Triads: criminals with an ancient history. Chinese Triads: Criminals with Ancient History Hong Kong Triads

11.06.2019

In the early 1990s, as part of a Soviet business delegation, I visited the province of Guangdong, where we spent several days in the port of Shekou. This is the sea gate of the largest Chinese special economic zone Shenzhen, created in those years.

The Shekou Port and Export Industrial Zone functioned as a branch of the Hong Kong Investment Company. One evening we gathered for an informal meeting with the company's management in the cottage where our delegation lived. And after a long toast to the indestructible friendship, we were invited to visit the owner of the company on a boat night Hong Kong. This took us by surprise. We arrived with visas from one communist country to another. And we are offered to visit without visas located behind iron curtain capitalist Hong Kong. Seeing our confusion, the Chinese interpreter clearly explained to us that a Chinese businessman from Hong Kong is so omnipotent that none of the border guards and customs officers would dare to board the boat without his permission. Despite this clarification, we still did not take the risk.

A little later, it became known that most of the foreign capital that came to China's special economic zones belonged to the powerful Chinese triads from Hong Kong.

Chinese triads- the largest grouping of the world ethnic business, the most organized mafia in the world. The triads control and protect Chinese businesses from local rackets (including government ones) around the world. In terms of organization and efficiency, the Italian, Russian or any other mafia cannot compete with the triads.

The concept of "triad" is associated with the Confucian perception of the world. In an objectively existing triad (earth, man and sky), man stands at the center of the universe and connects the opposite poles. The criminal "philosophy" places triads at the center of the global shadow economy, ensuring the indissolubility of Chinese business.

The first secret organizations (triads) that appeared in China in 1674 set the political goal of removing the ruling Manchu dynasty from power. In the future, the triads were transformed into a secret syndicate of criminal groups. Pirates influenced the formation of triads South China Sea.

The Chinese Triads are the oldest criminal organization in the world, about which less is known than the Cosa Nostra or the Yakuza. Under the control of the triads is the gambling business of Aomyn (Macau). This former Portuguese colony is known as the "eastern Monte Carlo". The income from the gambling business exceeds 2 billion US dollars, which is comparable to the income of the American capital of roulette, Las Vegas. Triads feel especially safe in countries with high level corruption in Southeast Asia. A promising region for triads are the countries of criminally corrupt democracies in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the South Caucasus, where there are corrupt "elites in law".

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At the religious origins of the Chinese triads was the secret Buddhist sect that arose in the 12th century, the Union of the White Lotus, which united in the 14th century with other Buddhist sects in the struggle against the Mongol Yuan dynasty. During the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644), they repeatedly raised anti-government uprisings.

At the origins of the secret organizations of South China, including the province of Guangdong, stood the "Society of Heaven and Earth", from which came the "Society of Three Concords (Harmony)" or the "Triad Society", founded at the end of the 17th century by fugitive Buddhist monks to fight the Manchus.

The emblem of the society was an equilateral triangle, personifying the trinity "heaven - earth - man." The term "triad" was coined in the 19th century by the British administration of Hong Kong and over time became synonymous with the Chinese mafia (organized crime).

Against the backdrop of unprecedented corruption in Guangdong province, a powerful drug mafia has developed around the opium trade.

Attempts to ban the import of opium led to the First Opium War (1841), Hong Kong was declared a free port, and the opium trade took on a new lease of life. Under the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842, China ceded the island of Hong Kong to Great Britain and opened Shanghai, Guangzhou, Ningbo, Xiamen and Fuzhou to free trade.

In the middle of the 19th century in Hong Kong, more than two dozen small secret societies, controlling not only the opium trade, but also acting as a shadow administration for the Chinese community of Hong Kong, numbering 30 thousand people.

The triads intensified during the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) against the Manchu Qing Dynasty. They took an active part in the Boxer Rebellion (1899 - 1901) against foreign interference in the economy, internal politics and religious life in China. The triads sought to rid the Celestial Empire of Western Christian influence.

In the quarter century since 1850, half a million Chinese have left Hong Kong and Macau for North America, Southeast Asia and Australia. Behind them, local gangsters poisoned themselves, taking control of Chinatowns under shadow control.

In 1856, "civilized" Europeans (British, French) and Americans started the Second Opium War. After the capture of the capital of the Celestial Empire, in 1860, the Beijing Peace Treaty was signed, which opened Tianjin to foreign trade and allowed the use of the Chinese as a slave force of guest workers (coolies) in the British and French colonies. The opium trade was finally legalized, in which in the early 70s in Hong Kong leadership passed from the British to the company from Bombay, David Sassoon and Co., of the influential family of Sephardic Jews Sassoon.

Avadiy (Abdallah) Sassoon (1818 - 1896) continued his father's work in the Indian opium trade in China. He moved from Bombay to London and for special services to the British crown (probably for having successfully taught the Chinese to drugs) received the title of baronet, became Sir Albert, who was friends with King EdwardVII.

As a result of the Opium Wars, thanks to the "civilized" Europeans and Americans, a large-scale "democratic" narcotization of the subjects of the Celestial Empire was successful. The number of drug addicts in the empire increased from 1842 to 1881. from 2 million to 120 million people. Every third inhabitant of China out of 369 million people has become a drug addict.

In the 90s of the 19th century, the secret societies of Hong Kong, Shanghai and Canton supported the leader of the Chinese bourgeois revolution Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Kuomintang Party and the Republic of China.

Based on the Hong Kong "Triad", the "Lodge of Loyalty and Harmony" alliance was created to assist the anti-Manchu forces in the colony. In the mid-1920s, with the coming to power of Chiang Kai-shek (a member of a secret society), tirades became the militant wing of the Kuomintang party, eliminating opponents in Shanghai and other cities, including trade unionists and communists.

During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong (1941-1945), local triads continued to control the black market. After the surrender of the Japanese, the administration of the colony carried out a large-scale war with the triads. Since 1949, in mainland China, the communists who came to power set the task of eliminating secret societies, participation in which was punishable by death. Many members of the Chinese triads emigrated to Hong Kong.

At the end of the civil war, the secret services of the Kuomintang Party united the secret societies under their control into the "Union of Loyalty and Justice" headed by a Kuomintang general. Subsequently, the union was transformed into the 14K syndicate (according to one of the versions, by analogy with the former headquarters in Canton). This is one of the largest and most influential triads in Hong Kong, which in the 90s was considered the largest in the world, but due to persecution, it left Hong Kong. In 2010, this already international triad had 20 thousand members in its ranks and controlled business not only in Hong Kong and Macau, but also ethnic Chinese societies in the USA, Canada, Australia, Great Britain and the Netherlands. The 14K syndicate, in addition to controlling the channels for the supply of heroin and opium from Southeast Asia to China, North America and Europe, is engaged in gambling, usury and money laundering, contract killings and other criminal activities.

Chinese triads control one of the world's three poles of drug trafficking, the so-called Golden Triangle opium, the other two - Afghan and Colombian - are under the "patronage" of the American intelligence services. In 1949, after the end of the civil war in China and the proclamation of the People's Republic of China, the remnants of the 93rd Kuomintang division went to the southwestern province of Yunnan. Here, on the border of Burma, Laos and Thailand (the "Golden Triangle"), the Kuomintang took control of the drug business and ensured drug trafficking through Hong Kong to the United States and Taiwan.

A new story began during the American aggression against Vietnam. The brave American soldiers used the brothels of Hong Kong and Thailand for recreation and demanded heroin to raise their tone. And the Chinese triads met these wishes and switched from opium to the production of heroin.

The British colonial administration of Hong Kong struggled with the triads with varying success, the number of local gangsters decreased from 300 thousand from 300 thousand three times. Since the beginning of the policy of economic reform and opening up, the Chinese Communist government has wisely decided that it cannot be eradicated before the founding of the triad. Therefore, some trade unions and triads of Hong Kong were taken under the control of the special services. The largest triads Fuixing (60,000 members), 14K (20,000), Big Ring Brotherhood and others have strengthened ties with mainland Chinese groups, and the geography of their activities has spread to the whole world.

