Research on Organized Crime in Macau

Author: Mo Hongxian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-02-01
Features: The survival and development history of organized crime in Macau fully demonstrates the scientific validity of Gary S. Becker's "Crime Economics," an important theory awarded the 1992 Nobel Prize in Economics. This theory posits that the key to crime being difficult to curb lies in the "low risk, high reward," making it a choice for individuals seeking economic gain. In the past, due to Macau's overreliance on gambling taxes, its economy became excessively dependent on the gambling industry, leading to government corruption, gang conflicts, deteriorating public order, and social unrest. Among the many factors influencing public security in Macau, the distribution of gambling rights is one of the most significant decisive factors. In recent years, the intense clashes between Macau's organized crime groups have essentially been a product of their struggle for the redistribution of gambling rights. Another factor linked to gambling rights that affects public security is the peripheral interests of casinos. For a long time, organized crime groups have been engaged in fierce battles and conflicts over the interests surrounding casinos, leading to the of public security in Macau. Money has always been the main lifeline of organized crime and also the most important means for organized criminals to engage in politics. Since one of the fundamental goals of organized crime is to pursue economic interests, Macau's organized crime groups, on one hand, engage in predatory criminal activities such as large-scale theft, fraud, robbery, extortion, and protection rackets. On the other hand, they engage in "enterprises" to make huge profits, such as manufacturing and selling drugs, obscene materials, firearms, and other illegal goods, organizing prostitution and gambling, and lending money at high interest rates or meddling in economic disputes. At the same time, they infiltrate the commercial and political sectors, making their activities more covert and their criminal effectiveness higher. This book examines the patterns, essential characteristics, development trends, and countermeasures of organized crime in Macau from the perspective of its mechanisms and through case studies, forming new concepts about the mechanisms of organized crime. This not only brings criminological theoretical research closer to the reality of organized crime but also provides new insights for the practical control of organized crime.