Development of Chinese Gangs (From Chinese Subculture and Criminality: Non-Traditional Crime Groups in America, P 67-92, 1990, Ko-lin Chin -- See NCJ-124245)

• NCJ Number: 124248
• Author(s): K Chin
• Date Published: 1990
• Length: 26 pages
• Sale Source: Greenwood Publishing Group
• Publication Type: Historical Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter discusses why and how Chinese street gangs emerged from street-corner groups to organized criminal gangs entrenched in the ethnic communities of San Francisco, Los Angeles, Monterey Park, and New York City.

Abstract

Chinese street gangs first appeared in San Francisco in the late 1950's. In 1964, young immigrants organized the first foreign-born Chinese gang, which was known as the Wah Ching. A splinter group from this gang became known as Joe Fong Boys. Much of the gang violence between 1969 and 1977 was associated with conflict between these two gangs. In Los Angeles, the most powerful Asian street gangs are the Wah Ching, the Bamboo United, the Four Seas, and the Vietnamese gangs. Two Taiwan-based gangs and a few Vietnamese gangs control criminal activities within the Chinese community in Monterey Park. The number of Chinese gangs in New York City surpasses any other American city. The development of Chinese street gangs in New York City can be divided into four stages: emergence, 1960-68; transformation, 1969-73; crystallization, 1974-82; and diffusion, 1983 to the present. Many adult gang members have moved into legitimate businesses while maintaining their association with gang criminal activities, often in secret leadership roles.