The triads continue to play a significant role in the life of Hong Kong and Macau, and the scale of activity is amazing. In 2014, the leaders of illegal gambling syndicates that accepted bets on the World Cup matches in Brazil were arrested in a Macau hotel. The total amount of bets accepted both through calls and the Internet amounted to over $645 million (!). Undoubtedly, neo-liberal globalization is successfully serving the Chinese triads.

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Members of the triads are linked by a traditional system of rituals, oaths, passwords, and recognize each other by many prearranged signals invisible to outsiders. To join the "brotherhood" you need not only to enlist the recommendation of a member of the triad with experience, but also to go through severe and dangerous trials, including participation in gangster operations. In triads great importance have tattoos. For example, a dragon means prosperity, nobility and power, a snake - wisdom and will, and an orchid - perfection, harmony and sophistication.

Members of the triads use their own slang, secret handshakes, gestures and signs, codes to designate ranks and positions in group hierarchies. Traditional Chinese numerology is used, originating from. Each triad has departments for protection, information (intelligence and counterintelligence), communications, recruitment and education.

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Over the course of their history, the Chinese triads have transformed from religious sects and secret societies (huidangs) opposed to the authorities into criminal syndicates that have spread throughout the world. Where there is a Chinese diaspora, there are triads. For many centuries, secret societies have played a consolidating role in Chinese society: "The authorities rely on the law - and the people - on the Huidans."

An exceptional feature of the centuries-old vitality of secret societies was iron discipline, deep secrecy and merciless reprisals against enemies and traitors.

Secret societies, waging a long struggle against oppressors and invaders, have gained fame in Chinese society as a punishing sword. But in the 20th century, the criminal “Triad Society” emerged from secret societies.

In the future, Chinese triads will continue to control migration flows. The more corrupt the country of residence, the more successful the triads will play the role of a shadow administration for the Chinese diaspora.

The geopolitical transformation of the world order is leading not only to the economic leadership of communist China. Transnational relations in the criminal world will change. The Chinese triads will not only lead the world, but will fulfill their main "patriotic" task - they will take control of the world drug trafficking not only from the "golden triangle", but also in Afghanistan and Colombia in order to punish the West (the British, French and Americans) for inhuman the opium wars of the 19th century against the Chinese people.

Probably, in the second half of the twenty-first century, an international tribunal for the crimes of the West against humanity will be established. Sooner or later, China will take revenge on the West for national disgrace.

Literature
Ivanov P. M. Hong Kong. History and modernity. - M.: Nauka, 1990. - 278 p.

Kostyaeva A. S. Secret Societies of China in the First Quarter of the 20th Century. - Institute of Oriental Studies RAS. - M: Eastern Literature, 1995. - 240 p.

For all their closedness, the triads are the oldest criminal organization in the world - they are already more than 2500 years old: the first mention of them appeared in Chinese chronicles during the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi (221-210 BC). But actually they began to be called triads much later.

The evolution of triads: from the national liberation movement to the criminal community

The first reliable information about the triads dates back to 1644, when the last emperor of the Ming dynasty was overthrown and power passed to the Manchu Qing dynasty. A group of 133 Buddhist monks who swore on their blood to restore the Ming Dynasty waged a guerrilla war against the Manchu conquerors for many years, but never achieved success. In 1674, all the fighters, except for five people, were captured and brutally executed, and the monastery that served as their stronghold was destroyed.

These five surviving monks (their members of the triad are called the founding fathers or the Five Ancestors, and their names are always the five main leaders in any of its links) created a secret society whose goal was to overthrow the Manchus. The motto "Overthrow the Qing, restore the Ming" (Fan Qing, Fu Ming) is still solemnly pronounced at the meetings of the triads as a tribute to tradition, although it has long lost all meaning.

A triangle was chosen as the emblem of the organization created by five monks, the sides of which symbolized heaven, earth and man - the main elements of the Chinese universe. But not only this was the reason for choosing a triangle. Chinese culture has a highly developed numerological tradition and the number 3 is believed to have special properties, especially when it comes to criminal activity. (For extortion, for example, the norm is often calculated on the basis of three.) Although the five surviving monks, known today as the Five Ancestors, gave their organization the name "Hong Mun" (this is the name adopted in Russian historiography, although in the original it sounds "Hong Men") , or Society of Earth and Sky (Tiandihui), in the West it is better known in connection with the mentioned symbol. Thus, the term "triad" is used almost exclusively by Westerners. The native Chinese usually refer to this organization as "Heishehui" - the black society.

Although Hong Mun failed to overthrow the Manchu dynasty, the organization existed for many years. Teaming up with the previously created "White Lotus", she constantly disturbed the imperial forces and repeatedly moved the population to revolts. According to the principles of Buddhism, the members of the organization had to respect the rights and share the aspirations of the peasants; this tactic was used with great success almost 300 years later by the communists under the leadership of Mao Zedong. At the same time, the thesis that "armies protect the emperor, and secret societies protect people" became widespread.

The triads wielded power and influence, although they never succeeded in realizing their original goal of overthrowing the Manchu Qing Dynasty, never popularly loved due to the brutal, repressive nature of power. A stable positive image of this organization remained until 1842 and the establishment of British rule in Hong Kong. Although the triads remained focused on political and cultural goals, their presence was unsettling to Britain, and as a result they were declared "incompatible with the maintenance of order" and accused of creating preconditions for the commission of crimes and harboring criminals. Following the example of the imperialist authorities in China, the British authorities made it a crime not only to actually belong to the triad, but even to intend to join it. Punishment - up to three years in prison. If at this stage the triads had no obvious criminal goals, such an attitude undoubtedly pushed them in this direction.

In 1848, Hong Mun merged with a new secret society that arose in the Canton region, the Warriors of God. Together they organized the Taiping uprisings. Canton was besieged, the uprising spread to Shanghai and other cities. At this point, the rituals of the triad were still aimed at emphasizing the positive image of the organization. A new state of Taiping tyanguo was proclaimed - the Heavenly State of Great Prosperity. By then, China had become a semi-colony of Great Britain, the United States, and France, and the triads were the only force that offered organized resistance to foreign exploitation and oppression.

But the "Boxer Rebellion" of 1900 marked the transformation of the triads into organizations pursuing exclusively criminal goals. The uprising, which got its name because it was led by the secret society Fist for Justice and Consent (Yihetuan), was aimed at driving foreigners out of the country through murder and intimidation, directed primarily against settlements and missions located in Beijing and Shanghai. When beleaguered diplomats and trade representatives turned to their governments for help, eight countries sent expeditionary forces to China.

A combined force of 2,000, which included soldiers from Great Britain, Germany, Russia, France, the United States, Japan, Italy, and Austria, under the overall command of the British Admiral Sir Edward Seymour, landed in June 1900. Strong resistance from the rebel and imperial Chinese troops forced Seymour retreat and call for reinforcements. In August, the number of his forces increased immediately by 20,000 people. After the capture of Tianjin, foreign armies began to fight their way to Beijing and reached the capital on 14 August.

Over the next few months, the invasion force continued to grow. In the end, they captured Beijing and rushed into the provinces to pursue the rebels. In February 1901, the Chinese authorities were forced to ban the "Yihetuan" society, and on September 7 of the same year they signed the "Final (or" Boxing) Protocol), which was the official end of the uprising. The country was completely demoralized, a crushing blow was dealt to the prestige of the authorities, but the imperial government had to go to even greater humiliation, allowing foreigners to consolidate their interests and continue to exploit the people and resources of the country. The consequences of the uprising continued to affect throughout the 20th century.

From that moment it became absolutely clear that the triads would not be able to exert any noticeable influence on the formation and implementation of China's national interests. The Boxers, who were a similar secret society, not only failed to defend the nation, but were defeated, and China's foreign enemies were stationed throughout the country, armed to the teeth and determined to brutally suppress any internal resistance.

And then the activities of secret societies turned inland. If they were not able to throw off foreign oppression, then they would have to engage in the exploitation of fellow citizens, building up forces and avoiding any influence or threat from non-Chinese forces. True, for some time they retained an interest in politics. Their most outstanding achievement was their support of Dr. Sun Yat-sen in overthrowing the Manchu Qing Dynasty and establishing a republican system of government. Many researchers believe that Sun Yat-sen actively used triads to ensure success; this is a well-founded assumption, especially considering that in his youth, according to numerous testimonies, he occupied a fairly prominent place in the triad "Green Gang" - "Society of Three Harmonies".

