The
Wah Ching were a youth gang formed in 1964 to protect newly-arrived immigrants from China against the bullying of the Chinese-Americans that had been born and raised in America to older generations. In the wake of the
Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, the Wah Ching had more opportunities to recruit new members; initially, the Wah Ching advocated for new immigrant protections to their elders in the
Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, seeking their protection, but they were rebuffed. Instead, the Wah Ching developed into a street gang after some members were hired to serve first as lookouts, then as protection for illegal gambling parlors in Chinatown; as they gained experience with gambling operations, they began demanding a cut of the profits. Later, the Wah Ching were absorbed into the
Hop Sing Tong, and claimed to be independent of any existing Chinatown organizations. Fong had been arrested early on the morning of October 2, 1972, accused of attempted murder following a drive-by shooting that had occurred half an hour earlier. The victims were parked in three cars near a bus zone on Hyde, near the intersection with Sacramento; a blue Oldsmobile approached them traveling in the same direction, fired nine or ten shots into the victims' cars, then sped off towards California. Because the victims were associated with the Wah Ching, the Joe Boys were suspected as the shooters. Fong was taken into custody at the
Foster's West cafeteria near Golden Gate and Polk. At his trial, prosecution witnesses testified that Fong was in the shooters' car, and he was convicted and given a life sentence. Attorneys for Fong filed for a writ of
habeas corpus, which was denied in October 1973. While imprisoned at
Deuel Vocational Institute near
Tracy, California, Fong began to speak out about his reputation as a gang leader, which he said was retaliation for how he had been so outspoken in advocating for the rights of new immigrants. In the wake of the Golden Dragon,
Bill Cardoso compared Fong to
Joe Gallo. ==After release==