00:29:50
    specialist task force the Triad Society
  • 00:29:52
    Bureau but also with the help of many
  • 00:29:54
    old school Triad members who did not
  • 00:29:57
    support the Triad in induced violence
  • 00:29:58
    that took place on October 10th it was
  • 00:30:01
    also around this time that the HK police
  • 00:30:03
    truly started to understand the tri
  • 00:30:06
    society's structure Traditions
  • 00:30:08
    ceremonies and criminal activities for
  • 00:30:11
    the first time the trits were now firmly
  • 00:30:13
    under radar of Hong Kong's law
  • 00:30:15
    enforcement forced to dial down the
  • 00:30:17
    violence significantly for the time
  • 00:30:19
    being but the few thousand Tri arrests
  • 00:30:22
    that occurred as a result of the Riots
  • 00:30:24
    of 1956 were but a small dent in their
  • 00:30:27
    membership number
  • 00:30:28
    their old friend the narcotics business
  • 00:30:30
    was as profitable as it's ever been
  • 00:30:33
    especially as Hong Kong was entering a
  • 00:30:35
    period of massive economic growth and of
  • 00:30:38
    course they still had their people
  • 00:30:40
    sitting not only in every police station
  • 00:30:42
    across Hong Kong but also in pretty much
  • 00:30:44
    all branches of its government a blind
  • 00:30:47
    eye was turned to this problem for years
  • 00:30:50
    simply because neither the police nor
  • 00:30:51
    the government saw any reason to fix it
  • 00:30:54
    the Triads had become somewhat of an
  • 00:30:56
    acceptable evil in their eyes
  • 00:30:58
    now focusing mostly on crime that was
  • 00:31:00
    able to stay underground and away from
  • 00:31:02
    the general public like extortion and
  • 00:31:04
    gambling and even a Narcotics business
  • 00:31:07
    didn't lead to many problems at least in
  • 00:31:09
    terms of violence or theft with hk's
  • 00:31:12
    addicts usually being able to hold on to
  • 00:31:14
    full-time jobs in fact Hong Kong boasted
  • 00:31:17
    the lowest murder rate on Earth at the
  • 00:31:20
    time but of course the parasite that is
  • 00:31:23
    corruption cannot be ignored forever and
  • 00:31:25
    it wasn't until a huge scandal in the 19
  • 00:31:27
    1970s that someone finally took the
  • 00:31:30
    corruption problem but a Scruff of the
  • 00:31:32
    neck transforming corrupt Hong Kong into
  • 00:31:35
    one of the least corrupt places on Earth
  • 00:31:38
    in April of 1973 it was discovered
  • 00:31:40
    during a routine backjack that Peter
  • 00:31:42
    Fitzroy gotur a very high ranking police
  • 00:31:46
    officer in Hong Kong had been
  • 00:31:47
    transferring an absolute Fortune onto a
  • 00:31:50
    Canadian bank account around $200,000
  • 00:31:53
    Canadian dollars in March of that year
  • 00:31:55
    alone when godur received the letter by
  • 00:31:57
    Hong Kong's acting attorney general
  • 00:31:59
    asking him to account for his wealth he
  • 00:32:01
    packed his backs and escaped to England
  • 00:32:04
    found in his Hong Kong apartment where a
  • 00:32:06
    number of incriminating documents that
  • 00:32:07
    revealed that godber was a
  • 00:32:10
    multi-millionaire something that doesn't
  • 00:32:12
    quite add up considering that he was a
  • 00:32:14
    police officer Well turns out the guy
  • 00:32:17
    had been accepting bribes from the
  • 00:32:18
    Triads for years how much he received in
  • 00:32:22
    total or for how long exactly is unknown
  • 00:32:25
    but when he was finally deported from
  • 00:32:26
    Britain back to Hung Kong in 1975 he was
  • 00:32:30
    sentenced to 4 years in jail in light of
  • 00:32:33
    the god bir Scandal the government of
  • 00:32:35
    Hong Kong finally woke up and took
  • 00:32:37
    action they established a independent
  • 00:32:40
    commission against corruption or IAC a
  • 00:32:44
    special commission completely
  • 00:32:45
