《Refugees on the South China Sea》
"Ashan! Ashan!" Not far from the coast of Hainan Island, a young child peeked out from the cabin of a fishing boat. As he gazed at the faint lights on shore, his eyes also scanned the bright, twinkling stars above.
"Ashan! Ashan! Come down quickly!" Ashan's mother busied herself inside the cabin, trying to soothe a crying infant while urging Ashan to hide inside.
Ashan was the youngest in a family fleeing their home. Above him were an older sister and brother. Their father was a military officer stationed in Haikou. In 1949, Communist forces ignited conflict in Hainan, and the situation for the military became dire.
The night before street fighting broke out in Haikou, under her husband's urging, Ashan's mother hurriedly took her three children and a baby entrusted to her care, squeezing onto the last fishing boat escaping the city.
Ashan lost track of time in the stuffy cabin. When he was startled awake by the noisy surroundings, the sky had already turned bright, and the fishing boat was bobbing uncertainly in the sea.
They were transferring from the fishing boat to a small cargo ship emitting dark smoke. The plan was to sail to Kowloon in international waters.
Everything felt new to Ashan on the cargo ship, except for the dry rations they ate at every meal. When Ashan asked his mother for food, she comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, in a couple of days, we'll have proper rice to eat!"
Two days passed, and Kowloon gradually came into view. Refugees silently stood on the deck, longing for a place far from home but free from the ravages of war. Suddenly, the cargo ship abruptly changed course.
Just as everyone was filled with confusion and anxiety, the captain announced disappointing news: "Kowloon has raised the five-star flag!" Ashan's mother cried out, "Captain, we beg you, please take us to Hong Kong!"
The captain followed with even more disheartening news: Without travel documents, they couldn't dock in Hong Kong because it was a British colony.
The cargo ship had no choice but to return to international waters. Refugee representatives urgently negotiated with the captain for a solution. Eventually, they pooled some money and pleaded with the captain to find a way to smuggle them into Hong Kong.
《中國南海上的難民》
「阿三！阿三！」在距離海南島海口不遠的海上，一名稚童正在一條漁船的船艙中探出頭來。一面看著岸上微弱的燈火，一面仰頭看著天上明亮閃耀的星星。
「阿三！阿三！快下來！」阿三的母親正在船艙內忙著哄哭鬧不休的嬰兒，又忙著叫阿三趕快躲進艙內。
阿三是逃難家庭中的老三，上面有一個姐姐及一個哥哥。爸爸是駐紮在海口的國軍軍官。民國卅八年 (1949 年)，共黨的部隊已在海南燃起了戰火，戰況對國軍相當的不利。
在海口進入巷戰的前一天晚上，阿三的媽在丈夫的催促下，匆匆帶著三個孩子及一個臨危受託的嬰兒，擠上了最後一艘逃離海口的漁船。
阿三在悶濕的船艙中也不知昏睡了多久。當他被週遭吵雜的聲音驚醒時，天空已經放白，漁船也停在海中搖晃不定。
此時只見得逃難的人群，正從漁船轉駁到一艘冒著黑煙的小貨輪。原來逃難的計劃是在公海中，轉搭小貨輪到九龍去。
阿三在小貨輪上一切都感到新鮮，唯一不習慣就是每頓都吃乾糧。當阿三向媽媽要求吃飯時，媽媽哄著說：「不要急，過兩天我們就有大白米飯吃了！」
兩天過去了，九龍也漸漸在望。逃難的人們都默默地在甲板上，盼著這個遠離家鄉，但是沒有戰火的地方。突然間，小貨輪轉向急駛而去。
大家正在納悶焦急之時，船長宣佈了一個令人失望的消息--「九龍已經掛五星旗了！」阿三的媽尖喊著：「船老大，我們跟你叩頭，請送我們到香港去！」
船長接著宣佈了一則更令人失望的消息：因為香港是英國的殖民地，沒有旅行證件是不能靠岸。
小貨輪又只得駛回到公海中，難民代表們急著找船老大商量對茦。最後大家又湊了一些錢，請船老大設法偷渡香港。
