I was born in Taiwan. Some of the translations are off. The fat guy referred to the triad as "company." Some of the house rules, it wasn't cutting arms or legs off, it was to break arms and legs.
They get paid. Gangs are all about money remember that. Everything can be bought for the right price, especially an interview which generates vice massive amounts off money off one video.
@@ancientfuture9690 It's the fruit of some palm trees. People in southern China chew dried beetle nuts like old time cowboys chew the tobaccos(don try it, will cause cancer)
I am Taiwanese and the translation is rubbish. I understand they were trying to keep it simple but many parts were exaggerated and others were left out. Some parts just don't add up. Examples: (1) At 2:07 it was said "I have fired a gun before, and even hit someone" while it was subbed "I've shot a gun to harm people before." (2) At 3:14 it was said "In the process of breaking a law, our purpose is purely to do business, following a principle to not harm others" while it was subbed "Although we may break a law, we don't harm people immoderately". (3) At 6:35 it was said "After joining a company or organisation we must all swear that we will be loyal to the company, and that we do not lie" while it was subbed "After you become a member of the triad, you must pledge your fidelity and never betray the triad." (4) At 8:04 it was said "If you are a young member, the punishment may be quite serious. Perhaps they will break [the bones of] your arm or leg [through beating]" while it was subbed "If young members break a rule, we sometimes cut their arms or legs off." (5) At 12:08 it was said "When I go get a massage or something, I cover it. Cannot let the masseuse touch it" while it was subbed "But I cover it when I go to a massage...because women are not allowed to touch it". (6) At 15:23 it was said "all of the organisations in Taiwan unify and gather together" while it was subbed "We keep dispute to a bare minimum". I don't understand the Taiwanese dialect (different from Chinese) but I suspect those bits are even more off.
They shortened the translations due to space. They aren't that far off, and the viewer only needs the general idea. Translations have sub-set meanings. Here you're wrong－－"When I go get a massage or something, I cover it. Cannot let the masseuse touch it" while it was subbed "But I cover it when I go to a massage...because women are not allowed to touch it". You don't know jianghu 江湖 culture. I grew up in a jiaotou 角頭. Women are not supposed to touch tats on a guy's body. In the video you see a man touch another guy's tatted body, that's fine. If a male masseuse touches a tattoo, it doesn't matter. See, there's a subtext. So they wrote "women are not allowed to touch it." You're efforts are good, but all translators have to assume that what is directly said isn't what it means at point definition. Do you even know what a jiaotou 角頭 is? 有空來台南玩.
Thanks for this. I've wondered often about Vice translations and it confirms they aren't so accurate. Breaking someone's arm is quite a bit different than chopping it off...
Its like they want to control ur perspective of such a lifestyle and sort of stereotype portraying the Mafia as straight savage when really theyre polite
Yep, so then people who get fooled Walk InTo Chinese shop n think it’s mafia linked when they see protector Deity. Vice is horribly inaccurate n lie allot to help images they want you to think. Their a quote a bit anti educational / anti reality. I don’t subscribe to them.
This is late to the scene but I think the problem with the translate of this video comes from the reporter might be japanese, don't know why this is the case but you can hear in 9:45 the translator is translating into japanese instead of English. So very likely that some it is lost in translation after Mandarin>Japanese>English
I taught English in a town called Chungli (Zhongli in pinyin) in the mid-1990s. I was told it had the most gangsters in Taiwan. Man I miss that place. It's so crowded but that was one of the happiest times in my life. I loved Taiwan. I should have never left.
@@calvinma9493 You know, I never asked why there were gangsters in Chungli. There were some brothels but I don't know if there were more in Chungli than Hsinchu which was the other city I taught in. I never went to a brothel. Stuff like that scares me.
@@MajorCulturalDivide I used to live in Hsinchu, and I can say that there’s probably more mafia related things that you can see in public compared to Zhongli, but for the most part, underground plus public mafia related things are probably equal. But surprisingly you can see a lot of gangsters it in public in Hsinchu and Zhongli, you can tell by seeing if a person has a half sleeve tattoo, that’s usually a “half-armor” tattoo.
Wow. Im always shown the super clean, G rated version when i go back with family. Had no idea. So strange to even see guns there. Such is the beauty of vice.
It's from the betel nut (檳榔 bing lang in mandarin) that they chew. Very common in Taiwan. You can see it at 4:48. It gives them a boost of energy but it's also what stains their teeth a dark red or purple colour.
My cousin was in a gang in Taiwan and he said that they only fight if they have to; otherwise most of them have ordinary day jobs. and if they are out and about, most of the time they're doing the police's jobs (such as catching thieves, "punishing" burglars and rapists) and putting those types of criminals in their place.
@@419chris419they don't. The protection money is government taxes. Businesses create jobs for the community that's why. They're very organized with the government districts.
I think a lot of subtitles are actually partially inaccurate, tend to simplify situations, and remove a lot of nuances. It's not just Vice, I was watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and they also did something like that.
Well, technically these aren't Triads either. The terms they use in the documentary are more like "gang" or "the company". Actual triads are 天地会, or "Heaven and Earth Societies" (and similar three-based names like 三点会，三合会 or using the character 洪) and that tradition has almost died out. I think this is just for ease of translation.
I'm not Chinese, but I studied Chinese at university. Most of what I know draws from a book called Ritual & Mythology of the Chinese Triads by Barend Ter Haar, who is a Sinology professor at Oxford University. It's pretty much the most in-depth study on Triads out there, if you're interested.
