Traditional organized crime in the modern world: How triad societies respond to socioeconomic change

Abstract

A triad society is a well-established, cohesive branch of Chinese criminal organizations focally aimed at monetary gain. Abiding by the same code of conduct and chain of commands assured the formation of blood brothers with one solitary aspiration. With such authority and manipulation amid the triad syndicate, this aspiration inevitably resulted in the running of illicit activities in triad-controlled territories. As the intimacy between Hong Kong and China grew deeper, an upsurge of cross-border crime has emerged since the 1990s. Prosperity in China caused a process of mainlandization of triad activities because of an ever-increasing demand of licit and illicit services in Chinese communities. Consequently, triad societies have changed from a rigid territorial base and cohesive structure to more reliance on flexible and instrumental social networks. They are entrepreneurially oriented and involved in a wide range of licit and illicit businesses based in Hong Kong but spread to mainland China.