Hong Kong Crime and Policing Quiz

Lecture 7: Disciplining Hong Kong

• Lecture topic: Disciplining Hong Kong: gang-land, cop-land, Disneyland
• Focuses on law and order in Hong Kong, examining historical periods, including the early colonial period, post-war gangland, riots of the 1970s (transition to copland), and privatization of security (relation to Disneyland)
• Lecture structure includes:
  • Part I: The puzzle about law and order in early Hong Kong
  • Part II: Early colonial period – birth of a gangland
  • Part III: Post-war riots – 1970s: from Gangland to Copland
  • Part VI: Privatization of security: Copland to Disneyland?
  • Part V: Conclusion

Portrayal of Hong Kong in Hollywood

• Hong Kong actors commonly portrayed in crime thriller films:
  • The Corruptor (1999): Chow Yun Fat as a corrupted NYPD Asian Gang police officer, highlighting a relationship (Guanxi)
  • Rush Hour (1998): Jackie Chan as HK Police Force Detective Inspector
• Other films mentioned: Enter the Dragon (1973), Arrow (2014), The Dark Knight (2008)

Historical and Sociological Analysis of Hong Kong's Law and Order

• SD1 (Standard Definition 1): Hong Kong was a gangland, where triads were prominent criminal organizations. Local Chinese society had a weak role in social control.
• SD2: Hong Kong transitioned to copland in response to the 1970s crime wave, with the police's primary task being crime deterrence.
• SD3: Current low crime rate is the outcome of successful law enforcement activities.

High Definition of Triads

• HD1: Triads were more than just criminals, acting as Chinese subcultural organizations involved in trading violence and informal services.
• HD2: Post-war HK police mostly comprised of the same social class as the local Chinese working class, leading to complex policing dynamics.
• HD3: Hong Kong's perceived safety is a product of security privatization, exemplified by Disneyland.

Gangland (Early Colonial Era)

• Policing ideology: laissez-faire approach focusing on regulating the local Chinese community, not heavily involved in the market economy.
• Three key elements: Market, Society, State.

Modern Police as a British Legacy

• First Chief Magistrate: Captain William Caine (30 April 1841).
• Police force recruited from British and Indian regiments with 37 Chinese included in order to better manage the local population.
• Policing ordinances enacted from 1844 to 1845, with attempts to emulate the London Metropolitan Police style.

Colonial Control of Indigenous Population

• 1844: "Registry of the Inhabitants of the Island of Hong Kong" – to regulate and track the indigenous population, which later faced opposition and was suspended due to local Chinese dissent.
• Other controls: Pass laws, curfews for Chinese, and night pass registration required from the police. This indicated colonial policing as a force separate from the local population.

Ethnic Composition of HK Police (pre-1992)

• Historical overview of the ethnic makeup of the HK Police force.

A Weak State: Limited Judicial Capacity

• Laissez-faire approach with limited judicial capacity, and a blurred distinction between Qing and Colonial governance.
• Rely on exhibiting traditional punishments.

Regional Influence: The Chinese Triad Society

• History of Triad society, its role in political struggles, and societal functions in HK.

The Triad Society During Chinese Revolution

• How triads were politically utilized during the Chinese Revolution, and the resulting impacts.
• Triads, with support from Chinese leaders and overseas Chinese became a major force during the revolution.

Local Society: Self-Policing

• Initially, merchants hired watchmen to deal with piracy and robbery, which conflicted with European policing styles.
• The implementation of the "Bamboo Ordinance" by acting Governor George D'Auilar banned certain sound-producing devices, to reduce crime.
• Later, Nam Pak Hong and Tung Wah establish District Watch Force.

Short Summary: Early Colonial to Pre-WWII

• Hong Kong had a segregated social order (Chinese vs Europeans).
• Triad society had a rigid structure until the 1960s due to hard labor and survival conditions.
• A shallow political penetration of the local Chinese society and a weak colonial police force.
• Paramilitary and indirect rule policing.
• Self policing activities amongst the local Chinese community until 1920s.
• Policing target shifted towards the Chinese working class.

