Organized Crime: The Sun Yee On Triad
1 Introduction
Sun Yee On is a Chinese organized crime group, or “triad.” The triad system’s origins lie in seventeenth-century China. However, individual organisations have spread to other parts of the world and are active today. There are about fifty triads operating in Hong Kong, with fourteen attracting the most police attention. The Sun Yee On is considered to be one of the most powerful triads operating in the former British colony. It is involved in a variety of criminal activity, including drug trafficking, racketeering, money laundering, and illegal gambling. Its main rivals are the 14K and Wo Shing Wo, aka Wo Group. [source]
Images Sourced From: Warton Li
2 Symbols and History of Triads and Sun Yee On
2.1 History of Triads
The triad society dates back to China in the seventeenth century with the desire to restore the Ming Dynasty. Li Zicheng and his rebel army overthrew the Ming Dynasty in 1644. Later in the century, a new rebellion began against the established Qing Dynasty in order to reestablish the Ming Dynasty. The Shaolin monks of the Siu Lam Monastery aided the Emperor and helped to defeat the rebellious forces.
Soon after, Emperor Shunzhi ordered the monks executed and the monastery burned as a safety precaution for himself and his empire. The five surviving Shaolin monks founded the precursor of the triad society today and worked to form a new rebellion meant to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty. Ultimately, their rebellion was unsuccessful.
The surviving members of this movement escaped to different urban centres in China or abroad and turned to criminal enterprise. The newly formed triads were organized criminal gangs working for monetary gain. The triads focused on anonymity and established a vertical hierarchy. Within this hierarchy, the Shan Chu was the head leader of the group. Triad culture is about loyalty, secrecy, and brotherhood. The punishment for violating the Triad Oath is oftentimes death. [source, source]
2.2 Symbols of Sun Yee On
Source: DailyTelegraph
Pictured above is a symbol associated with the Sun Yee On triad. The symbol of the triad is a triangle with the character “Hung” inside it. This character literally means flood but is also a surname [source, source]
2.3 History of Sun Yee On
Sun Yee On is also referred to as the Yee On Commercial and Industrial Guild. The Sun Yee On was founded in Chaozhou, China in 1919 by Heung Chin. During this time the Triad began growing its operations. But, in 1949, with the creation of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) there was a crackdown on triads and other illegal activities. Many triads, the Sun Yee On included, were exiled during this time. Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau were popular destinations.
Heung Chin, as the leader of the Sun Yee On, was deported to Taiwan in the 1950s. In the 1950s, he established a new network for the Sun Yee On Triad in Hong Kong. At the time of its establishment in Hong Kong, the Sun Yee On was mainly a society for individuals of China’s Chiu Chau region. The heritage factor of societies has contributed to the Southeast Asian heroin and meth trade being dominated by Chiu Chau Chinese in places like Bangkok today.
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2.4 Sun Yee On in Hong Kong
Triads were especially successful in Hong Kong because of the colonial government regime. The colonial government’s regulation of Hong Kong and triads had mixed levels of success due to a cultural barrier and rampant corruption within individuals of higher rank. A political-criminal nexus arose between triads and civil servants, which facilitated the growth of the triads in Hong Kong. It was only in the 1970s that the authorities began to combat triads and other forms of corruption.
Hong Kong was returned to the PRC in 1997; this spurred new changes in the structure and actions of the triads. One such change was an evolution from a hierarchical power structure to loose networks of subgroups. Triads also began to invest more in legal businesses which makes it more difficult to tie triads to criminal activities. This change in leadership also allows the triads to spread further and conduct a wider range of activities.
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2.5 Sun Yee On Today
The Sun Yee On is active in Hong Kong, China, the United States, Canada, Thailand, Vietnam and other countries. The Sun Yee On is linked to different criminal activities including drug and human trafficking, gambling, extortion, poaching and trafficking of endangered species, and smuggling. Furthermore, Sun Yee On has also invested in legitimate businesses, which serve as a front for money laundering, unregulated money movement through the Chinese underground banking system, and other criminal behavior. The Sun Yee On also has heavy ties with the entertainment industry for this purpose.
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3 Sun Yee On As An Organisation
3.1 Business Structure
The Sun Yee On triad has retained a lot of the traditional customs of the triads of old. For example, the head position is passed on to family members, meaning that the key leadership positions stay within the Heung family. Today, there are also separate district chapter heads that oversee the different locations of operation of the triad.
