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Taiping was a Chinese steamer that sank after a collision with a smaller cargo ship, Chienyuan, while en route from mainland China to Taiwan on 27 January 1949. With an estimated death toll of over 1,500 people, it ranks as one of the ten deadliest maritime disasters in history.
Taiping was packed to nearly twice her rated capacity, carrying over 1,000 refugees fleeing advancing Chinese Communist forces during the Chinese Civil War, when she departed Shanghai, China on 26 January 1949, bound for Keelung, Taiwan. [1] Some estimates put the number of passengers on board at over 1,500, [2] although the ship was only rated to carry 580 passengers. [1]
After midnight on 27 January 1949, Taiping was steaming at night with her lights out, owing to a curfew, when she collided with the smaller cargo ship Chienyuan near the Zhoushan Archipelago. [2] She sank, killing over 1,500 passengers and crew members. Only 35 survived, including 2 people from Chienyuan. They were rescued by HMASWarramunga.
Taiping, which made many journeys between mainland China and Taiwan before her tragic end, has been compared to the Mayflower for her role in bringing Chinese immigrants to Taiwan. [3] She has also been compared to RMS Titanic, which sank in 1912, owing to the similar loss of life in her sinking. [4] A memorial to the ship and those who died aboard her was established at Keelung Harbor naval base on Taiwan. [3]
The Crossing , a 2014 film directed by John Woo, is about the sinking of Taiping. [4]
The Three Links or Three Linkages was a 1979 proposal from the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to open up postal, transportation, and trade links between mainland China and Taiwan, with the goal of unifying Mainland China and Taiwan.
Taiwan is divided into multi-layered statutory subdivisions. Due to the complex political status of Taiwan, there is a significant difference in the de jure system set out in the original constitution and the de facto system in use today.
HMHSBritannic was the third and final vessel of the White Star Line's Olympic class of steamships and the second White Star ship to bear the name Britannic. She was the youngest sister of the RMS Olympic and the RMS Titanic and was intended to enter service as a transatlantic passenger liner. She was operated as a hospital ship from 1915 until her sinking near the Greek island of Kea, in the Aegean Sea, in November 1916. At the time she was the largest hospital ship in the world.
An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes. The Queen Mary 2 is the only ocean liner still in service to this day.
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RMS Laconia was a Cunard ocean liner, built by Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson as a successor of the 1911–1917 RMS Laconia. The new ship was launched on 9 April 1921, and made her maiden voyage on 25 May 1922 from Southampton to New York City. At the outbreak of the Second World War she was converted into an armed merchant cruiser, and later a troopship. She was sunk in the South Atlantic Ocean on 12 September 1942 by U-156. Some estimates of the death toll have suggested that over 1,658 people were killed when the Laconia sank. Hartenstein staged a rescue of the passengers and the crew of Laconia, which involved additional German U-boats and became known as the Laconia incident.
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RMS Republic was a steam-powered ocean liner built in 1903 by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, and lost at sea in a collision in 1909 while sailing for the White Star Line. The ship was equipped with a new Marconi wireless telegraphy transmitter, and issued a CQD distress call, resulting in the saving of around 1,500 lives. Known as the "Millionaires' Ship" because of the number of wealthy Americans who traveled by her, she was described as a "palatial liner" and was the flagship of White Star Line's Boston service. This was the first important marine rescue made possible by radio, and brought worldwide attention to this new technology.
RMS Baltic was an ocean liner of the White Star Line that sailed between 1904 and 1932. At 23,876 gross register tonnage, she was the world's largest ship until May 1906. She was the third of a quartet of ships, all measuring over 20,000 gross register tons, dubbed The Big Four, the other three being RMS Celtic, RMS Cedric, and RMS Adriatic.
SSNaronic was a British cargo steamship built in 1892 by Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland, for the White Star Line. A sister ship of SS Bovic, she was built at a time the company wanted to increase its market share in the transport of live cattle on the North Atlantic route. Along with other company's ships of the same type, she was responsible for transporting goods from Liverpool to New York City, United States, and bringing back American cattle on the return trip. She also had cabins that allowed her to carry a few passengers. At the time of her entry into service, Naronic was the largest cargo ship in operation.
Mount Temple was a passenger cargo steamship built in 1901 by Armstrong Whitworth & Company of Newcastle for Elder, Dempster & Co Ltd of Liverpool to operate as part of its Beaver Line. The ship was shortly afterwards acquired by the Canadian Pacific Railway. She was one of the first vessels to respond to the distress signals of RMS Titanic in 1912.
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The Olympic-class ocean liners were a trio of British ocean liners built by the Harland & Wolff shipyard for the White Star Line during the early 20th century, named Olympic (1911), Titanic (1912) and Britannic (1914). All three were designated to be the largest as well as most luxurious liners of the era, devised to provide White Star an advantage as regards to size and luxury in the transatlantic passenger trade.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications governs transportation in Taiwan.
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The Crossing is a 2014–2015 Chinese-Hong Kong epic historical romance-war drama and disaster film directed by John Woo and written by Hui-Ling Wang. The film stars Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Song Hye-kyo, Huang Xiaoming, Tong Dawei and Masami Nagasawa. The film is based on the sinking of the Taiping in 1949. The incident led to the deaths of over 1,500 passengers and crew. The film's first part was released in China on December 2, 2014. Part two was released on July 30, 2015.