Triad Folklore
The Triads exert undue influence over the political and economic development of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The four most powerful leaders of modern China: Dr. Sun Yat-sen,Chiang Kai Shek,Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping found it necessary to engage the Triads in order to meet their political objectives.
Deng had less in the way of qualms about dealing with the Triads than did the others. He was noted for saying,"It doesn't matter if the cat is black or white,as long as it catches mice." In the run up to the handover of Hong Kong by the British, he apparently reasoned that the Hong Kong triads were too significant a power to be ignored, in spite of the fact that their traditional ties to Taiwan tended to make them unreliable.
Fortunately, Sun Yee On, the largest Triad in Hong Kong, could be bought and that is what Deng did. Sun Yee On no longer requires initiates to pledge allegiance to Taiwan; it is to the People's Republic of China that they swear. This deal with Deng was not without cost.
Mao competed with the Triads for the minds and souls of the peasants. Dr. Sun Yat-sen used the Triads but distanced himself from them once his immediate political objectives had been realized. He was a Triad member when he lived in Honolulu. When Chiang Kai-shek came to power, his criminal past was never voiced to the outside world. Most governments that acknowledged the Kuomintang as the true government of China had no idea about Kai-shek's notorious past.
During its colonial years, Hong Kong prospered and grew. The colony became a proving ground, a training school and an opportunity like no other for the Triads to hone their criminal and entrepreneurial skills and master the arts of criminal survival. This was in spite of the fact that one of the first orders of business in the initial stages of the British Administration in Hong Kong was the passing of the Societies Ordinance making Triads illegal in the colony. Nice try but no cigar.
Over time Triads exerted influence world wide. As early as 1863,the Hung Shan Tong - Red Mountain Tong began to operate in Barkerville, then British Columbia's major gold mining town. It is improbable that the Red Mountain Boys are still active in Barkerville.
Sadly, many members of the Hong Kong Police were on the take until Rodney and Sandy came along. This is where the
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