Happy new year from the Asian Crime Century.
In 2023, one article was published each week on the Asian Crime Century. This was quite a task, but interestingly there is no shortage of things to write about regarding organised crime in Asia and indeed how it impacts others around the world.
The Asian Crime Century will continue into 2024, highlighting organised crime in Asia, how it affects other areas, and in particular how it impacts business. A consistent theme running through the Asian Crime Century will be the nexus between organised crime and governments in some countries. There is a long history of government agencies developing relationships with criminal groups and using them for various political purposes.
In Hong Kong, in 1941 during the Japanese invasion, the Nationalist Kuomintang (KMT) gave assistance to the British to broker an agreement in the office of the Commissioner of Police with five representatives of Triad societies with around 60,000 members to cooperate with the authorities against the Japanese, with the promise that the Triads could operate protection rackets against the Chinese population after the war ended (with a troubling long term impact in Hong Kong).
The KMT were instrumental in utilising Triads, and before the victory of Communist forces in 1949 they created what later became known as the “14K”. KMT General Kot Siu-wong integrated Triad societies in the Guangdong region under the name of the Hung Fat Shan branch of the Chung Yee Wui, administered through 36 sub-branches answerable to the headquarters at number 14, Po Wah Road, Canton. This resulted in the recruitment of thousands of Nationalist troops as well as civilians into the new society, with initiation ceremonies including an oath of allegiance to the Kuomintang sworn before a picture of Dr. Sun Yat Sen. The original name of the society was abbreviated to Sap Sei Ho (number 14) or Sap Sei Wui (14 association), which after a pitched battle with the Yuet Tong triad in Shek Kip Mei in 1955 became known as the “14K” with the addition of “K” seemingly to represent the 14 Karat of gold that was harder than the soft gold preferred in Hong Kong.
In Taiwan, there have also been allegations of links between Triads and Chinese Communist Party united front related organisations for many years. In 2017, former Taiwan President Lee Teng Hui stated that the Chinese Communists had diversified their united front activities by recruiting pro-unification supporters and sponsoring organized criminal activities in Taiwan to stir ethnic conflict and destabilize society. For instance, Chang An Lo, also known as the ‘White Wolf’, is a leading member of the Bamboo Union Triad society who founded the Chinese Unity Promotion Party in 2004 and since then has been a vocal supporter of the unification of Taiwan with the PRC.
The Chinese Communist attitude to Triads was illustrated in 1993 when Minister of Public Security Tao Siju said publicly that “As for organizations like the triads in Hong Kong, as long as these people are patriotic, as long as they are concerned with Hong Kong’s prosperity and stability, we should unite with them. I believe that the more people we unite with the better … Our public security organs have broad links and ties with different strata in society, including such groups.” Using “Patriotic Triads” are a worrying part of the united front activities of the CCP as this enables such criminals to prosper and even expand internationally, notably using the Belt and Road initiative.
Cooperation with criminals is not a Chinese phenomenon, and during the Cold War the CIA espionage activities crossed over with working links with Japanese Yakuza (and right wing groups), drug producers in the Golden Triangle (including KMT military units), and corrupt officials engaged in organised crime in the Philippines as part of efforts to combat the expansion of communism. There is a historical legacy of the impact of these relationships on the long term resilience of some of the organised crime groups involved.
In 2024 we saw how organised crime can not only cross borders but become a regional and global problem. There is endemic online fraud and gambling across Asia, largely conducted by Chinese organised crime groups that have been displaced from their own country to other parts of Asia. Online fraud has become the most visible crime committed by these gangs, with huge levels of fraud conducted by phone and on the Internet. Online illegal betting and gambling are the most lucrative business lines for these gangs, causing according to one estimate around USD 145 billion to flow out of China annually.
This mega growth area of criminal activity has involved the trafficking of tens of thousands of people into human slavery, largely in lawless areas of Myanmar but also in Cambodia, Laos, and the Philippines. The trafficking victims are from all across Asia, and the victims of online fraud are from around the world. The criminal gangs operating these huge illegal businesses exist with the cooperation of corrupt government officials, again showing the nexus of organised crime and governments as well as endemic corruption in parts of Asia.
As we enter the new year it remains more important than ever to understand organised crime in Asia, how it has developed, and how it affects other parts of the world. For those in business, do not discount the existence of organised crime in seemingly safe parts of Asia as it can often be invisible to foreigners but affect their business nonetheless. For those with an interest in crime, including the history of how it affects our societies, read on with the Asian Crime Century in 2024.
Thank you for reading the Asian Crime Century and special thanks to those of you who have upgraded to a paid subscription. Your support allows The Asian Crime Century to prosper and permits me to spend more time on it.
Very best wishes for the new year.
Martin Purbrick