Every morning I wake up and say: "This will be the day. This will be when I stop watching distracting videos all day long and actually get something done and do something meaningful." Then VICE puts out a phenomenal documentary about an incredibly interesting topic which inevitably leads to more and more irresistible videos popping up. Dicks.
In Taiwan, I've met/hung out with gangsters on all levels of the society. The dumb ones don't make their way up, they usually are the drug traffickers and low level crap, and dumb ones do the drugs and get addicted, and screw up their lives, like every other druggie. The higher up people, are actually respectable, and there's generally a rule which they mention, not to affect the general population and innocent people. I've been in situations, close to street fights with others, because I was hanging with some gangster friends. In most cases, there is no fight because they don't want to get in trouble with the law (and because someone's gonna get hurt). Both parties usually make calls for their gang members and "uncles", once you figure out it's the same gang, or you know each other, the situation is resolved through apology, and if there was some property damage, payment will be made. The real gang fighting (which I've seen on the streets, on the damn highway, 50 people with chains, knives and bats), they usually don't try to kill anyone, but will beat the crap out of each other. I've met debt collectors, who are the nicest people, but when they are doing their "job", damn, you don't want to be on the receiving end. In general, they use bats, chains, pipes, tasers and knives in fights (knives if it's serious), they don't want to do something that will make society too upset, so they usually don't start pulling out knives and machetes to stab/hack one another, as this will be all over the news and bring negative light on the gang operations. Also, you probably know someone that knows someone in a gang, so you don't exactly want people to know you doing crap, because others will be negatively affected. In extreme cases (internal power struggle, gang on gang violence), they will use guns. I've seen them, after it's used, they dismantle the weapon, and hand to a couple low levels to dispose of - each person, without talking to the other, will go dump the evidence, usually in the ocean off a cliff or off a ravine beside the road. If there are cell phones, they burn it. Extortion isn't prevalent (but in some businesses, you need to be protection fee, or doing-business-fee, especially government contracts they can help you win). Collecting bad debt is a big huge business, and people get hurt if they don't pay. That's why some of these people are so damn rich, because they take maybe up to 40-60% of the collection amount. Also, blackmailing, especially politicians, is prevalent, as being elected means you have some control over supposed "public tenders", which is basically pure BS. I've gone to the "special" night clubs with high level gang members (top level, you can say, because of friends of friends and relatives). They sure know how to party and have fun, lots of drinks, and lots of girls. They usually come from a rougher upbringing (the previous generation), so these old guys are damn tough as nails, not afraid to die either. Most have moved onto doing legal businesses too, they control public works, construction, real estate, etc. Many invest in businesses, so after they have legit businesses, they obviously concentrate less on the illegal activities, because they aren't stupid street drug peddlers.
Huh, interesting. As someone who once used to work in the dental industry, I couldn't help but notice that dental hygiene in Taiwan is lacking. I noticed it also to be a problem among the Japanese Yakuza when I was living and working in and among them as well, when I lived in Kyoto, Japan back in the late 1980's. It's changed a lot since I used to live there though. When I was living in Japan back then, I couldn't find dental floss anywhere, so I would have to have family members mail it to me so I could keep my teeth clean. Then, only fifteen years later, after having been married to a Japanese national, and traveling back and forth to Japan for business from the United States, I discovered that you could actually find dental floss in Japan, which was a pleasant surprise. The interesting thing about organized crime anywhere in the world is that it's not really any different from organized corporate capitalism, which for all intent and purpose is also exactly the same thing as organized crime. Tell me I'm wrong.
I noticed how the translator translated "Twainese Mandarine" into Japanese when the mob members were gambling. This makes me wonder if Vice's previous connection to the Japanese Yakuza has helped them to do this project. I also noticed how the punishment culture of the Mobs in Taiwan is quite similar to the Japanese Yakuza's punishment culture, such as cutting the pinky off.
thats only for some sub-organizations. most do the "Three Swords, Six Eyes" as explained in the video. And yes it is also quite simullar to senpekku, but that form of punishment has been around for thousands of years, ever since the 36 oaths were written.
I’d like to see a documentary on the ya ma tei triads/gangs. the ones who run flower and fruit markets. it seems extremely bizzare to me how theyve turned from doing big operations to doing something that seems so friendly
The Calabrian 'Ndrangheta from Italy also is heavily involved in the flower markets. They have a yearly revenue of 60 bilion, so those flower companies are used to: A: Ship coke using trucks and flower containers etc. B: To launder their money.
Yeah so my partner is from Taiwan and we travel there four times a year. I compete in the airsoft championships and I can guarantee you that every one of those weapons shown was an airsoft replica
To Taiwanese gang, the point of having weapons (guns) is to end a life, firearms are illegal in Taiwan, so they use the cheapest way to acquire weapons, homemade handgun from Philippines, modify air soft to .22, the most popular hand gun is Taurus because it’s cheap & easy to modify
It's very interesting to have a peek inside the beliefs and rituals of the Triads. There is a well written book by Serge Hutin, "Les sociétés secrètes en Chine" that details a lot of those rituals and esoteric beliefs.
If you guys are interested, Sleeping Dogs is actually based off the movie Eastern Promises which is about the Russian Mafia. They swapped the Russian for Triads.
