Hong Shou, is a predominantly Chinese street gang in New York City with ties to the Enlightenment. They are known to the English-speaking residents of NYC as the Red Hand Triad.
Although originally a Chinese gang, the Red Hand Triad is remarkable for its diversification. It has sought to make connections with all of the outcasts in society, particularly among immigrant groups. As a result, a full 30 percent of its members are non-Chinese — it is not uncommon for triad groups to include a mix of Irish, Italian, and other ethnicities.
The gang’s headquarters is located in an underground complex beneath the Golden Dawn, a Chinatown-based restaurant. The public areas of the restaurant had all of the stereotypical trappings of an upscale Chinese restaurant with fine tapestries, gold-inlaid woodwork. It is managed by an elderly Chinese couple, Honqi An and Honqi Cheng, and is remarkably popular with business types who frequent the restaurant at lunchtime. It is rumored that many of these businessmen rely on the Red Hand to resolve certain unsavory financial matters, but the couple’s dapper, Oxford-educated grandson, Honqi Pang, dismisses it as baseless speculation meant to ruin his grandparent’s business.
The fact that most know that Honqi Pang is in fact the leader of the Red Hand Triad makes his declarations something of an in-joke among the New York City community.
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- Featured Image: Big Trouble in Little China. Source.
