Chinese dissident who fled by dinghy to South Korea arrives in Canada, his friend says
His friend said he landed in Toronto after a 3.3-meter inflatable boat crossing and a detention by South Korea’s coast guard.
- Chinese political dissident Dong Guangping landed in Toronto on Friday aboard an Air Canada flight, according to his friend, Chinese Canadian activist Sheng Xue, who announced the arrival on social media.
- Dong fled China last month aboard a 3.3-meter inflatable boat, but South Korean coast guard officials detained him near a western island for allegedly violating immigration law.
- A former police officer, Dong was imprisoned for three years in 2001 for "inciting subversion of state power" and spent eight months in 2014 for a Tiananmen Square memorial, according to Amnesty International.
- Sheng Xue, who spent more than 10 years campaigning for his release, noted Dong ate "a big bowl of noodles with eggs, tomatoes and shrimps" upon arrival as he seeks to reunite with family in Canada.
- This successful journey marks the end of four known escape attempts; previous efforts to reach Thailand and Vietnam resulted in deportation back to China by local authorities.
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der Standard AT
der Standard DEThe democracy activist had previously fled to South Korea 30 hours on a motor boat. On Friday he landed in Toronto
It was a long way: Chinese dissident Dong Guangping travelled from South Korea to Canada after weeks of waiting. He had started with a dinghy in China.
Washington Top News
Asia OneChinese dissident who fled to South Korea by dinghy arrives in Canada
HONG KONG (AP) — A Chinese political dissident who fled to South Korea last month in a dinghy has arrived in Canada, his friend said on social media on Saturday. Dong Guangping was aboard a 3.3-meter (10.8-foot) inflatable boat in the waters off a western South Korean island in May when he was detained by South Korea’s coast guard for allegedly violating the country’s immigration law. It was his fourth known attempt to flee China. At a court hea…
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