Highlights
– Resurrected Four Seas gang Taiwan’s second largest
– Criminal enterprise includes legal businesses to spread influence throughout Taiwanese society
Four Seas Gang Wraps Criminal Enterprises in Legal Ventures
The Four Seas gang, also known as Si Hai Bang, is Taiwan’s second largest gang. Established in 1955, the Four Seas gang primarily consists of Chinese natives and their descendents. New leadership resurrected the gang by opening and controlling houses of prostitution, gambling casinos, restaurants, nightclubs, construction companies, and initiating a protection racket. By expanding their criminal enterprise to include legal as well as illegal ventures, the gang was able to become a legitimate facet of Taiwanese society. In Taiwan, the Four Seas gang mainly operates in Taipei City’s Shihlin and Peitou districts. The gang is also known to be present in the United States and participates in transnational crimes, including narcotics trafficking and human smuggling. Within Asia, many members of the Four Seas gang have fled to China to expand their operations while seeking protection from arrest.
In recent decades, the membership of the Four Seas gang has increased as legal and illegal Taiwanese gang members reached the United States. According the United States Customs Service, the Four Seas gang has an estimated 2,000 members. While the gang continues its international expansion, Taiwanese authorities have made an effort to crack down on organized crime, targeting the leaders of the notorious triads. In the late 1990s, Taiwanese law enforcement conducted a pre-dawn raid on the home of Tsai Kuan-Iun, leader of the Four Seas gang. The arrest created a media frenzy as footage was broadcast on national television. In addition to eliminating specific targets, the government also ran a series of massive sweeps between 1962 and 1996, leading to the arrest of thousands of underworld gangsters. Like Tsai Kuan-Iun, these criminals were shipped to Green Island Prison for educational reform. The Green Island Prison is located off the eastern coast of Taiwan and is known to have housed some of the most dangerous of Taiwan’s criminals.
Future of Four Seas and Status Among Taiwan Gangs
It is unlikely that the Four Seas gang will acquire the membership necessary to surpass Bamboo Union as Taiwan’s largest gang. Other Taiwanese gangs will mimic the Four Seas gang in adding legal ventures to their predominantly illegal criminal enterprise. Despite efforts to eradicate organized crime in Taiwan, we forsee these groups continuing and expanding their operations for the mid and long-term.
