Secret Agents And Operations

Abstract: In quite a few video game set in Hong Kong, we can find secret agents from around the world executing various kinds of secret operations in the city. In this article, we will go through them one by one, and explain why they are not mere coincidence but the consequence of the actual city's uniqueness.

在多個以香港做背景的電子遊戲中﹐我們會見到來自世界各地的特勤人員，執行各式各樣的秘密行動。在這篇文章中, 我們將逐一檢視它們，並解釋它們並非巧合，而是現實香港獨特的地理位置和政治地位使然。

Secret agents and operations in video game Hong Kong

In video games set in Hong Kong, one can found secret agents from local and around the world. Hired by individuals, criminal organizations or governments, these agents carry out various secret missions in the virtual city.

In quite a few cases, these agents are acting as spies, infiltrating into their target organizations silently in order to collect and report information on the activities, movement, and plans of enemies or competitors.

Inspector Tequila Yuen (right) talking with Jerry Ying (left) who has infiltrated into the Dragon Claw triad group in Stranglehold (Midway Games/Success. Microsoft Windows/PlayStation 3/Xbox 360: 2007)

Undercover Wei Shen (middle) talking with inspector Teng (left) in Sleeping Dogs (Square Enix. Microsoft Windows/PlayStation 3/Xbox 360: 2012)

Undercover Kit (right) talking with police officer Victor(left) to exchange news of a triad in Jet Li: Rise to Honor (Sony Computer Entertainment America. PlayStation 2: 2004). At the end, Victor revealed that he was the mastermind of the triad.

Sometimes, these agents trespass on the hideouts of these organizations right away to collect information about the target or steal sensitive materials. The hideouts could be restaurants, bath houses, offices, factories and even embassies. While many of these hideouts are merely for their members to gather and discuss matters, some others are where we can find various secret operations. These operations could be typical illegal businesses such as drugs, smuggling and human trafficking, while others could involve surprisingly advanced technologies such as a high-precision diamond cutter, a virus that could kill all people in the world, the DNS sample of the world's leaders.

A secret agent infiltrating into a building of a private biotech company in Hong Kong in Deus Ex (Eidos Interactive. Microsoft Windows/Mac OS/PlayStation 2: 2000) 

The factory of Hong Kong-based Identicon, a botanical research firm thought to be a possible front for a weapon-smuggling ring, in 007: Agent Under Fire (EA Games. PlayStation 2: 2001, GameCube/Xbox: 2002). A CIA agent infiltrating into the corporation was discovered and captured. James Bond thus trespasses the factory in attempt to rescue her., while at the same time retrieves a courier case.

In Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix (Activision. Microsoft Windows/OS X/Xbox: 2002), a mercenary is hired to deal with an international gang who is developing a virus with the aim of threatening the world.

In Scenario B of Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions (Activision. Xbox/GameCube/PlayStation 2: 2002), the player plays as a pair of spies hired to take down the head of the Hong Kong Yakuza.

The CIA agent Sydney Bristow secretly getting into the secret laboratory of an embassy in Hong Kong in Alias (Acclaim Entertainment. PlayStation 2/Microsoft Windows/Xbox: 2004)

If needed, these secret agents are ready to carry out armed missions such as street chases, kidnappings, assaults, assassinations, and even city destruction.

James Bond involving in a street chase to disable an armored van of a weapon-smuggling ring in 007: Agent Under Fire (EA Games. PlayStation 2: 2001, GameCube/Xbox: 2002)

In Wet (Bethsda Softworks. PlayStation 3/Xbox 360: 2009), the player acts as a mercenary who is hired to kidnap the head of a drug ring in Hong Kong according to the order of another gang.

Secret agents planning to kidnap an agent of the private conspiracy group Beholder Initiative in Phantom Doctrine (Good Shepherd Entertainment. PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Microsoft Windows: 2018). Appeared as a US lobbying firm that conducts business internationally, it is indeed steering politics to their will through underhanded means and toxic influence.

Secret agents shooting a guard of the Hong Kong restaurant which is the target's hideout in Phantom Doctrine (Good Shepherd Entertainment. PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Microsoft Windows: 2018)

A hitman is sent by the International Contract Agency to Hong Kong to assassinate the Triad leader Lee Hong in Hitman: Codename 47 (Eidos Interactive. Microsoft Windows: 2000)

A former MI6 agent being employed by an international criminal organization to assassinate his rival Dr. No. in GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (EA Games. GameCube/PlayStation 2/Xbox: 2004, Nintendo DS: 2005)

Secret agents from governments in the world coming to Hong Kong to assassinate an international trader who is in a global corporation that is weakening the power of the governments in Rouge Agent (Jorge Aires. Microsoft Windows: 2018).