By the way, it is worth remembering that the triads, in fact, saved Sun Yat-sen, when he, while still a "rebel", was captured in London by agents of Empress Ci Xi and placed under arrest on the territory of the Chinese embassy. He was expected to be smuggled to China for trial and execution. However, information about this reached the representatives of the triads operating in London, who took the unprecedented step of openly appealing to the authorities and the press. As a result of the scandal that broke out, the Chinese were forced to release Sun Yat-sen, and he returned to China a decade later as a winner.

Chiang Kai-shek, who replaced Sun Yat-sen as leader of the Kuomintang Party, also experienced their strength first hand. So, once, during a business visit to Shanghai, his wife was kidnapped. The problem was solved quite quickly - soon one of the leaders of the local triad called him in the presidential number, and politely explained that his wife was in complete safety, and you had to pay for security. Chiang Kai-shek did not bargain, and soon his wife was taken to a hotel. With this incident in mind, Chiang Kai-shek tried to use the power of the triads as a last resort in the war against the communists led by Mao Zedong, but it was too late. After Mao's victory in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek and his followers fled to Formosa (Taiwan), and those triad leaders who remained on the mainland were executed. Some still managed to escape to the Portuguese-owned Macau and the British-occupied Hong Kong, which in the second half of the 20th century became the base of the triads. Representing many separate groupings ( total strength is approximately 1 million 200 thousand people), now completely control all illegal business in China. In their hands are the supply of drugs, the "black market" of currency, human trafficking, smuggling of biological resources, underground brothels, arms trafficking, etc. But the basis of the business of the triads is still extortion - monthly "tax inspectors" of the triads come to Chinese merchants in the PRC, the USA, Europe and other regions of the world, who check the documents and take away the 15 percent of profits due to them.

Triads in China...

It is believed that mafia agents have long been introduced into the state apparatus and the police, but at the same time, the triads buy only minor officials - they do not have access to the big bosses. And if the mayor small town in the provinces can work for the triad, then she, as is commonly believed, cannot influence a member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Although from time to time both police officers and petty officials fly out of their places for “connections with crime”, the official authorities do not recognize that the triads have agents in their ranks, and representatives of the triads themselves, of course, prudently do not confirm this.

Meanwhile, a study of modern organized crime in the PRC by the Chinese scholar Xin Yan suggests that the leaders of “mafia-type organizations” are increasingly infiltrating economic and economic structures and strengthening corruption ties, and crimes in the economic sphere have become more sophisticated. At the same time, cases have become more frequent when triads seize the administrative power of the lower level (in villages and villages, small towns), including taking on the functions law enforcement.

The leaders of the triads rise to ever higher levels of the hierarchical ladder of the state, become deputies of the National People's Congress (NPC) or members of political advisory councils in the provinces. Triads are more likely to intervene in the process associated with the reshuffling of high-ranking officials. Moreover, as noted in Xin Yang's study, some leaders in certain regions of the PRC sometimes asked the leaders of local triod cells to take over the administrative power of the lower level (for example, village management). Of course, many local leaders approached the triads with requests for financial assistance, deliberately placing themselves in a dependent position. As the criminal cases studied by Chinese experts show, it is not uncommon for organized criminal groups - local cells of triads - to be created and led by former party and administrative managers, high-ranking employees of a number of prosecutors' offices and even current representatives of the National People's Congress, secretaries of party cells and heads of local public security organs.

Triad structures in recent times more and more often they try to “work” under the guise of legally functioning firms and enterprises and penetrate into the economic spheres of state activity. Receiving superprofits, the triads have established a system for laundering "dirty money". In China, according to Chinese experts, about 200 billion yuan (24.7 billion dollars) is laundered annually. Significant sums pass through underground money changers.

The triads are more active in the coastal provinces, and especially in Hong Kong. In their hands - the supply of heroin and opium, the "black market" of the currency; transporting prostitutes to brothels; arms trade; providing a "roof" for local businessmen. In 2005, the official China News Weekly Review published an article stating that Chinese mafia ties were not limited to Hong Kong and Macau, but spread to large industrial centers of China, such as Guangzhou, Tianjin and Shanghai.

The Chinese mafia structures keep pace with the progress brought about by the reforms, and widely use all the achievements for their own purposes. Given the rapid development of the Internet, the triads organized online sales of pirated audio and video materials and then expanded the scope of criminal online trading. Now the range of goods includes drugs, prostitutes, stolen cars, weapons, forged documents and even human organs for transplants. Despite the fact that the authorities in China are trying to strictly control the Internet by creating more than 30,000-strong army of Internet policemen, the criminal business is flourishing online, and new sites are replacing closed sites.

Triads are quite responsive to changes in market trends and consumer preferences. In the mid-2000s, during a period of rapid growth in demand for fuel, criminal gangs began stealing crude oil from oil pipelines, and the annual amount of stolen oil, according to police, was estimated at more than $120 million. No less attention is paid to changes in consumer demand. Income growth in the PRC and the rapid formation of a "middle class" has led to an increase in demand for exotic expensive seafood dishes, including those that are prohibited from being harvested and traded. In particular, in cooperation with Mexican drug cartels, the Chinese triads have arranged the supply of dried totoaba swim bladders to Hong Kong, an endangered species of fish that is illegally caught and smuggled into Hong Kong from North and South America. international trade totoaba is officially banned, and its extraction has been considered illegal since 1975, since this fish is listed as a rare endangered species. At the same time, the poaching of totoaba is accompanied by the simultaneous illegal production of another rare species - the vaquita porpoise, which live only in the Gulf of California and often get stuck in the nets set for catching totoaba.

According to Greenpeace, the illegal harvesting and sale of endangered species of fish and marine animals has attracted the attention of the Hong Kong triads and Mexican drug cartels, since this type of underground business brings in hundreds of millions of dollars annually. The totoaba swim bladder is highly valued in Hong Kong and mainland China as a delicacy, priced at HK$1 million per kilogram. The swim bladder of totoaba contains a number of rather rare substances used in Chinese medicine. In addition, the insides of fish are used to prepare expensive gourmet dishes. In mainland China, a bowl of totoaba soup can cost as much as $25,000. Despite the high price, demand in China far exceeds supply.

According to Greenpeace representatives, thanks to the active involvement of the triads, Hong Kong has become a center for illegal wildlife trade, which is facilitated by the weakness of customs control - dried totoaba swim bladders are safely transported here through the airport, and then sold in the markets and transported to mainland China. In two years, customs detained only two totoaba swim bladders, while an unofficial inspection conducted by Greenpeace representatives in March-April 2015 70 outlets revealed 13 cases of sales of these products. At the same time, a number of traders offered to organize shipments from Mexico, and some were willing to send samples to mainland China for an additional fee of 2,000 Hong Kong dollars.

Organized crime in China, no matter how hard they tried to destroy it, outlived both the empire and the republic. No matter how hard the authorities at different times tried to destroy the triads by killing their leaders, criminal gangs still continued to exist, only strengthening the conspiracy. At the same time, the triads, which suffered noticeably from the authorities of communist China, behave quite loyally towards the authorities. Moreover, some even call the Chinese triads "the most patriotic mafia in the world." So, when Beijing proclaimed 2002 "the year of tourism", the triads took all measures to prevent crimes against foreign tourists. Representatives of the triads were even on duty on the streets, like law enforcement officers. In fact, there is a very clear logic to this - the more comfortable foreigners feel in China, the more often they will come and the more money will be earned by Chinese shops, hotels and restaurants, which give the triads 15 percent of their profits every month. The triads' statement, made at the height of the SARS outbreak in China, about a million-dollar prize for a doctor who can find a cure for this disease was dictated by the same considerations. The triads also offered generous funding to research centers working on the problem.

A characteristic feature of the activities of the triads is that the bulk of the capital earned from operations around the world returns to China. In fact, that is why many researchers call the triads the "patriot mafia", stating that the triads are trying to strengthen the Chinese economy and want their country to be richer. However, everything is not so obvious.

