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A Chinese dissident who has agelong been a thorn successful Beijing's broadside has escaped to South Korea connected a rubber boat, his lawyer confirmed connected Wednesday (May 27, 2026), aft repeated attempts to fly China.
Dong Guangping, a erstwhile policeman who was imprisoned for his activism, was recovered by South Korean authorities connected Monday (May 25, 2026) nighttime drifting disconnected the country's westbound seashore connected a 3.3-metre (11-foot) rubber vessel with a 9.9-horsepower engine, according to police.
He was taken to enactment for questioning connected suspicion of violating migration laws.
The man's lawyer, Kim Joo-kwang, confirmed his individuality to AFP.
Mr. Dong, 68, is known for his absorption to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and his advocacy for governmental betterment and quality rights.
He was dismissed from his enactment arsenic a policeman aft signing a petition a decennary aft Beijing's 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, according to U.S.-based advocacy radical Human Rights successful China.
He aboriginal spent astir 3 years successful situation from 2001 for "inciting subversion of authorities power", United Nations experts said, and was detained again successful 2014 implicit Tiananmen-related activities.
Mr. Dong fled to Thailand with his family, who aboriginal resettled successful Canada arsenic refugees, but Thai authorities handed him implicit to Chinese constabulary successful 2015 contempt his UN-recognised exile status.
He was released from situation aft completing his condemnation successful 2019.
But faced with changeless constabulary surveillance, harassment and a deficiency of entree to housing, enactment and fiscal resources, helium decided to fly again successful an effort to reunite with his family, according to a UN study from 2022.
Before arriving successful South Korea, Mr. Dong made respective failed attempts to fly China.
In 2019, helium tried to aquatics to the Kinmen archipelago, a Taiwanese territory, but astir drowned astatine sea. In 2020, helium crossed into Vietnam, but was detained by Vietnamese police.
Mr. Dong's lawyer told AFP his client's existent concern is "highly apt to beryllium a governmental asylum case".
Full protection
Chinese-Canadian writer and quality rights activistic Sheng Xue, who described Mr. Dong arsenic a friend, said successful a station connected X Wednesday (May 27, 2026) that Mr. Dong acceptable disconnected from Weihai, successful China's Shandong Province, aft "meticulous inspection and preparation".
"Last night, I spoke with him connected the phone. He hadn't slept for implicit 50 hours and had been astatine oversea for much than 30 hours," she said.
His rubber vessel was spotted by the skipper of a sportfishing vessel astatine 9:30 p.m. (1230 GMT) connected Monday (May 25, 2026), astir 18 km (11 miles) northwest of Taean County, South Chungcheong Province, who past alerted the police, according to Ms. Sheng.
The Coast Guard dispatched a patrol vas that arrived astatine the country astir an hr later, and Mr. Dong was detained, she added.
South Korea has granted governmental asylum to a comparatively tiny fig of applicants since it began formally processing exile claims successful 1994, with an wide designation complaint successful the debased azygous digits contempt tens of thousands of applications.
Critics accidental the debased support complaint reflects strict screening and lengthy procedures, portion the authorities maintains that decisions are made connected a case-by-case ground and instrumentality information considerations into account.
Seoul's Foreign Ministry did not respond to a petition for comment.
The absorption People Power Party has called connected the authorities to connection Mr. Dong "full protection".
"It should instrumentality swift humanitarian measures to guarantee that helium tin safely question to Canada, wherever his household is anxiously awaiting him," enactment spokesperson Choo Hyun-chul said successful a connection to AFP.
"This is simply a substance of a cardinal work arsenic a wide antiauthoritarian state."
