The Chinese are coming.. to the South Pacific

The lecture by Bertil Lintner on the role of Triad crime godfathers and the effect of organized crime on the Chinese way of life was quite a revelation to many of the audience which crowded into the Cook Islands Library and Museum on Wednesday night.
Lintner is the author of a book entitled ‘Blood Brothers’ which is all about the Triad gangs in Asia. He is a former correspondent with the Far Eastern Economic Review and is currently a writer with the Asia-Pacific Media Services and is currently writing a series of articles which are part of a larger research project conducted with support from the John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation. Lintner’s research into the Triad gangs will form the basis of a book to be published later this year. He is also the author of a book entitled ‘Burma in Revolt, Opium and Insurgency since 1948.’
This article is gleaned from attending the lecture, perusing his articles in Asia-Times, as well as a personal interview with the author who is at pains to explain that most Chinese people are hard working citizens and have nothing to do with organized crime. He also notes that China is still sometimes referred to as the Dragon.

Blood Brothers – the role of the Triads in Chinese society
“We are like the Mafia, but not as bad” is how Triad godfather described the role of the ‘Blood Brothers’ in China. This is according to Bertil Lintner who is conducting research into the Triad gang lords who are said to derive huge income streams from extortion, prostitution, gambling, gun running, drug smuggling, people smuggling and human trafficking. Legitimate business interests are also pursued with the Triads controlling the Chinese construction industry, movie industry, nightclubs, travel agencies and gambling casinos.
The reach of the Blood Brothers into all levels of Chinese society is breathtaking with Lintner claiming that Triads reach into big business, government, politicians and intelligence agencies. They routinely give large donations to charities, community associations and to schools.
It seems the Triad bosses see their role in the Chinese way of life as nothing out of the ordinary explaining that all the business areas which enjoy their protection are free from petty crime in the sense that pickpockets and muggings do not occur in those areas. The crime lords rationalize their services as their own version of keeping the peace and maintaining order in their areas. However, this rationale fails to explain that the protection is itself part of the racket, because business owners are forced to pay for this service or face the consequences, which is usually to have them removed.
Further down the hierarchy, Triads control the youth gangs where if one young person is particularly good at being a gangster and rises through the ranks, can eventually be invited to join the Triad itself. New members take part in an initiation ritual whereby they cut a finger and allow the blood to flow into a bowl with a specially prepared drink with established members and then they drink from the shared bowl making them all ‘blood brothers.’ Recent concerns about sharing blood has led to a modern variation whereby the initiates still drink from the shared bowl while sucking the blood from their own cut finger!
Illegal immigration under the guise of Tourism
According to Lintner, there is a new wave of Chinese who love China as their mother land but would still like the opportunity to live overseas. The dream destination for many Chinese is USA which they refer to as ‘jinshan’ or ‘the mountain of gold’ and the going rate to America is US$35,000- $40,000 while the going rate to Europe is only $US10.000-$15,000.
While many are able to find legal means of traveling overseas, others find their way is blocked and resort to illegal immigration via the Triads.
In one of his articles entitled ‘A how-to guide for fleeing China’, Lintner explains the attraction of the South Pacific countries to Chinese people. For one thing, countries such as the United States and European countries have strict visa requirements and immigration controls are very tight making it complicated and expensive.
In the 1980s and early 1990s, illegal migrants would hide in the hulls of leaky boats and freighters but now are going by air because a combination of low air fares and global tourism makes it much easier to fly to Western destinations.
The first stopover is through Bangkok because they can get a 30 day visa on arrival stamped on their passports which are entirely legal. The illegality begins from the next step whereby they switch to false Singaporean or Japanese passports while in transit in Tokyo and take advantage of the visa waiver programme with the USA and European Union.
According to Lintner, trafficking experts have explained how it works. A potential migrant will fly out on round trip with Bangkok or Tokyo as a stopover. In the transit lounge, they will be met by a trafficking gang who will hand him a boarding pass and fake passport with same name as his genuine Chinese passport. Airline staff accept their boarding passes against their passenger list and off they go. .

During the flight, the illegal migrant disposes of his fake passport and boarding pass in the toilet and then applies for political asylum in the USA. All documentation must destroyed to make it impossible for US immigration officers to send the person back to their country because there are no papers to establish what country they have come from.
China has a vast population of 1 billion people and even a tiny percentage of their people would make a huge difference in another country’s balance of citizens compared to that of the immigrants.
The strategic value of the South Pacific to China
Lintner quotes from Mohan Malik, a China analyst at the Asia-Pacific Centre for Security Studies who said that increased Chinese tourism and migration are part of Beijing’s ‘economic and strategic penetration of Oceania.’ The importance of the South Pacific region to China, are its natural resources and the strategic value of having a strong foothold in the Pacific to rival that of the United States. For many years, China remained within its own territories, but its new found prosperity has led to their taking the opportunity to increase their sphere of influence in the Pacific.
The question of Taiwan is also a thorn in China’s side and they are doing their utmost to deny them official recognition as an independent state. Taiwan has been very generous with their aid packages in the Pacific regions and as a result, the Marshall islands, Solomons, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Nauru and Paulu still recognize Taiwan and not China.
However, the Kingdom of Tonga ditched Taiwan in 1996 embraced China, after their then king, Taufa-ahau Tupou IV, received a red-carpet welcome in Beijing with promises of aid. Since that time, two deputy chiefs from the People’s Liberation Army have visited Tonga which is strategically located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately, the Chinese influence has caused a backlash with widespread resentment at the business districts now being dominated by Chinese migrants running grocery stores, restaurants and other small businesses.
Lintner describes China as the ‘new kid on the block’ when it comes to cheque book diplomacy but now Beijing has taken a leaf out of Taiwan’s book and makes magnanimous gifts to island nations in exchange for recognition of the One China policy.
For instance, closer to home, the Chinese are paying a lot of attention to the Cook Islands and expressing interest in our nation’s plentiful tuna fish stocks and its location as a tourism destination for tourists from China.
Lintner notes that while the Cook Islands does not have a vote in the United Nations, we do have a large exclusive economic zone, which in combination with the zones belonging to other friendly Pacific countries would give China a huge zone of influence in the area.
However, it is the influence of the Triads in big business which concerns Lintner especially in the industries of money laundering through so called banks – some of which he says are not real banks at all, but sometimes registered on line with a fee of $5,000 and there you have a bank. While this loophole has now been closed, such shenanigans have occurred.
The purpose of the money laundering is obscure the origins of the ‘black money’ which usually originates from the proceeds of crime including drugs and people smuggling. Governments of tiny Pacific nations with offshore banks benefit from these activities – albeit unknowingly – by charging fees for each transaction.
Chinese largesse toward South Pacific island nations is beginning to attract some disquiet from the citizens of those countries who are wondering just what they will be expected to pay in the future for China’s gifts.

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