Post-War Riots (1970s): From Gangland to Copland

• Increased state intervention, shift in the ideology of policing from paramilitary to community, attempting to regulate crimes among working classes and youth.

Regional Influence: Post-War Politicized Triads

• Political influence of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in organizing and utilizing Triad groups in Hong Kong during the Chinese civil war.
• Post-war, Triad societies developed a more formal and structured system to deliver and offer social services within the local community.
• The 1956 Double-Tenth Riot as a major Colonial Territory and governance disturbance and resulted in social and political changes.

Local Influence: Rise of State Police (1950s-1970s)

• The 1950s and 1970s saw a change in the ethnic demographics of the police force.
• The police gained more power over triad societies with the help of new regulations.
• Tools used to discipline problematic elements included detentions and deportations.

'Comprador' Policing

• Relationship between the police and the local Chinese community, namely a 'comprador' style of policing where non-local Chinese police rose to prominent positions due to their extensive experience.
• They forged symbiotic relationships with triad societies.

How About the Triad Societies?

• Transition from rigid to flexible organizations.
• Mass deportation of triad members.
• Restructuring of relationships between the society and local groups, and the state

Why Modernization of Police?

• Existing arrangements became challenging to control crime rate, leading to a rise in urban juvenile gangs.
• Economic issues and lack of social support for the people contributed to rising crime rates.
• Political crisis and widespread youth moral panic were related to the issues with policing and criminal activities in Hong Kong.

Modernization of Police (breaking local power):

• Police reform and increased wages and structure change starting from 1969.
• Rise of Neighborhood Police (1973-1977), fight against crime and anti-corruption,
• Founding of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in 1974.

Comparative Data (1979-1987):

• Review of workload and strength related data for the HK Police Force

Advance Capitalism: Privatization of 'Security'

• 'Security' services are now a commodified product, with private security companies like security in shopping malls and complexes, gated communities emerging.

Advance Capitalism: Diffusion of Security

• Expansion of 'policing' to various administrative outlets such as the MTR
• Increased power for private security companies.
• Risk based approach to policing to target and exclude potentially 'dangerous' elements of the society.

Advance Capitalism: Isolation / Exclusion of Subversive Elements

• New public housing projects have included 'crime prevention' measures such as CCTV, and registry systems.
• Involvement of the private sector in policing, similar to Disneyland's security practices.
• Prescribed functions of new public space.

Why Disneyland?

• Analysis of how Disneyland and similar market-oriented spaces function as models of social order. This relates back to the policing strategies from previous models.

Exclusion of Certain Activity in Space

• Similar to Disneyland, shopping malls and other structured urban 'spaces' were used to regulate social order.
• CCTV usage for surveillance.
• Disciplinary policing of behavior through restrictions on movements & public space

Ideological Policing

• Preemptive measure designed to prevent resistance against current norms or societal norms in urban spaces.

Unintended Result: Exclusion from Security

• Privatizing security further exacerbated inequality, with gated communities and publicly funded private security benefiting certain groups over others.

After 2000: Society 'Policed" by Two Ends

• Transition with market security and state police, balancing approaches to policing.

Part VI: Conclusion

• Review of the changing policing and social control trends in Hong Kong, and the relationship between the state and the market approaches to maintaining social order.

Conclusion

• Summative points on how policing and social control have changed over time in Hong Kong and how they relate to both local and global factors.

Conclusion

• Further consideration on how ideas from the past continue to shape our ideas of policing and safety in the 21st-century.

Test your knowledge on the intricate relationship between crime, policing, and popular culture in Hong Kong. Explore historical contexts such as colonialism and socio-cultural shifts that have influenced law enforcement and perceptions of crime from the 1970s to today. Delve into how triads have affected portrayals of law enforcement in media as well as implications of privatization of security.