Bamboo Union

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The United Bamboo Gang (UBG; Chinese: 竹聯幫; pinyin: Zhúliánbāng), also known as the Bamboo Union, is the largest of Taiwan's three main criminal Triads.^[1][2][3] They are reported to have roughly 200,000 members.^[1][3][4][5] The membership consists largely of waishengren (Mainland Chinese) and has had historic ties to the Kuomintang; they are said to be motivated as much by political ideology as by profit. They are known to simply call themselves "businessmen", but in reality, are also involved in organized killings and drug trafficking. The gang gained global notoriety when it became directly involved in politics in the early 1980s.