Wah Ching

Wah Ching (traditional Chinese: 華青; simplified Chinese: 华青; Jyutping: Waa4 Cing1) is a Chinese American criminal organization and street gang that was founded in San Francisco, California in 1968. The Wah Ching has been involved in crimes including narcotic sales, racketeering and gambling.[2]

Wah Ching (華青)
Founded1968[1]
Founding locationChinatown, San Francisco, United States[1]
Years active1968–present[2]
TerritorySan Francisco Bay Area and Greater Los Angeles[1]
EthnicityChinese American[1]
Membership (est.)600–700 members and associates[1]
ActivitiesRacketeering, murder, robbery, extortion, drug trafficking, money laundering, prostitution, illegal gambling, loan sharking, fraud, counterfeiting, software piracy[3]
Allies14K[4]
Hop Sing Tong[5]
Suey Sing Tong[6]
Sun Yee On[7]
Tiny Rascal Gang[8]
RivalsAsian Boyz[9]
Bamboo Union[3]
Black Dragons[3]
Chung Ching Yee[10]
Wo Hop To[11]

History

The Wah Ching (Youth of China) was founded in 1968 mainly by immigrants from Hong Kong and China working at Hop Sing Tong gambling establishments in San Francisco's Chinatown. The gang was first formed as a protection group from the ABCs (American born Chinese) and later evolved into a criminal gang.[1] Beginning in 1969, the Wah Ching fought a war with the Suey Sing Tong for control of Chinatown's gambling, loan-sharking and extortion rackets. After a number of shootings and homicides, the Suey Sing relinquished their territory and reestablished themselves in Oakland.[12] Wah Ching first received widespread media attention because of the 1977 Golden Dragon Massacre (GDM) involving another Chinese gang, the Chung Ching Yee, or Joe Boys (JBS). The event took place at the Golden Dragon Restaurant in San Francisco's Chinatown. Five people were killed, and eleven others were injured. None of the victims were gang members. Five Joe Boys members were convicted of the shooting. The cause of the attack was vandalism by Wah Ching to the graves of several Joe Boy members and a shootout that took place a few months earlier that left one Joe Boy dead and two others wounded.[13][14] After the shootout occurred, the Wah Ching, though none of them had been killed or even injured in the attack, still killed several Joe Boys in retaliation.

In 1991, Danny "Ah Pai" Wong, the leader of Wah Ching, was shot and killed by Wo Hop To (WHT) hitmen. After the murder, most of the Wah Ching began working with the Wo Hop To.

After law enforcement cracked down on the Wo Hop To around 1992, former Wah Ching members who had defected to the Wo Hop To founded the Jackson Street Boys, a gang based in San Francisco's Chinatown which resumed what a SFPD officer described in 2000 as "the same stuff on a smaller scale and without the same visibility", including extortion of local merchants and operating gambling dens.[15]

In the mid-1990s, the Wah Ching was reported as being engaged in murder, extortion, drug trafficking and gambling, and expanded into software bootlegging.[16]

The Wah Ching Gang has an ongoing conflict with another rival Asian gang in Los Angeles, the Asian Boyz (ABZ), who also aligned themselves with the Vietnamese Boyz (VBZ) in opposition to Wah Ching. Wah Ching's move from its original home in the Bay Area to Southern California is probably one of the sources of the disputes over gang turf. Over the decades, the Wah Ching has evolved from a street gang to an organized crime group, however, due to the fact that a lot of the Wah Ching's criminal activity and murders have been motivated by political agendas.[2] There is law enforcement anecdotal evidence that suggests as a group the gang has developed strong associations with other Asian organized crime groups, such as the 14K and Sun Yee On triads in Hong Kong.[1]

Notable incidents
Main article: Murder of Lea Mek

The Wah Ching has been in a long conflict with the Asian Boyz.[17] One of the first shootouts between the two gangs occurred in the 1990s. The shooting occurred in El Monte at a pool hall. An Asian Boyz gang member, Lea Mek, was killed by Wah Ching gang member Chieu Luong Yang. Another shootout between the two gangs occurred in San Marino that led to the deaths of two youths at a San Marino High School graduation party in June. After an investigation by the authorities, police claimed that when the Asian Boyz gang members arrived at the party, they noticed that Wah Ching gang members were there, prompting them to leave and return with weapons. At least nine gang members were arrested, and police seized five weapons from homes searched in conjunction with the arrests. The shootouts between the two gangs were called "Summer Madness" by the Asian Boyz gang, and resulted in at least 42 deaths on both sides.[18][17]

On 2001, a 17–year–old Wah Ching member, who was an advanced placement student at Diamond Bar High School, shot and killed two members of the rival San Gabriel Killas (SGK) while attending a football game.

On December 2005, a 20 year old Wah Ching member murdered a Chicano man with unknown gang affiliation by running over him with a car in front of his house. He repeatedly backed over the man with the car while holding down the car's horn to ensure that neighbors in the area saw the act.