    independent from the police department
  • 00:32:47
    with the right to raid homes of
  • 00:32:48
    individuals and their relatives and
  • 00:32:50
    theand proof of Finance for every
  • 00:32:53
    purchase that the IAC was suspicious
  • 00:32:55
    about basically if you spent a bunch of
  • 00:32:57
    bunch of cash and the icac thought that
  • 00:33:00
    something seemed off they had you by the
  • 00:33:02
    balls and what they discovered was truly
  • 00:33:05
    eye openening Triad related bribery
  • 00:33:08
    reached at top brass of the Hong Kong
  • 00:33:11
    police force most notably Lou lock a
  • 00:33:14
    sergeant of the hkpf with several police
  • 00:33:17
    medals to his name turns out that Lou
  • 00:33:20
    lock referred to by Junior officers as
  • 00:33:22
    tyo or big boss was also a senior member
  • 00:33:25
    of the freaking 14k making bank of
  • 00:33:29
    gambling and narcotics and when I say
  • 00:33:31
    this guy made bank I mean it the media
  • 00:33:34
    started referring to him as the $600
  • 00:33:37
    Million Man Lok never faced any
  • 00:33:40
    punishment though him and four other
  • 00:33:43
    corrupt sergeants collectively known as
  • 00:33:45
    the five dragons man that sounds cool
  • 00:33:49
    left for Vancouver before finally
  • 00:33:50
    escaping to Taiwan A Place With No
  • 00:33:53
    extradition treaty with HK and at the
  • 00:33:55
    time the number one destination for all
  • 00:33:57
    all deported Hong Kong Triad members
  • 00:34:00
    back in HK the IAC was making moves
  • 00:34:04
    overseeing a complete cleanup of the
  • 00:34:06
    hkpf that successfully ousted most of
  • 00:34:09
    its Triad
  • 00:34:10
    collaborators they definitely dealt a
  • 00:34:12
    big blow to the Triads but on the other
  • 00:34:14
    hand it was just as much of a punch in
  • 00:34:16
    the gut for the hkpf itself which was
  • 00:34:19
    now severely weakened and understaffed
  • 00:34:22
    the trits used the hkpf mass Exodus as
  • 00:34:25
    an opportunity to expand and gain a head
  • 00:34:27
    star
  • 00:34:28
    most notably with the help of a new kind
  • 00:34:30
    of Narcotics business the heroin
  • 00:34:34
    trade when you speak about Tri related
  • 00:34:36
    drug trafficking in 1970s Hong Kong you
  • 00:34:39
    are speaking about three underworld
  • 00:34:41
    figures in particular masiku AKA white
  • 00:34:45
    powerder ma his younger brother maik
  • 00:34:47
    Chun AKA golden ma andiko also known as
  • 00:34:52
    limpho a name that I'm sure the
  • 00:34:54
    comedians in the comments will have an
  • 00:34:56
    absolute feel day with the mob rers got
  • 00:35:00
    their start on the streets of Hong Kong
  • 00:35:02
    going from working as Runners for local
  • 00:35:03
    gamblers to running their own numbers
  • 00:35:05
    game making enough cash to allow them to
  • 00:35:07
    enter the narcotics business themselves
  • 00:35:10
    in the late 60s white powder ma
  • 00:35:12
    especially was super ambitious he wanted
  • 00:35:15
    to control everything from heroin
  • 00:35:17
    production to distribution and to do so
  • 00:35:20
    he entered into a partnership with a GU
  • 00:35:22
    in Tong General called Lee WN who was
  • 00:35:24
    hiding in southeast Asia's Golden
  • 00:35:26
    Triangle lewen would Supply ma with the
  • 00:35:29
    stuff and smuggle it to HK for him in
  • 00:35:32
    return and for attempting discount ma
  • 00:35:35
    entered into an alliance with the guint
  • 00:35:36
    Tang setting up a network of tried
  • 00:35:38
    Society spies that kept a close eye on
  • 00:35:41
    Pro communist organizations throughout
  • 00:35:43
    southeast Asia as a result of this deal
  • 00:35:46
    the mob Brothers heroin Empire would
  • 00:35:48
    grow and grow eventually involving many
  • 00:35:51
    other parts of Asia as well Thailand
  • 00:35:53
    Vietnam Laos and white powder ma
