A notorious ex-gangster is reportedly launching an illicit gambling project in Myanmar under the banner of the Belt and Road Initiative. What does that say about Beijing’s most important foreign policy initiative?
Former Macau triad boss Wan Kuok-koi, also known as “Broken Tooth,” photographed in Macau in the late 1990s. Credit: David Paul Morris
At 7 a.m. on December 1, 2012, with a crush of media waiting nearby, the Coloane Prison in the Chinese territory of Macau released one of the region’s most notorious gangsters — Wan Kuok-Koi, better known by his street name: Broken Tooth. Dressed in a white, long sleeve shirt, the then 57-year-old Wan had served nearly 14 years in prison for a host of crimes, including loan sharking and illegal gambling. In the 1990s, when Macau was still administered by Portugal, Broken Tooth had been the ruthless and feared leader of 14K, a violent triad group. He was accused of attempting to kill the city’s police chief, and he controlled a major network of “junket operators,” middlemen who bring in high-stakes gamblers and collect their debts on behalf of casinos.
Today, however, Wan has a new calling. Rather than leading an organized crime syndicate in Macau, which is now under Chinese rule, Broken Tooth has recast himself as an international businessman and Chinese patriotHe has a pr
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