Bamboo Union

The United Bamboo Gang also known as UBG (Chinese: 竹 聯 幫 ; pinyin: Zhūliánbāng) is the
largest of Taiwan's three main criminalTriads.[1][2][3] They are reported to have roughly 10,000
members.[1][3][4][5] The membership consists largely of waishengren (Mainland Chinese) and
has had historic ties to the Kuomintang; they are said to be motivated as much by political
ideology as by profit. They are known to simply call themselves "businessmen", but in reality, are
also involved in organized killings, drug trafficking, and sex trafficking, among others. The gang
gained global notoriety when it became directly involved in politics in the early 1980s. The union
does not view themselves as criminals, but instead they view themselves as patriots.
History
The Bamboo Union was formed by Waishengren ("mainland Chinese") children in the 1950s who
wanted to protect themselves from threats by Hoklo children. The first members lived on Bamboo
Forest Road in Jung Ho City, Taipei County Zhonghe District.[6] Its first members were made up
of mainland Chinese teens who joined together to secure a place in the country of Taiwan in which
they were an unwelcome minority that was rejected by Hoklo citizens. Their criminal gang began
with primarily with street-fighting to gain recognition in society. By the late 1960s, the aspirations
of the Bamboo Union membership shifted from street-fighting to profiteering. The gang began
making a name for itself in the "protection" business and extorting money from local shops and
factories, but the gang's treasury overflowed when thousands of well-paid American GIs flocked
to Taipei while on R&R from the Vietnam War.[7] Chinese nightclub owners welcomed Bamboo
Union members to their premises to banish rival gangs of ethnic Taiwanese trying to carve out a
share of the lucrative trade in gambling, prostitution, and drugs.[7] By this stage, the Bamboo
Union was fast developing into a transnational crime syndicate or "triade". For example, current
leader Chang An-Lo "White Wolf" moved to Las Vegas in 1968 to study and keep order of the
Bamboo Union's expanding empire, particularly in the Chinatowns of California and the gambling
halls of Las Vegas.[7] In the early 1980s, the gang became even more powerful when they joined
hands with the "Iron Blood Patriots" to carry out missions overseas. In return, both gangs were
offered a great share of the heroin trade that expanded into the world market. This deal made the
Bamboo Union very powerful in Taiwanese politics and social culture, but also they were being
watched by major countries like the United States. The gang's powerful relationship with the "Iron
Blood Patriots" came to an end when Henry Liu was murdered on 15 October 1984.[7]

On account of the mainland origins of its membership, the Bamboo Union developed close links
with military intelligence and security agencies. They participate in many illegal activities like
security services, debt collection, loan sharking, gambling dens, hostess clubs, restaurants, small
businesses. It is known internationally for drug smuggling, human trafficking, and silencing
journalists as far away as Northern California. Besides these activities, their most noted illegal
activity is "organized crime". Anyone who is capable of reimbursing the gang's services is able to
get this work done. Since their work is so noted, they have become the most powerful gang in
Taiwan. They have a large role in all types of illegal activities.

Notable Cases Edit

In 1980, the daughters and mother-in-law of one of the leading members of the opposition, Liu I-
liang, were brutally killed in their home. The following year, Ch’en Wen-ch’eng, a Taiwanese
academic based at an American university was killed and his body dumped in the grounds of one
of Taiwan’s top universities. Also in 1984, Henry Liu was a dissident who had written a critical
biography of Chiang Ching-kuo. He was assassinated by members of the Bamboo Union who
were subsequently caught and convicted by the police.[13] His murderers, one being "Dry Duck",
were sentenced to life in prison. In July 2009, Chinese Bamboo Union hitman Bai Xiao Ye
stabbed and slashed a man to death in a Las Vegas, Nevada karaoke bar and wounded two others.
In 2013, Bai was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Bai had also been charged with
fatally shooting a man and wounding another at a Los Angeles karaoke bar.[14] In October 2015,
the Bamboo Union struck again and had one of their most notorious cases as they were linked to
the kidnapping of Hong Kong businessman Wong Yuk-kwan.[15]

Organization Edit

Unlike Japan's yakuza or Italy's mafia, the United Bamboo does not have a strict rank-and-file.
Twenty-four members are each led by a big brother or "dage" with membership comprising
gangland enforcers and individual businessmen.[16] Due to its structure United Bamboo and its
activities usually fly below the radar. Mutual benefits and obligations underpin the relationships
within the gang, as members who may not do business with one another will turn to one another in
times of crisis. All members pay homage to Chang, who was "recognized" by Taiwan's triads as
their "opinion leader" in 1995 and is held in such esteem that businessmen ask him to help settle
disputes.[17] The gang has a "code of ethics" that has ten rules that all members must follow.[18]
The mainland branch of the Bamboo Union is disciplined and well organized, complete with rank
systems, promotions, and benefits. Senior gang figures are given the honorific prefix "Dage", or
"Big Brother".

According to the junior Bamboo Union "boss" Big Brother Hsu, the gang is divided into
approximately 13 divisions, or tang kou, with names such as "Tiger Division" and "Dragon
Division". Within those 13 divisions, there are 68 branches of members.