‘Brotherhood is a myth’: Hong Kong’s triads evolve amid new criminal landscape

AI Summary

Hong Kong triad groups are adapting to a changing criminal environment, with recruitment and loyalty often shaped by personal protection and local hierarchies rather than formal initiation. The account follows a young man who was drawn into a syndicate after an older student intervened in a school conflict.

Not long after he entered secondary school, Hong Kong youth Jason* was bullied by an older student with triad links. He was relieved when another senior stepped in to protect him. He helped Jason take revenge on the bully, then recruited him into a syndicate. Without undergoing any initiation ritual, Jason paid his protector a red packet to become an informal triad member. Later on, he discovered that the two seniors belonged to the same gang but took orders from different bosses. At first,...