Tong war

From Freepedia

The Tong wars were a series of feuds between gangs of Chinese immigrants in major U.S. cities (notably San Francisco and Los Angeles) between the 1850s and the 1920s. The various Tongs of the time were involved in various organized crime activities. The Tongs ran brothels, gambling parlors, opium dens, and sometimes trafficking in sex slaves. Although Tongs have long either been affiliated with or simply been Chinese gangs (also known as Triads), it is not necessarily true that all members of a Tong are part of a gang. Tongs themselves are (at least today) often presented as "Business Associations" with business owners in the community often members of the Tong. While members of a Tong may be behind various Triads, many times other members of a Tong are members because the Triads insist that their business join the Tong -- and pay the membership fee.