The bulk of the capital of the triads, based after 1949 in Hong Kong, Taiwan and scattered their units around the world, poured into the PRC after Beijing, as part of the reforms, announced a strategy for large-scale attraction foreign investment, including huaqiao capitals. Taking advantage of this, the leaders of the largest and most influential triads established contacts with representatives of the Chinese leadership at all levels, which ensured the safe penetration of their capital to mainland China, mainly to its southern provinces. The triads' money was used to set up various lucrative joint ventures, including nightclubs, hotels, restaurants, and casinos. At the same time, in many cases, on the Chinese side, the co-founders of these institutions were regional representatives of the PRC law enforcement agencies, in particular the Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security and the People's Liberation Army of China. Thus, the triads could safely launder the funds received from illegal business abroad and extract additional profits, while China received the necessary investments for reforms.

… and beyond

Over time, however, Beijing came to the conclusion that support from the triads was becoming unnecessary and even burdensome, and therefore began new round fight against organized crime. At the same time, almost simultaneously, the slogan “Go outside” was put forward, encouraging the purchase of assets abroad and the creation of new enterprises there. Under these conditions, the leaders of the triads quite naturally turned the direction of their activity outward. Using the processes of globalization, the Chinese triads have taken a leading position in organizing human trafficking and establishing flows of illegal migration to the EU and the US, as evidenced by the reports of Europol and the US State Department for 2005-2006.

Thus, one of the most famous triad organizations - "14 K", named after its postal address (house 14 Xiguan baohualu), took key positions in organizing the supply of heroin to the Netherlands, Great Britain, Canada and the USA. It has branches in all these countries. Investigators of the Canadian Royal Mounted Police claim that "14 K" and other triads have permanent representatives in every Chinese community in the slightest degree across North America, are associated with almost all areas of criminal activity that can bring profit, from extortion and fraud from loans to credit card scams and video piracy.

Unlike other ethnic criminal communities, which do not care who they rob, the triads, working abroad, choose only the Chinese and Chinese organizations as their main sources of income. Although at one time the triads, Cosa Nostra and the Japanese yakuza concluded certain agreements among themselves, the triads to the greatest extent retained independence and closeness from outside world. Another notable difference between the triads and the mafia concerns structure and discipline. As anyone who has watched The Godfather or even one episode of The Sopranos knows, Italian organized gangs are highly structured and run with a firm hand, like any corporation (or rather, it was; we will discuss the details in the next chapter). Before undertaking any profitable business, members of the mafia must obtain the approval of the leadership and agree in advance to transfer part of the income to it. Negligence or willful failure to comply with these rules can result in the most severe penalties.

The triads do not have such strict discipline and completely lack the concept of top-to-bottom negotiation and transfer of share of the booty from bottom to top. Here is how one of the participants in the already mentioned Hong Kong triad “14 K” during interrogation described the situation in his organization to an Australian parliamentary investigator: “I was not required to pay a mandatory share to the management of 14 K. This is not accepted in triads. Members of the triad treat each other kindly, provide mutual support and assistance to colleagues in criminal groups, but in triads, as a rule, there is no such strict disciplined organizational structure, which is available in other groups, for example, in the Italian mafia. A member of the triad is not required to obtain permission from the "Dragon Head" of his triad to participate in this or that criminal act ... On the other hand, during ... traditional Chinese holidays, such as Chinese New Year, members of the triad, according to custom, present gifts to their "elder brothers" or "uncles", who often occupy a leading position in the triads.

It can be said that the triads act "smarter" than the mafia, whose brutality has become the talk of the town. Triad fighters can be just as brutal, but they often preface their actions with subtle or very direct threats. One Hong Kong businessman who did not want to reckon with threats from the triad was sent a severed dog's head - perhaps the gunmen did this under the influence of the famous horse head scene from The Godfather. They killed him only a few days later, after he defiantly ignored this threat as well.

Insularity makes it particularly difficult for Western intelligence agencies to access the triads. Chinese communities in North America are the most closed of all ethnic groups, and are justifiably wary of attempts by outsiders to gain access to their culture. As a result, in order to penetrate to the leaders of the triad, it is necessary to overcome two defensive barriers: the general cultural barrier that all Chinese use to fence off foreigners, and the veil of secrecy that protects the triads as such.

Another complication for law enforcement is the ability to bribe or threaten to compromise local police control. For many years before the transfer of Hong Kong to China (1997), the Royal Hong Kong Police Force did not have an effective criminal unit, and, apparently, the influence of the triads and the scope of their activities in the colony were greatly underestimated. Only a detailed investigation carried out in 1983 showed the true extent of secret criminal groups. At the same time, it became known about the colossal corruption in the KKE, in particular, that the police elite for many years covered up the drug trade carried out by the triads. Many police officers have made a fortune from triad connections, and according to police sources, many of them emigrated to the UK and Canada before Hong Kong became part of communist China in 1997, where, thanks to their accumulated wealth, they settled down safely and turned into respectable wealthy businessmen.

Joining mainland China in July 1997 also prompted an exodus of members of the triad abroad for fear of imminent reprisals, but numerous observers who imagine the level of corruption under the communist regime are confident that since then the triad has regained its former influence. It is possible that the Hong Kong triads have now fallen under the control of Beijing to some extent, but now their influence, albeit to varying degrees, is spreading throughout the world. In the UK, the National Crime Police conducted an investigation of triad activity in the country, which took place under the unpretentious code name "Chopsticks". A 1996 NPC report stated that there were four triads operating in the UK, none of which were controlled from Hong Kong; therefore, these groups were not part of the international criminal community. The victims of the triads were mostly Chinese immigrants involved in small businesses; they generally did not report crimes to the British authorities. The investigation also found that triads do not play a significant role in the drug trade - in contrast to the situation in Australia, Canada and the United States.

In 1988, an investigation by the Australian government revealed that 85-95% of all heroin entering that country was imported by Chinese triads. However, ten years later, a similar investigation conducted by the Americans showed that the proportion of triads has noticeably decreased as a result of competition from criminal organizations in Southeast Asia, primarily Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma (Myanmar) and the Philippines.

In the 1970s and 1980s the highest quality heroin entering North America was produced in Turkey, processed in Marseilles, from where it entered the United States (the famous "French Network"); All this happened under the control of the mafia. Emigration of triad leaders from Hong Kong in the 1990s allowed the Chinese to partially seize control of drug networks. The Triads found their way around Marseille, through which the bulk of the potion had previously passed. Now routes run either through Amsterdam, or directly to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and from there to the main market - in the USA. Most researchers consider the triad "14 K" as the primary source of drugs.

In Japan, the Chinese triads even pushed the yakuza back a little, taking control of two-thirds of the heroin trade. Estimated American experts, Chinese mafia structures have penetrated deeply into the legal and shadow economy of the United States, ahead of the Colombian cartels. In Italy, in 2006, law enforcement agencies conducted a major investigation into the connections of Chinese triads with the Italian mafia, during which criminal money investments in real estate and trade in Milan were revealed, and in Rome, investigators found shell companies and banks in which money was laundered. 22,000 Chinese came into the field of view of the Italian police, 250 criminal cases were opened against members of the triads.

Chinese organized crime has also shown that it is quite capable of provoking global economic crises and influencing market prices. So, in 2005, the world copper market was on the verge of disaster due to a grandiose fraud on the London Metal Exchange. At that time, Liu Yulbin, a trader working for the triads and well-known in business circles, sold 200 thousand tons of copper on the exchange, acting on behalf of the Chinese state corporation State Reserve Bureau. After the sale of non-existent copper, the trader disappeared, and when, as a result of the scandal, world copper prices reached a historical record.

Of course, the expansion of the Chinese triads could not bypass Russia. As Vitaly Nomokonov, a well-known expert on transnational crime, noted, these processes in the Far East were characterized by the intensive integration of Russian and Chinese mafia structures. For example, in Ussuriysk, representatives of the triads built relationships with local leaders of the criminal world on a purely business basis. Thus, representatives of Russian organized criminal gangs helped the Chinese to buy metal here and ship it abroad. In addition, Russian "colleagues" created transport companies, whose services were used by representatives of Chinese criminal communities, and also provided them with warehouses for storing goods, including contraband.

