The Chinese documentary The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru reveals a forgotten WWII tragedy, honoring the lost British POWs and the Zhoushan fishermen who rescued survivors.
The Chinese documentary The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru premiered in the UK on the evening of March 17. The event took place at the Regent Street Cinema in London. Over a hundred relatives of British prisoners of war (POWs) who had been aboard the ill-fated ship were among the audience.
Uncovering a Forgotten WWII Tragedy
The documentary brings to light a little-known chapter of World War II. In October 1942, Japanese army requisitioned the Lisbon Maru to transport more than 1,800 British POWs from Hong Kong to Japan. While passing through the waters near Zhoushan, the ship was torpedoed by a US submarine. As the vessel sank, local fishermen from Zhoushan risked their lives to rescue 384 British POWs.
The producer and director of the film, Fang Li, first learned about the incident nearly a decade ago. Struck by how few people knew about it, he embarked on a journey to uncover the fate of the sunken ship and locate survivors and their descendants—laying the foundation for the documentary.
A Journey to Preserve History
In 2016, Fang led a marine technology team to pinpoint the exact location of the shipwreck. The following year, his team conducted an in-depth geological survey and ocean mapping project. They analyzed the ship’s steel structure and obtained high-resolution sonar imaging. This confirmed the wreckage as the Lisbon Maru.
By 2018, Fang had launched an extensive search for eyewitnesses and their descendants. Whenever he conducted interviews, he first presented the sonar images of the wreckage, underscoring the documentary’s commitment to historical accuracy.
In 2019, he invited families of those who perished aboard the Lisbon Maru to Dongji Island for a remembrance ceremony, followed by a boat trip to the site of the sunken ship.
Fang described the filmmaking process as an emotionally challenging experience.
“We must remember that beyond national identities—whether British or Chinese—people are people, and they should be seen as civilians and friends,” he said.
A Moving Tribute to the Fallen
77 years after the sinking, a deeply emotional event titled “Goodbye, Dad” was held on Dongji Island. A group of elderly descendants traveled from the UK to express their gratitude to Lin Agen, the only surviving fisherman who participated in the rescue.
On the beach, visitors read aloud the final letters they had written to their lost fathers. Later, they took a boat to the exact coordinates of the Lisbon Maru shipwreck and scattered flower petals into the sea, paying tribute to those who never returned home.
One descendant recited a poignant passage in remembrance:
“They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.”
In addition, the documentary premiered in China in September 2024. It won Best Documentary Film at the 37th China Film Golden Rooster Awards. Now, with a UK distributor onboard, the team behind The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru will screen the documentary 25 times across 19 cities in the UK. This will ensure that this long-overlooked history is finally brought to light.
Written by Chen Wang, additional reporting by CGTN, CNS, guancha.cn.
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