# When assistance comes with a promise of protection Through limited Hong Kong and cross-border material, this article examines triads and the differences between an organisation, faction, acquaintance and community. It considers how gratitude for help can encounter a new demand for loyalty. It may help adults concerned about such a relationship, relatives, or readers separating established information from a general image of organised crime. Inside: - What does someone naming an organisation actually establish? - How do shared interests differ from organisational affiliation? - Does receiving help create an unlimited debt? - Why do language and kinship not establish complicity? - How can a dated official report be read without turning it into a present finding? The article determines neither a particular person's guilt nor safe conduct under threat. ---