Another characteristic feature of the activities of Chinese triads in Russia is the active creation of companies registered under nominees - citizens of the Russian Federation. Many of these firms are created to carry out one-time transactions, for example, to sell any counterfeit products in order to legalize them, cash out or transfer funds abroad, etc. Thousands of such companies were registered in the Chita and Novosibirsk regions, mainly for the export of strategic raw materials to China.

Although almost nothing has been said about triads in Russia lately, this does not mean at all that they do not exist and that they do not work here. It's just that many of their former crime boss partners have now become famous businessmen, public figures and deputies of different levels, having legalized a part of their business. It is the same with the triads - they still skim the cream off Chinese firms operating in Russia, organize the supply of timber, bioresources, raw materials, etc., simultaneously controlling a significant part of the Chinese tourist flow, directing it to their hotels, restaurants and Cafe.

Triads are part of Chinese history and part of modern global peace. They have an exceptional ability to survive, developed over millennia, which makes them change according to changing conditions. But at the heart of this survival is adherence to traditions, without which the triads would be an ordinary ethnic criminal community, and not a criminal historical phenomenon.

Of all the existing criminal communities, national groups are the most organized, cohesive and invincible. On hearing the Italian Japanese yakuza, the Chinese triad. Having grown into local traditions, they become an almost ineradicable element of public life in their homeland. And having gone beyond the borders of the country of origin, they capture living space thanks to strict discipline, deep conspiracy and special cruelty.

The emergence of triads

The Triad is perhaps the oldest criminal organization in the world. Some researchers trace its history back to legendary times - to the third century BC. Then the pirates and robbers with east coast China created a kind of trade union - "Shadow of the Lotus". Shortly after the emergence of the triads, Shadow of the Lotus merged into the newly formed organization.

When the word "triad" was first used, the mafia had not yet appeared in Italy. It is authentically 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 Chinese national liberation movement against the Manchu invaders.

According to legend, the first triad was founded by three monks from the Shaolin monastery destroyed by the invaders. In the view of the founders, the triad is "the union of the Earth, Man and Heaven in the name of justice." These symbols were understood by every Chinese.

Initially, the triad militants 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. Triads began to look in criminal trades: robbery, piracy, slave trade. Gradually, noble goals faded into the background, and banditry became the essence of the activities of the triads.

Coexistence with the Chinese Communist Party

During the triad, they supported Sun Yat-sen. This political mistake led to serious persecution of the triads after Mao's victory. The Chinese communists were worried not so much by the fact that the triad is a mafia engaged in all kinds of criminal activities, but by attempts to destroy the monopoly of the Communist Party, the only political organization in the country.

Although little is known about the fate of the triads in communist China, it is safe to say that the repression of the leaders of the underworld did not weaken the influence of the triads. The militants of the organization still collect tribute from business and maintain order on the streets, have informants in the police and their own people among party functionaries in the field.

The leaders of the modern CPC are not worried about this activity: as long as they do not get into politics, do not compete with the communists for influence, do not try to promote their people to leading positions 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 triads

After Sun Yat-sen fled to Taiwan, many triad leaders followed him or settled in Hong Kong's rapid post-war economic growth provided many sources of wealth for the gangs there. The Chinese triad levied tribute from small businesses, "supervised" smuggling, drug trafficking, and prostitution. Therefore, it was here that the most influential and famous gangs, such as "14 K", grew up.

During the British Raj, the power of the triads in Hong Kong was undivided. With the transition of the territory under the rule of China, many leaders of the underworld fled abroad. Probably, now the position of the Hong Kong triads has become equal to the "status" of their "colleagues" from the PRC.

The structure of Chinese organized crime groups

Let's try to understand what a triad is, from the inside. First of all, you need to understand that this is a very secret organization, so there is not much reliable information about its structure.

It is known that individual triads are rather isolated organizations. There is no person who could be called the leader of all triads. But within each gang, the hierarchy is very rigid. At the head of the triad is the leader (we will not give all the flowery names of this position), his post is inherited. The ringleader has two deputies for areas of activity. They are subordinate to the security services, intelligence, recruitment.

In a large triad between leaders and ordinary fighters - "monks" - there can be up to four links of leaders. Although all members of the gang implicitly obey their superiors, each link is quite autonomous in carrying out the tasks that the triad has assigned to it. This provides mobility and flexibility, which is very important for a large organization.

Many of us learned about Chinese triads thanks to the popular Soviet years book "Yellow Dragon Jiao", and later - from Hollywood action films. But with all this, the triads remain the most closed structures, about which much less is known than about the Cosa Nostra or the Yakuza. But this does not prevent them from being the largest criminal organizations in the world: the number of triad members in China and Taiwan alone exceeds 1,200,000 people - this does not include those who live on other continents. Wherever there are Chinese, there are triads.

From the struggle for freedom to the criminal community

The first reliable information about the triads dates back to 1644, when the last emperor of the Ming dynasty was overthrown and power passed to the Manchu Qing dynasty. and did not succeed. In 1674, all the fighters, except for five people, were captured and brutally executed, and the monastery that served as their stronghold was destroyed.

The surviving monks, united by their hatred of the invaders, swore revenge. A deeply conspiratorial group proclaimed its goal the extermination of the Manchus. A triangle was chosen as an emblem, in which three sides symbolized heaven, earth and man - the main elements of the Chinese universe. But not only this was the reason for choosing a triangle. Chinese culture has a highly developed numerological tradition and the number 3 is believed to have special properties, especially when it comes to criminal activity. (For extortion, for example, the rate is often calculated on the basis of three.) Although the five surviving monks, known today as the Five Ancestors, gave their organization the name "Hun Mun", or the Society of Earth and Sky (Tiandihui), in the West it is better known in connection with the mentioned symbol. Thus, the term "triad" is used almost exclusively by Westerners. The native Chinese commonly refer to this organization as the Heishehui, the black society.

Although Hong Mun failed to overthrow the Manchu dynasty, the organization existed for many years. Teaming up with the previously created "White Lotus", she constantly disturbed the imperial forces and repeatedly moved the population to revolts. According to the principles of Buddhism, the members of the organization had to respect the rights and share the aspirations of the peasants; this tactic was used with great success for almost 300 years by the communists under the leadership of Mao Zedong. At the same time, the thesis that "armies protect the emperor, and secret societies protect people" became widespread.

The triads wielded power and influence, although they never achieved their original goal of overthrowing the Manchu Qing Dynasty, which had never been popularly loved due to the brutal, repressive nature of power. A stable positive image of this organization remained until 1842 and the establishment of British rule in Hong Kong. Although the triads remained focused on political and cultural goals, their presence was unsettling to Britain, and as a result they were declared "incompatible with the maintenance of order" and accused of creating preconditions for the commission of crimes and harboring criminals. Following the example of the imperialist authorities in China, the British authorities made it a crime not only to actually belong to the triad, but even to intend to join it. Punishment - up to three years in prison. If at this stage the triads had no obvious criminal goals, such an attitude undoubtedly pushed them in this direction.

In 1848, Hong Mun merged with a new secret society that had arisen in the Canton region, the Warriors of God. Together they organized the Taiping uprisings. Canton was besieged, the uprising spread to Shanghai and other cities. At this point, the rituals of the triad were still aimed at emphasizing the positive image of the organization. The new state of Taiping tyanguo was proclaimed - the Heavenly State of Great Prosperity. By then, China had become a semi-colony of Great Britain, the United States, and France, and the triads were the only force that offered organized resistance to foreign exploitation and oppression.

On the other hand, the "Boxer Rebellion" of 1900 marked the transformation of the triads into organizations pursuing exclusively criminal goals. The uprising, which got its name because it was led by the secret society Fist for Justice and Consent (Yihetuan), was aimed at driving foreigners out of the country through murder and intimidation, directed primarily against settlements and missions located in Beijing and Shanghai. When beleaguered diplomats and trade representatives turned to their governments for help, eight countries sent expeditionary forces to China.

