Chinese Dissident Flees China by Sea, Arrives in Canada

Chinese dissident Dong Guangping, a vocal advocate for political reform and human rights, has arrived in Toronto, Canada, after a perilous journey that began with his escape from China by sea. The 68-year-old former policeman reached South Korea last month in an inflatable rubber boat before making his way to Canada.

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I’m very happy. Sitting here now, it feels like I’ve come home.

"I'm very happy," Dong told The New York Times upon his arrival late Friday. "Sitting here now, it feels like I've come home." His escape involved navigating the Yellow Sea from the Chinese city of Weihai in a small rubber boat. Initially aiming for Japan, Dong lost his bearings in the vast expanse of the sea. With his cell phone dead and the boat's engine failing, he adjusted course for South Korea, where he was eventually rescued by a fisherman.

Dong's activism has long been a challenge to Beijing. He was dismissed from his police force after signing a petition following the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. He later served prison time for "inciting subversion of state power" and was detained again for Tiananmen-related activities. His family had previously resettled in Canada as refugees, but Dong faced further difficulties, including being handed over to Chinese police by Thai authorities in 2015 despite having UN-recognized refugee status.

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The sea and sky are just a vast expanse of white, and you can’t tell which way is which.

His attempts to flee China have been fraught with challenges. In 2019, he tried to swim to the Taiwanese territory of Kinmen, and in 2020, he was detained by police during a trip to Vietnam. His arrival in Canada marks a new chapter after years of activism and persecution. A photo shared on social media showed him "walking around the neighborhood, so excited that he took a photo with the Canadian flag."

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walking around the neighborhood, so excited that he took a photo with the Canadian flag.