Dissident detained in South Korea after fleeing China in rubber boat

A 68-year-old Chinese dissident, Dong Guangping, was detained in South Korea after washing up on the coast following an attempted escape by rubber boat. South Korean coastguard authorities arrested him and questioned him for suspected immigration law violations. He was found on a 3.3-metre boat with a 10-horsepower motor about 38 nautical miles off the coast. He reportedly traveled more than 30 hours by sea from Weifang in Shandong province. Dong had previously fled China multiple times, including to Thailand in 2015, to Taiwan-adjacent Kinmen in 2019, and to Vietnam in 2020, but was detained and returned to China each time. He had been jailed in China for more than three years after becoming a government critic.

"Dong Guangping, 68, is in custody in South Korea, having been detained by the coastguard on Monday evening. He is thought to have travelled more than 30 hours by sea to reach the shores of China's democratic neighbour. Dong has tried to escape from China on several previous occasions, according to media reports and interviews with two of his friends."

"In 2015, he fled with his wife and daughter for Thailand. But the Thai authorities detained and deported him back to China, despite the fact he had been given refugee status by the UN refugee agency. Back in China, Dong, a former police officer turned government critic, was jailed for more than three years."

"After his release in 2019, he tried to swim to Kinmen, a small Taiwanese island three miles from the Chinese coastline, but floundered at sea and was taken back to China by fishers. In 2020, he fled again to Vietnam, but was later arrested and returned to China."

"The coastguard released a statement on Wednesday confirming that a Chinese man in his 60s had been arrested and was being questioned on suspicion of immigration law violations, according to Reuters. The man was on a 3.3-metre boat with a 10-horsepower motor when he was spotted about 38 nautical miles off the coast. Zang said that Dong travelled more than 30 hours by boat from Weifang in Shandong province on China's eastern coast."

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