On June 2, 2007, Anh Duoc Nguyen, a member of Monterey Park-Side Wah Ching shot at five people in Westminster's Bowling Green Park, severely injuring one. The shootout was believed to be motivated by the fact that one of the victims changed his Myspace page bio to read "garden gang".[19]

Organization

The Wah Ching's main structure consists of one main boss under the union and various factions called sides who have leaders or lung tao ('dragon heads') who work together to organize their syndicates with the sole purpose of making money. The number of members in each side can vary anywhere from a few dozen to a couple thousand, and the total number of sides is believed to be around 10.[20]

Southern California sides
  • Joe Young - known as small plum moved from San Francisco to Los Angeles and founded wah Ching in the Los Angeles area. Murdered in 2017 in Los Angeles China town the founding father of wah Ching in the Los Angeles area founded 4 different sides.
  • Sonny-Side (SS-23) – One of the four original sides, estimated membership of ~4,000. Sonny also known as one of the first followers of joe young to branch his own side.
  • Ken-Side (KS-23) – One of the four original sides, estimated membership of ~5,000 , ken was the first Vietnamese Chinese to become triad head and also one of the first recruits of joe young.
  • Paul-Side (PS-23) – One of the four original sides, estimated membership of ~2,000. P-Side is located in the Greater Los Angeles area and is known for generating most of their income through legal means. Paul-Side was founded by Paul A, following joe young and starting his own side.
  • Taiwanese-Side (TS-23/Taiwanese Sunny Side-23/) – One of the four original sides, estimated membership of ~unknown. Taiwanese side founded by members of the original wah Ching members from San Francisco. The migration from San Francisco with joe young formed Taiwanese side.
  • Monterey Park-Side (MP-Side/ MP-23) – Located in Monterey Park, MP-Side is infamous for its narcotics sales and involvement in mass shootings. The Monterey park side was founded by a split between Paul side. One side stayed Paul side while the other was formed as Monterey park side.
  • Alhambra-Side (A-Side/ AS-23) – Located in Alhambra, A-Side was founded by members of San Francisco side , which later renamed to Alhambra side after members left the San Francisco side.
  • Ocean-Side (OS-23) – Although a relatively new side, Ocean-Side has gained a reputation for being violent and committing an abundant number of crimes. Ocean side was founded by ocean hence the name ocean side and was a close ally of sunny side.
  • Flip-Side (FS-23) – A side of the Wah Ching composed mainly of Filipinos, Flip-Side was believed to be the side that affiliated the Wah Ching with Bloods.

The four original sides, Ken-Side, Paul-Side, T-Side, and Sonny-Side, have a close relationship with one another and high-ranking members.

Known Northern California sides
  • 510-side (EO-23) – Located in East Oakland, this side was founded by OG members of Wah Ching, and some Hop Sing Boys. The gang became infamous for its ruthlessness after requiring newly initiated members to "23-mark" a rival gang member. This initiation required one to beat a rival gang member either to death or to the point of unconsciousness, then to take a knife and carve a phrase such as "Wah Ching" or "Property of EO-23" onto the victims chest or forehead.
  • Jackson-Side (Insane-Side Dragon Tribe/Tokyo Boyz/JS-23) – Founded by members of Alhambra-Side and Monterey Park-Side who went back to San Francisco to reestablish the gang's presence. When it was founded, Jackson-Side had no more than 100 members. However, shortly after it was founded, Jackson-Side merged with a local Japanese-American street gang known as Tokyo Boyz and after a few years, Jackson-Side grew to over 1,000 members. Recently, Jackson-Side Wah Ching has been more commonly known as Insane-Side Wah Ching, due to the Wah Ching's rivalry with the similarly named Jackson Street Boys as well as the gang's habit for gruesome crimes such as 23-marking. Jackson-Side Wah Ching gang members are also recognized Chinese Playground Boys.
  • 70-Side (X7-23) – A defunct side of the Wah Ching that was located on Alameda Island

References
  1. Report on Asian Organized Crime U.S. Department of Justice (February 1988)
  2. "Life and Violent Death of Tony Young". SCMP. November 17, 2017. Retrieved April 16, 2019.
  3. Gang leaders to plead guilty San Gabriel Valley Tribune (October 12, 2006)
  4. NCJR Report on Asian Organized Crime
  5. Chinatown gang feud ignited one of SF’s worst mass homicides Greg Kamiya, San Francisco Chronicle (July 8, 2016)
  6. The Tongs of Chinatown Michael Zelenko, foundsf.org
  7. The New International and Asian Organized Crime U.S. Senate Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (December 1992)
  8. Los Angeles Gangs and Hate Crimes Archived 2017-07-30 at the Wayback Machine, Police Law Enforcement Magazine February 29, 2008
  9. Reppin' 4 life: The Formation and Racialization of Vietnamese American Youth Gangs in Southern California Kevin D. Lam (1997)
  10. Twice Burned Matt Isaacs, SF Weekly (June 14, 2000)
  11. Reputed Asian Gang Chief Takes Fifth Los Angeles Times (November 6, 1991)
  12. Chapter 4 Hock Sair Woey, The Chinese Underworld
  13. Make First Arrest in Golden Dragon Massacre of 1977, UPI, March 24, 1978.
  14. "People v. Yu (1983) 143 Cal.App.3d 358 , 191 Cal.Rptr. 859". Court of Appeals of California. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  15. Isaacs, Matt (June 14, 2000). "Twice Burned". San Francisco Weekly.
  16. Quittner, Joshua (June 5, 1995). "THE HOTTEST SOFTWARE IN TOWN". Time. Archived from the original on October 22, 2007.
  17. "Multi Agency Effort to Bring Two Violent Gang members to Justice". lapdonline.org. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  18. Torres, Viki (August 19, 1994). "Officials Link Gang Rivalry to Party Slayings". LA Times. Retrieved February 14, 2015.
  19. "WAH CHING GANGSTER ANH DUOC NGUYEN LEARNS HIS FATE". R Scott Moxley. January 12, 2012. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  20. "Asian Boyz Gang vs Wah Ching Gang in Los Angeles - Asian Boyz Gang Documentary". gangland. May 21, 2010. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
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