  • 00:35:56
    allegedly met with some of America's
  • 00:35:58
    most powerful mob bosses as well among
  • 00:36:00
    them Santo traficante Jr and also
  • 00:36:02
    reached out to the Yakuza in Japan
  • 00:36:04
    regarding a potential partnership the
  • 00:36:06
    Yakuza it is said were not interested in
  • 00:36:09
    collaborating with the ma Brothers while
  • 00:36:11
    white powder ma was out and about
  • 00:36:13
    setting up deals and meeting one Shady
  • 00:36:15
    individual after another his brother
  • 00:36:18
    golden ma would stay in Hong Kong where
  • 00:36:20
    he received the product and laundered
  • 00:36:22
    and reinvested the profits made from its
  • 00:36:24
    sale trading companies Cinemas
  • 00:36:27
    restaurants bars but he also founded the
  • 00:36:29
    Oriental press group the publisher of
  • 00:36:32
    what is still one of Hong Kong's most
  • 00:36:34
    successful newspapers the Oriental Daily
  • 00:36:37
    News the maob brothers also made sure
  • 00:36:40
    that hk's biggest Tri societies all got
  • 00:36:42
    a piece of the pie as well the war group
  • 00:36:44
    assisted the import the 14k was involved
  • 00:36:47
    in the refinement process and the sun
  • 00:36:49
    yon was responsible for the many bribes
  • 00:36:52
    that were necessary to keep things
  • 00:36:53
    running smoothly heroine became not only
  • 00:36:56
    an insanely dangerous habit the world
  • 00:36:58
    over but also an extremely profitable
  • 00:37:01
    one and the mob Brothers had a massive
  • 00:37:03
    stake in it all it wasn't until 1976
  • 00:37:07
    that they finally caught the attention
  • 00:37:08
    of the hkpf who dedicated an impressive
  • 00:37:11
    60 police officers just to catching the
  • 00:37:14
    ma brother specifically all with the
  • 00:37:16
    assistance of the DEA interpole and the
  • 00:37:19
    CIA golden ma was caught but weirdly
  • 00:37:22
    enough got released on baale while his
  • 00:37:24
    brother was able to escape to Taiwan
  • 00:37:26
    before Ever Getting getting caught both
  • 00:37:28
    mob Brothers ultimately spent the rest
  • 00:37:30
    of their lives in Taiwan where they were
  • 00:37:32
    able to continue running their business
  • 00:37:34
    in drug Empire far away from those who
  • 00:37:36
    were trying to put them behind bars as
  • 00:37:39
    massive as their drug Empire was the mob
  • 00:37:42
    Brothers never had an actual Monopoly on
  • 00:37:44
    the heroin tradeit not even in Hong Kong
  • 00:37:47
    actually in SHO AKA olympo was the M
  • 00:37:51
    brother's biggest rival born as the son
  • 00:37:54
    of poor peasants in a village in China's
  • 00:37:56
    Guangdong Province who had a tough road
  • 00:37:58
    ahead of him he joined a local tride
  • 00:38:01
    society as a 49 and at age 21 moved to
  • 00:38:04
    Hong Kong with no money in his pocket no
  • 00:38:07
    acquaintances in HK to speaker F not
  • 00:38:09
    even able to speak the local Cantonese
  • 00:38:11
    dialect what saved him was a hong tried
  • 00:38:14
    Society with roots in his hometown where
  • 00:38:16
    he worked his way up the ranks making it
  • 00:38:18
    past the rank of red pole in no time and
  • 00:38:21
    eventually gaining so much respect among
  • 00:38:23
    Hong Kong's biggest Triads that he
  • 00:38:25
    eventually became an honorary member of
  • 00:38:27
    both the 14k and the war group this guy
  • 00:38:30
    was obviously not to be effed with who
  • 00:38:33
    entered the narcotics business in 1958
  • 00:38:36
    selling heroin from one of his fruit and
  • 00:38:38
    vegetable stalls which soon earned him a
  • 00:38:40
    respectable $2,000 Hong Kong dollars per
  • 00:38:43
    day po was successful too successful in
  • 00:38:47
    the eyes of some of his Rivals and after
  • 00:38:49
    making the beginner mistake of selling
  • 00:38:51
    inside another tried society's territory
