The Hip Sing Association or HSA ( Chinese : 協勝公會 ; Jyutping : hip3 sing3 gung1 wui2 ), formerly known as the Hip Sing Tong (Chinese: 協勝堂 ; Jyutping: hip3 sing3 tong4 ), is a Chinese-American criminal organization/gang formed as a labor organization in New York City's Chinatown during the early 20th century (perhaps c. 1904). The Cantonese name "Hip Sing" ( 協 勝 ) translates roughly to "cooperating for success." The Hip Sing Tong, along with their rivals the Four Brothers and the On Leong Tong , would be involved in violent Tong wars for control of Chinatown during the early 1900s. During the 1930s and 1940s, the Hip Sings were involved in drug trafficking operations with the Kuomintang (KMT) and later the Office of Policy Coordination (OPC). They would later establish chapters in Chinese-American communities throughout the United States in major cities such as Chicago , Seattle and San Francisco (the latter being subject to a major drug raid by authorities in 1996). Recently some branches have begun to transform back into the legitimate fraternal organization they started as over a century prior.
31-452: Like many Tongs , it was founded to protect its members from the rampant anti-Chinese prejudice that was common in America at the time, and provide them with a semi-legitimate community structure since they could not rely on police or court systems to resolve internal community disputes. Also like many other Tongs, it eventually became involved in vice in order to fund its operations. While it
62-845: A rhotic accent. Ethnic groups are comparatively more diverse in southern regions. Rhotic accent is usually absent from the Mandarin spoken there. Different dialects are less mutually intelligible, and additional languages such as Cantonese or Hokkien are spoken. Patrilineage organizations are larger and more integrated in rural southern regions, possibly due to merges and competition for territory. A series of studies on regional differences in China suggest that people from places that grow wheat have different social styles and thought styles from those in rice-growing regions. Respondents from northern China are found to be more individualistic, think more analytically, and more open to strangers. Those from
93-647: A genuine trend towards becoming fully law-abiding fraternal organizations like other Tongs. The NYC HSA is a permanent member of the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association and has gotten HSA officer Eric Ng elected president of the organization. Under his presidency, the CCBA has specifically focused on public outreach and fostering direct cooperation between the CCBA and the NYPD to counter gangs and street crime, and members of
124-594: A journalist due to "ongoing gang investigations". And on the West Coast the Portland branch was subject to a major anti-drug trafficking raid by authorities in July 2012. The secretive nature of the group and apparent relative autonomy between chapters makes it difficult to determine how individual chapters actions reflect on the current trajectory of the group as a whole. The Hip Sing Association has several branches in
155-571: A part of a nationwide conflict between Tongs known as the Tong Wars . In the last fifty to sixty years, efforts began from within the group to clean up their public image by obfuscating their illegal activities, and in several chapters this would transform into a genuine attempt to become a purely law-abiding organization. There were clear transfers of illegal activities to plausibly deniable associated street gangs, like in New York City where
186-515: A result, many Chinese immigrants moved to cities such as New York, Philadelphia, and Boston. Today these cities still have ethnic Chinese communities large enough to have developed Chinatowns. They have also been joined by new immigrants of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Many Chinese soon organized voluntary benevolent associations for support and protection. These are usually formed by people originating in their district in China, family name, or depending on what native dialect, for example in
217-611: A result, many tongs with little or no hereditary financial value had to either disband or operate criminal activities such as gambling houses and prostitution. This transformed them from benevolent associations to providers of illegal services. The term tong became unfavorably associated with the secret brotherhoods in Chinatowns, and they often battled with other associations in that area. Tongs were usually composed of young men, some with criminal backgrounds, or outcasts who had been expelled from their associations. Notably, many of
248-820: Is arguably most famous for its war with the On Leong Tong in Manhattan's Chinatown , the group that would become the Hip Sing Tong did not actually originate within New York but rather on the West Coast within San Francisco. It moved into New York City in the late 1800s, and soon began to compete with the On Leong Tong for local control under the guidance of its then-leader Sai Wing Mock. This rivalry would eventually erupt into decades of violence,
279-624: Is simple and not resilient to droughts. Many southern regions are subtropical and green year round. The winters are short. They often experience typhoons and the East Asian monsoon in the summer. The ecology is complex, and floods are more common. The northern regions are easier to cultivate . Hardy crops such as corn , sorghum , soybeans , and wheat are grown, and one to two crops are produced each year. The growing season lasts four to six months. Wheat-based food such as bread, dumplings , and noodles are more common. Cultivation of