In Näkemiin, Hongkong (T&T-Soft. Commodore 64: 1989), a British secret agent gets into Hong Kong which has been handed over to China in 1997. The agent is trying to destroy the city with a nuclear bomb. 

To support these secret projects and armed missions, hi-tech equipment are smuggled into the city.

The spies in Wreckless: The Yakuza Missions (Activision. Xbox/GameCube/PlayStation 2: 2002) could use a tank to hit their rival Yakuza members in a dock of virtual Hong Kong. 

The modified BMW 8Z smuggled to Hong Kong for James Bond in 007: Agent Under Fire (EA Games. PlayStation 2: 2001, GameCube/Xbox: 2002) 

The special equipment of the modified BMW 8Z smuggled to Hong Kong for James Bond in 007: Agent Under Fire (EA Games. PlayStation 2: 2001, GameCube/Xbox: 2002) : forward-mounted rockets, retractable machine guns, dual-side vent-deployed missiles, titanium armor, a rocket boost concealed behind the real license plate, and of course a refrigerated beverage holder 

The former MI6 agent will be provided weapon for the assassination of Dr. No. in Hong Kong in GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (EA Games. GameCube/PlayStation 2/Xbox: 2004, Nintendo DS: 2005)

One thing to note is that while most of these secret missions and operations are criminal in nature (among individual entities in society, or between individual entities and law enforcement organizations), there exists few that are political which means among governments.

The plot of Rouge Agent (Jorge Aires. Microsoft Windows: 2018). While it appears to be an cooperation of governments, the fact that the agents are also allowed to kill the agents from other governments, which is the hidden agendas of these governments to attempt to take control of the whole world.

Another thing is that video game Hong Kong is not only where secret agents work but also flee. The game Snowden Run 3D is based on the real case of Edward Snowden, a former CIA worker, who ran away all the way from US to Russia via Hong Kong.

Edward Snowden. Photo source: Wikipedia

Helping Edward Snowden to run through obstacles and collect items on Hong Kong streets in Snowden Run 3D (MTS Freestyle. Android/PC/Mac: 2013)

Secret agents and operations in actual Hong Kong

Game developers don't and can't come up with the above secret agents and operations from pure imagination. They are likely to be based on the stories they learn about secret agents and operations in actual Hong Kong.

For spying activities, 

• In 1960s, John Tsang Siu-fo (曾昭科), the highest-ranking Chinese member of the Hong Kong police force in colonial Hong Kong at that time, was believed to be a spy working for communist China. He was then deported after he was suspected (蕭少滔, 2013, June 25; Wikipedia, 2018, October 28).
• In 1997 when Hong Kong was handed over from Britain to China, quite a lot of spying devices were found in the various garrisons and Governor's House (now the Government House) when these facilities were taken over from the British colonial government (Chen, F., 2014, July 21).  
• In 2003, Cai Xiao-hong (蔡小洪), a communist Chinese official stationed in Hong Kong, was accused of transferring confidential Chinese government information to Britain during the handover period from 1990s to 2000s (Wikipedia, 2018, July 11).
• When Edward Snowden stopped by in Hong Kong in 2013, he claimed that his former employer, the US government, was secretly collecting info from communications around the world, including those in China and Hong Kong (Greenwald, G., MacAskill, E., & Poitras, L., 2013, June 11). 
• In 2017, Jerry Lee Chun Shing (李振成), a former CIA who later resided in Hong Kong, was accused of passing classified US national defense information to China, leading to the breakdown of the US spy network in China in the 2010s (Mordock, J., 2018, January 16).
• From time to time, there are news reports on police successfully taking down illegal businesses of the triads with the help of local undercover police officers (鄧栢良、楊婉婷, 2017, August 08). There are also conspiracy theories that CIA of the US and MI6 of Britain are operating branches in the US Consulate and British Consulate in Hong Kong (羅先亞, 2013, September 16). 

