THE SUSPECTS line up in chains, in groups of four or five, many shaven-headed and scowling as the list of charges are read out – murder, extortion, prostitution, corruption and violent assault.
Modern-day China’s biggest and most lurid mob trials are under way in the southwestern city of Chongqing, and the whole country is fascinated and horrified as the first suspects of many hundreds arrested – gangsters, prominent businessmen and 14 high-ranking officials – shuffle into court.
The charges read like a Chinese Sopranosscript. There are accusations of murder over singing karaoke too loudly, of machete attacks and of police officers being beaten unconscious and dumped in bags in the countryside.
So far, six members of what the Chinese call “black societies” have been sentenced to death for crimes including murder and blackmail – and no one believes they will be the last.
Triad gangsters have a long history in the hilly, humid city on the Yangtze River. In all, more than 2,000 government officials, police officers and suspected gangsters were held as part of the crackdown on organised crime.
Some characters are textbook examples of the underbelly of China’s booming growth story, the dark side of 30 years of economic reform. Some police estimates reckon there are anything up to three million mobsters in China, and 4,200 Cosa Nostra-style outfits.
The crimes outlined in the current trials were unthinkable in chairman Mao Zedong’s time. This is one reason why the Great Helmsman is still revered by many in China, even though his failed agricultural policy, the Great Leap Forward, and the disastrous Cultural Revolution killed millions.
“At least there were no triads and corrupt officials” is how many people think here.
This form of public justice is all about reassuring an uneasy public that the Communist Party will not tolerate graft in its ranks, especially when it involves cadres and officials co-operating with triad-style gangs in a city like Chongqing, a sprawling metropolis of 28 million administered directly by the central government in Beijing.
Here you have Xie Caiping (46), sister-in-law of Wen Qiang, the city’s ex-justice chief and former vice public security head. She and her 21-strong crew are accused of running 30 illegal casinos, all benefiting from the helpful hand of the local police force.
Labelled “The Godmother” of the Chongqing underworld, Ms Xie delivered a testimony rich with profanities, irking the judge. The public lapped it up, just as it did tales of her 16 young lovers.
Yang Tianming and members of his gang are accused of murder, blackmail, operating casinos, loan-sharking and using organised violence against competing businesses.
Another gang, allegedly led by Liu Zhongyong, is charged with purchasing coal from miners at low prices by force and causing a major accident in illegally-run small coal mines run by the gang.
Leading the anti-corruption drive is Bo Xilai, one of China’s most accomplished politicians, who has overseen everything from the transformation of Liaoning province to China’s entry to the World Trade Organisation and has now been given the job of cleaning up Chonqing, where he is mayor.