Being a Taiwanese-American, I’ve learned a lot from this documentary. I go to taiwan almost every summer because it is home to my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I always heard about mafias and gangs here but this is the first time i’ve seen how they actually are. However, these mafia members don’t seem like bad people. They have deep-rooted beliefs in loyalty and culture which i truly admire. Not saying what they’re doing is right, but they do have a different way of thinking unlike like the typical drug dealing, mugging, street gangs you see here in america. This one hit home for me. Thanks vice.
Lol.. I'm sure 'protection racket' is a very uncharitable translation of what this man is saying around 4:45.. it MUST be closer to 'tribute' or 'insurance'.
It is protection from the gang itself, though i suppose it comes with the implication that those who pay will be protected from being extorted by other gangs. But yeah, if you don't pay, the gang no longer protects you from themselves lol. There's certainly a euphemism involved in the phrase
Fake or Real weapons in the documentary?? It doesn't matter!! These guys are the real deal!! If it's fake, theirs prob a reason why they didn't wanna show real ones on RUclips. But if your questioning the validity of The United Bamboo Triad, their no phony mobsters. United Bamboo has been operating in So. Cali since the mid 80's till now. Their also listed by InterPol as a International Organized Crime Syndicate
Lol right? Never seen so many movie prop guns in my life!!! Fake guns, monopoly money, triad "boss's" show their faces and full names.... This entire video is fake!!! What bullshit
The thing I never got about protection money or mafia in general is the fact that if you dont pay, your shop will likely be destroyed the other day, but how could they sell themselves as being the good guys who offer protection for the people? This makes me mad, innocent people who just want to make a living have to pay for their stupid gangs.
Dental is covered under the national health insurance in Taiwan. You can find dentists in local clinics or in hospitals. Who would go find a dentist in a hospital in the US? Not sure why this guy hasn't gone to the dentist.
they use mostly sword and knives, guns are completely illegal there. they are not stupid to show it on a recording for whole world to see but doesnt mean they dont use it either.
streetgangs in my town are more dangerous than this triad 😂 they literally have samurai and real guns and theres always a dead body in the canal every xmas eve besides my house , they're not even acting tough.
I didn't know there was such a thing as the Taiwanese mafia until I watch the movie monga (highly highly recommend) this documentary is super informative of the real thing
Should have done it with the Hong Kong Triads...they have way more members & way more documented wars....Taiwans triad is a toned down version of Hong Kongs
The serious answer is: this is the 21st Century. The days of total group secrecy-omerta- about anything but operational details are in the past. Being 'visible' (as powerful) has benefits in a connected world, that compensate for the obvious risks.
Wow I’m really having trouble following the Taiwanese dialect they’re using. I’m no master of mandarin or Cantonese but I lived in Hong Kong for years and their expressions are definitely dialectal and specifically for their area. It’s kinda like the first time i traveled to the Uighur areas of mainland China - i was lost lol.
Most of the time in the documentary they’re speaking Chinese, but when they’re speaking to each other they speak Taiwanese, which is like the Fuzhou dialect. I’m Taiwanese myself and I have difficulty speaking it, thought, most people who do speak it nowadays are mostly older people or people in the Southern and Eastern regions of Taiwan.
Usually people move on to more legitimate ventures, while still keeping in contact. Like the guy who says he's a manager. There are studies about Triads in HK that say only about a third or less of these groups is actively involved in street crime. The rest is basically just associates with a legit job and maybe launder money.
I don't know, man... The Yakuza let their people leave whenever they want to unless they play lead roles in the organization. Now these are Triads, but I think this documentary is fake. I mean... airsoft guns? Seriously.
When Taiwanese mention only 2 numbers when speaking about the year they were born, they're referring to the Ming Guo year. Ming Guo 67 is actually 1978 - so the translation/subtitle was off, but only by one year.
@他妈的 its is fake. 1. Taiwan is one of the best manufacturers of airsoft guns 2. At 1:25 you can see the bottom of the mp5 magazine has a magazine winder which is only used for airsoft high capacity magazines. 3. you really think they would have guns like SCARs, ACRs and mp5s? most they would get are pistols, or soviet era weapons. Those rifles cost so much and are pretty much only available in places like the US. Its much easier to go to your local airsoft shop and buy it.
Fake or Real weapons in the documentary?? It doesn't matter!! These guys are the real deal!! If it's fake, theirs prob a reason why they didn't wanna show real ones on RUclips. But if your questioning the validity of The United Bamboo Triad, their no phony mobsters. United Bamboo has been operating in So. Cali since the mid 80's till now. Their also listed by InterPol as a International Organized Crime Syndicate
Americans think airsoft can't be converted. Little did they know Taiwan's gunsmith makes better M-16s that don't jam like that of American ones. So keep playing it down. Just don't come to Taiwan, get mugged, then go crying for Uncle Sammy.
I was born in Taiwan. Some of the translations are off. The fat guy referred to the triad as "company." Some of the house rules, it wasn't cutting arms or legs off, it was to break arms and legs.
Chia-Chun Hsu You're right, 打断
Thank you for translating, thank God you told us the difference between breaking bones and cutting off limbs. I don't know witch would be worse.
@longliveFredolmao he's probably joking,
Breaking people's bones is still a bad Thing even if it's not as extreme as chopping them off xD
I thought so he said 公司。I thought I was trippin haha
Ive never met a taiwanese mafia member that likes to harm anyone. Thats a thing of the past now.
I want to know how Vice approaches these people to ask "hey can we film how your mafia operates"
Anym am curious too
The same way drugs inc does. People like to gloat and show off.