  • 00:38:54
    he was ambushed and attacked his right
  • 00:38:56
    leg was beaten and completely shattered
  • 00:38:58
    with a pole from that moment on H was
  • 00:39:01
    forced to walk with the limp for the
  • 00:39:03
    rest of his life limp he ho was born he
  • 00:39:07
    might have been down a leg but that
  • 00:39:09
    didn't stop the guy from continuing and
  • 00:39:11
    even growing his narcotics business he
  • 00:39:14
    purchased a small tea shop where sales
  • 00:39:16
    were agreed upon with customers and a
  • 00:39:18
    rice shop where the product was sold
  • 00:39:20
    hidden inside barrels of rice a clever
  • 00:39:23
    plan thought to have been a brainchild
  • 00:39:25
    of H's closest partnering crime Ching
  • 00:39:27
    yating who was also H's wife and the
  • 00:39:30
    ex-wife of one of H's former tried
  • 00:39:33
    Associates according to tried oath
  • 00:39:35
    number 34 this should have gotten whole
  • 00:39:38
    killed by and I quote a myriad of Swords
  • 00:39:42
    but for now he got away
  • 00:39:44
    unscathed both ho and his wife would
  • 00:39:46
    serve multiple short jail sentences
  • 00:39:49
    throughout the early 1960s but business
  • 00:39:51
    kept going without a hitch and limpo was
  • 00:39:54
    ambitious he wanted to be more than just
  • 00:39:56
    a small time Street dealer just like the
  • 00:39:59
    mob Brothers he wanted to control the
  • 00:40:01
    manufacturing process and the supply as
  • 00:40:03
    well and the chaos created by the 1967
  • 00:40:06
    anti-british riots in Hong Kong would
  • 00:40:08
    create the perfect environment for him
  • 00:40:10
    to start doing so he used his own ships
  • 00:40:13
    to transport the base from Thailand to
  • 00:40:15
    Hong Kong where it would then be refined
  • 00:40:17
    in his own Laboratories tucked away in
  • 00:40:19
    the busy streets of cowon and the hills
  • 00:40:22
    of Hong Kong's new territories area by
  • 00:40:25
    1970 H made an estim es imated $22
  • 00:40:28
    million us per year which he wisely
  • 00:40:31
    reinvested in both legal and illegal
  • 00:40:33
    businesses for whole Hong Kong wasn't
  • 00:40:36
    enough though the international market
  • 00:40:38
    was calling his name but after a failed
  • 00:40:41
    attempt at rivaling the mob Brothers
  • 00:40:42
    heroin export to the US he had to look
  • 00:40:46
    elsewhere Europe was to be his domain
  • 00:40:48
    and by 1973 he was the biggest heroin
  • 00:40:51
    dealer on a
  • 00:40:53
    continent limo's imminent downfall was
  • 00:40:56
    caused by several different factors for
  • 00:40:59
    one he was starting to lose the trust
  • 00:41:01
    and respect of the Triads who had
  • 00:41:03
    learned their lesson that keeping things
  • 00:41:05
    Loki was important for survival in their
  • 00:41:08
    eyes AO was starting to live a bit too
  • 00:41:10
    lavishly but it was also his failed
  • 00:41:13
    attempt at Conquering the US market that
  • 00:41:15
    landed him on the DEA radar and when
  • 00:41:18
    Hong Kong's newly established IAC
  • 00:41:20
    started rounding up corrupt cops in the
  • 00:41:22
    mid1 1970s their eyes automatically
  • 00:41:25
    shifted to hose activities as well and
  • 00:41:27
    they had a couple of very significant
  • 00:41:29
    informers on their side too the ma
  • 00:41:33
    brothers who readily and is supect with
  • 00:41:35
    a [ __ ] eating grin on their faces
  • 00:41:37
    supplied the icac with information about
  • 00:41:40
    their biggest rival it worked by 1974
  • 00:41:44
    nikho was done for he was arrested and
  • 00:41:47
    the following year was sentenced to 30
  • 00:41:49
    years in Hong Kong's Max security
  • 00:41:51
    Stanley prison limo's arrest was a
  • 00:41:54
    watershed moment in Hong Kong's criminal
  • 00:41:56
    underworld World never before had local
  • 00:41:59
    law enforcement managed to lock up a