John Tsang Siu-fo. Photo source: 人过五十网 

Cai Xiao-hong. Photo source:  OPEN 開放網

Jerry Lee Chun Shing. Photo source: The New York Times

The Consulate General of the United State, Hong Kong and Macau on No. 26, Garden Road, Central, Hong Kong. Source: Wikipedia

The British Consulate-General, Hong Kong on 1 Supreme Court Road, Admiralty, Hong Kong. Source: Wikipedia

For secret operations, it is believed by some that certain illegal businesses are running in the background of actual Hong Kong.

• The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed Hong Kong in "Tier 2 Watchlist" in 2017 (U.S. State Department's Office, 2017). 
• The U.S. Treasury Department claimed that certain commercial Hong Kong-based companies were disguises of underground businesses such as money laundering (Berlinger, J., 2018, November 06).  
• From time to time, we can hear news stories on smuggling sensitive technologies via Hong Kong (Griffiths, J., 2018, October 02).

Street chases, kidnappings, assault and assassinations are indeed quite rare in actual Hong Kong. Nonetheless, every time when a case exposes, the media headlines are occupied for several days.

• Lee Hysan (利希慎) was shot on a street in the Central district in Hong Kong. Some believed the assassination was due to the conflict he had with the Macau government over the right to sell opium in Macau (Wikipedia, 2018, October 21).
• In 1955, the Kashmir Princess aircraft departed from Hong Kong was bombed during its flight to Jakarta. Originally planned for carrying the Chinese premier Zhou Enlai (周恩來), it was widely believed that the bomb was placed on the plane in Hong Kong by some Taiwan special service organization. (Butt, R., 2010, January 2; Wikipedia, 2018, January 18)
• In 2002, businessman Hot-lit Harry Lam was shot dead while eating breakfast in the Hong Kong famous tea house and dim sum restaurant Luk Yu (陸羽茶室). The murderer was rumored to be due to a business disputes (Hu, Y., 2007, July 10).
• In December 2015, Lee Bo (李波) mysteriously disappeared from Hong Kong territory and later reappeared to be in mainland China. Many feared that he may have somehow be abducted by mainland China's public security bureau and brought to mainland China (Wikipedia, 2018, November 22).

Lee Hysan (right) with his son (left). Photo source: 立場新聞

A Lockheed Constellation similar to The Kashmir Princess. Photo source: Wikipedia

Zhou Enlai, the supposedly assassination target of  The Kashmir Princess bombing. He was the first Premier of the People's Republic of China serving from 1949 to 1976. Photo source: Wikipedia

Hot-lit Harry Lam. Photo source: 蘋果日報

Luk Yu. Photo source: Wikipedia

Lee Bo being interviewed by media in mainland China after his mysterious disappearance from Hong Kong and later reappearance in Mainland China. Photo source: 立場新聞

You may be surprised by the pieces of smuggled hi-tech equipment that Hong Kong Custom and Excise found in cargoes in the past years (杜宗熹, 2016, November 24):

• Year 2000: an armored vehicle from Italy, intended to go to mainland China. 
• Year 2004: 2800 real guns from Malaysia, intended to go to US. 
• Year 2006: a former Soviet-made MiG 29 fighter jet, from Ukraine, intended to go to US. 
• Year 2010: a tank from Saudi Arabia, intended to go to South Korea.

An armored vehicle found in Kwai Chung container port of Hong Kong in 2000. Source: Appledaily

The MiG 29 fighter jet found in Hong Kong container port in 2006. Source: 聯合影音網

What brings secret agents and secret operations in?

As for why real Hong Kong attracts secret agents and secret operations from all around the world, I believe it is due to the unique geographical location and political position of the city.

Unique geographical location

Excellently located at the heart of the Asia Pacific region, Hong Kong gradually becomes a logistic, trading and finance center after Britain took over the place and set up a free port in the 1840s. Attracted are not only legal businesses from all around the world, but also the underground ones, thereby the illegal operations that need to be kept secret. To collect information on these secret activities without catching targets' attention, sending spies out is the only way.

Always associated with businesses are disputes. Sometimes, people may decide that doing nasty or shady things to settle the disputes. Secret agent is the only way to do them without leaving obvious fingerprints.

As a popular transit hub with millions of visitors and goods transiting at Hong Kong every day, it is not surprising that some people try to smuggle through the city.

Unique political position

In 1949, mainland China was taken over by the communists. As a free port located right next to this key communist country and handling the in-and-out of thousands of mainland Chinese and foreigners every day, Hong Kong became a prime location that both the Communist block and the Western bloc shall station secret agents for information collection and possibly secret operations against each other.