Anym right? I wonder if they pay them
Probably the X-members want to talk about it. and they talk to everybody else about it. and confirmations and shit like that flow through.
They get paid. Gangs are all about money remember that. Everything can be bought for the right price, especially an interview which generates vice massive amounts off money off one video.
Apparently the Bamboo Union does not have a dental plan.
Andres Leon what's beetle(s) nut(s)?
🈯🈳🈵🈴🈲🉐🈹🈺🈶🈚
lolll
hahahahaha
@@ancientfuture9690 It's the fruit of some palm trees. People in southern China chew dried beetle nuts like old time cowboys chew the tobaccos(don try it, will cause cancer)
I am Taiwanese and the translation is rubbish. I understand they were trying to keep it simple but many parts were exaggerated and others were left out. Some parts just don't add up.
Examples:
(1) At 2:07 it was said "I have fired a gun before, and even hit someone" while it was subbed "I've shot a gun to harm people before."
(2) At 3:14 it was said "In the process of breaking a law, our purpose is purely to do business, following a principle to not harm others" while it was subbed "Although we may break a law, we don't harm people immoderately".
(3) At 6:35 it was said "After joining a company or organisation we must all swear that we will be loyal to the company, and that we do not lie" while it was subbed "After you become a member of the triad, you must pledge your fidelity and never betray the triad."
(4) At 8:04 it was said "If you are a young member, the punishment may be quite serious. Perhaps they will break [the bones of] your arm or leg [through beating]" while it was subbed "If young members break a rule, we sometimes cut their arms or legs off."
(5) At 12:08 it was said "When I go get a massage or something, I cover it. Cannot let the masseuse touch it" while it was subbed "But I cover it when I go to a massage...because women are not allowed to touch it".
(6) At 15:23 it was said "all of the organisations in Taiwan unify and gather together" while it was subbed "We keep dispute to a bare minimum".
I don't understand the Taiwanese dialect (different from Chinese) but I suspect those bits are even more off.
They shortened the translations due to space. They aren't that far off, and the viewer only needs the general idea. Translations have sub-set meanings. Here you're wrong－－"When I go get a massage or something, I cover it. Cannot let the masseuse touch it" while it was subbed "But I cover it when I go to a massage...because women are not allowed to touch it". You don't know jianghu 江湖 culture. I grew up in a jiaotou 角頭. Women are not supposed to touch tats on a guy's body. In the video you see a man touch another guy's tatted body, that's fine. If a male masseuse touches a tattoo, it doesn't matter. See, there's a subtext. So they wrote "women are not allowed to touch it." You're efforts are good, but all translators have to assume that what is directly said isn't what it means at point definition. Do you even know what a jiaotou 角頭 is? 有空來台南玩.
Thanks for this. I've wondered often about Vice translations and it confirms they aren't so accurate. Breaking someone's arm is quite a bit different than chopping it off...
Tinya Chang These should all be arrested and punished
Its like they want to control ur perspective of such a lifestyle and sort of stereotype portraying the Mafia as straight savage when really theyre polite
The translation also said that they cut off whole arms and legs. But the guy said feet or hands.
11:09 The guy said "Lord Guan Yu is the guardian deity of us Chinese". But Vice conveniently mistranslated it as "......of the mafia".
Not wrong.
Yep, so then people who get fooled Walk InTo Chinese shop n think it’s mafia linked when they see protector Deity.
Vice is horribly inaccurate n lie allot to help images they want you to think. Their a quote a bit anti educational / anti reality. I don’t subscribe to them.
The translation is wrong. But it is actually correct. Guan Yu is worshipped as the patron deity of both the Mafia and the police in HK/China/Taiwan.
@@karamlevi It's not horribly inaccurate. Accuracy is about 90%, it's okay.
quite surprised when a person from the island of Taiwan call him self Chinese
Lmao the mobster's son
"my mommy says I can't touch the guns because they are dangerous. But I want to shoot everybody"
T L smdh spawn of Satan
Maybe he doesn’t know English that well and that’s not what he meant
He said really badly not everybody
Thought he said a bottle
T L lol the guns aren't the danger here haha the kid needs help
8:11 translation error: young members get their arms and legs BROKEN not cut off
No, he said arms and legs on the floor
This is late to the scene but I think the problem with the translate of this video comes from the reporter might be japanese, don't know why this is the case but you can hear in 9:45 the translator is translating into japanese instead of English. So very likely that some it is lost in translation after Mandarin>Japanese>English
Taiwan has more scooters than people.
That's a lot of eurodance
LMFAOOOOOOOOO
So True 😂😂
come to Vietnam buddy
DatMotoGuy it wasnt that much different 25 years ago either when. I was there.
I can vouch for that nobody uses cars in Taiwan only scooters
Crest toothpaste company needs to start a gang out there...clean Dem chops gang.
That’s from a chewing tobacco that’s native to Taiwan called bing Lang.
@@littotiffx3 Lao ppl chew it too. It’s a drug
Book a ticket and tell them that they'll need a corpse cleaning gang for what's left of you
@@imfine6904
😂 Facts
I taught English in a town called Chungli (Zhongli in pinyin) in the mid-1990s. I was told it had the most gangsters in Taiwan. Man I miss that place. It's so crowded but that was one of the happiest times in my life. I loved Taiwan. I should have never left.
You’re always welcome back :)
is it because of the brothels?
