Zhou Ming (明周) is a main character and the secondary antagonist in Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars.
Prior to his physical debut, he was briefly mentioned in Grand Theft Auto IV.
History[]
Background[]
Zhou is the leader of the Ming Family, a sub-sect of the Triads in Liberty City, and one of the possible candidates for the position of Hsin Jaoming's successor as leader of the Triads.
According to the LCPD Database in Grand Theft Auto IV, Zhou has been arrested on four occasions: twice for trademark counterfeiting in 1989 and 1995, armed robbery in 1997 and racketeering in 2005. He is also suspected of masterminding several major counterfeiting operations in Liberty City and abroad.
Zhou uses an RS Haul Depot in Fishmarket North as a front for drug smuggling in both GTA IV and GTA Chinatown Wars. He also owns an unnamed club in the neighborhood of East Island City in Dukes.
Events of Grand Theft Auto IV[]
In 2008, Zhou Ming's contraband operation is disrupted by Irish gangster Patrick McReary after Italian mobster Ray Boccino hired him to steal the Triads' drugs shipment from Zhou's warehouse in Fishmarket North. Niko Bellic assists him during the raid, killing several of Zhou's men before stealing the drugs.
In a Liberty Tree news article, City Councilor Doris Fung made a statement defending the murdered Triads and saying that people should be worried about who killed them, in an attempt to cover up Zhou's contraband operation.[2] Liberty Tree staff writer TJ Barry also states that Doris Fung has been long accused of having links with several Chinatown gangs, making her real intentions clearer. [3]
Events of Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars[]
Main article: War in Chinatown
Along with Wu "Kenny" Lee and Chan Jaoming, he is a contender for the spot of Hsin's successor, and employs Huang Lee in 2009 for several jobs to benefit the Triad cause (as well as himself) with the goal of earning Hsin's favor.
Zhou Ming wants Huang to work for him instead of Chan, giving the reason that Chan is too stupid for Huang to work for. He shows himself as an arrogant person and wants to impress The Tongs to become the replacement for Hsin Jaoming, so he asks for Huang's help on a job he is trying to accomplish - stealing crates from the back of a truck belonging to the Yardies, a Jamaican street gang from Schottler. Later, Zhou asks Huang to pick up a criminal ex-colleague of his called Uri from an Ambulance the Francis International Airport while he is on a medical release, just so he could rip his heart out for betraying him years ago.
After the Yardies were showing disrespect towards Hsin Jaoming, the Triads boss, Hsin sends vans armed with bombs to blow up the Yardies' "stash cars". Zhou, on the other hand wants to steal the cars and the drugs inside them, so he asks Huang behind Hsin's back to accomplish this.
Eventually after working for Chan and Kenny, Huang meets up with Zhou Ming again at The Hotel on Luddite East (HOLE) in Lower Easton, Algonquin, where he is planning a heist at the Bank of Liberty, and to escape from the cops and avoid police detection, he plans to escape with Huang, and his gang through a Chinatown Festival in a festive costume. He tells Huang to steal one of the costumes that is being transported and parked behind the bank. Once the bank is robbed, Huang, Zhou, and his gang dress up in the dragon outfit, they use it to mingle with the crowd during the Chinatown celebrations while losing the cops.
Later, Huang works for undercover detective Wade Heston to find the rat within the Triads who's leading the Wonsu Nodong, the Korean gang responsible for the theft of the Yu Jian Sword. A FIB contact of Heston's tells him he'll give the name of the person who's selling out the Triads if they help him with a couple of legally "sensitive" jobs - one of them being sinking a shipment belonging to Zhou Ming. Reluctantly at first, Huang steals a Destroyer from a LCPD Dock and uses the boat's torpedoes to sink Zhou's boat. Zhou later hires Huang to retrieve the sunken shipment while avoiding the coast guard patrolling the Humboldt River, not knowing Huang was the one who sank his shipment.
However, both Zhou and Chan are later falsely accused of being FIB informants who were ratting out the Triads, and they are both killed by Huang on Kenny's orders after the latter is given leadership of the Triads by Hsin.
Character[]
Personality[]
Zhou appears to be very arrogant, overconfident and selfish, almost always pointing out better facts about himself to everyone, including Huang Lee. He thinks that he has everything to become Hsin's successor. Despite that, he appears to be loyal to his gang, trying to set up profitable deals and counterfeiting orgainsations. He is always on the look out for money and is very greedy. Him killing Uri in an extremely violent way (by cutting his heart out with dagger) also shows that he is a heartless, bloodthirsty sociopath, who will do anything in order to achieve what he wants. His personality is quite similar to Ray Boccino from Grand Theft Auto IV.
Personal Information[]
- He lives in Lower Easton, Algonquin.
- His email address is ZM@myroomonline.net.
- His telephone number is 555-063-618.
Murders Committed[]
- Uri - Killed for apparently betraying him.
- Several Jamaican dealers - Killed in order to impress Hsin Jaoming.
LCPD Database Record[]
1995 - Trademark Counterfeiting
1997 - Armed Robbery
- Suspected of masterminding several major counterfeiting operations in Liberty City and abroad.
Mission Appearances[]
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars[]
- Stealing the Show (Boss)
- Flatliner (Boss)
- Bomb Disposal (Boss)
- Driven to Destruction (Boss)
- Cash & Burn (Boss)
- Dragon Haul Z (Boss)
- The Fandom Menace (Boss)
- So Near, Yet Sonar (Boss)
- Hit from the Tong (Boss/False Betrayal/Killed)
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Zhou Ming drives a Bobcat as seen in the missions "Stealing the Show" and "Driven to Destruction". He also has a Triad variant Hellenbach, as seen in all of the missions he gives from his clubhouse, in "Cash & Burn" and in the cutscene for the mission "So Near, Yet Sonar".
- His name was very likely based on the Chinese dynasties Zhou and Ming.
- A Chinese character named Zhou Ming also features in Driver 76. Both games are set in an equivalent of New York, and Zhou Ming also appears as a boss for many missions in Driver 76.
- He shares his name with a Red Dead Redemption 2 character mentioned in a letter entitled Letter to Zhou Yi from Zhou Wei, implied to be referring to a character named Zhou seen in Red Dead Redemption.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1
- ↑ “Those who died on the docks were the victims of this crime, not the perpetrators. We shouldn't be asking who they were working for, why they had weapons or why they were on the docks in the first place. We should be asking who killed these young men.
- ↑ “City Councilor Doris Fung, long accused of having links with several Chinatown gangs made a statement to the press...
