Chinese officials risked giving legitimacy to local criminals by holding meetings with triad leaders, police warned yesterday. The admission by a former senior Xinhua (New China News Agency) official that he had met triad chiefs to discuss the resumption of sovereignty before signing the Joint Declaration has angered local detectives. Wong Man-fong, a former deputy secretary-general of Xinhua, admitted at a forum on Saturday that an agreement was reached with triads before the signing of the Sino-British Joint Declaration in 1984. During the public talk at Baptist University, Mr Wong said he had requested the meeting and asked triad leaders not to upset Hong Kong's prosperity and stability in the run-up to the handover. He said the triad leaders agreed not to destabilise the territory and said they would order their members not to rob Chinese-funded institutions. Mr Wong said he believed it would be difficult for the police to smash all the triad groups. And he said mainland officials would allow the triads to continue their activities as long as they did not threaten the territory's future. 'I told them that if they did not disrupt Hong Kong's stability, we would not stop them from making money,' Mr Wong said at the university. Local detectives yesterday said it was inappropriate for any officials to try to strike a deal with the triads. One said: 'There should not be any deal with criminals. If the triads are to cause disruption, the Hong Kong police have sufficient manpower to arrest them. 'We understand that from the Chinese officials' point of view, there may be a political consideration as they could not take any risk. 'But to us, approaching the triads to reach a deal would mean playing up their role and giving them recognition.' But Mr Wong yesterday rejected the idea that he had promised to turn a blind eye to the gangsters' illegal activities. 'There were no conditions attached to the deal. If the triads have done anything to disrupt a smooth transition, the Hong Kong and mainland governments would not let them off easily,' Mr Wong said yesterday. He refused to say if the idea for the meeting had been instigated by Beijing. After the agreement with the triads was reached, Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping said not all triad members were bad. China's Security Minister has also described the triads as containing 'patriotic elements'. A detective said: 'It is not a surprise that the triads made an unconditional deal. They may have foreseen a perceived consequence - a perceived advantage or retaliation.'