@@calvinma9493 You know, I never asked why there were gangsters in Chungli. There were some brothels but I don't know if there were more in Chungli than Hsinchu which was the other city I taught in. I never went to a brothel. Stuff like that scares me.
@@MajorCulturalDivide I wanted to in HK, but I was by myself and didnt want to get robbed or kidnapped by the gangsters hanging out nearby
@@MajorCulturalDivide I used to live in Hsinchu, and I can say that there’s probably more mafia related things that you can see in public compared to Zhongli, but for the most part, underground plus public mafia related things are probably equal. But surprisingly you can see a lot of gangsters it in public in Hsinchu and Zhongli, you can tell by seeing if a person has a half sleeve tattoo, that’s usually a “half-armor” tattoo.
such poorly translated subtitles
You do it then.
Steve Vandebeur anyone with a decent understanding of Chinese could do better than this, this was so fucking far off it actually pissed me off
Ikr, I’m only British/Taiwanese yet I can tell the subtitles are terrible 😒
Zheng Li vice did it what do you expect? They don’t care on accuracy...terrible excuses for reporters...
Don't know a single word of Chinese, and even I could tell they were off when they were talking.
Wow. Im always shown the super clean, G rated version when i go back with family. Had no idea. So strange to even see guns there. Such is the beauty of vice.
You'd think they could atleast afford a decent dentist with all that money they supposedly make.
Your teeth gonna get knocked all the time XD
HomerJ it’s really not a priority in a lot of Asian countries. Dentistry is pretty exclusively Western.
Money doesn't buy common sense.
And in Taiwan they like to eat like this fruit I don’t know how to write the name I think it’s called “Bi lan “ and their teeth gets all red/ orange .
It's from the betel nut (檳榔 bing lang in mandarin) that they chew. Very common in Taiwan. You can see it at 4:48. It gives them a boost of energy but it's also what stains their teeth a dark red or purple colour.
This is the stuff we want.
My cousin was in a gang in Taiwan and he said that they only fight if they have to; otherwise most of them have ordinary day jobs. and if they are out and about, most of the time they're doing the police's jobs (such as catching thieves, "punishing" burglars and rapists) and putting those types of criminals in their place.
Except they still extort shop owners for money for protection
@@419chris419they don't. The protection money is government taxes. Businesses create jobs for the community that's why. They're very organized with the government districts.
It's funny how when the guy said "us Chinese" but they subtitled it "us mafia", makes you wonder Vice's motives.
yep, they did
I think a lot of subtitles are actually partially inaccurate, tend to simplify situations, and remove a lot of nuances. It's not just Vice, I was watching Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and they also did something like that.
Well, technically these aren't Triads either. The terms they use in the documentary are more like "gang" or "the company". Actual triads are 天地会, or "Heaven and Earth Societies" (and similar three-based names like 三点会，三合会 or using the character 洪) and that tradition has almost died out. I think this is just for ease of translation.
irrlicht321 Are you taiwanese/chinese or just somebody who knows stuff like this (weeb for chinese culture)?
I'm not Chinese, but I studied Chinese at university. Most of what I know draws from a book called Ritual & Mythology of the Chinese Triads by Barend Ter Haar, who is a Sinology professor at Oxford University. It's pretty much the most in-depth study on Triads out there, if you're interested.
Gah, I can watch these documentaries all day long!
Storytelling at its best!
Harshil Patel i do. No regrets
Harshil Patel your recommendation and mine are same i think i saw you in every vods i watched
Every morning I wake up and say: "This will be the day. This will be when I stop watching distracting videos all day long and actually get something done and do something meaningful."
Then VICE puts out a phenomenal documentary about an incredibly interesting topic which inevitably leads to more and more irresistible videos popping up. Dicks.
Harshil Patel *They like Gekyume*
These kind of documentaries are the reason why I started to watch VICE years ago. Keep it up!!!!
In Taiwan, I've met/hung out with gangsters on all levels of the society. The dumb ones don't make their way up, they usually are the drug traffickers and low level crap, and dumb ones do the drugs and get addicted, and screw up their lives, like every other druggie. The higher up people, are actually respectable, and there's generally a rule which they mention, not to affect the general population and innocent people.
I've been in situations, close to street fights with others, because I was hanging with some gangster friends. In most cases, there is no fight because they don't want to get in trouble with the law (and because someone's gonna get hurt). Both parties usually make calls for their gang members and "uncles", once you figure out it's the same gang, or you know each other, the situation is resolved through apology, and if there was some property damage, payment will be made.
The real gang fighting (which I've seen on the streets, on the damn highway, 50 people with chains, knives and bats), they usually don't try to kill anyone, but will beat the crap out of each other. I've met debt collectors, who are the nicest people, but when they are doing their "job", damn, you don't want to be on the receiving end. In general, they use bats, chains, pipes, tasers and knives in fights (knives if it's serious), they don't want to do something that will make society too upset, so they usually don't start pulling out knives and machetes to stab/hack one another, as this will be all over the news and bring negative light on the gang operations. Also, you probably know someone that knows someone in a gang, so you don't exactly want people to know you doing crap, because others will be negatively affected.
