Bing Kong Tong

The Bing Kong Tong (Chinese: 秉公堂; Jyutping: bing2 gung1 tong4; pinyin: Bǐnggōng Táng) was one of the most powerful Tongs in San Francisco's Chinatown during the early 20th century.

Since most immigrants from China to the United States during the 19th century were from the province of Guangdong, Chinatowns founded at that time used place names which were transliterated from Cantonese.

As the gang war continued, the numerous murders caught the attention of the press as the often gruesome slayings were detailed.

Eventually an investigation headed by Santa Rosa, California, attorney Wallace L. Ware,[1] in cooperation with the district attorney's office, exposed the extent of the Bing Kongs' influence throughout the Chinese American populations along the west coast and southwestern United States (as far as the conviction of four members for a Tong murder in Kingman, Arizona).

Weakened by the decade long war against the rival Tongs as well as state authorities, the Bing Kongs would eventually emerge as a trade union, although it is suspected by federal and local law enforcement officials to still have remaining ties to organized crime.