Of all the existing criminal communities, national groups are the most organized, cohesive and invincible. On hearing the Italian Cosa Nostra, the Japanese yakuza, the Chinese triad. Having grown into local traditions, they become an almost ineradicable element of public life in their homeland. And when they go beyond the borders of their country of origin, they capture the living space thanks to strict discipline, deep secrecy and extreme 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 from the east coast of 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 for the first timebegan to use the word "triad", the mafia in Italy has not yet appeared. 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 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. The triads began to look for sources of financing in criminal trades: robbery, piracy, and the 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 Chinese civil war, the triads 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 that the triad was a mafia engaged in all kinds of criminal activities, but rather 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 influencetriads. 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 CCP 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 more than you can swallow is not typical of the Chinese mafia.
Hong Kong triads
After Sun Yat-sen fled to Taiwan, many triad leaders followed him or settled in British Hong Kong. The rapid post-war economic growth of Hong Kong has provided many sources of we alth for the local criminal gangs. The Chinese triad levied tribute from small businesses, "supervised" smuggling, drug trafficking, and prostitution. Because it is 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 China.
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 arerather separate 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.