  • 00:42:01
    Crime Boss of his caliber he did manage
  • 00:42:04
    to be released on baale in 1990 but only
  • 00:42:07
    due to his failing Health he succumbed
  • 00:42:09
    to L cancer in 1991 at the age of
  • 00:42:13
    61 H's arrest also marked the turning
  • 00:42:15
    point for the hkpf and the IAC boosted
  • 00:42:19
    by their success and Newfound expertise
  • 00:42:21
    they entered the 1980s a decade that
  • 00:42:24
    would witness a few explosive clashes
  • 00:42:26
    between law and enforcement and the
  • 00:42:28
    Triads perhaps the H kpf's most
  • 00:42:31
    noteworthy coup involved an insanely
  • 00:42:33
    elaborate 8-year long operation carried
  • 00:42:36
    out with the help of a certain strategy
  • 00:42:38
    that has since become a staple in Hong
  • 00:42:40
    Kong Cinema a good old underc cover
  • 00:42:44
    operation all the way back in 1979 the
  • 00:42:47
    hkpf tests two of its inspectors with
  • 00:42:49
    infiltrating the ranks of none other
  • 00:42:51
    than the 14k placing them as Street
  • 00:42:54
    vendors in koon's monok area right at
  • 00:42:57
    the heart of the 14 K's territory they
  • 00:42:59
    were eventually enrolled in one of the
  • 00:43:01
    14 K's factions as 49s and over the
  • 00:43:04
    following 7 years they would gather
  • 00:43:06
    invaluable information to supply the
  • 00:43:09
    hkpf with this was an insanely risky
  • 00:43:12
    operation one that requires some serious
  • 00:43:15
    balls because as you can imagine and as
  • 00:43:18
    we've learned from that poor broken Bowl
  • 00:43:20
    during the initiation ritual the Triads
  • 00:43:23
    do not take kindly to traitors
  • 00:43:25
    especially of the law enforcement
  • 00:43:28
    kind the two hkpf agents though did a
  • 00:43:31
    great job at blending in with the rest
  • 00:43:33
    of the tribe members allowing their
  • 00:43:35
    Partners at hkpf to get an in-depth
  • 00:43:38
    understanding of the 14k inner War Kings
  • 00:43:40
    in a coordinated strike in 1986 the
  • 00:43:43
    police targeted the 14 K's lucrative
  • 00:43:45
    horse racing betting operations
  • 00:43:48
    simultaneous rates on 43 bookmaking
  • 00:43:50
    centers resulted in a massive Roundup of
  • 00:43:53
    tribe members which also yielded crucial
  • 00:43:55
    intelligence leading to the arrest of
  • 00:43:58
    several high ranking 14k figures it was
  • 00:44:01
    a huge victory for law enforcement
  • 00:44:03
    because while dealing a huge blow to the
  • 00:44:05
    tri's morale the hkpf also slowly but
  • 00:44:08
    surely proved itself to be one of the
  • 00:44:10
    finest police forces in all of Asia one
  • 00:44:13
    it was able of meticulous planning and
  • 00:44:16
    pulling off insanely high-risk
  • 00:44:17
    operations like this one and they didn't
  • 00:44:20
    stop there either because their next
  • 00:44:22
    Target was to be the top brass of the
  • 00:44:25
    sun yon leadership
  • 00:44:27
    for 2 years starting in 1985 the hkpf
  • 00:44:31
    had been studying the inner workings of
  • 00:44:33
    the sunon a society which was as they
  • 00:44:36
    found out incredibly well organized and
  • 00:44:39
    United especially compared to some of
  • 00:44:42
    its biggest competitors where
  • 00:44:44
    competition between different factions
  • 00:44:46
    was not only common but oftentimes even
  • 00:44:48
    encouraged they also discovered not only
  • 00:44:51
    that the sunon dragon head had been in
  • 00:44:53
    charge for around three whole decades
  • 00:44:56
    they were also able able to identify him
  • 00:44:59
    the dragon head of the sunon was huim a
  • 00:45:02
    senior clerk at the Samuel Sue and
  • 00:45:05
    Company firm of solicitors and the
  • 00:45:07
    eldest son aung chin the man who revived
  • 00:45:10
    the Yon after World War II but perhaps
  • 00:45:13
