Tsoo, One theory

So, I dunno, the Tsoo interest me, and this seems like the likeliest board to post about it.

I'm not entirely sure it can still be seen, but pedestrians used to advise that most Tsoo are law-abiding citizens just like everybody else, and just a few of them give everyone else their bad name. To this day, some pedestrians will advise that the Tsoo took over from Chinese Triads-- and "Chinese Triads" is a generic enough term to imply, I think, that the Tsoo just aren't Chinese.

Of course, when we think of asian organized crime, we also think of the yakuza, but I have a similarly hard time believing Tsoo are meant to be Japanese. Also, however, the island cultures of the pacific come to mind-- and you know, running around shirtless seems like a tropical island kinda thing to be doing.

Here's my theory. South of China, and east of all those great former French colonies, is the Island of Hainan, to which the Li people are native. In the Paragon universes, I think the French colonized Hainan early and developed it thoroughly, making a french Taipei (Taiwan) out of it. Perhaps it remained occupied by a the Japanese, after some sort of colonization in the '40s? I dunno my history well enough to cinch the details, but that's the general theory.

Actually the Tsoo are Hmong immigrants. If you know about the Hmong you were pretty close on the South of China theory. The Hmong settled in the area just north of Cambodia, west of Vietnam and south of China. But that's it in a nutshell.

Arg! Seriously? How do you know this?

I think I've heard of the Hmong, not that I remember a dang thing.

Hey-- incidentally. Anyone play characters explicitly of Tsoo or partial Tsoo ancestry? Maybe even on Freedom?

We should totally, develop background. Like I say, I'm just convinced Tsoo are under the influence of French colonial culture. I don't think that quite works with the Hmong. But I'd have to go read more about it.

More detail?

Well if you click on enough pedestrians then they'll tell you they are Hmong immigrants or something of the sort. One of the few times I've even heard the Hmong mentioned, kind of surprised me that they took a more unknown road instead of the usual Ex-Yakuza or Triad member thing.

I've heard 'em say most Tsoo are law-abiding citizens, and it's just a few that give them a bad name, but, I've never seen them say anything about the hmong. Hm. Will have to keep clicking. (I only learned you get different info out of people based on the first letter of their name today. Ms are the ones that tell you how many elapsed hours the character has, for example.)

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I've heard 'em say most Tsoo are law-abiding citizens, and it's just a few that give them a bad name, but, I've never seen them say anything about the hmong. Hm. Will have to keep clicking. (I only learned you get different info out of people based on the first letter of their name today. Ms are the ones that tell you how many elapsed hours the character has, for example.)

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Tsoo are gang members, not an ethnicity, simply because that's the name of the gang.

I know for sure that some NPCs say "Most Hmong are innocent, but the Tsoo give them a bad name!" Then again, you may have misread or seen an old/new NPC statement.

Also, the descriptions for a few missions taught me that formerly, all Tsoo members were of Hmong descent. After that, so many people set up charities and programs for the Hmong youth that the Tsoo were forced to recruit a few outside of their regular ethnicity, just to keep their numbers up.

I've also heard it said by NPCs that the Tsoo are less like a gang and more like a cult. I believe that is why the Skyway contact Cho Ge left the Tsoo after he betrayed the Triads.

Little background info for you, hope that helps with your backstory.

Even though I hate the Tsoo, they're probably the most interesting, just because they have so many different boss types.

[ QUOTE ]
Tsoo are gang members, not an ethnicity, simply because that's the name of the gang.

I know for sure that some NPCs say "Most Hmong are innocent, but the Tsoo give them a bad name!" Then again, you may have misread or seen an old/new NPC statement.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow. Then they must have changed the NPC text, because I'm dead for sure they used to say it re: the Tsoo, with no mention of the Hmong, like, when I started playing, last may-june.

Gah. Now I have to retool a dozen uses of the word "Tsoo" on my website.

Enan, This is all second hand, but our room-mate, Lady Gemini, is of Japanese ancestry, and she has told some tales (has a nice tail, a real one, but that's for another discussion) from her family story. Apparently, the Tsoo are a fairly new gang, in the timeline of Yakuza (which are only Japanese Gangs, as YaKuZa is actually the number 8-9-3, and exclusively Japanese) which date from early 1600's. So, the Tsoo being Japanese Yakuza is out.
The Hmong connection bears some investigation, but we are obviously not the correct ethnicity to do this. They are an extremely tight group, and due to our patrols, we can give you this information:
The Tsoo are very prolific in Steel Canyon, and hang around especially heavy near the Hazard Zone entrances. They are in a bitter fight with the Outcasts, and we often get into it with both groups. Sadly, they always team up to attack heroes whenever the opportunity presents itself. From the appearance of their majiks and uniforms, we would surmise that they are of Chinese origin, but there are many oriental groups that span China, Vietnam, Korea, etc... that are not necessarily specific to an identified country. We relate this to some other fiends in the city, such as not seeing any African ethnicity 5th Column (or any other race for that matter), not having seen any European Tsoo or the like. They are definitely associated with mystiks, which would indicate the more hinterland religions, or maybe even from The Steppes or Mountains. How they came to Paragon, we cannot say, but will ask Lady when we see her back at the loft later, maybe some of her "contacts" in the less desirable neighborhoods can enlighten us. We will leave some info on the info-kiosk, encrypted, near the entrance to Skyway's Tram. Check it out there.

Ah, quite. I'm certain they're neither yakuza nor chinese, strictly speaking. Word on the street also says that the Tsoo beat out the tongs-- meaning simply, organized crime out of china. So.

I need to get back out on the street and verify this Hmong business. I'm nearly half "tsoo" myself, and I'm tellin' ya, it's embarassing to not know your own ethnicity! ^_^

Ok. I spent a half hour interviewing people in Talos and Atlas today. Not a peep about Hmong. That is, people just aren't saying what they used to.

Odd. Go talk to Cho Ge, he can typically be found under those ramps near the Skyway tram. Maybe he can offer that old information. Also, Thao Ku and the old guy across the parking lot from him, they both seemed to know a lot about Tsoo.

((Also, NPC chat will all pretty much say the same thing for a set amount of time, then they will start to talk about new things for another 15 minutes or so. [My theory]))

Somebody wandering around amongst world-class villains at portal corps volunteered the info to me right away, last night. Go figure. Hmong, it is.

So, I read here that in 1945, the Japanese invaded and occupied the then-french colony of Laos, with it's significant Hmong population. French paracommandos, other French, and Laotian royalty apparently hid out with the Hmong in the highlands, and later re-took the country, with the help of Hmong militia.

I also gather that Hmong in the U.S., many of whom are in non-east-coast states like Wisconsin and California, are refugees from wars in Laos and Vietnam, and were rather screwed when we pulled out of Vietnam. It looks like another complicated bit of important military and human rights history that academia and the media has never troubled itself to bring to my attention-- not that I'm trying to dodge being called lazy. But.

So anyway. The Hmong do have a history with the French, and some remote wisp of Japanese occupation. They are also traditionally animist, by and large, I gather.

It's suggested they had their own writing system that was eradicated, but semi-preserved in women's embroidery. I suspect the Ancestor Spirit face plates need revision.

Must. Learn. More.