May 1, 2025

S5-E11 - “China’s Titanic” (1949) & The Cruise That Ended in Cremation (1994)

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Often called “China’s Titanic,” the 1949 sinking of the Taiping claimed over 1,000 lives as desperate refugees fled Shanghai for Taiwan. Forty-five years later, another tragedy struck: 24 Taiwanese tourists were brutally murdered during a pleasure cruise on China’s Qiandao Lake. The deaths and the clumsy, heartless Chinese cover-up caused outrage in Taiwan. In this episode, Formosa Files is revisiting two haunting shipping disasters that reveal the human cost of war, exile, and political mistrust across the Taiwan Strait.

Show Notes
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Cover: A promo image for the 2014 John Woo film "The Crossing - 太平輪"

The five pictures below are all from the 2014 movie "The Crossing."

If you're thinking, "Hey. I don't remember that film," well, you're not alone. This two-part mega project was a bomb at the box office, despite having a cast of some of the most famous actors from Japan, Hong Kong, CHina and Taiwan. It's been described as a bad remake of the film Titanic. Spread out over two parts (the first 128 minutes long, the second 131), the action doesn't really get going until part two, and there a few too many near Titanic rip-offs: a poor soldier falls in love with rich girl who disobeys parents/society for love, a ballroom dancing scene, etc. Those who enjoyed the films point out that there are no epic battle scenes in Titanic, no one is forced into prostitution to survive, and no one shoots a rabbit and then ends up sharing his kill with his communist enemies... so we'll let you judge.

Below: A newspaper from January 28th, "Year of the Republic 38," or 1949, tells of the sinking of the Taiping.

Below: A memorial built in 1951 commemorates those who lost their lives in the Taiping disaster. It's located very near the Cimetière militaire français de Keelung, or Sino-French War Memorial Park. The writing on the pillar is by the late master calligrapher Yu You-ren (于右任).

Below: "The author Chang Tien-wan, whose adoptive mother traveled on the Taiping Steamer, lays down flowers in her mother's memory at a memorial last month for those who died in the tragedy." PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES

Further reading:

太平輪 - CH

Historic sea tragedy revisited - TAIPEI TIMES

YOUTUBE VIDEO: Flashback in maritime history: Taiping collision, sinking 27 Jan 1949, 1500 fatalities

Taiping Steamer Memorial Park - 太平輪紀念碑公園

Below: Only around 50 people were rescued by the Royal Australian Navy HMAS Warramunga (artist impression below) and fishermen living on Zhoushan Archipelago.

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Below: The site where a tour boat filled with Taiwanese visiting China was attacked on March 31, 1994. The tourist boat Hai Rui 海瑞號 was touring Qiandao Lake in Chun'an County, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province when criminals robbed and killed the passengers, and then burned the boat. The victims included 24 Taiwanese tourists and eight Mainland tour guides and crew members, a total of 32 people. There were no survivors on the ship, Qiandao Lake is located in Chun'an County, Zhejiang Province. The lake is an artificial lake formed by the construction of the Xin'anjiang Reservoir in 1958. (Photo by Xu Shangli)

Below via China Times News: "On April 18, 1994, PRC Premier Li Peng made a special speech on the case, saying that the murderers should be severely punished. On May 8, the CCP agreed that, accompanied by the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait and the Public Security Bureau, personnel from Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation and legal, forensic technology experts, including criminal expert Hou Youyi (now New Taipei Mayor) could investigate the hull of the Hai Rui. This in turn gave rise to many doubts and disputes. Therefore, even after the CCP announced the details of the case, it is still considered an unsolved case in Taiwan and cannot be verified."

Photos of the burnt boat below via NEWS NOW.

Below: Members of the DPP protest China's handling of the 1994 "Qiandao Island Lake Incident." Interestingly, according to the China Times, a Gallup poll on April 15 of that year, showed the proportion of Taiwanese people supporting Taiwan independence reaching 27%, setting a record high. A United Daily News poll went further, claiming its polling showed that the number of Taiwanese people who "support" and "strongly support" Taiwan independence rose sharply to a combined total of 42%.

Below: The three defendants involved in the Qiandao Lake murder case in court. They were found guilty and on June 12, 1994 and the Hangzhou Intermediate People's Court sentenced the three to death. They didn't waste any time with appeals: the executions were carried out by firing squad on June 19. (Photo by Ye Qingfang)

Via China Times: "On April 15, police arrested Wu Lihong, a 22-year-old found operating a jet ski without a license, and later arrested two others they deemed accomplices, Hu Zhihan and Yu Aijun. elongings of victims were reportedly found in the men's homes, and on April 17, the police announced that they had solved the case. On the same day, the Chinese Communist Party admitted for the first time that the boat burning incident in Qiandao Lake was a planned act of 'murder, robbery, and destruction of evidence.'”