Early Organizations   Cormorant Street in the 1880's     Before official organizations existed in Victoria among the Chinese community there were jiefang, meaning “street organizations”.1   These street organizations were not official because they did not have a meeting place or building, therefore, the jiefang were not registered as formal organizations.  Often the members of the jiefang were organized by the geographical location they originated from in China.  When members of a jiefang needed to get together for a discussion, “the members gathered in one of the shops belonging to a member; after the problem was resolved, they dispersed.”2   As more Chinese began to arrive in Victoria, more formal organizations began to emerge, called tongs.