"The boat fare for one person was 300g of gold and an 18-meter vessel would take at least two or three hundred people," says Hsu Chin-shui, whose father was in the tea trade. Although the conditions were terrible, he tried to escape three times but failed every time and was finally sent for reform-through-labor.
「一個人的船資要八兩黃金，一條十八米長的船至少擠二、三百人」，父親從事茶葉生意的許金水說，儘管環境險惡，他還是不惜耗盡家中積蓄，前後企圖逃離三次，結果都不幸失敗，被捉送勞改。