310-830: The overthrow of the Qing dynasty . Ko-lin Chin outlined that most tongs have similar organization and have a headquarters where one can find a president, a vice president, a secretary, a treasurer, an auditor , and several elders and public relations administrators. Today their main aims are to care for their members and their respective communities. Southern China Northern China ( Chinese : 中国北方 or 中国北部 ; lit. 'China's North') and Southern China (Chinese: 中国南方 or 中国南部 ; lit. 'China's South') are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. The Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as
341-533: The " Tong Wars ", which were a series of violent attacks between two branches of the Tong Gang, the Hip Sing Tong and On Leong Tong. The reasons for this conflict vary, from struggles over territory to assassinations of members. The "Tong Wars" of the 19th and early 20th centuries were often based on control of these women. In the early years the tongs employed "hatchet men" or boo how doy ( Chinese : 斧頭仔 ), also called highbinders , as hired killers to fight
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#1732791061374372-662: The 17th century, large numbers of Chinese, particularly from the Fujian and Canton areas, migrated to seek their fortunes in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. These Chinese immigrants quickly formed a trader and merchant class in many societies in various Asian countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Before the 1840s, very few Chinese had emigrated to the United States, Canada, or Australia. However, by
403-753: The Chinese leadership that endorsed doing so. Tongs in North America showed many similarities to the triads of Hong Kong and British colonies in Southeast Asia . These included similar initiation ceremonies and paying respect to the same deities. This is because both are similar organizations that follow the patterns of southern Chinese secret societies and sworn brotherhoods. The triad societies were underground organizations in British colonies that also existed for self-help of members, but spoke of
434-547: The Hip Sing Tong secretly used the Flying Dragons to carry out crimes in their stead. However, due to crackdowns, the links between the Hip Sing Association and their gangs become increasingly frayed and some sources believe that the gang had fully broken out of Hip Sing control as early as 1994. Since the late 1990s, branches of the group have turned their original attempts at plausible deniability into
465-535: The NYPD regularly appear at CCBANY-hosted public events to meet with Eric Ng and other members to discuss neighborhood issues and educate the public. However, other branches have seemingly remained involved with organized crime. In contrast to the positive public relationship between the NYC branch and the NYPD, as recently as 2018 a representative of the Chicago police refused to publicly discuss its city's HSA chapter with
496-755: The Tong for protection. While it is true that the Tong offered protection, it is unclear if this protection was forced as a means to gain control of territory for the distribution of the group's illicit activities. During the plague outbreak in Chinatown of San Francisco in the 1900s, the Chinese Six Companies recommended the vaccination plan to their members and the tongs. Doubting the effectiveness of vaccinations, many Chinese residents of Chinatown refused inoculations. Several tongs went so far as to threaten harm to those who did get vaccinated, as well as
527-577: The United States including in: Tong (organization) A tong ( Chinese : 堂 ; pinyin : táng ; Jyutping : tong4 ; Cantonese Yale : tòhng ; lit. 'hall') is a type of organization found among Chinese immigrants predominantly living in the United States , with smaller numbers in Canada , Australia , and the United Kingdom . In Chinese ,
558-435: The case of Hakka speakers, or sworn brotherhoods. The tongs provided services for immigrants such as employment and housing opportunities. They also helped resolve individual and group disputes within the community. Many of these volunteer societies did not have the financial ability to fund community events or look after their members, and those that did tended to focus inward and provide help only to their own members. As
589-754: The fancy diets of the Southerners, who are physically frail, live in a different environment, and have different stomachs and bowels. During the Republican period , Lu Xun , a major Chinese writer, wrote: According to my observation, Northerners are sincere and honest; Southerners are skilled and quick-minded. These are their respective virtues. Yet sincerity and honesty lead to stupidity, whereas skillfulness and quick-mindedness lead to duplicity. Northern regions of China have long winters that are cold and dry, often below freezing, and long summers that are hot and humid. Transitional periods are short. The ecology
620-485: The first tongs was established by the secret society Chee Kung Tong , which aimed to restore the power of the Ming dynasty by removing the new Manchu rulers of the Qing dynasty. These Zhigongtang tongs were located in the province of Guangdong , which was home to many of the first Chinese migrants heading to the United States —some of whom would take with them the notion of a tong as an organization to set up there. After
