Golden Venture was a 147-foot-long (45 m) cargo ship that smuggled 286 undocumented immigrants from China (mostly Fuzhou people from Fujian province) along with 13 crew members that ran aground on the beach at Fort Tilden on the Rockaway peninsula of Queens, New York on June 6, 1993, at around 2 a.m.
The ship had sailed from Bangkok, Thailand, stopped in Kenya and rounded the Cape of Good Hope, then headed northwest across the Atlantic Ocean to New York City on its four-month voyage.
Roughly 10% were granted asylum after U.S. Representative William Goodling entreated President Bill Clinton; minors were released, while about half the remainder were deported (some being accepted by South American countries).
It was also notable because some detainees created more than 10,000 folk art sculptures or Chinese paper folding, papier-mâché, and recycled materials while in York County Prison; these were later exhibited throughout the U.S. and sold to offset legal costs.
[4] The immigrants held in the cramped hold of the freighter were forced to live on a diet of rice, peanuts, dirty water, and spoiled food as it sailed on its 4-month voyage to New York City.
Roughly 10 percent were granted asylum after Pennsylvania congressman William Goodling entreated President Bill Clinton; minors were released, while about half the remainder were deported (some being accepted by South American countries).
After he cooperated with the US government in at least 15 different federal criminal cases over a period of many years, including the prosecution of 35 Chinatown gang members, he eventually received a light sentence.
Although Cheng provided cash to buy the aging vessel in Thailand, trial evidence showed that she did not view Golden Venture's voyage as an important business deal,[12] even though the gross take for all involved would have been around $8.5 million – if all of the immigrants aboard had paid or been ransomed by their families.