A tong is a type of organization found among Chinese immigrants predominantly living in the United States, with smaller numbers in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. In Chinese, the word tong means "hall" or "gathering place". These organizations are described as secret societies or sworn brotherhoods and are often tied to criminal activity. In the 1990s, in most American Chinatowns, clearly marked tong halls could easily be found, many of which have had affiliations with Chinese organized crime.
The Killer is a 1989 Hong Kong action film directed and written by John Woo and produced by Tsui Hark. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Danny Lee and Sally Yeh. Chow plays Ah Jong, a professional assassin for the Triads who wants to retire, but accidentally damages the eyes of singer Jennie (Yeh) during a shootout and sets out to perform one last hit to pay for her treatment.
Rush Hour is a 1998 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner and written by Jim Kouf and Ross LaManna from a story by LaManna. It stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker as mismatched police officers who are assigned to rescue a Chinese diplomat's abducted daughter. Tom Wilkinson, Chris Penn and Elizabeth Peña play supporting roles. Released on September 18, 1998, the film received positive reviews from critics and has grossed over $244 million worldwide. Its box office commercial success led to two sequels: Rush Hour 2 (2001) and Rush Hour 3 (2007).
Hard Boiled is a 1992 Hong Kong action thriller film directed by John Woo from a screenplay by Gordon Chan and Barry Wong based on a story written by Woo. The film stars Chow Yun-fat, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and Anthony Wong. It follows a police inspector whose investigation of a brutal Triad leader entangles him in the complex world of undercover policing.
Blue Streak is a 1999 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Les Mayfield. Inspired by the 1965 film The Big Job, the film stars Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, Dave Chappelle, Peter Greene, Nicole Ari Parker and William Forsythe. Lawrence plays Miles, a jewel thief who tries to retrieve a diamond he left at a police station, whereupon he disguises himself as a detective and gets paired with a real policeman to investigate burglaries. The film was shot on location in California. The prime shooting spot was Sony Pictures Studios, which is located in Culver City, California.
Like many other communities, the older Chinatowns face certain social problems. Although Chinatowns are now generally viewed and valued as tourist attractions, their earlier reputation was that of dangerous or dilapidated ghettos and slums, sites of brothels, opium dens, and gambling halls.
City on Fire is a 1987 Hong Kong action film directed by Ringo Lam. It stars Chow Yun-fat, Danny Lee, and Sun Yueh. Following A Better Tomorrow (1986), City on Fire helped establish Chow's popularity as an action star in Asia and to a lesser degree North America.
Legend of the Dragon is a 1990 Hong Kong action-comedy film directed by Danny Lee, starring Stephen Chow, Teresa Mo, Bryan Leung and Yuen Wah.
Marie Matiko is an American actress.
Wild Search (伴我闖天涯) is a 1989 Hong Kong action thriller film directed and produced by Ringo Lam. The film stars Chow Yun-fat and Cherie Chung. The film is a pseudo-remake of the 1985 American film Witness and deals with Hong Kong cops and Mainland criminals. The film was released theatrically in Hong Kong on 3 June 1989.
Raymond Kwok-Cheung Chow, nicknamed "Shrimp Boy", is a Hong Kong-born felon with ties to a San Francisco Chinatown street gang and an organized crime syndicate, including the American branch of the Hong Kong-based triad Wo Hop To and the Hop Sing Boys.
Tracers is a 2015 American action film directed by Daniel Benmayor with a screenplay by Matt Johnson and a story by Johnson, T. J. Scott, and Kevin Lund. The film stars Taylor Lautner, Marie Avgeropoulos, Adam Rayner, and Rafi Gavron. The film was released on March 20, 2015.
Moving Targets is a 2004 Hong Kong action crime film starring Nicholas Tse, Edison Chen, Simon Yam, and Gillian Chung as the main leads. With Michelle Yim, Roy Chow, Lam Suet, and Kent Tong in the main supporting roles. Directed, written, and produced by Wong Jing, the film is based on the popular 1980 TVB drama series Police Cadet '84.
Treasure Hunt is a 1994 Hong Kong action comedy and romantic fantasy film written and directed by Jeffrey Lau and starring Chow Yun-fat and Jacklyn Wu.
Triads: The Inside Story is a 1989 Hong Kong crime drama film directed by Taylor Wong and starring Chow Yun-fat and Roy Cheung.
Three is a 2016 Hong Kong–Chinese action film produced and directed by Johnnie To and starring Zhao Wei, Louis Koo and Wallace Chung. The film was released on 24 June 2016 in China and 30 June 2016 in Hong Kong, while it is also the closing film of the 2016 Taipei Film Festival on 10 July 2016.
Michael Chen was a Chinese-born American gangster who was leader of the Flying Dragons gang from the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Killerman is a 2019 American action crime film starring Liam Hemsworth, Emory Cohen, Diane Guerrero, Zlatko Buric, Suraj Sharma, and Nickola Shreli. It was theatrically released in the United States on August 30, 2019.
Fujianese organized crime or Fujian gang refers to crime syndicates, similar to triad gangs, composed of Fujianese people. The term primarily refers to Fujianese immigrant gangs in Hong Kong, but can also refer more broadly to Fujianese community associations or to native crime syndicates in the province of Fujian.
