The mysterious story of the six Chinese who survived the sinking of the Titanic

There were 8 Chinese out of 2,200 people on the Titanic, 6 people were lucky enough to survive after being rescued, but apparently they disappeared soon after.

In the early hours of April 15, 1912, British passenger ship RMS Titanic hit an iceberg and sank during the first trip from Southampton, England to New York, USA. More than 1,500 of the 2,200 passengers and crew were killed after the accident.

In fact, of the 2,200 passengers on board, there are 8 Chinese. British documentary producer Arthur Jones thinks that very few people know about their stories, and began making a film about the lives of six Chinese passengers who survived before disappearing from calendar books. history. Mr. Jones's film, called 'The Six', will be released at the end of 2018.

"Of the 700 people who survived the Titanic disaster, six Chinese never told their stories. Why are they ignored?" Said Jones. "Global newspapers have continued to care about the stories of the people on the Titanic that day, recording every little detail, even the size of the second-class ashtray, but not What about Chinese passengers ".

"Who are they, why did they get on the train and what happened to them after the disaster? And why are there so many people on the lifeboat?", Director Jones continued.

Of the 2,200 passengers on board, there are 8 Chinese.(Illustration).

To answer these questions, Mr. Jones followed Steven Schwankert's historian to discover the forgotten stories of Chinese passengers: Lee Bing, Fang Lang, Chang Chip, Ah Lam, Chung Foo and Ling Hee. . He said two people killed in the disaster were Lee Ling and Len Lam.

The director said that the social media campaign to look for information about 6 people was a huge success."Thousands of people participated, so I set up whoarethesix.com to get more information about relatives who might be on board."

What Mr. Jones found was information about eight men who worked on cargo ships between China and Europe, and may have tried to move to the United States to lead a new life. They boarded the Titanic in Southampton with a single ticket for eight people - the type of ticket for guests in third-class cabins. Four people survived the last rescue plane, one was rescued from another lifeboat, and the sixth was found floating in the rubble - a piece of wood, which seemed to be a wing. door.

The ups and downs of their lives do not end after being rescued. When they arrive in the United States, they are not allowed to enter the country because of the China Exclusion Act - a US federal law that refuses to immigrate for a specific nationality. Instead, the men were taken to a station emigrating on Ellis Island, where they boarded and disappeared from public view within 24 hours.

"Other survivors are welcome in the United States with openness but these six people are not supported and ridiculed in the press," Jones said. Then the men were forgotten, and if their story had appeared in the press, it was probably just allegations that they had done something evil.

"Rumors revolve around whether they are dressed as women, or pushing children away to board lifeboats. However, we find that they do not wear what the press wrote at the time and have no evidence of their occupation of the lifeboat of children and women ".

While there is very little online information, some sources say that two men are from Hong Kong. Mr. Jones thought that all eight of them were probably in Guangdong Province, but visited Hong Kong.

Director Jones said that in order to make the film true and accurate, the group traveled to the United States, Canada, England and China, as well as Hong Kong - where some descendants of 6 people lived.

The documentary about their life is about to be released.(Photo: Getty).

The film crew came from the son of a survivor in Wisconsin of the United States. Other clues brought them to a remote village in Guangzhou. Jones said the study has filled the obstacles.

"Chinese genealogies are very difficult, especially in English documents such as shipping records, where names are often copied in reverse. However, there are a surprising number of documents still available. in the archives around the world, and adding an unexpected side story about the Chinese community in the early 20th century , 'he said.

"Six Chinese people survived the sinking of the Titanic but they disappeared from that story in the next 24 hours. It was not an accident but intentional. That's what the culture was like. that happened, ' the director added.

Speaking from Beijing, Mr. Schwankert, the film's principal researcher, said the story has been told and it will resonate with Chinese audiences who have a great interest in disaster.