    even more interesting than his father is
  • 00:45:15
    one of W's 12 siblings his brother
  • 00:45:19
    Charles hung you may have never heard of
  • 00:45:21
    the guy but there is a good chance that
  • 00:45:23
    you're familiar with some of his work
  • 00:45:26
    this guy was a big deal in a Hong Kong
  • 00:45:28
    film business Charles founded both WIS
  • 00:45:32
    entertainment and China Star
  • 00:45:34
    Entertainment two of Hong Kong's biggest
  • 00:45:36
    film companies at the time that helped
  • 00:45:38
    Kickstart the careers of some of the
  • 00:45:40
    former colony's most legendary actors
  • 00:45:43
    Chadley cha Yun fat Andy Lao Steven Chow
  • 00:45:46
    basically if there was a Hong Kong movie
  • 00:45:49
    star in the 80s and 90s there was a good
  • 00:45:51
    chance that they worked with Charles
  • 00:45:53
    hung and his production companies at
  • 00:45:55
    some point well all except one the
  • 00:45:59
    biggest of them
  • 00:46:01
    all jackiechan now a controversial man
  • 00:46:04
    in his own right not only managed to get
  • 00:46:06
    his career off the ground without the
  • 00:46:08
    help of the hung family he was also
  • 00:46:10
    known to be incredibly outspoken when he
  • 00:46:13
    came to the Triads and their grip on
  • 00:46:15
    Hong Kong's thriving film industry I'm
  • 00:46:18
    the first one say in the newspaper I
  • 00:46:20
    hate the blood gangster
  • 00:46:43
    this man hates the Triads with a passion
  • 00:46:46
    and in 2012 he went as far as claiming
  • 00:46:49
    that he once defended himself against
  • 00:46:51
    the band of Triad members with the help
  • 00:46:53
    of and I quote two guns and six grenades
  • 00:46:57
    this particular comment actually got
  • 00:46:59
    Jackie into hot water with the Hong Kong
  • 00:47:01
    authorities because of the area's
  • 00:47:03
    incredibly strict gun laws but let's be
  • 00:47:06
    honest while I don't doubt for a second
  • 00:47:08
    that the triats were a real pain in
  • 00:47:10
    Jackie's ass and I commend him for
  • 00:47:13
    speaking out and defending himself he
  • 00:47:15
    was talking out of his ass here or at
  • 00:47:18
    least he was greatly exaggerating the
  • 00:47:20
    amount of heat he was
  • 00:47:22
    carrying going back to Hung Yim the
  • 00:47:25
    dragon head of the sunon he was the main
  • 00:47:27
    target of a set of simultaneous raids on
  • 00:47:29
    the sunon and its members that took
  • 00:47:31
    place in April of
  • 00:47:33
    1987 equipped with a search warrant the
  • 00:47:36
    police stormed his office located in a
  • 00:47:38
    skyscraper in Hong Kong's Central
  • 00:47:40
    District what they found was a sunon
  • 00:47:42
    membership list confirmed by a police
  • 00:47:44
    Informer to be legit and a metal seal
  • 00:47:47
    engraved with the name hung the
  • 00:47:49
    character on surrounding it five times a
  • 00:47:52
    Triad expert later confirmed that this
  • 00:47:55
    was indeed the seal a of a dragon hat
  • 00:47:58
    hingu Yim was eventually sentenced to 7
  • 00:48:01
    years in prison in 1988 but won an
  • 00:48:03
    appeal and was released from prison 2
  • 00:48:05
    years into serving his sentence but
  • 00:48:08
    despite that another big blow to the
  • 00:48:10
    tri's confidence had been dealt
  • 00:48:13
    crackdowns continued as Hong Kong
  • 00:48:15
    entered into the 1990s but while the
  • 00:48:17
    hkpf certainly did a great job at making
  • 00:48:20
    the headlines with big arrests the tries
  • 00:48:22
    were just too Dee rooted into Hong Kong
  • 00:48:24
    Society to ever be completely eradicated
  • 00:48:28
    instead they evolved and the evolution
  • 00:48:30
    of Hong Kong's Triads in the 1990s kind
  • 00:48:33
    of mirrors the trajectory of the rakasa
  • 00:48:35
    counterparts or in Japan at around the
  • 00:48:38
    same time similar to Japan's crime