After the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to mainland China, foreign political secret agents appear to remain intact. Quite a few people have expressed their discontent with it and would like to pass the national security law in the city as soon as possible so as to provide legal basis to handle these agents if needed. However, there are practical considerations such as the potential opposition from the citizens, and whether the legislation would provide an excuse for other countries to sanction mainland China for reducing the freedom enjoyed by the people in the city.

The website conveying the Hong Kong government's proposals to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law which expects Hong Kong to enact laws on its own to protect national security. The implementation is indefinitely postponed due to its a great controversy and a massive demonstration on 1 July 2003.

Nonetheless, it was the Chinese rule over Hong Kong that contributed to the dramatic flee of Edward Snowden. Hong Kong authorities said that Snowden had not been detained for the U.S. because the request had not fully complied with Hong Kong law, and there was no legal basis to prevent Snowden from leaving (Hong Kong Information Services Department, 2013, June 23; Hong Kong Information Services Department, 2013, June 24; Chen, F., 2014, July 21). The government would not have been that confident not to detain Edward and make such responses if the city had not been ruled by China who thought herself increasingly comparable with the Western bloc.

Final Remarks

There are good reasons for Hong Kong to be popular among secret agents and operations. The unique geographical location of Hong Kong contributes to the establishment of a free port and later a logistic, trading and financial center in the city, which has brought in local and international criminal organizations and hence illegal operations running secretly. Whether you wish to collect insider information about these secret operations, or do nasty things against your rivals, you need secret agents to get them done secretly. Meanwhile, the unique political status of Hong Kong in both British colonial era and Chinese rule era has also made the city a platform of dramatic political espionage activities between governments.

While many of us are complete outsiders of these ongoing espionage activities, we are all surprised and excited whenever any of them is exposed to public, and be reminded of potentially hundreds or even thousands of secret agents that are running in the background every day.

References

杜宗熹. (2016, November 24). 香港海關查獲軍品非首次 坦克戰機應有盡有 | 時事. Retrieved November 12, 2018, from https://video.udn.com/news/600982

鄧栢良、楊婉婷. (2017, August 08). 【無間道】臥底潛伏一年打殘元朗黑幫　區議員田雞東等299人落網｜香港01｜港聞｜. Retrieved October 15, 2017, from https://www.hk01.com/%E6%B8%AF%E8%81%9E/110643/-%E7%84%A1%E9%96%93%E9%81%93-%E8%87%A5%E5%BA%95%E6%BD%9B%E4%BC%8F%E4%B8%80%E5%B9%B4%E6%89%93%E6%AE%98%E5%85%83%E6%9C%97%E9%BB%91%E5%B9%AB-%E5%8D%80%E8%AD%B0%E5%93%A1%E7%94%B0%E9%9B%9E%E6%9D%B1%E7%AD%89299%E4%BA%BA%E8%90%BD%E7%B6%B2

羅先亞. (2013, September 16). 英國在港的間諜活動 總領館大樓設MI6分局. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from http://news.takungpao.com.hk/hkol/politics/2013-09/1906525.html

蕭少滔. (2013, June 25). 香港從來都是間諜中心. Retrieved September 12, 2018, from https://www.vjmedia.com.hk/articles/2013/06/25/42023

Berlinger, J. (2018, November 06). Asia's meth boom. Retrieved November 11, 2018, from https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/02/asia/asia-methamphetamine-golden-triangle-intl/index.html

Butt, R. (2010, January 2). Hong Kong's First. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from http://hongkongsfirst.blogspot.com/2010/01/assassinations.html

Chen, F. (2014, July 21). Cold facts about an espionage capital. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from http://www.ejinsight.com/20140721-hong-kong-espionage-edward-snowden-spy-war/

Hong Kong Information Services Department. (2013, June 23). Snowden left HK lawfully: CE. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from http://www.news.gov.hk/en/categories/law_order/html/2013/06/20130624_163906.shtml

Hong Kong Information Services Department. (2013, June 24). No delay in Snowden case: SJ. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from http://www.news.gov.hk/en/categories/law_order/html/2013/06/20130625_175835.shtml

Greenwald, G., MacAskill, E., & Poitras, L. (2013, June 11). Edward Snowden: The whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance

