The Opium War 1997

Lin Zexu Bao Guo-an believes opium is a national scourge and that strong measures are necessary to eradicate it. The British Empire makes a great deal of money shipping it to China and selling it to Chinese drug addicts. When Lin Zexu arrives in Guangdong in 1838, he immediately bans its use and seizes large quantities from the British drug traffickers. News of this reaches Queen Victoria Debra Beaumont, who orders military action to enforce the “free trade” of opium. The British demand monetary compensation for the seized opium, five free trade ports in China, and the island of Hong Kong as their sovereign territory. The Chinese refuse all these demands.

The British declare war. To lower tensions, the imperial court fires Lin Zexu and replaces him with Qishan Ko Hsiang-Ting, who is more lax with opium smuggling. Qishan tries to reason with the British, offering them a large amount of money. The British counter with a demand for twice Qishan’s offer. Qishan then tries to stall an attack by treating the British to a lavish feast and the province’s best singers and dancers. These efforts fail to appease the British.

In the climax of the film, Guan Tianpei Hua Jiang leads his troops in defense of Humen Fort while the British Army launch a fierce fusillade of cannon fire from their warships. Unfortunately, the cannons in the Chinese fort are not large enough to reach the British warships; all the officers and soldiers defending the fort are killed in battle.

At the end of the film, Lin Zexu is sent to Xinjiang, the British and the Qing government sign the Treaty of Nanking, and Hong Kong becomes a British colony.