In extreme cases (internal power struggle, gang on gang violence), they will use guns. I've seen them, after it's used, they dismantle the weapon, and hand to a couple low levels to dispose of - each person, without talking to the other, will go dump the evidence, usually in the ocean off a cliff or off a ravine beside the road. If there are cell phones, they burn it. Extortion isn't prevalent (but in some businesses, you need to be protection fee, or doing-business-fee, especially government contracts they can help you win). Collecting bad debt is a big huge business, and people get hurt if they don't pay. That's why some of these people are so damn rich, because they take maybe up to 40-60% of the collection amount. Also, blackmailing, especially politicians, is prevalent, as being elected means you have some control over supposed "public tenders", which is basically pure BS.
I've gone to the "special" night clubs with high level gang members (top level, you can say, because of friends of friends and relatives). They sure know how to party and have fun, lots of drinks, and lots of girls. They usually come from a rougher upbringing (the previous generation), so these old guys are damn tough as nails, not afraid to die either. Most have moved onto doing legal businesses too, they control public works, construction, real estate, etc. Many invest in businesses, so after they have legit businesses, they obviously concentrate less on the illegal activities, because they aren't stupid street drug peddlers.
I was so confused when the lady started speaking Japanese
I was so confused when you wrote this comment in English.
Japanese lady was translating from Mandarin to Japanese to the reporter ig
i think this was originally a vice japan video. the reporter was Japanese, and he/she had a mandarin translator with them.
5:29 When they get your order wrong
Bruh I tell you, there are a LOT of triad guys from Taiwan in the casinos in the Philippines, and they're usually just chill businessmen types
Some of the Taiwanese there run your local not quite legal lotteries, too.
@@GilBatesLovesyou OH its true, its damn true haha. Specially in the last 3 years alone, they got so much Government officials here on the payroll lol
They are smart
Took so long to say the first sentence 😂
The honor and loyalty within these groups are impressive. Very well organized.
Unless the situations turns worse and they all become informants
Huh, interesting. As someone who once used to work in the dental industry, I couldn't help but notice that dental hygiene in Taiwan is lacking. I noticed it also to be a problem among the Japanese Yakuza when I was living and working in and among them as well, when I lived in Kyoto, Japan back in the late 1980's. It's changed a lot since I used to live there though. When I was living in Japan back then, I couldn't find dental floss anywhere, so I would have to have family members mail it to me so I could keep my teeth clean. Then, only fifteen years later, after having been married to a Japanese national, and traveling back and forth to Japan for business from the United States, I discovered that you could actually find dental floss in Japan, which was a pleasant surprise.
The interesting thing about organized crime anywhere in the world is that it's not really any different from organized corporate capitalism, which for all intent and purpose is also exactly the same thing as organized crime. Tell me I'm wrong.
lowerastral wrong
It’s mostly because of eating a lot of beetle nuts
Not sure if the mafia offers dental insurance. Smoking, chewing betel nuts, drinking, fighting, all bad for your teeth.
When the Taiwanese mafia use airsoft guns 😂
I swear, these guys can hide in plain site, which make them even more intimidating...
I like that mans approach on unifying the mafias in a way to assist not only the people, but also the government. Thats pretty deep.
You be thinking you’re hitting a harmless Chinese accountant looking guy then all of a sudden this guy ends up being a mafia boss lmao
It's an actual reality in Asia, lots of unassuming people can have mob or government ties. Be nice to everyone.
11:23 when he said ‘us Chinese’ and the subtitles show nothing lol. Well done
it's bad translations to shape a certain idea of the mafia and china itself, for better and for worse.
About time Triad docs these are so rare
2000guineas I hear it’s hard getting in contact with a triad
9:18 she's speaking Japanese. Suddenly i could understand what was being said and got confused lol
Yeah i noticed that too i was like wtf am i trippin? lol
They're so lucky the mafia wasn't one of those "Now you know too much, say farewell" types
I noticed how the translator translated "Twainese Mandarine" into Japanese when the mob members were gambling. This makes me wonder if Vice's previous connection to the Japanese Yakuza has helped them to do this project. I also noticed how the punishment culture of the Mobs in Taiwan is quite similar to the Japanese Yakuza's punishment culture, such as cutting the pinky off.
thats only for some sub-organizations. most do the "Three Swords, Six Eyes" as explained in the video. And yes it is also quite simullar to senpekku, but that form of punishment has been around for thousands of years, ever since the 36 oaths were written.
This was filmed by Vice Japan. The crew probably spoke Japanese so the translator was doing just that.
Wfym, connections with the Yakuza? Please explain.
Well considering that Taiwan was a former Japanese colony I won’t be surprised if there are some influence from the yakuza
@@Wontonsouplyfe there is an entire fugitive exchange network between islands & criminal organizations
my man rocking the bugs bunny tie lol 1:50
I didn't know Master Yi and Xin Zhoa was apart of the Triads.
I’d like to see a documentary on the ya ma tei triads/gangs. the ones who run flower and fruit markets. it seems extremely bizzare to me how theyve turned from doing big operations to doing something that seems so friendly
The Calabrian 'Ndrangheta from Italy also is heavily involved in the flower markets. They have a yearly revenue of 60 bilion, so those flower companies are used to: A: Ship coke using trucks and flower containers etc. B: To launder their money.
Yeah so my partner is from Taiwan and we travel there four times a year. I compete in the airsoft championships and I can guarantee you that every one of those weapons shown was an airsoft replica
What gave it away?
To Taiwanese gang, the point of having weapons (guns) is to end a life, firearms are illegal in Taiwan, so they use the cheapest way to acquire weapons, homemade handgun from Philippines, modify air soft to .22, the most popular hand gun is Taurus because it’s cheap & easy to modify
This guy has some massive balls to drive what looks like a porsche and let vice interview him and video him with tons of guns.