Griffiths, J. (2018, October 02). Chinese national jailed in US over space tech smuggling scheme. Retrieved November 23, 2018, from https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/01/politics/china-california-space-smuggling-intl/index.html

Hu, Y. (2007, July 10). Ex-TV star gets life for tea-house murder. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.scmp.com/article/600116/ex-tv-star-gets-life-tea-house-murder

Lam, L. (2013, June 13). Edward Snowden: US government has been hacking Hong Kong and China for years. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1259508/edward-snowden-us-government-has-been-hacking-hong-kong-and-china

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"Gamegineering" And The Role Of The Game Developer

More and more lately I've heard people talk about the role of a developer in boardgames. The idea has certainly existed for many years, and every game on the shelf has undoubtedly gone through some level of development, but only recently has the role of board game developer been recognized in the industry.

When Dominion was coming out in 2008 was the first time I noticed game developers being named. It was about that time I was realizing that, while I enjoyed designing games, my real strength was in game development. So I guess it was good news the role was beginning to be highlighted in the industry!

A decade later, very little progress has been made with respect to recognition for developers. I think there are more of them nowadays, and if you check the back page of your favorite games' rulebooks, you can probably find out who they are. But I don't think many consumers have any idea...

People frequently look out for new games by their favorite designers, and these games often come from different publishers. Which means they're often worked on by different developers. Depending on how much work each developer puts into each game, "shopping by designer" may end up being a misleading metric to find a game you like.

People also frequently look out for new games by their favorite publisher. And it might be the case that most or all of those games were worked on by the same developer (either in-house, or perhaps 3rd party). For a small publishing company, the publishers themselves may be the ones doing the development. So in some cases, if you enjoy many games from a particular publisher, it might be the case that what's drawing you to those games is that publisher's development skills. Or it might be that publisher's judgement when choosing which games to publish.

This kind of thing is difficult to even talk about, because the role of the developer is so inconsistent from publisher to publisher, and from game to game. Even from developer to developer! Very recently I've seen a number of prominent people in the design community taking on developer roles, either freelance, or for a particular company. And more power to them! Sometimes I'll listen to a podcast interview, and I'll hear the role of the developer defined, and it makes me cringe a little bit because what they describe, to me, sounds more like an insightful playtester than what I consider a developer.

Maybe I've been putting too much work into games I develop, but to me the role of the developer isn't just to "make suggestions that are in line with the designer's vision for the game." The developer's job is to bring out the full potential of a game. I don't feel like I can do a proper job as a developer without taking the game under my wing, so to speak, and treating it as my own. I don't propose changes, I make those changes, try them out, and then explain why they did or didn't work. When a mechanism is just not working right, sometimes I re-design that mechanism from the ground up to accomplish what I think the designer was going for with it. Like I said, perhaps I've been putting more work in than necessary, but I'm not so sure.

I had hoped that, over time, players who found themselves liking the big box TMG titles would start to see a pattern. No matter who's name is on the front of the box, they'd see the green dragon logo, and hopefully they'd see "developed by Seth Jaffee" on the box back. But 10 years in, that doesn't seem to have happened. Maybe they see the dragon logo, but an innocuous mention in the rulebook or box back does not seem to have put my name into the minds of the end user.

One thought I've had, and that I might one day make good on, is to create a logo for myself:

Not final. I'd prefer if the typed "SETH JAFFEE" were taken out from beneath the signature, and put in the circle in lieu of "BOARD GAME"

Maybe adding that logo to games I have a big hand in would lead to a higher level of recognition. I like the composition of that logo, because it looks like a professional's seal, like my engineer's stamp. This communicates that the game literally has the seal of approval from a professional game developer!

But there's another aspect of "developer" that I think may be lacking: the word itself. I'm considering proposing a new term, because "developer" carries so much baggage, and so many different meanings to different people. In the video game world, it's synonymous to both "designer" and also "programmer," which doesn't help matters. Even in tabletop gaming, it's been used to mean everything from "insightful playtester" to "product manager" to "uncredited codesigner." Depending on how thorough a job the designer does in the first place, there may be more or less work required of a developer. That doesn't help matters either.

On many of the TMG big box games, my efforts have been closer to a co-designer than an insightful playtester. For that role, I've been tossing around the term "Gamegineer."

What do you think? Do we need terminology to differentiate various levels of "developer?" And if so, how do you like "gamegineer," on the end of the spectrum closer to "co-designer" then "insightful playtester?"