A combined force of 2,000, which included soldiers from Great Britain, Germany, Russia, France, the United States, Japan, Italy and Austria, under the overall command of the British Admiral Sir Edward Seymour, landed in June 1900. Strong resistance from the rebel and imperial Chinese troops forced Seymour retreat and call for reinforcements. In August, the number of his forces increased immediately by 20,000 people. After the capture of Tianjin, foreign armies began to fight their way to Beijing and reached the capital on 14 August.

From that moment it became absolutely clear that the triads would not be able to exert any noticeable influence on the formation and implementation of China's national interests. The "Boxers", which represented the same secret society, not only failed to protect the nation, but were defeated, and foreign enemies The Chinese are stationed all over the country, armed to the teeth and determined to brutally crush any internal resistance.

And Chiang Kai-shek, who replaced Sun as leader of the Kuomintang Party, was also a member of the triad. When the disintegration of the Chinese Republic began as a result of civil strife and the increasing pressure of the communists of Mao Zedong, Chiang Kai-shek attracted the triads to support him, but nothing could save him. After Mao's victory in 1949, Chiang Kai-shek and his followers fled to Formosa (Taiwan), and the triad leaders who decided to stay on the mainland were found and executed. Some managed to escape to Portuguese-owned Macau, or Hong Kong, where the British government, weakened by the recent war with Japan and more tolerant than a hundred years ago, although continuing to make harsh statements about the triads, was no longer able to carry out its draconian laws into practice with the same ruthless energy as before.

In the second half of the XX century. Hong Kong was the headquarters of the triads, the think tank of their many global ventures. Among the most famous organizations is K 14, named after its postal address (house 14 Po-wah-rod in Canton) and the first letter of the name of its founder, Kuomintang Lieutenant General Kot Siuwong, who founded this triad in the 1940s. gg. In the 1980s the number of "14 K", according to estimates, was more than 25,000 in Hong Kong alone; she took key positions in the organization of heroin shipments to the Netherlands, the UK, Canada and the USA. It has branches in all these countries. Investigators from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police say 14K and other triads have permanent representatives in every Chinese conspicuous community across North America, are involved in almost every area of criminal activity that can bring profit, from extortion and fraud with loans to credit card scams and video piracy.

Structure and customs of triads

Accustomed to a secretive lifestyle, members of the triads still use their slang, secret handshakes, gestures and signs, as well as numerical codes to designate ranks and positions in the grouping hierarchy (they are derived from traditional Chinese numerology based on the Book of Changes).

The hierarchy of triads is simple, but deliberately confusing. "489" means "master of the mountain", "dragon head" or "lord of incense" (i.e. clan leader). This number is composed of characters meaning "21" (4+8+9), which in turn is a derivative of two numbers: "3" (creation) multiplied by "7" (death) equals "21" (rebirth). "438" means "steward" (deputy leader, or operational commander, or master of ceremonies). The sum of the digits that make up this number is 15, and the number "15" in every superstitious Chinese is reverent, because meeting with him, including various combinations, promises great luck. "432" - "straw sandals" (that is, a liaison between the various divisions of the clan), "426" - "red pole" (that is, the commander of the militants or the executor of power decisions), "415" - "white paper fan" (that is, financial adviser or administrator), "49" - an ordinary member. This number also has its own meaning. It decomposes into "4" and "9". Their derivative "36" means the number of oaths pronounced upon entry into the triad. It is no coincidence that all codes begin with the number "4", because according to ancient Chinese belief, the world is surrounded by four seas. With the number "25", members of the triads designate a police agent embedded in a group, a traitor or a spy of another gang ..

According to other sources, the “yellow dragon” (leader) is in charge of the overall leadership and strategy of the triad, the “white paper fan” is responsible for education and counterintelligence, as well as general issues and finances, “straw sandals” (aka “sandal stick”) - for contacts with other secret societies, the "red pole" (aka "red rod" or "red staff") - for protection and power operations, including showdowns with competitors and the elimination of traitors, and the nickname "monk" denotes ordinary members.

In the structure of each triad there are departments (or directions) of protection, information, communications, recruitment and education, each of which is headed by a deputy leader or a very authoritative gangster. For example, the information department is engaged in intelligence and counterintelligence, including among competitors and the police; the recruitment department operates in schools and universities, and is also looking for informants among rickshaws, taxi drivers, waiters, street vendors and prostitutes. Members of the triads are linked by a complex system of rituals, oaths, passwords, and even ceremonial mixing of blood. They unmistakably recognize each other by many conventional signals invisible to outsiders: the order of the dishes placed on the table, the special manner of holding chopsticks and tea cups during meals or on riddle questions. For example, to the question "What is three times eight?" the member of the triad will answer: "Twenty-one", because he knows that the character "han" (the Chinese name for the triad) consists of three parts, indicated by the numbers "3", "8" and "21".

Some Hong Kong triads still maintain the tradition of ceremonially initiating newcomers into their fraternity. This is how this ceremony is described in Vsevolod Kalinin's book "Golden Orchid":

To join the "brotherhood" you need not only to get the recommendation of a member of the triad with experience, but also to go through a preparatory period, during which the newcomer is subjected to severe and dangerous tests, including him in the operations carried out by gangsters. In addition, "recruits" learn the history and rituals of a secret society, secret signals with gestures and fingers, verbal passwords. By the time of entry, it is necessary to memorize 21 rules of the disciplinary code and 10 points of punishment for violating it, as well as 36 oaths. During the mystical ritual, you will have to give the correct answers to questions in the form of allegories or riddles. The ceremony is attended by Shang Qiu (Lord of Incense) and Han Qiu (Ruler). The passage of the Mountain of knives is the name of the initial stage of the ritual. The ruler writes down the names, addresses, ages of those who enter. They pay small fees. The lord of incense lights scented sticks in front of the joss-house and announces: "The Han Brotherhood will live for millions of years." spoken later. Paragraph 24 states that a new member of society can rise to the hierarchical level no earlier than after three years. Next, the newcomers have to go through three gates, each of which has two high-ranking members of society. The guards strike them flat on the backs with their swords and ask each one: “Which is harder: the sword or your neck?” “My neck,” comes the answer, meaning that even under the threat of death, the secrets of society will not be revealed. Then the “recruits” pronounce all 36 oaths, and with the last words, each of them sticks the smoldering end of the stick into the floor, thereby showing that the light of his life will also disappear if the oath is violated. At the next stage of initiation, a lot of time is devoted to checking the knowledge of secret signals, passwords. Then the word is taken by the third-ranking leader - the Red Staff - the guardian of order and discipline, the executor of sentences. Beginners, remaining on their knees, stretch out their left hands, palms up. The red staff pierces the middle fingers with a needle with a thick red thread, from which blood oozes. It is added to the mixture in a goblet, poured into cups and given to everyone to drink. From this moment on, newcomers are considered accepted into a brotherhood sealed by an oath on the blood, from the bonds of which only death can release. Ceremonial objects and various structures are put on fire so that everything remains a mystery. A celebration begins, which is paid for by those who join the triad.

The more the triads move away from cultural and political goals towards criminal activity, the more sophisticated their secret rituals become, in which new complex ceremonies are added. The essence of the initiation procedure is still the same as it came from the depths of time, however, due to the presence of many complex procedures, the entire process can take up to eight hours. Among the initiation rites is the “Passage Through the Mountain of Swords”, during which the candidate slowly passes under sharp, heavy swords hanging precariously over his head.

Newly accepted members of the triad are taught secret handshakes and various signals, which have long been one of the indispensable features of the existence of society. How a person holds chopsticks while eating, with how many fingers he raises a glass while drinking - all this contains important information for members of the triad. Code phrases are used to convey information that should not become the property of the uninitiated. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who managed to infiltrate the triads and collect more information about them than any other police force in Western countries, managed to establish that, for example, the words "bite clouds" meant "smoke opium", and "black dog" was called firearms. (The past tense is deliberately used here, as it is unlikely that, after its publication in 1987 in the Bulletin of the RCMP and reprinted in several other editions of the triad jargon code, the same words still retain their former meaning.)

Initiation into the most powerful triads may involve the ceremonial decapitation of a live chicken. The blood of the still trembling bird is poured into a glass, mixed with the blood of newcomers, diluted with a fair dose of wine, after which everyone present takes a sip of this mixture. The empty glass is then smashed, thus showing what fate awaits anyone who tries to deceive the triad.

