Chinese dissident is in South Korean custody after a perilous escape by rubber boat

This photo provided by The Taean Maritime Police, shows the rubber boat used by the dissident when he was detained in the waters off South Korea’s west coast, Tuesday [AP Photo]

A Chinese political dissident is in South Korean custody after making a perilous escape from his country in a small rubber boat, officials and his friend said. It was his fourth known attempt to escape China, a risk he reportedly took hoping to be reunited with his family.

Dong Guangping, 68, was aboard a 3.3-meter rubber boat in the waters off a western South Korean island on Monday night when he was detained by South Korea’s coast guard for allegedly violating the country’s immigration law.

The coast guard sought a warrant to formally arrest him, but a local court yesterday refused, saying it’s “difficult to recognize sufficient grounds and necessity” for his arrest. The coast guard said later it will hand him over to an immigration office but will continue to investigate him.

Dong’s prospects are unclear. Investigative authorities could pursue his arrest again or indict him without his physical detention. If Dong applies for refugee status, South Korea’s Justice Ministry said it will review it.

While Dong’s possible submission of evidence of his alleged political oppression in China could increase his chances for getting refugee status, observers still note that South Korea’s acceptance rate for refugee status applications has been less than 2% in recent years.

Dong, a former police officer, had previously been detained in China several times for his activism. He was imprisoned for three years in 2001 for “inciting subversion of state power” and spent more than eight months behind bars after being arrested in 2014 for participating in a memorial for victims of the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, according to past statements from Amnesty International.

It is his fourth known attempt to flee China. Appearing at the court hearing yesterday, he told reporters that he hopes to go to Canada via South Korea to reunite with his wife and daughters, who already resettled there, according to South Korean media.

He previously escaped to Thailand and Vietnam, but authorities there deported him back to China. Dong also unsuccessfully tried to swim to a Taiwanese island.

In a post Wednesday on X, Sheng Xue, a Chinese Canadian activist, praised Dong’s braveness. She said Dong had discussed fleeing by boat with her, though she felt it was too dangerous. She said she talked again to Dong through Messenger, after he arrived in South Korea.

“Dong Guangping said that when he reached Korean waters, he was already in a state of unconsciousness. He hadn’t slept for over 50 hours and had been blown by sea winds for over 30 hours,” she said.

A local coast guard office handling Dong’s case said he had no major health issues when he was detained. The office said Dong told investigators that he came from Weihai city in China’s eastern Shandong province though he’s refused to respond to most other questions.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, asked about Dong’s case at a regular briefing Wednesday, answered that she was “not familiar with that.”

South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Il told reporters yesterday that Dong’s case would likely be handled in line with the local law, though he referred questions to immigration authorities at the Justice Ministry.

The Canadian Embassy in Seoul said it was aware of the reports on Dong but said it was not in a position to make further comments.

Dong is not the first Chinese dissident to flee to South Korea by boat, though such an incident is highly unusual. In 2023, Kwon Pyong, another Chinese dissident, reached South Korea on a jet ski, saying he was trying to escape persecution in China for mocking its communist leadership. He was initially detained in South Korea but later reportedly moved to the U.S. to seek asylum. HYUNG-JIN KIM, SEOUL, MDT/AP