In early May, Japanese writer Yasuda Minetoshi published a feature article in NEWS Post Seven examining how the Chinese Communist Party may be using organized crime networks to penetrate Okinawa. According to the report, Beijing has in recent years intensified efforts to shape political narratives on the island. Beyond the visible promotion of the “Ryukyu independence movement,” the report also alleged that groups originating in Taiwan’s underworld have been used as channels for influence operations.
These groups are not merely criminal organizations. Some are reportedly linked to long-standing Chinese secret societies with transnational networks. Through such channels, China’s influence activities are alleged to have reached not only Japan, but also parts of Latin America. The central question is therefore not simply whether these groups are criminal actors, but why their historical background and organizational networks make them useful to Beijing’s broader external strategy.
Chinese Secret Societies and the Ryukyu Independence Narrative
In Yasuda’s report, one organization occupies a particularly important position: the Bamboo Union, one of Taiwan’s most prominent organized crime groups. Its spiritual leader, Chang An-lo, has long been linked in public accounts to Taiwan’s Kuomintang (KMT) intelligence networks during the period of martial law. In particular, he was associated with the assassination of Henry Liu, also known by his pen name Chiang Nan, a journalist and KMT critic who was then living in the United States. Chang later spent years in China.