Also, as in other criminal communities, tattoos are of great importance in triads (they can be depicted both in the form of drawings and in the form of a hieroglyph denoting them). For example, the dragon means prosperity, nobility and power, the snake - wisdom, clairvoyance and will, the turtle - longevity, spruce - patience and chosenness, pine (the emblem of Confucius) - longevity, courage, loyalty and stamina, plum - longevity, purity, strength, steadfastness and hermitage, cherry - courage and hope, olive - peace, steadfastness and generosity, orange - immortality and good luck, clover - triad, orchid - perfection, harmony and sophistication, lotus - wealth, nobility and fidelity, peony - masculinity, glory , luck and wealth, marigolds - longevity, magnolia - self-esteem, plantain - self-education.

Triads and the international mafia

The comparison between the triads and the Italian "Cosa Nostra" involuntarily suggests itself, but there is a very significant difference between them. Although the core of Cosa Nostra is Italian, in the past it has had strategic ties with other ethnic groups, especially Jewish and Irish criminal circles. The Triads, by contrast, remain entirely Chinese in composition and culture. Unlike criminal communities of Italian origin, which did not care who to rob, the triads choose only Chinese and Chinese organizations as their main sources of income. Although at one time the triads, Cosa Nostra and the Japanese yakuza concluded certain agreements among themselves, the triads to the greatest extent retained independence and closeness from the outside world.

Another notable difference between the triads and the mafia concerns structure and discipline. As anyone who has watched The Godfather or even one episode of The Sopranos knows, Italian organized gangs are highly structured and run with a firm hand, like any corporation (or rather, it was; we will discuss the details in the next chapter). Before undertaking any profitable business, members of the mafia must obtain the approval of the leadership and agree in advance to transfer part of the income to him. Negligence or willful failure to comply with these rules can result in the most severe penalties.

The triads do not have such strict discipline and completely lack the concept of top-to-bottom negotiation and transfer of share of the booty from bottom to top. Here is how one of the participants in the already mentioned Hong Kong triad “14 K” during interrogation described the situation in his organization to an Australian parliamentary investigator: “I was not required to pay a mandatory share to the management of 14 K. This is not accepted in triads. Members of the triad treat each other kindly, provide mutual support and assistance to colleagues in criminal gangs, but in triads, as a rule, there is no that strict disciplined organizational structure that exists in other groups, for example, in the Italian mafia. A triad member is not required to obtain permission from the “Head of the Dragon” of their triad to participate in one or another criminal action ... On the other hand, during ... traditional Chinese holidays, such as the Chinese New Year, members of the triad, according to custom, present gifts to their “elder brothers "or" uncles "who often occupy a leadership position in the triads."

It can be said that the triads act "smarter" than the mafia, whose brutality has become the talk of the town. Triad fighters can be just as brutal, but they often preface their actions with subtle or very direct threats. One Hong Kong businessman who did not want to reckon with threats from the triad was sent a severed dog's head, possibly influenced by the gunmen's famous horse-head scene from The Godfather. He was killed only a few days later, after he defiantly ignored and this threat.

Another complication for law enforcement is the ability to bribe or threaten to compromise local police, especially in Hong Kong. For many years before the transfer of Hong Kong to China (1997), the Royal Hong Kong Police Force did not have an effective criminal unit, and, apparently, the influence of the triads and the scope of their activities in the colony were greatly underestimated. Only a detailed investigation carried out in 1983 showed the true extent of the clandestine criminal groups. At the same time, it became known about the colossal corruption in the KKE, in particular, that the police elite for many years covered up the drug trade carried out by the triads. Many police officers have made a fortune from triad connections, and according to police sources, many of them emigrated to the UK and Canada before Hong Kong became part of communist China in 1997, where, thanks to their accumulated wealth, they settled down safely and turned into respectable wealthy businessmen.

It is possible that the Hong Kong triads are now more or less under the control of Beijing, but their influence, again, to a greater or lesser extent, extends to the whole world. In the UK, the National Crime Police conducted an investigation of triad activity in the country, which took place under the unpretentious code name "Chopsticks". A 1996 NPC report stated that there were four triads operating in the UK, none of which were controlled from Hong Kong; therefore, these groups were not part of the international criminal community. The victims of the triads were mostly Chinese immigrants involved in small businesses; they generally did not report crimes to the British authorities. The investigation also found that triads do not play a significant role in the drug trade—unlike the situation in Australia, Canada and the United States.

In the 1970s and 1980s the most high-quality heroin entering North America was produced in Turkey, processed in Marseille, from where it got to the USA (the famous "French network"); all this happened under the control of the mafia. The emigration of the leaders of the triad from Hong Kong in the 1990s. allowed the Chinese to partially seize control of drug networks. The Triads found their way around Marseille, through which the bulk of the potion had previously passed. Now routes run either through Amsterdam, or directly to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver, and from there to the main market - in the USA. Most researchers consider the triad "14 K" as the primary source of drugs.

However, it is possible that the methods used by the triads may lead to the destruction of these organizations. In the North American drug market, their dominance was challenged by powerful new Vietnamese gangs who abandoned tradition and mysticism in favor of the most blatant intimidation. The Vietnamese have long been seen as more ruthless and aggressive than other Asian factions, a perception that has been around since their initial incursion into North America in the 1980s. This state of affairs was explained by one of the former members of the Royal Mounted Police Narcotics Department: “The leaders of the old gangs are a product of the Vietnam War. These guys have been well trained. Perhaps they were trained in the army or street gangs, but after the unification of Vietnam under the rule of the northerners, they first settled in refugee camps, and then they had to fight for existence long enough in the most direct sense of the word to get to Canada or the USA without any pennies in your pocket. They have already seen death and violence on an unthinkable scale and are happy that they survived, so they, by and large, simply have nothing to lose.

In many cities, the triads have by now practically withdrawn from many areas of criminal activity, not wanting to confront the more violent Vietnamese gangs. They focused on squeezing money out of their kin, leaving the rest of the "market" to new entrants.

There is no consensus about the future of China's secret societies - the triads. Some speculate that China's growing economic power and unwilling corruption in China will lead to an increase in triad activity in their homeland, despite the policy that high-profile criminals in that country can only expect one punishment - death. Others believe that the triads owe their prosperity to some extent to the age-old subservience of the Chinese to other powers, and with the growth of China's economic power and international influence, the triads may return to their historical mission in the field of culture. But no matter which way you go further development triads, they will undoubtedly retain their mystery and structure, which arose more than two thousand years ago.

Hong Kong under the rule of the mafia or What you will never see there. February 20th, 2015

In connection with a recent trip to Hong Kong, I became interested in the activities of the local Chinese mafia. This was prompted by two more reports that have slipped through the press lately. Firstly, the mafia attack on the film crew of "Transformers-4", known to many moviegoers, when director Michael Bay was severely beaten for refusing to pay for filming a film in the Quary Bay area, something like material compensation for the disturbance and inconvenience to merchants . The second is, of course, the story that during the recent protests, members of local "triads" - criminal groups - attacked the protesters' camp and threatened them, demanding to get out of the areas under their control and stop blocking the streets, because this is again undermines the trade and business controlled by the mafia. Then the question arose of how mafiosi generally rule this recent colony, and now the most prosperous region of China, and how dangerous it is for tourists and other visitors. And here's what turned out...

Hoping that you will see mafiosi or members of the "triads" in Hong Kong is an empty exercise. Secret societies would not be secret if they could be recognized on the street, or in a bank and a restaurant, and even to such persons as far from the Chinese environment as European tourists. The very essence of the triads and their numerous members lies in the fact that they rule within their territory, without showing themselves in any way until the last moment. At the same time, those who do business here and live in this territory are well aware of everything, or guess.

The photos for this post were taken in the Wan Chai or Mongkok districts, where there are countless offices, firms, cafes, restaurants and other points, according to mafia-controlled experts. At the same time, these are the most touristic areas of Hong Kong.

It is impossible not to notice that Hong Kong, or in Chinese now - Xianggang, being in the south of China in the region of Guangdong Province and other coastal trade zones, historically created ideal conditions for the emergence of extensive mafia and pirate groups here. In general, the entire area of the South China Sea, formed by the shores of South China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, has been a nest of piracy for thousands of years, and only in the 20th century did these criminal groups transform into a criminal network that never let local businesses out of their paws.

