Tong War Leaders

During the Tong Wars, two influential figures emerged in Chinatown. The first, Tom Lee, was the head of the On Leongs tong. He was the boss of all the gambling in Chinatown and also controlled the politics of Chinatown, to the extent that he was often called the Mayor of Chinatown (7).

Early in 1900, the undisturbed power of Tom Lee began to disintegrate by the appearance of a man known as Sai Wing Mock or Mock Duck. Mock Duck had an ambitious desire to rule Chinatown; he started to achieve that goal by becoming a terrorizing force in Chinatown (8). Mock Duck badly wanted to control the gambling trade, but Tom Lee laughed when he learned of his desire. Mock Duck did not take the lightheartedness well, and he seems to have been behind an incendiary fire that killed two of Tom Lee’s supporters (9). The fighting between tongs specifically the On Leongs, Tom Lee’s group, and the Hip Sings, Mock Duck’s group, continued until 1910 (10).

Mock Duck (knickerbockervillage.blogspot.com)

These two leaders are important figures of Chinatown’s history because their disagreement and violence towards one another spurred the hatred between their two tongs, and ultimately caused the Tong Wars, which were rife with much viciousness.