It's very interesting to have a peek inside the beliefs and rituals of the Triads. There is a well written book by Serge Hutin, "Les sociétés secrètes en Chine" that details a lot of those rituals and esoteric beliefs.
Nice bugs bunny tie.
Felipe Revuelta when??
Redinstrumental753 1:55
Hail Buggs the OG and Uber Discordian! Hipp Hipp Hoooray!
TheCarrifaery 😆
Why is this video not available in Asia? I'm watching though a VPN
Hacking tutorials lol
Probably so Taiwanese government cant see this video
Im from asia but i can see it without vpn
Where in Asia?
Valenchina Philippines
Bad translation, and so many thing of what they say are left out in the English translation. :(
I have been there they are so kind people i am suprised that there are gangs in taiwan
that porsche sounded like a scooter
Because its not a Porsche!
Its Fake ...
"HYPAH HYPAH"
Are tooth brushes illegal?
Chewing Beetle nut
yea
🤣🤣🤣
sleeping dogs irl
Alex Vento I was just thinking that
Alex Vento One of the greatest games I had the pleasure of playing, so much fun.
I knew someone else would say that as well.
More like sleeping pups. These gangs won't last a day in Hong Kong or down town LA.
If you guys are interested, Sleeping Dogs is actually based off the movie Eastern Promises which is about the Russian Mafia. They swapped the Russian for Triads.
Yakuza sequels getting good graphics
Rip to that evo
Being a Taiwanese-American, I’ve learned a lot from this documentary. I go to taiwan almost every summer because it is home to my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. I always heard about mafias and gangs here but this is the first time i’ve seen how they actually are. However, these mafia members don’t seem like bad people. They have deep-rooted beliefs in loyalty and culture which i truly admire. Not saying what they’re doing is right, but they do have a different way of thinking unlike like the typical drug dealing, mugging, street gangs you see here in america. This one hit home for me. Thanks vice.
2:14 daddy must be so proud of his little enforcer in the making xoxo
Lol.. I'm sure 'protection racket' is a very uncharitable translation of what this man is saying around 4:45.. it MUST be closer to 'tribute' or 'insurance'.
or as normal people call it, extortion.
James Neace it translates literally to "protection fee"
Thank you!
All of them are still pieces of human shit.
It is protection from the gang itself, though i suppose it comes with the implication that those who pay will be protected from being extorted by other gangs. But yeah, if you don't pay, the gang no longer protects you from themselves lol. There's certainly a euphemism involved in the phrase
5:45 this guys just watching casually and smoking
This is the Vice I miss
Vice forgot to blurr out the mafia guy's face in the intro... no point blurring it out in the middle of the video lol...
1:17 dude got a iced out watch! (idk if it's a rolex)
Rolex Datejust, yep
Those boys got some nice BB guns
It is fake
他妈的 Taiwan one of the biggest airsoft gun manufacturers in the world, fuck up 😂😂😂😂
I think they're showing the airsoft guns for legal reasons so that the government can't use this video to crack down on the mafia
Fake or Real weapons in the documentary?? It doesn't matter!! These guys are the real deal!! If it's fake, theirs prob a reason why they didn't wanna show real ones on RUclips. But if your questioning the validity of The United Bamboo Triad, their no phony mobsters. United Bamboo has been operating in So. Cali since the mid 80's till now. Their also listed by InterPol as a International Organized Crime Syndicate
Lol right? Never seen so many movie prop guns in my life!!! Fake guns, monopoly money, triad "boss's" show their faces and full names.... This entire video is fake!!! What bullshit
The thing I never got about protection money or mafia in general is the fact that if you dont pay, your shop will likely be destroyed the other day, but how could they sell themselves as being the good guys who offer protection for the people? This makes me mad, innocent people who just want to make a living have to pay for their stupid gangs.
That tie alone would scare most people!
this is the vice i remember
More crime documentaries please!! :) Love these
Do they brush teeth?
Tony Roberts lmao I was thinking the same thing
Tony Roberts they spend all the money they earn in noodles
Naza666 Naza666 My dude thats a stretch, stfu about us taiwanese and chinese people always eat noodles.
Tony Roberts not enough time, gotta sell more drugs and make more bad stuff happen.
Tony Roberts no this is homeles and junkies with alot money
such a tabloid representation.. vice has lost all my respect
They make it sound like Mafia is justified and righteous.
8:20 “I used to beat up people when gang wars happened” lmao that’s probably someone’s grandpa now ..............
i know thats it typical im stacking this paper its sorta habitual
Jordanj m is it?!
Count it up, count it up, count it up, count it
The dude at 4:00 says he was born in 1967 but the subtitles say 1979...
ROC year 67 equates to 1979. Different calendar.
XPoChangLinX oh really? People in Taiwan use that format in everyday speech?
Yes we do, we always use ROC year when it comes to birth year.
1912 is Minguo year 1: ie. it counts the number of years since the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
petersu33 oh wow I didn’t know that. Thanks for letting me know :)
"if young members break rules, we sometimes cut their arms or legs off."
gang of window smashers lol
Taïwan was the little mafia that the japanese mafia was the most powerful in the asian and worldwide.
"That's how Mafia works"
Dental is covered under the national health insurance in Taiwan. You can find dentists in local clinics or in hospitals. Who would go find a dentist in a hospital in the US? Not sure why this guy hasn't gone to the dentist.
