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Accordingly, the Societies Ordinance of 1911
was repealed and the present Ordinance No.8 of 1920 was
substituted. Registration was abolished, and the
responsibility of keeping within the law was thrown upon
the societies themselves. A society remained lawful
until declared unlawful by the Governor-in-Council.
There was one notable exception.
all societies using its ritual were declared unlawful in
the Ordinance itself.
The Triad Society, and
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The Triad Society.
The Triad, or Heaven and Earth Society has been
for many years the most notable secret society in South
China. It is well known in the United States and
elsewhere, where its members are sometimes called Chinese
Freemasons. As a political organisation it opposed to the Manchu rule in China, and took a prominent part in the Tai Ping rebellion. Sun Yat Sen in his "Three Principles" claims that under the Manchu Dynasty it was the only refuge of Chinese nationalism. With the downfall of the Manchus,
it was thought that this society, which had long been unlawful in Hong Kong, would cease to exist, having attained its object. But it continued to survive, partly because its activities were to a large extent criminal, being concerned with blackmail and various forms of robbery, partly because such a widespread organisation supplied a means of livelihood to a very large number of officers, mostly of the "gangster" type, and a source of revenue from which political movements were financed. By the year 1920 there were signs that Chinese abroad in particular were