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Triad Societies in Hong Kong

Chinese Triad Societies have spread to all parts of the world. They began centuries ago as secret societies of patriotic Chinese nationals, but they soon degenerated into a ruthless mafia type system. The street gangs recruit new members starting with school kids by bullying them and extorting their lunch money. Then the kids learn they won't be smacked around if they join the gang and just collect money from even younger school children. And so it spreads. 

T he Triad gangs fund themselves through extortion rackets, mostly demanding protection money from local Chinese businesses. The big money is from organised crime. The favorites include illegal drugs (narcotics) distribution, running drug dens for the actual junkies, illegal gambling dens or mahjong "schools", and from prostitution (including sex slavery).
 
The Triads even have young men who are professional seducers. Their job is to get a young girl to fall in love with them. Then the man coaxes her into bed and deflowers her gently. He initiates her into lovemaking and awakens her to the many ways they can enjoy sex. Then one day he'll bring over a couple of "friends", and tell her he owes them money. She can save him from being bashed as long as she has sex with the strangers... She loves the young man, so she does it to save him. Thus she is turned into a prostitute for the gang.
 
That method is the slow and gentle way of turning a nice girl into a prostitute. The quick and hard way is to pack-rape her and break her spirit completely. The girl is then so degraded and ashamed she believes she can never return to her family. She can then be worked as a whore by her keepers, and she is kept enslaved by making her a junkie with an expensive habit. And guess who's there to supply the narcotics she needs so desperately?
 
The Hong Kong Police enforced strict anti knife and weapons laws, with a strong "stop and search" policy on the street. If you had even a small pocket knife on you, you received a six month jail term - even as a first offender with no previous convictions.
 
So  Triad gang members who were planning a gang fight would hide baskets of weapons at convenient collection points. Or they might be delivered by a small truck minutes before the meeting or fight. The gang's fighters could quickly get to the weapons when a fight broke out.
 
Nowadays firearms are used instead. But back then, the only way for a criminal to obtain a gun was to mug a policeman and disarm him; and it happened fairly regularly .