Once triads began to focus more on profits, the more senior members became those who could bring in the most profit. In this way, the triad became less centralized and allowed for diversification in business activity. In exchange for remaining under the triad name, members would give a portion of their profits to the heads. The growing globalization of the world has also allowed the Sun Yee On triad to recruit individuals from different parts of the world.
Sun Yee On, as well as other triads, collaborate with different organized crime groups across the globe. There have been documented instances of the triads working with Japanese Yakuza and Mexican drug cartels. [source, source]
3.2 Key Figures
Heung Chin: The founder and head leader of the Sun Yee On triad in mainland China from 1919 to 1950s. [source]
Heung Wah-Yim: The eldest son of Heung Chin and the triad’s Dragon Head in China from the early 1950s to at least 1987 when he was brought to trial for criminal activities. [source, source, source, source]
Leader today: The identity of the current leader of the Sun Yee On is not publicly known. However, it is suspected that key positions have remained in the Heung family line.
3.3 Recruitment
Methods
In the early days of the Sun Yee On triad, members had to take an oath in order to be considered a part of the triad. This is because there was a heavy emphasis on brotherhood and loyalty. The Sun Yee On triad also leverages the Chinese diaspora to traffic narcotics.
The triad has also expanded its circle to include younger school age children who are looking to make money or can be intimidated into joining. Asylum seekers are also targets for triad recruitment. [source, source]
Membership System
The Sun Yee On Triad uses membership numbers and a computerized membership system. The first two numbers of the membership are meant to identify the region the individual is from and the last number refers to their protector. The protector serves as the guarantor of the new member and it is the one who contacts the area boss to give the potential recruit a membership number. The numbers further indicate the rank of the individual member. District bosses are in charge of giving out these membership numbers and that makes individual members accountable to their personal district boss. [source]
Foreign Recruitment
While triad membership today is generally dominated by Cantonese Chinese, the makeup of the triad has become more diverse. The Sun Yee On has operations all over the world and to satisfy its personnel needs in these countries they recruit from domestic experts and the Chinese diaspora. The Sun Yee On operates on a district basis which facilitates the recruitment of individuals. [source, source]
3.4 Connections to other important organisations
When Hong Kong was returned to the PRC, PRC leaders worked with the Sun Yee On in order to prevent pro-democracy Taiwanese triads from expanding into Hong Kong and to maintain order in the region. In return for this, the PRC allowed Sun Yee On to expand its organization.
Sun Yee On also has connections to Mexican cartels: Sun Yee On supplies these cartels with the precursor materials necessary for the production of methamphetamine. The triad is also operating in Russia through extortion and the collection of raw materials. [source, source, source, source]
4 The Future
Triads have and continue to work with the CCP. This informal collaboration has allowed the triads to continue to grow in power. However, the CCP has also conducted investigations and arrested individuals operating with the triads. Since the triads are more decentralized, it is harder to arrest all the individuals operating as district leaders and those overseeing the general operation. The Hong Kong police force, for its part, has ties with foreign police departments and has fought and will continue to combat triad operations.
There have also been growing links between Russian and Chinese criminal groups, which has been facilitated by the aid given by China to Russia during the invasion of Ukraine. This new relationship is likely to grow in the future, especially when it comes to drug and weapons trafficking as well as extortion. The continued war with Ukraine as well as sanctions on Russia and China are likely to bring these two criminal cultures closer together and allow for the expansion of their respective businesses.
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5 Conclusion
The Sun Yee On triad started out in China but grew once it established itself in Hong Kong. Today, the triad operates all over the world and is more focused on profits rather than a single political goal. The Sun Yee On triad operates under a membership system and has both legitimate and illegitimate businesses. These businesses span from the entertainment industry to drug and wildlife trafficking. Sun Yee On is only one of the most powerful triads operating from Hong Kong and mainland China; other triads like 14K and the Wo Group are also involved in illegal business. The Sun Yee On along with other triads will likely continue to grow in influence and power as they expand their connections with other criminal enterprises and continue to recruit more lower level members.
6 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Who is the strongest Triad in China?
The Sun Yee On, the 14K, and the Wo Group are considered to be the strongest and most long-lasting triads operating in China and beyond. [source]
Who was the leader of the Sun Yee On Triad?
The first leader of the Sun Yee On Triad was Heung Chin, but the current leader is unknown. [source]
Why do they call it a triad?
There are a few hypotheses on the origin of this term. One is that the triad got its name from the triangular symbol that was used to represent the group in its early days. [source] A second hypothesis is that the triad is a translation of the Chinese term San He Hu (三合會) which refers to the union of heaven, earth, and humanity. [source]
