Contents:
Forward. Preface. 1.Triads, Business and Market. Part I: The Triads 2.The Origins. 3.The Organisation. Part II: Legal Markets 4.Protection Against Extortionists. 5.Protection Against Competitors: Traditional Operations. 6.Protection Against Competitors: Recent Operations. 7.Dispute Settlement. Part III: Illegal Markets 8.Drug Dealing. 9.Gambling. 10.Prostitution. Part IV: International Markets 11.Drug Trafficking. 12.Human Smuggling. Part V: Implications and Reflections 13.Are Triads Extortionists, Entrepreneurs, or Protectors? 14.International Triad Movement: Emigration or Reversion? 15.New Directions in the study of Triads.

There is no doubt that the triads have become recognized as a sophisticated and international criminal force and, following the handover of Hong Kong to China, there have been increasing fears that their influence will spread to the West through emigration. This book investigates the reality behind the myth with a study of the Hong Kong triads, generally regarded as the headquarters of triad societies throughout the world. Yiu Kong Chu examines their origins, their organized extortion from legitimate businesses large and small, and their more recent moves into illegal activities such as drug trafficking, human smuggling and gambling.
Contrary to the popular belief that Hong Kong triads are replacing the Italian Mafia as the most powerful criminal organization in the world, this book argues that Hong Kong triads may be declining, as other ethnic Chinese crime gangs emerge as powerful crime groups in Western societies.
Based on interviews with ex triad members and victims of the triads, police from Hong Kong, mainland China and Europe, as well as documentary evidence The Triads as Business gives a vivid and compelling picture of the triads as part of a wider society.

Hong Kong began its colonial history in 1842 when China ceded Hong Kong Island to Britain. The Hong Kong Police Force was formally set up in 1844 to maintain law and order. To recognise its contribution in handling the 1967 Riots, the Hong Kong Police Force was renamed the Royal Hong Kong Police Force in 1969, turning a new page in the police history. This volume mainly delineates the Hong Kong policing history from 1842 to 1969 through the frontline stories of many police officers. Eighty retired policemen and policewomen, representing different generations, races, ranks and lines of duties, share the views and memories of their police service through individual oral history sessions and group discussions. Their personal recollections and lively anecdotes enable readers to enjoy the excitement and relieve the challenges, the good days and hard times of the police throughout the eras. These accounts mirror the evolution of the Hong Kong Police Force in the decades after the Second World War, a time which drastically reshaped Hong Kong from a British colony to a world city and a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. This book is a compelling read for anyone interested in policing or the history of Hong Kong at large.