Hong Kong triads : the historical and political evolution of urban criminal polity, 1842-2020

Peng Wang; Sharon Ingrid Kwok

doi:10.1017/S0963926821001024

Hong Kong triads : the historical and political evolution of urban criminal polity, 1842-2020

Peng Wang, Sharon Ingrid Kwok

Western Sydney University

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This article examines the origins and evolution of Hong Kong triads since 1842 through official archival documents, media analysis, interviews with triad members and an analytical framework of criminal politics (organized crime-state relations). We propose 'the urban criminal polity' as a novel concept to explicate urban criminal organizations as a non-state power in the city. We argue that interactions between triad societies and the British colonial government were primarily characterized by enforcement-evasion rather than confrontation. Since the 1990s, alliances have grown between patriotic triads and the Chinese central government, which enhances the Chinese government's control over the city.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	445-467
Number of pages	23
Journal	Urban History
Volume	50
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1017/S0963926821001024
Publication status	Published - 2022

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© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press. This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided that no alterations are made and the original article is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained prior to any commercial use and/or adaptation of the article.

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Hong Kong triads : the historical and political evolution of urban criminal polity, 1842-2020

Abstract

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