"Ohho..me so Solly"
The best line
12:59 his face is in the thumbnail lmaoo
Taiwanese keeps the traditional chinese culture and get it thrives, whereas in mainland china, a lot of it is disappearing
Tough mobsters using airsoft guns. I've seen everything now.
they use mostly sword and knives, guns are completely illegal there. they are not stupid to show it on a recording for whole world to see but doesnt mean they dont use it either.
"Come on lads, lets all gang up and smash this window!"
@Andres Leon It used to be that way, but it isn't like that nowadays, FYI.
streetgangs in my town are more dangerous than this triad 😂 they literally have samurai and real guns and theres always a dead body in the canal every xmas eve besides my house , they're not even acting tough.
I didn't know there was such a thing as the Taiwanese mafia until I watch the movie monga (highly highly recommend) this documentary is super informative of the real thing
14:49 when that 5th molly hit different. ...
That G18 certainly caught my attention.
8:05 oh ok
2:33 mans got a Glock 18c 🤩
Its airsoft so yeah lol
Should have done it with the Hong Kong Triads...they have way more members & way more documented wars....Taiwans triad is a toned down version of Hong Kongs
Taiwanese Triads are more organized, but most OG UBGs were associates with Yakuza since 1960s, speaking from personal experiences, FYI.
1:47 you can hear a samsung phone goin off in the background lol
Guy: 'there are many that use guns, but only when they have to'
Girl : awhhhh :(
1:38
I love how the translator is translating into Japanese. Taiwanese translation part is pretty off
They’re all like 5”5
BG21 doesn’t matter, the smaller the better, you’re more flexible if your small and you can hide everywhere
How does Vice be able to film such dangerous groups without being shot?
Hard to get shot with airsoft guns, man...
Cause Vice shot them first.
Maria W lol
The serious answer is: this is the 21st Century. The days of total group secrecy-omerta- about anything but operational details are in the past. Being 'visible' (as powerful) has benefits in a connected world, that compensate for the obvious risks.
Know Never Still they have filmed gangs like sinaloa and narcos in colombia they take a pretty big risk filming this shit
The translation is not too bad. However, it is missing a lot of crucial information from the independent interviews of the members.
No unwritten rule for talking (on camera)about a somewhat secret organization🤔
Wow I’m really having trouble following the Taiwanese dialect they’re using. I’m no master of mandarin or Cantonese but I lived in Hong Kong for years and their expressions are definitely dialectal and specifically for their area. It’s kinda like the first time i traveled to the Uighur areas of mainland China - i was lost lol.
Most of the time in the documentary they’re speaking Chinese, but when they’re speaking to each other they speak Taiwanese, which is like the Fuzhou dialect. I’m Taiwanese myself and I have difficulty speaking it, thought, most people who do speak it nowadays are mostly older people or people in the Southern and Eastern regions of Taiwan.
Can you ever leave the triad to lead a “normal” life? Or is that considered betrayal?
Blood in blood out.
Usually people move on to more legitimate ventures, while still keeping in contact. Like the guy who says he's a manager. There are studies about Triads in HK that say only about a third or less of these groups is actively involved in street crime. The rest is basically just associates with a legit job and maybe launder money.
I don't know, man... The Yakuza let their people leave whenever they want to unless they play lead roles in the organization. Now these are Triads, but I think this documentary is fake. I mean... airsoft guns? Seriously.
irrlicht321 makes sense. Thanks for the info. 👍🏽
Theres often two ways of getting "out". Either by paying a huge sum of money or to get killed.
I lo e these type of documentaries, wonderful job!
@vice please do a series of the Taiwanese traids, their gang culture go way back with the yazukas. And the organization is “huge”.
Yakuza - Cuts off fingers.
Bamboo Union - Cuts of limbs until they're amputees.
4:02 "I was born in 1979"
He said he was born in 1967. Come on Vice
When Taiwanese mention only 2 numbers when speaking about the year they were born, they're referring to the Ming Guo year. Ming Guo 67 is actually 1978 - so the translation/subtitle was off, but only by one year.
It is the Republic of China Calendar bro.
MinGuo year 67 was 1978
Those “guns” are almost all Airsoft.
@他妈的
its is fake.
1. Taiwan is one of the best manufacturers of airsoft guns
2. At 1:25 you can see the bottom of the mp5 magazine has a magazine winder which is only used for airsoft high capacity magazines.
3. you really think they would have guns like SCARs, ACRs and mp5s? most they would get are pistols, or soviet era weapons. Those rifles cost so much and are pretty much only available in places like the US. Its much easier to go to your local airsoft shop and buy it.
Fake or Real weapons in the documentary?? It doesn't matter!! These guys are the real deal!! If it's fake, theirs prob a reason why they didn't wanna show real ones on RUclips. But if your questioning the validity of The United Bamboo Triad, their no phony mobsters. United Bamboo has been operating in So. Cali since the mid 80's till now. Their also listed by InterPol as a International Organized Crime Syndicate
Americans think airsoft can't be converted. Little did they know Taiwan's gunsmith makes better M-16s that don't jam like that of American ones. So keep playing it down. Just don't come to Taiwan, get mugged, then go crying for Uncle Sammy.
Automatic death sentence if Taiwan returns to China
Guy says he's born 1967. Subtitles says he's born 1979
He was referring to Ming Guo 67 which is actually 1978. So yeah the translation was off but only by a year.
What are the numbers?
That’s what I was waiting for.