He moved to Taiwan with the Kuomintang in 1949, and diversified his investments in Hong Kong with the companies Maritime Transport Limited, the Oriental Overseas Container Line (OOCL), Island Navigation Corporation.
In 1973, he purchased the Queen Elizabeth, which he wanted to make into a floating university, an endeavour to later inspire the Semester at Sea programme.
On 9 January 1972, the ship caught fire during refurbishing and sank into Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong on the eve of her inaugural voyage.
[5] Politically, Tung was aligned with Kuomintang regime of the Republic of China (ROC) on Taiwan.
[6] However, when the OOCL experienced financial trouble after his death, the government of the People's Republic of China rescued the company.