S5E35 - Altars and Outlaws: Ben Sando on Taiwan’s Underworld – Gangs, Temples, and Political Influence – S5-E35

We’ll let Benjamin Sando, research fellow at the Global Taiwan Institute, and our guest for this week’s episode, describe the topic:

“From the early days of Han Taiwanese society, through the period of Kuomintang (KMT, 國民黨) martial law and on to the era of democratization, the influence of Taiwan’s gangs has evolved. The activity of some gangs (but not all) has spread beyond extracting profit from local territory – through extortion, prostitution, and gambling – to international transactions involving drug, arms, and human trafficking. This has sowed connections between certain Taiwanese gangs and foreign actors, such as Chine...