Wo Hop To, or WHT (和合圖), is a triad group based in

Wan Chai Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to the south. The area n ...

, Hong Kong. The name translates to "Harmoniously United Association", or "Harmonious Union Plan", and is thought to have been founded in 1908 in

Sai Ying Pun Sai Ying Pun is an area in Western District, on Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. It is administratively part of the Central and Western District. Etymology In Cantonese, ''Sai'' () means "west" and ''Ying Pun'' () means "camp", especially a ...

as a secret political organisation in opposition to the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

. They are one of the Four Major Gangs (四大黑幫) of Hong Kong, the others being Wo Shing Wo, 14K and

Sun Yee On Sun Yee On ( zh, t=新義安), or the New Righteousness and Peace Commercial and Industrial Guild, is one of the leading triads in Hong Kong and China. It has more than 25,000 members worldwide. It is also believed to be active in the UK, the ...

Criminal activity

Wo Hop To specialises in

protection racket A protection racket is a type of racket and a scheme of organized crime perpetrated by a potentially hazardous organized crime group that generally guarantees protection outside the sanction of the law to another entity or individual from viol ...

s and is affiliated with the

(新義安) triad.

Activity in the United States

During the early 1990s, Wo Hop To expanded into the United States, beginning in San Francisco. The U.S. Wo Hop To was led by Peter Chong (莊炳強) (also known as "Uncle Chong") and

Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow Raymond Kwok-Cheung Chow (; born December 31, 1959), nicknamed "Shrimp Boy", is a Hong Kong-born felon with ties to a San Francisco Chinatown street gang and an organized crime syndicate, including the American branch of the Hong Kong-based t ...

(周國祥), a former Hop Sing Boys gang member. The Wo Hop To had plans to control all the Asian gangs in San Francisco and, from there, to branch out into drug distribution nationwide. Wo Hop To chased the

Wah Ching Wah Ching ( zh, s=华青, t=華青, first=t, j=Waa4 Cing1), meaning Chinese Youth, is a Chinese American criminal organization and street gang that was founded in San Francisco, California in 1964. The Wah Ching has been involved in crimes inclu ...

gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collective ...

out of the Bay Area and the

headed to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

. The Wah Ching was the only surviving Chinatown gang during the 1980s. The Hop Sing Boys and Joe Boys were dismantled by police after the

Golden Dragon massacre The Golden Dragon massacre was a gang-related shooting attack that took place on September 4, 1977, inside the Golden Dragon Restaurant at 822 Washington Street in Chinatown, San Francisco, California. The five perpetrators, members of the Joe ...

. The Wo Hop To controlled Chinatown illegal activities after killing the

leader Danny Wong.

References

External links

SF Weekly Feature Article Profiling Member of Hop Sing Tong – Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow (2007)
*http://www.sfweekly.com/issues/2000-06-14/news/feature_full.html – Information on Wo Hop Sing in the US. *http://www.illuminatedlantern.com/cinema/archives/triads.php Organised crime groups in Hong Kong Triad groups Asian-American gangs Chinese-American gangs {{HongKong-stub