The Fujian Gang – Wherever you go, you will never leave Fuzhou

Where in the World is Alice Guo? The strange case of Alice Guo and her connections to people involved in transnational Chinese organized crime was detailed in the Briefing Asian Crime Century 84. To recap, Alice Leal Guo, mayor of Bamban, a municipality in Tarlac province in the Philippines, is wanted by authorities after being accused of involvement in illegal online gambling, human trafficking and illegal detention. She is believed to have fled the country, spotted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and it is reported to be heading towards the Golden Triangle region where her family, originally from Fujian province in China, reportedly has business interests.

Guo was last seen on July 14 aboard a speedboat at a resort in the westernmost part of the Philippines, and on July 17 she was identified leaving Bali on a flight to Kuala Lumpur, after which she spent about a month in Singapore before heading to Batam, Indonesia. Considering that an arrest warrant for Guo Senate was issued by the Philippine Senate prior to July 13 and her case was widely reported in international news media, it is surprising that she was able to evade arrest, leave the Philippines, and travel between countries with such apparent ease.

Alice Guo’s connections to Chinese criminals from Fujian province could explain how she evaded authorities and may be heading to the Golden Triangle to seek shelter with family and criminal acquaintances.

Alice Guo and the Fujian Connections

Alice Guo’s connections to Fujian are emerging as more of her family and acquaintances are identified. As reported in the Briefing Asian Crime Century 84Alice Leal Guo is believed to be Guo Hua Ping, a Chinese national born in Fujian, China, on August 31, 1990.

Alice Guo’s sister, Shiela Guo, has also been arrested in the Philippines. Shiela Guo and Cassandra Li Ong were detained in Batam, Indonesia, and quickly deported to the Philippines in the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation. Both have been linked by authorities to the operation of ‘Philippines Offshore Gaming Operators’ (POGOs) in the Philippines, with Cassandra Li Ong being linked to the Lucky South 99 POGO. The Lucky South POGO, located in the notorious Angeles City near the former US Clark Air Force Base, was raided by Philippine authorities in June who found evidence of human trafficking, illegal detention and torture.

Alice Guo’s brother was identified in July as Wesley Leal Guo, who is in fact a Chinese national originally named Guo Xiang Dian. His Chinese passport lists his place of birth as Fujian. Wesley Guo is said to have used Chinese and Philippine passports under slightly different names to travel around. Wesley Guo is also on the run and is believed to be in Indonesia.

Alice Guo has also been linked to Singapore’s major money laundering and illegal online gambling case, in which It is reported that all ten main suspects arrested were originally from Fujian Province in China. Senator Risa Hontiveros accused Guo of conspiring with two of the Fujian nationals who were arrested in 2023 and convicted in Singapore of money laundering in connection with large-scale online illegal betting, gambling and cyber fraud. Guo allegedly set up a company called Baofu Land Development in 2019 with Zhang Ruijin and Lin Baoying, both of whom were arrested, charged and convicted in Singapore.

A spokesperson for the The Philippine Presidential Commission Against Corruption (PCOC) said on August 24 that Alice Guo is suspected of wanting to reach the Golden Triangle area of ​​Cambodia, where the Guo family has business ties with the “Fujian Gang”.

The Fujian Gang

Although the “Fujian Gang” (福建幫) is often used to refer to criminals from Fujian province, there is no single gang by this name, but rather several criminal syndicates from the province that use this moniker.

The Fujian diaspora has spawned several criminal enterprises around the world. In the US, The ‘Fuk Ching Gang’ emerged in New York in the 1980sFounded by a group of young Chinese from Fujian Province. The Fuk Ching gang members were young and were primarily involved in extortion and protection rackets in New York’s Chinatown, and human trafficking, primarily from Fujian.

The people smuggling organized by the Fuk Ching was dramatically illustrated in the case of the ship Golden Venture, which ran aground on a New York beach in June 1993The 286 illegal migrants from Fuji on the Golden Venture attempted to escape by jumping into the sea, resulting in the deaths of ten of them. Guo Liang Chi (also known as Kwok Ling Hay), a leader of the Fuk Ching gang from 1989pleaded guilty to five counts of murder in connection with the deaths of the Golden Ventures.

James Porteous, head of research for the ARF Council (a think tank under the Asian Racing Federation), recently explained Fujian’s connection to Chinese organized crime and the Singapore money laundering case in particular. Mr Porteous writes that:

“Fujian, on the southern coast of China, has seen its people emigrate across Asia and beyond for hundreds of years in search of a better life, and several of Asia’s wealthiest people have Fujian roots. But this entrepreneurial spirit has also inspired highly successful transnational organized crime groups: several of the 10 convicts come from a Fujian county, Anxi, which has been dubbed by Chinese media as “the birthplace of fraudsters”, because many citizens are deeply involved in transnational telecommunications and cyber fraud and illegal betting. All of the convicts have long-term, close business and personal relationships, and several are family members. Five of them have been on various Chinese wanted lists since 2015 in connection with illegal betting, telecom fraud and money laundering.”

The money laundering and online gambling gang arrested in 2023 was nicknamed the “Fujian Gang” in Singapore because they all come from the same province. Despite the name, their connection to other Chinese organized crime groups, also called the “Fujian Gang,” is that they all come from Fujian, but they are not a single criminal enterprise or entity.

Alice Leal Guo is a Fujian citizen who cheated her way into Filipino citizenship and covered up her criminal activities by becoming the mayor of Bamban. Alice Guo, her sister Shiela Guo and brother Wesley Guo are all Fujianese who have used their ancestry to connect with other criminals from Fujian, including the ten arrested and convicted in Singapore. The link between them is their ancestry and the Fujian dialect, which allows for connections between businessmen and criminals from the province.

President Xi Jinping served as provincial secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Fujian for six years in the 1990s (a particularly lawless period rife with smuggling and armed robbery). As President Xi said during a return visit to the province in 2021“Wherever you go, you will never leave Fuzhou.” Alice Guo and the Fujian Gang diaspora agree.