Following the founding of the People's Republic of China and subsequent crackdowns, triads and their operations flourished in Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese communities.

[11][12][13][14] According to the Oxford English Dictionary, "triad" is a translation of the Chinese term San He Hui (三合會), referring to the union of heaven, earth, and humanity.

[16] This theory however is highly improbable as the term "Triad" had been used by William Milne to describe secret societies in Southern China as early as 1826, well before the colony was even formed.

[17] It has been speculated that triad organizations took after, or were originally part of, militant movements such as the White Lotus,[18] the Taiping and Boxer Rebellions, and the Heaven and Earth Society.

At the turn of the 19th century, Chinese triads were involved in revolutionary and underground activities designed to subvert the ailing Qing, which was considered corrupt and incapable of reform.

[21] Notable organizations included the Green Gang, another Hung Society splinter which participated in the Shanghai massacre of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) members in 1927.

Two features which distinguish a black society from ordinary "dark forces" or low-level criminal gangs are the extent to which the organization is able to control local markets and the degree of police protection able to be obtained.

Such societies were seen as legitimate ways of helping immigrants from China settle into their new place of residence through employment and development of local connections.

After 1949, in mainland China, law enforcement became stricter and a government crackdown on criminal organizations forced the triads to migrate to British Hong Kong.

With the advent of new technology and the improvement of the average standard of living, triads produce counterfeit goods such as watches, film VCDs and DVDs, and designer apparel such as clothing and handbags.

[46] Due to their history of "patriotic" work in support of various political movements and factions, triads have long been reported to have connections to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), often via its related united front groups.

[12][51][52][14] Triad members have acted as agents of the party-state in achieving its political objectives of suppressing dissent, quelling protests and silencing, intimidating, and coercing critics both at home and abroad, particularly in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and countries with high concentrations of ethnic Chinese diaspora.

[59] A 2022 Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) identified connections between key triad figures linked to Wan Kuok-koi and CCP united front political influence operations in Palau.

[38][39] Triads use numeric codes to distinguish ranks and positions within the gang; the numbers are inspired by Chinese numerology and are based on the I Ching.

According to De Leon Petta Gomes da Costa, who interviewed triads and authorities in Hong Kong, most of the current structure is a vague, low hierarchy.

[16] A typical ceremony takes place at an altar dedicated to Guan Yu, with incense and an animal sacrifice, usually a chicken, pig, or goat.

After drinking a mixture of wine and blood (from the animal or the candidate), the member passes beneath an arch of swords while reciting the triad's oaths.

The first tongs formed during the second half of the 19th century among marginalized members of early immigrant Chinese-American communities for mutual support and protection from nativists.

Modeled on triads, they were established without clear political motives and became involved in criminal activities such as extortion, illegal gambling, drug and human trafficking, murder, and prostitution.

[citation needed] During the French colonial period, many businesses and wealthy residents in Saigon (particularly in the Chinatown district) and Haiphong were controlled by protection-racket gangs.

[70] During the First Indochina War, Ho's police forces concentrated on protecting people in his zone from crime; the French cooperated with criminal organizations to fight the Viet Minh.

[71] In 1955, President Ngô Đình Diệm ordered the South Vietnamese military to disarm and imprison organized-crime groups in the Saigon-Gia Định-Biên Hòa-Vũng Tàu region and cities such as Mỹ Tho and Cần Thơ in the Mekong Delta.

The government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam purged and imprisoned organized criminals, including triads, in the Haiphong and Hanoi areas.

[76] On November 22, 2022, a shoot-out between rival Triad factions took place on a crowded street in Cape Town, leaving several bystanders injured.

The OCTB and the Criminal Intelligence Bureau work with the Narcotics and Commercial Crime Bureaus to process information to counter triad leaders.

[79] At the national (and, in some cases, provincial) level, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Organized Crime Branch is responsible for investigating gang-related activities (including triads).

The Canada Border Services Agency Organized Crime Unit works with the RCMP to detain and remove non-Canadian triad members.

[80] Due to its geographic and demographic characteristics, Vancouver is the point of entry into North America for much of the heroin produced in Southeast Asia (much of the trade controlled by international organized-crime groups associated with triads).

[citation needed] The Chow Fook Tai conglomerate is owned by Cheng Yu-tung, who was believed to have affiliations with the 14K triad and was alleged to have connections with Hong Kong and Macau organised crime syndicates, specifically through business connections with Wan Kuok Kui, "Broken Tooth", or "Broken Tooth Koi" in triad circles.

[84][60] The 14K, Sun Yee On triads were believed to have been closely affiliated with Cheng and used as enforcers for the collection of gambling debts, in addition to being engaged in prostitution, human, and drug trafficking.