The Qiandao Lake incident () refers to the 1994 kidnap and murder of Taiwanese tourists and local guides and staff in the Qiandao Lake scenic area, in Zhejiang, People's Republic of China. Insensitive treatment by the local government and police force after the event, including censoring information and unprofessional criminal investigation procedures, led to a public backlash in Taiwan against the Chinese government. This led to increased support in Taiwan for independence. Incident On March 31, 1994, a ferry named Hai Rui (海瑞号) was hijacked by three men in Qiandao Lake, located in Chun'an County, Hangzhou, in Zhejiang Province. The ship ended up on fire, and all 32 people on board at the time were killed, including 24 passengers from Taiwan, along with 6 Chinese crew and two Chinese tour guides. The Hai Rui ferry was supposed to have returned on the night of the 31st. Instead, on the morning of April 1, it was discovered ablaze. The local civilians immediately reported it to the police. The police did not find any passengers or sailors on the ship initially, and the Chun'an County government organized police, on-duty troops and civilians to search in the Qiandao Lake region, but did not discover any of the missing passengers. After the fire was put out, the police discovered 32 bodies in the lower cabin of the ship. However, during the investigation of the case, the local police department did not inform the general public of the progress of the investigation. This led to the public's belief that the local government was blocking information, concealing the events and controlling the media. Investigation On April 2, 1994, the Hangzhou police department arranged medical experts to analyze all the discovered bodies. On April 4, the families of the victims arrived in Chun'an County from Taiwan. China's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) set up receptions in various cities to accommodate the families; at the same time, the Taiwanese Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) requested assistance in getting the families to the scene of the incident, to deal with related issues, but this was refused by ARATS. On April 6, the Zhejiang provincial police department joined the investigation. On the same day, the Zhejiang government invited Master Jiyun of the Hangzhou Lingyin Temple to do the ceremony that release souls from purgatory, but denied the families of the victims to visit the remains of the victims