Club Lunch: The Politics of Controlling Organized Crime in Greater China

Thursday, January 21, 2016
12:30pm for 12:45pm – lunch
1:10pm – address
1st Floor

Speaker: Professor Sonny Lo
Department of Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Institute of Education

Professor Lo discussed insights of his new book, The Politics of Controlling Organization Crime in Greater China, on how the governments of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao have been controlling organized crime activities such as triads, terrorism, narcotics, prostitution and illegal gambling. His view is that state capacities of controlling organized crime vary in these four places, a phenomenon also reflective of not only state autonomy from the influence of crime groups but also state legitimacy in the combat against criminal groups. Most importantly, police cooperation across different legal jurisdictions can enhance state capacities, autonomy and legitimacy in organized crime control.

Sonny Shiu-Hing Lo is a Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at the Hong Kong Institute of Education. His previous books include Hong Kong’s Indigenous Democracy (2015) and The Politics of Earthquake Management in China (2014).