Lin Min

    SHENZHENERS who have been fascinated by Hong Kong’s triad movies would never imagine such gangland violence and intrigue would happen in our neighborhood.

    So, many locals were taken aback when Shenzhen police announced Thursday that a suspected criminal organization in Shajing, Bao’an District, which was crushed in a crackdown that began in early February, was a spin-off of Hong Kong’s Sun Yee On, one of the territory’s most powerful triads.

    Shenzhen police said they had detained 102 members of Shajing Sun Yee On and seized several hundred million yuan of the gang’s assets.

    What the gang allegedly perpetrated was exactly like Hong Kong’s gangland thrillers. Police said the Shajing gang has been linked to criminal activities including murder, malicious injury, drug trafficking, operating brothels and extortion. The gang has also been accused of illegally monopolizing natural gas supplies, building materials, waste recycling and even real estate development.

    Many Hong Kong triad movies portray the collusion between gangsters and law enforcers. It seems Shajing is no exception. Liu Shaoxiong, then Party chief of Shajing, was put under investigation in February for alleged illegal dealings with Chen Yaodong, the suspected ringleader of Shajing Sun Yee On. News reports alleged Chen ran a palace-like club where beautiful young models selected from inland cities were asked to cavort with officials.

    The unraveling of criminal organizations in other cities also accompanied the downfall of government officials and law enforcement officers who provided protective umbrellas to gangs. The widely watched case of Nie Lei, the Qingdao gangland boss who was sentenced to death last week, implicated more than 30 officials, including several senior police officers and prosecutors.

    The 1991-92 trilogy of “Lee Rock,” which chronicled the rise and fall of Hong Kong’s top corrupt detective, portrays rampant corruption in the city’s police force before the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) was established in 1974. The ICAC, an independent corruption-busting organization directly responsible to Hong Kong’s governor or chief executive, has been credited for making Hong Kong one of the world’s most corruption-free regions.

    Shenzhen police’s Sun Yee On revelation serves as a warning that overseas triads may have extended their tentacles to the Chinese mainland. However, homegrown triad gangs are no less dangerous to citizens’ safety and business order. And for triads to survive and thrive, they must have protectors in the government.  

    Movies provide us with entertainment, and sometimes, reflection and enlightenment. The “Lee Rock” trilogy was modeled on the real story of a notorious corrupt detective who was wanted by the ICAC in 1976. Lee’s fall from grace was emblematic of the ICAC’s success in cleaning up a corruption-riddled Hong Kong.

    That success demonstrates that corruption-fighting institutions must be independent of local governments if they are to effectively prevent powers from being corrupted by criminal organizations or unruly businesspeople.

    The fact that Chen’s gang was able to rule the Shajing underworld for nearly 20 years raises a lot of mind-boggling questions, some of which may never have answers. But one thing is for sure: Establishing a clean government with efficient law enforcement agencies would herald the endgame for triads, or at least keep them at bay.

    (The author is editor of the Shenzhen Daily News Desk.)