[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.
[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.
The Bamboo Union was a key part of the KMT's White Terror which allowed the Dictator Chiang Kai-shek to establish control over Taiwanese society.
This deal made the Bamboo Union very powerful in Taiwanese politics and social culture, but they were also being watched by major countries like the United States.
[13] In July 2009, Bamboo Union hitman Bai Xiao Ye stabbed and slashed a man to death in a Las Vegas, Nevada karaoke bar and wounded two others.
[16] Representatives of Taiwan's three main criminal organizations, the Bamboo Union, the Four Seas Triad and the Celestial Way, were on hand to pay their respects to Mr.
[18] Members of Japan's yakuza, dressed in black suits, were also among the guests, while representatives from crime families of Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia and Thailand also joined the procession under the watchful gaze of thousands of police.
The family spent NT$2 million (HK$475,000) to charter a China Airlines Airbus plane to transport the body, plus friends and relatives to Taiwan.
[19] According to local news media, the family spent at least NT$20 million to make sure Chen's funeral was held in grand style.
All members paid homage to Chang, who was "recognized" by Taiwan's triads as their "opinion leader" in 1995 and who was held in such esteem that legitimate businessmen ask him to help settle disputes.
The Bamboo Union is understood to partner with the Japanese yakuza and multi-ethnic triad like Sam Gor syndicate, and the leaders of these groups including Tse Chi Lop, both for drug trafficking and money laundering.
It participates in many illegal activities like security services, debt collection, loan sharking, gambling dens, hostess clubs, restaurants, and small businesses.