William Lee (born October 8, 1954) is an American writer. He is the author of three books. He is a former member of the San Francisco Chinatown gang that was responsible for the 1977 Golden Dragon massacre.

Biography

Lee grew up in San Francisco's Chinatown, and went to Marina Middle School,

Galileo High School , motto_translation = And yet it moves , type = Public High school , established = , faculty = , district = San Francisco Unified School District , grades ...

and was a student majoring in psychology at San Francisco State University when he joined the Chung Ching Yee, also known as the Joe Boys. Although not indicted, he was questioned by homicide investigators about the 1977 Golden Dragon massacre. The massacre was one of the deadliest in San Francisco History, for which five other Joe Boys were jailed after injuring 15 people and killing 5 others. In 1988, Lee was an employee at ESL when former employee Richard Farley fatally shot seven people and wounded four others in a mass shooting at its headquarters. Lee recalled the tragedy in detail and his role in rescuing coworkers in his first book, ''Chinese Playground: A Memoir''.Notes from the Underworld
Announcement of the book's publication was featured on the front page of '' The San Francisco Examiner'' and as the cover story in ''AsianWeek.'' Shortly after ''Chinese Playground'' was released, the author and Sergeant Dan Foley of the SFPD's Asian Gang Task Force appeared on KPIX's Bay Sunday ( CBS affiliate) where they discussed the book and the Golden Dragon massacre.

Career

Lee is the author of three books. His first, ''Chinese Playground: A Memoir'' (1999) is a memoir of gang life in 1960s and 1970s San Francisco Chinatown which caused him to be approached and threatened by former gang associates who told him he should not have written the book and made veiled threats against him and his family. He is also the author of ''Born to Lose: Memoirs of a Compulsive Gambler,'' (2005) which details his 40-year gambling addiction and recovery. Lee's latest book is ''Born-Again Buddhist.'' He has written numerous articles for the '' San Francisco Chronicle'' and '' AsianWeek'' and has been featured on the History Channel, A&E, Spike, FOX network, PBS,

Radio Television Hong Kong Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service in Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Econom ...

, NPR, and in national print publications. Lee is the principal of Bill Lee and Associates, a senior management and technical search firm based in California. He has also counseled serious offenders at the Juvenile Justice Center (YGC) and

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

Juvenile Hall.

Works

* ''Chinese Playground: a Memoir'', 1999 * ''Born to Lose: Memoirs of a Compulsive Gambler'', 2005 * ''Born-Again Buddhist: My Path to Living Mindfully and Compassionately with Mood Disorders'', 2014

References

External links

Facebook Author Page
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''Inside Chinatown's gangs''
a San Francisco Chronicle article {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Bill 1954 births Living people American computer businesspeople American memoirists American technology company founders American technology chief executives American writers of Chinese descent Former gang members Organized crime memoirists Triad members San Francisco State University alumni Writers from the San Francisco Bay Area