Canada — Ekhbary News Agency
Chinese dissident Dong Guangping, a 68-year-old human rights activist, has successfully reached Canada after a perilous sea escape from China. His journey, which culminated in resettlement with his family, involved a harrowing 40-hour voyage across 300 kilometers of the Yellow Sea to South Korea, a feat he described as life-threatening. Dong’s determination to live in the "free world" drove this latest, desperate attempt to escape state control, following multiple previous failures and imprisonments.
A Dangerous Bid for Freedom
Setting out from China's eastern Shandong province in a 3.3-meter rubber dinghy, Dong faced severe challenges. Battling choppy waves, sunburn, and a failing digital compass, he endured two sleepless days, constantly fearing he might drift back towards China. "Not being able to navigate would have been terrifying," Dong recounted to BBC Chinese, highlighting the immense psychological toll. Rescued by the South Korean coast guard and local fishermen on May 27, he was briefly detained before being allowed to join his family in Canada, where they had already secured refugee status.
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Years of Activism and Persecution
Dong's history of activism dates back decades. A former police officer, he was fired in 1999 for signing a petition commemorating the Tiananmen crackdown. Subsequent arrests and imprisonments followed, including a three-year sentence in 2001 for "inciting subversion of state power" and another in 2014 for participating in a Tiananmen commemoration, as documented by Amnesty International. His repeated attempts to flee China, including a deportation from Thailand in 2015 and an escape to Vietnam in 2020 which also ended in deportation, only strengthened his resolve. The Chinese Foreign Ministry, when asked for comment, stated that citizens must abide by the law, a standard response that, for what it's worth, often sidesteps the specific grievances of dissidents like Dong.
