The Triads as Business / Edition 1

by Yiu-kong Chu

Overview

There is no doubt that the triads have become recognized as a sophisticated and international criminal force and, following the handover of Hong Kong to China, there have been increasing fears that their influence will spread to the West through emigration. This book investigates the reality behind the myth with a study of the Hong Kong triads, generally regarded as the headquarters of triad societies throughout the world. Yiu Kong Chu examines their origins, their organized extortion from legitimate businesses large and small, and their more recent moves into illegal activities such as drug trafficking, human smuggling and gambling.

Contrary to the popular belief that Hong Kong triads are replacing the Italian Mafia as the most powerful criminal organization in the world, this book argues that Hong Kong triads may be declining, as other ethnic Chinese crime gangs emerge as powerful crime groups in Western societies.

Based on interviews with ex triad members and victims of the triads, police from Hong Kong, mainland China and Europe, as well as documentary evidence The Triads as Business gives a vivid and compelling picture of the triads as part of a wider society.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415170925
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	11/18/1999
Series:	Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Asia , #6
Pages:	182
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Yiu Kong Chu is Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at The University of Hong Kong. He is also the Hong Kong Representative of the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies, University of Portsmouth, UK.

Table of Contents

Forward. Preface. 1. Triads, Business and Market Part 1: The Triads 2. The Origins 3. The Organisation Part 2: Legal Markets 4. Protection Against Extortionists 5. Protection Against Competitors: Traditional Operations 6. Protection Against Competitors: Recent Operations 7. Dispute Settlement Part 3: Illegal Markets 8. Drug Dealing 9. Gambling 10. Prostitution Part 4: International Markets 11. Drug Trafficking 12. Human Smuggling Part 5: Implications and Reflections 13. Are Triads Extortionists, Entrepreneurs, or Protectors? 14. International Triad Movement: Emigration or Reversion? 15. New Directions in the Study of Triads