Wei Cheng (Traditional Chinese: 陳偉, Simplified Chinese: 陈伟, Pinyin: Chén Wěi) is a character in the Grand Theft Auto series, appearing as a supporting character and a tertiary antagonist in Grand Theft Auto V.
He is voiced by George Cheung.
History
Background
Cheng is a Chinese-born mobster from Yangshan who leads the powerful Los Santos Triads gang, which primarily deals in gunrunning and meth manufacturing. By 2013, his operation has grown heavily, and he seeks to expand his business into Blaine County, through collaboration with an already functioning group there.
Cheng is father to at least three children: Tao, Georgina, and an unnamed son. He is also related to Mr. Cheng, the CEO of Cheng Family Holdings, the family's legal front, though their relation whether they are brothers or brothers-in-law remains unknown.
As Cheng establishes shop in San Andreas, he grooms Tao to be his successor, albeit with little success; while Georgina is Vice President of their legitimate business.
Events of Grand Theft Auto V
Expanding businesses
In order to fulfill his goal of expanding into Blaine County, Cheng sends his eldest son Tao and his translator to make contact with Trevor Philips, one of the area's most prominent meth dealers. However, an attack on Trevor's meth kitchen by a group of Aztecas gangbangers, who are angered and vengeful because of Trevor's earlier attack (or murder) of fellow Aztecas member and possible leader, Ortega, dissuades Tao and the translator from working with him, instead deciding to collaborate with the rival O'Neil brothers. This change of plans prompts Trevor to assault Tao and ask them about their new collaborators. After realizing that the O'Neils stole his contract, Trevor, in a fit of rage, raids the O'Neil brothers' farm, killing most of them and destroying their meth kitchens.
Capturing Michael
After Trevor destroys the O'Neils' farm, an enraged Cheng tells his men to capture him, but by then, he had already left Blaine County and moved to Los Santos. Later on, after kidnapping Patricia Madrazo, and thus being forced to lie low to avoid her husband, Trevor and his friend, Michael De Santa, are forced to go into hiding at Trevor's trailer in Blaine County. Cheng's men find Trevor here and mistakenly assume Michael is Trevor's lover and Patricia is their maid.
Cheng's men chase Trevor and Michael to Ludendorff, North Yankton, where Trevor had gone to find out about Brad Snider's fate and Michael had gone to stop him. There, they attack the duo and capture Michael, while Trevor gets away. Cheng calls Trevor afterwards and threatens to kill Michael if he is unwilling to hand over his business in Blaine County, a threat that Trevor ignores due to his feud with Michael. Cheng orders for Michael's execution at the meatpacking plant he is being held, but he gets rescued at the last minute by Franklin Clinton, and both of them escape after killing several of Cheng's henchmen.
Ending
By the end of the game, Franklin is given separate orders by Steve Haines and Devin Weston to kill one of his friends. Haines wants him to kill Trevor, and Weston wants him to kill Michael. The player then has to choose between carrying out Haines' instructions, carrying out Weston's, or disregarding them both and getting together with both Trevor and Michael to take out their enemies.
The Third Way
Franklin contacts Lester and asks him for help on figuring out what to do. Lester initially suggests killing both Trevor and Michael, but eventually comes up with a better way to solve the problem. He lures Haines' corrupt FIB allies and Weston's private Merryweather batallion to a foundry where the three protagonists ambush and kill all of them, stripping both Haines and Weston of their brute force power.
Lester Crest: “Tao Cheng's credit card just bought a magnum at the beach club in Pacific Bluffs.”
Franklin Clinton: “Okay, I'll go ask his ass about his punk-ass daddy.”
— Lester Crest telling Franklin Clinton the whereabouts of Tao Cheng.
They give a call to Lester, who tells them the current locations of their targets. Franklin will be sent to assassinate Cheng. He drives to the beach club in Pacific Bluffs, where Cheng and his son are located. He is found surrounded by bodyguards as well as his son Tao in a motorcade of vehicles leaving the Pacific Bluffs Country Club. As soon as Franklin arrives or gets too close, Cheng discovers this and orders his men to drive off.
Eventually, Franklin kills Cheng and informs that the Triads are no more, to which Trevor replies that they are not going have super weapons to sell to but it does not matter anyway.
Something Sensible/The Time's Come
If Franklin chooses to kill either Michael or Trevor, Cheng will no longer be mentioned and the fate of the character is unknown.
Aftermath of The Third Way
- A newspaper will shortly appear:
Daily Rag Newspaper "Wei Cheng, a prominent Triad gang boss was murdered yesterday. His Triad had been weakened by a series of recent incidents, both in Los Santos and bizarrely up in Ludendorff, North Yankton. Mr. Cheng, a Chinese national, was believed to be prominent in a two-way drug and weapon trade between China and the US, smuggling materials in and out of the country via the Port of Los Santos."
Character
Personality
The elder Cheng is very different from his son, Tao. He is shown to be cruel and extremely bloodthirsty, stopping at nothing to ensure the Triads are the dominant gang in Los Santos. He has gone as far as having Michael De Santa hunted down in North Yankton and sentenced to being slaughtered for his alleged "lover" Trevor's actions with the O'Neils, which were one of the Triads' business partners. Despite his cruelty, he attempted to peacefully make business with Trevor, but seeing that he was an insufficient business partner, attempted to cut ties with him. A hostility then occurred after Trevor destroyed the O'Neil's meth lab and killed a large majority of them after being replaced as a business partner by them. He also appears to care about his men, as he has expressed great irritation twice about his men getting killed. The first time being in the meat house where he berates Michael by saying “and then you kill several good men. Good day, huh?” Trevor can also call Mr. Cheng after the completion of Fresh Meat where he tells Trevor that Michael was rescued, and Trevor asks what was up with that, with Mr. Cheng replying “more of my men died, Mr. Philips!” He also appears to show some compassion as he attempts to make peace with Trevor if he gives up his business and he will let Michael go (although this could be manipulation). But Trevor refuses and Michael is still kept hostage at the meat factory until Franklin comes to rescue him.
Mission Appearances
Grand Theft Auto V
- Bury the Hatchet (Phone call)
- Fresh Meat
- The Third Way (Option C; Killed)
Gallery
Trivia
- In the official traditional and simplified Chinese version, his name is 陳偉(陈伟) in Chinese. But his surname "陳(陈)" is possibly a translation error of the Chinese version, because "陳(陈)" pronounces "Chen" instead of "Cheng" in Mandarin Chinese, and “程" is more likely the correct surname, which is a Chinese surname and pronounced "Cheng", then his correct full name would be “程偉 (程伟) [Chéng Wěi]”.
References
- ↑ The Third Way was confirmed to be the canon ending of GTA V during the GTA Online: The Diamond Casino & Resort DLC mission "Casino - Strong Arm Tactics".