Of all the existing criminal communities, the most organized, cohesive and invincible are the national groups. On hearing Italian Cosa Nostra, Japanese Yakuza, Chinese triad. Grown in local traditions, in their homeland they become an almost ineradicable element of public life. And having gone beyond the borders of the country of origin, they capture the living space thanks to strict discipline, deep secretion and special cruelty.
The emergence of triads
The Triad is perhaps the oldest criminal organization in the world. Some researchers elevate its history to legendary times - to the third century BC. Then the pirates and robbers from the east coast of China created a kind of union - "Shadow of the lotus." Shortly after the triad, the Lotus Shadow merged into the newly created organization.
When the word "triad" was first used, the mafia has not yet appeared in Italy. It is reliably known about the existence of groups with this name already in the 17th century. However, at that time the triads were not bandit organizations, but part of the national liberation movement of China against the Manchu invaders.
According to legend, the first triad was founded by three monks from the Shaolin monastery destroyed by the invaders. According to the founders, the triad is "the union of the Earth, Man and Heaven in the name of justice." These characters were understood by every Chinese.
Initially, the militants of the triads were financed by ordinary Chinese, dissatisfied with foreign oppression. However, in a poor country, it was difficult for peasants and shopkeepers to maintain a secret partisan army. The triads began to search for sources of financing in criminal industries: robbery, piracy, and the slave trade. Gradually, noble goals faded into the background, and banditry became the essence of the triads.
Coexistence with the Communist Party of China
During the Chinese Civil War, the triads supported Sun Yat-sen. This political mistake led to serious persecution of the triad after the victory of Mao. The Chinese Communists were worried not so much that the triad was a mafia dealing with all kinds of criminal crafts, but rather an attempt to destroy the monopoly of the Communist Party, the only political organization in the country.
Although little is known about the fate of triads in communist China, it is safe to say that repression of the leaders of the criminal world did not weaken the influence of the triads. The organization’s militants still collect tribute from businesses and maintain order on the streets, have informants in the police and their people among party functionaries in the field.
This activity of their leaders does not bother the leaders of the modern CPC: if only they did not go into politics, did not compete with the Communists for influence, did not try to promote their people to leading posts in the country. The triad does not do this - the desire to grab a larger piece than you can swallow is not characteristic of the Chinese mafia.
Hong kong triad
After Sun Yat-sen's flight to Taiwan, many triad leaders followed him or settled in British Hong Kong. Hong Kong's booming post-war economic growth has provided many sources of wealth for the criminal gangs there. The Chinese triad charged tribute to small business, "oversaw" smuggling, drug trafficking, prostitution. Therefore, it was here that the most influential and famous gangs such as "14 K" grew up.
In the days of British rule, the triad power in Hong Kong was undivided. With the transfer of territory under the rule of China, many leaders of the criminal world fled abroad. Probably, now the position of the Hong Kong triads is equal to the "status" of their "colleagues" from the PRC.
The structure of Chinese organized crime groups
Let's try to understand what the triad is, from the inside. First of all, you need to understand that this is a very conspiratorial organization, so there is not so much reliable information about its structure.
It is known that individual triads are quite separate organizations. There is no person who could be called the leader of all triads. But within each gang, the hierarchy is very tough. At the head of the triad is a leader (we will not give all the flowery names of this post), his post is inherited. The leader has two deputies in areas of activity. They are subject to security services, intelligence, recruitment.
In a large triad between leaders and ordinary fighters - "monks" - there can be up to four leaders. Although all members of the gang implicitly obey their bosses, each link is quite autonomous in carrying out the tasks that the triad has determined for it. This provides mobility and flexibility, which is very important for a large organization.