651-776: The mid-19th-century, Chinese immigrant numbers dramatically increased. Beginning with a few hundred immigrants, their numbers increased to an estimated hundreds of thousands of Chinese immigrants. Former Taiping Heavenly Kingdom military commander Yang Fuqing is alleged to have fled to the United States following the rebel state's defeat and started a secret society in Los Angeles. After settling in San Francisco and other California cities, Chinese workers were willing to work for lower wages than their American counterparts. Labor unions and American workers discouraged undercutting wages, so many Chinese left and went east. As
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#1732791061374682-518: The north initially developed faster due to planned economic policies , Soviet aid , and its concentration of construction and resource extraction industries. After market reforms , however, the south took the lead due to manufacturing and eventually high-tech industries, as well as continued internal migration into the region. A research showed that life expectancy was slightly higher in Southern China compared to Northern China. In 2018, it
713-767: The north to the south, especially its coastal areas and along major rivers. After the fall of the Han dynasty , The Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–589) ruled their respective part of China before re-uniting under the Tang dynasty . During the Qing dynasty , regional differences and identification in China fostered the growth of regional stereotypes. Such stereotypes often appeared in historic chronicles and gazetteers and were based on geographic circumstances, historical and literary associations (e.g. people from Shandong , were considered upright and honest) and Chinese cosmology (as
744-615: The pattern of secret societies common to southern China and many are connected to a secret society called the Tiandihui , which follows this pattern. Other groups worldwide that follow this pattern and are connected with the Tiandihui are known as hui , Hongmen , and triads . Tongs first appeared in China in 1644 when the Ming dynasty was overthrown by the Qing dynasty . One of
775-596: The south was associated with the fire element, Southerners were considered hot-tempered). These differences were reflected in Qing dynasty policies, such as the prohibition on local officials to serve their home areas, as well as conduct of personal and commercial relations. In 1730, the Kangxi Emperor made the observation in the Tingxun Geyan (庭訓格言): The people of the North are strong; they must not copy
806-401: The southern regions are more likely to think holistically, interdependent, and draw a larger distinction between friends and strangers. The difference was attributed to the growing of rice, which often requires the sharing labor and managing shared irrigation infrastructure. Traveling between places tends to be easier in northern regions where the terrain is more even. As China modernized,
837-651: The southern regions began later in history. Warm temperatures and abundant rainfall help produce rice and tropical fruits . Two to three crops can be grown each year, and the growing season lasts nine to twelve months. Rice-based food is more common. Jones Lamprey, a British army surgeon in 1868, writes that northerners have lighter skin tones than southerners, although the shade can change greatly from season to season depending on an individual's exposure to sunlight when performing manual labor outdoors. Northerners are often taller than southerners. Variants of Mandarin are widely spoken in northern regions and often with
868-445: The street battles that ensued over turf, business and women. San Francisco was the home of the first Tong in the United States; it formed in reaction to the hostility that Chinese immigrants faced from American workers upon their arrival to America. In Bill Lee 's memoirs in "The Chinese Playground", which recalls the activities of the Tong Gang in San Francisco, he states that the oppression Chinese immigrants faced led them to turn to
899-760: The traditional tong activities, such as gambling, were legal in China, but not in North America. Early Chinese populations in the United States and Canada were overwhelmingly male, especially after sex-restrictive immigration laws were passed in 1882 in the U.S. and 1923 in Canada, respectively (see Chinese Exclusion Act and Chinese Immigration Act, 1923 ). For this reason tongs participated heavily in importing women from China for both marriage and prostitution. Many of these women did not come to America by choice, and some were deceived and forced into prostitution by procurers. Tongs associated with importing women to America fought over territories and profits. This became known as
930-522: The transition zone between northern and southern China. They approximately coincide with the 0 degree Celsius isotherm in January, the 800 millimetres (31 in) isohyet , and the 2,000-hour sunshine duration contour. The Huai River basin serves a similar role, and the course of the Huaihe has been used to set different policies to the north and the south. Historically, populations migrated from
961-505: The word tong means "hall" or "gathering place". These organizations are described as secret societies or sworn brotherhoods and are often tied to criminal activity. In the 1990s, in most American Chinatowns , clearly marked tong halls could easily be found, many of which have had affiliations with Chinese organized crime . These associations often provide services for Chinatown communities such as immigrant counseling, Chinese schools, and English classes for adults. Tongs follow