The Taiping ferry was sailing at night from Shanghai to Keelung. In order to avoid the curfew, the Taiping did not turn on its navigation lights. At 23:45 in the evening, the Taiping collided with the "Jianyuan" carrying 2,700 tons of coal and wood. [2] The "Jianyuan" sank immediately, with 72 people on board. One person drowned, three people were rescued; a minute later, the wheel also sank. A minute later, the Taiping sank, and almost everyone on the ship screamed. Due to the cold weather at the time, some of those who fell into the water froze to death or drowned. More than 900 people on board died, and 38 people (six crew members) were rescued by Australian warships. Most of the deceased were senior KMT officials and well-known wealthy businessmen, including the father of musician Wu Bochao and criminal expert Li Changyu. There were many jewelry, Buddha statues and tablets floating on the boat, as well as wooden boxes containing documents, and nearby fishermen were stunned. The Shanghai Court ruled that China United Steam Navigation Company should pay compensation. However, due to the war and displacement at that time, Shanghai was soon liberated. The amount of compensation was an astronomical figure. The insurance of the Taiping was underwritten by Shanghai Huatai Insurance Company. After the accident, this insurance company It immediately declared bankruptcy, so China United Shipping Company had to bear its own profits and losses. China United Shipping Company finally ended its operations. Its other two ships were chained in Kaohsiung Port and eventually all rusted. The matter was settled.
Cai Yuanpei recalled how his father was forced by his creditors to become a lawyer "sympathetic to capitalists."
In 1951, a monument to the victims of the Taiping was built near the Coast Guard Office of Keelung Port East Pier 16, due to the inscription by Youren. In April 2004, the Ethnic Affairs Department of the Democratic Progressive Party and Phoenix TV co-produced the documentary "Searching for the Taiping Wheel".