  • 00:48:40
    countermeasures Act of 1992 Hong Kong's
  • 00:48:44
    organized and serious crimes ordinance
  • 00:48:46
    or Osco of 1994 granted law enforcement
  • 00:48:49
    expanded Authority and a fight against
  • 00:48:51
    organized
  • 00:48:53
    crime of course one of the most defining
  • 00:48:56
    moments in Hong Kong's history came only
  • 00:48:58
    3 years after the introduction of Osco
  • 00:49:01
    at midnight of July 1st 1997 155 years
  • 00:49:06
    after the Treaty of naning was signed
  • 00:49:08
    and 99 years after the new territories
  • 00:49:11
    were seeded to the British all of Hong
  • 00:49:13
    Kong was transferred back to China it's
  • 00:49:16
    honestly pretty hard to find Reliable
  • 00:49:19
    information about what exactly happened
  • 00:49:21
    to the TRS after the Handover of Hong
  • 00:49:23
    Kong for example actual membership
  • 00:49:25
    numbers which had had always been kind
  • 00:49:27
    of misleading due to the tri's nature of
  • 00:49:29
    not being exclusively criminal are hard
  • 00:49:32
    to come by tried related crimes in HK
  • 00:49:35
    seem to have gone down significantly but
  • 00:49:38
    those numbers go hand inand with a
  • 00:49:40
    decreased number of overall crimes
  • 00:49:42
    taking place in the former British
  • 00:49:44
    colony again much like what seems to
  • 00:49:46
    have happened with the Yakuza in the
  • 00:49:48
    1990s especially a move away from
  • 00:49:50
    violent crimes and a shift towards
  • 00:49:52
    legitimate businesses yet with a touch
  • 00:49:54
    of shadiness of course seems to have
  • 00:49:57
    taken place the market for illicit Goods
  • 00:50:00
    that Hong Kong was once the center of
  • 00:50:02
    interestingly seems to have moved to the
  • 00:50:03
    mainland with Southern China and its
  • 00:50:06
    fast growing economy offering a new
  • 00:50:08
    exciting market for local triats and
  • 00:50:11
    those from Hong Kong who seek to
  • 00:50:13
    collaborate with them of course that
  • 00:50:15
    doesn't mean that Hong Kong is
  • 00:50:17
    completely free of Triad violence now
  • 00:50:20
    articles like this one from 2020
  • 00:50:22
    reporting about a shooting that was the
  • 00:50:24
    result of a dispute between two factions
  • 00:50:26
    of the war group still pop up here and
  • 00:50:29
    there confirming that while the triad's
  • 00:50:31
    presence is a lot more low-key than it
  • 00:50:33
    was in the 70s or ' 80s and while an
  • 00:50:36
    increasing amount of their illegal
  • 00:50:38
    operations seem to have moved to the
  • 00:50:39
    mainland now the Triads undoubtedly
  • 00:50:42
    still hold a significant presence in
  • 00:50:44
    Hong
  • 00:50:48
    Kong was there anything I got wrong or
  • 00:50:51
    missed out on did chck Chan actually
  • 00:50:54
    fight the trids with guns and grenades
  • 00:50:56
    and and I unfairly accused him of being
  • 00:50:58
    a liar whatever you got to share or get
  • 00:51:01
    off your mind let us know in the
  • 00:51:03
    comments down below are you one of my
  • 00:51:05
    loyal patreon supporters then this is
  • 00:51:07
    the part where I want to give all of you
  • 00:51:09
    a massive shout out including Bobby woo
  • 00:51:12
    Javier soravia karuk turam Daniel de RK
  • 00:51:18
    zero white Gilden Justin down Yoko to
  • 00:51:22
    bace whale Steve Matsui cats and soup
  • 00:51:25
    and char man and to everyone who decided
  • 00:51:28
    to watch this one all the way until the
  • 00:51:31
    end thank you so much for watching
  • 00:51:34
    apologies to all cantony speaking
  • 00:51:35
    viewers for completely butchering this
  • 00:51:38
    toy
  • 00:51:46
    [Music]
Tags
  • Hong Kong
  • Triads
  • British colony
  • culture
  • skyscrapers
  • organized crime
  • Eastern and Western influences
  • narcotics trafficking
  • police corruption
  • 1997 handover