I don't want to go into details, but piracy in the Hong Kong area began to flourish in the 17th century, after the Ming dynasty was overthrown by the Manchu invasion and the Qing dynasty. Historians write that the Qing generals made every effort to eradicate armed resistance in mainland China, but they simply could not cope with the numerous pirate groups and Ming supporters on the coast. Here, in the numerous and complex landscape islands and peninsulas of the South of China, bandit groups have settled, fueled by anti-Qing ideology and adhering to the traditional Chinese concept of "Earth, Heaven, Man." It is difficult to explain in Russian what kind of Confucian term it is, something like universal harmony, but its bearers, united in militant sects, gradually merged with pirates and became perhaps the most powerful pirate-criminal organization in the world. The triangle became their symbol. Later, the British authorities, not really understanding Chinese mythology, called these communities "triads".

Again, I do not want to go into the details of the 19th century history of how, during the opium wars, the British authorities forced the Chinese government to allow the opium trade, which was banned by the emperor in 1800. One thing is important: during these wars, the "triads" won the most, subjugating the entire trade in opium (and not only it) throughout South China, smuggling through Hong Kong, which became the main base of world trade with China, and then the entire English Chinese business.

In addition, the "triads", as the main armed force, controlled all the Chinese emigration that poured into the West in the middle of the 19th century, primarily to England and the USA. In 1850-75 alone, almost 500,000 Chinese left Hong Kong for the United States. Along with them went Chinese gangsters, members of the "triads" who took control of numerous Chinatowns in the United States and around the world.

Even then it was impossible to underestimate the power of the "triads". The fact. that the English colonial world and the Hong Kong-Chinese world almost did not intersect, living in parallel as if on different planets, and the criminal groups that the “triads” had turned into by that time completely controlled everything in Hong Kong China, like the Sicilian mafia. Their main bases were the areas of the New Territories. The English officials didn't care, many of them, for example, the chief registrar of the Caldwell colony, themselves merged with chinese mafia and worked with them. By the end of the 19th century, pirates and mafiosi controlled all of Hong Kong's trade with the mainland, and the leaders of the "triads" became the de facto shadow administration of Hong Kong.

It is also curious that the "triads" were so powerful both in Hong Kong and in mainland China that the Chinese revolutionaries, like Sun Yat-sen, who planned the overthrow of the Qing monarchy, had close ties with them, and the mafiosi ensured that the revolutionaries were connected to their homeland and supplied weapons and finance. "Triads" was very profitable overthrow of the central government, which somehow tried to limit their influence and fight the dominance of the mafia.

Let's skip a few more decades. The opening of the border after the revolution opened the way to Hong Kong for refugees, and also helped the mafia to strengthen its position throughout China. Their power was destroyed only by the Japanese occupation. The Japanese tried to restore order in the occupied territories, and gradually squeezed out the mafia to the south, to the border with Hong Kong. Chinese historians write that members of the secret societies "triads" from Canton joined the ranks of criminal gangs in Hong Kong, which led to an increase in the number of robberies and murders. The conflicts between the gangs fighting for control of the refugee camps often resulted in bloody battles right in the streets of Hong Kong. Chaos reigned in the colony.

In 1941, the Japanese occupied Hong Kong. For the defense of Hong Kong, the British, with the assistance of the Kuomintang, attracted about a thousand members of the "triads", for whom the arrival of the Japanese meant the collapse of their entire business. Of course, this did not lead to anything good; the surrender of Hong Kong to the Japanese is recognized as the most shameful page in the history of the Pacific War. Instead of defense, the mafiosi took advantage of the evacuation of the British and immediately began looting and looting huge city. In general, Hong Kong was in the hands of the "triads" for several days, subjecting it to complete plunder. The Japanese put an end to this orgy, but they could not completely suppress the mafia. The local "triads" were replaced by mafia groups from Shanghai and Beijing, who agreed with the Japanese on the division of influence.

Of course, the only victims in all these vicissitudes were ordinary Hong Kongers. After World War II and the war against the communists in China, Hong Kong experienced one wave after another of refugees, when its population grew to 5 million people. Of course, the "triads" have already restored their power and subjugated most business, from shipbuilding to trading.

Fears that with the advent of the Communists in Hong Kong the "triads" would be suppressed did not come true. At first there was panic. In 1982, a large-scale meeting of leaders of local secret societies and representatives of the largest "triads" from Toronto, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles took place in Hong Kong. It is important to remember here that the unification of mainland China and Hong Kong became possible only as a result of economic reforms in China. By 1997, the main crime syndicates had established corrupt connections among officials and security forces in China, starting to invest huge capital there. Some firms controlled by the "triads" have established control over Chinese manufacturers of machinery, equipment, and even foreign automotive and electronics giants.

In fact, both in China and in Hong Kong, the mafia now controls the production of all counterfeit goods, as well as the smuggling of cars, cigarettes, electronics, luxury goods and weapons. The "triads" organized the "laundering" of money from Chinese syndicates through their companies and joined in the now flourishing transfer of Chinese illegal immigrants to the USA, Canada, Latin America and Europe. But this is only one side of the process.

Now the "triads" control the entire shadow labor market in Hong Kong, loading operations in its port, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, the film industry and show business, construction and real estate transactions, etc. All maritime piracy in the South China Sea is subject to "triads". The political and public life of Hong Kong, the police, the courts, and so on, all this is tightly soldered to the "triads", as criminologists believe. But this would be absolutely impossible without the control of the Chinese intelligence services. Nothing is done here without them.

Even before the occupation of Hong Kong, the Beijing secret services penetrated all the "triads" and took them under their control. With their help, they subjugated the foreign exchange market, and practically put it at their service. It is difficult to expect disinterestedness from the special services in this matter. In fact, the government agencies of China, both on the mainland and in Hong Kong, and its security service have actually merged with criminal syndicates. The Beijing authorities are aware of this and are trying to fight it. but the merging of the mafia and state structures in China is so widespread and total that nothing can be done. The current Chinese President Xi Jingping has arrested several powerful officials, including the chief of the secret services and a member of the Politburo, for merging with the mafia, but I am sure that this will achieve practically nothing.

Therefore, returning to the question of the role of the mafia and the "triads" in dispersing the Hong Kong Occupy, I will refer to the opinion of a source in modern sinology: "The Chinese security services are one of the most informed in the world. And on their territory they identify and smoke out instantly all subversive elements. The oligarch, whose assets are all in Hong Kong, in principle, cannot butt heads in any way, and organize nothing either. He will not even be released from the country. Assuming that the Chinese government he agreed - well, quite strange" Apparently, it was spontaneous, although I myself saw pickets of students at the beginning of the year, when the Occupy did not smell yet. Well, let's talk about it. that under these conditions the mafia attacked the students and retreated without doing anything to them - it's simply ridiculous. The current Hong Kong mafia, like the mainland - all with party cards, all riddled with special services. If she had really entered into business, if she had been instructed to liquidate Occupy, no one would have had time to grunt, as there would be no Occupy already. So draw conclusions to whom these unrest were beneficial and why ...

The same can be said about the attack on the Transformers film crew. Most likely, the point is some local gopniks who decided to show off and scare foreigners. If the "triads" had entered into action, from the "Transformers" there would have immediately remained horns and legs.

And since tourists are a cash cow for all these countless mafia groups, it is much more profitable here not to touch them like a goose that lays golden eggs, but to milk everything to the penny. that is why Hong Kong remains the most visited of the main tourist places, so Disneyland is located here, so Hong Kong has a visa-free regime with almost all countries of the world. Mafia is immortal.

Therefore, when you come to Hong Kong, you don't have to worry. You will not meet the Mafia - until you enter its territory. Which, however, is everywhere here.

Students can protest as much as they want, draw cartoons and even portray local crime bosses as toys - no one pays attention to them.

Strong power is not afraid of bee stings, it even allows these bees to have fun or buzz with displeasure, creating the illusion of complete freedom of action.

Students also know about it, and therefore they are not afraid of anything. For the time being, for the time being.