A harsh spotlight has been cast on a historic building in San Francisco Chinatown, which houses the Chee Kung Tong masonic organization — also known as Chinese Freemasons. Following the arrest of its head Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow in raids which also netted state senator Leland Yee, prosecutors have listed the century-old association as a "racketeering enterprise", causing some to worry that the building might face confiscation.

The Chee Kung Tong was established in San Francisco in 1848 during the Gold Rush era to aid Chinese people living in the US, like many other groups in Chinatown. During its heyday at the turn of the 20th Century, it had more than 100,000 members, maintained close ties with Sun Yat-sen and contributed financially to the 1911 Revolution led by Sun.

The historic building, located at 36 Spofford Street in San Francisco's Chinatown, is a 150-year-old building home to many valuable historic documents and items connected to Sun and the 1911 Revolution. Among them are valuable photographs of top officials and celebrities, photos and news reports about the association in the early 1900s.

Many worry that the historic building may be confiscated following the Chee Kung Tong's implication on sweeping charges of corruption and racketeering, echoing the fate of other historic buildings involved in similar cases in the 1980s.

On Leong Chinese Merchants Association, formerly known as the On Leong Tong and established in 1893, was a well-known Tong society in Chicago's Chinatown. Its headquarters was built in 1928 as an immigrant assistance center. However, the building was confiscated in 1988 after the FBI raided it as part of a racketeering investigation. It was later purchased by the Chinese Christian Union Church in 1993 and renamed the Pui Tak Center, and reopened to host religious, community and educational programs.

One of the reasons Chee Kung Tong association members are eager to protect the building is because of the precious items associated with the history of the hundred-year-old community that has helped millions in Chinatown.

Paul Cheng, a Chinese-American lawyer based in California, told the Global Times that any racketeering conviction would still be a long way off, as the case needs to go through legal procedures and can must be tried in court.

Daniel Deng, a well-known Chinese-American lawyer, said that other members of the association should not be unduly worried. The RICO Act (Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization Act), a law meant to combat the effects of organized crime on the nation's economy, would apply to Chee Kung Tong only if it is convicted in court as a "racketeering enterprise." The act only focuses on those accused of conspiracy, Deng added.

The building is likely safe as long as it was not the scene of any crimes, said Deng in explaining the possibility of confiscating the association building.