'I must get out into the free world', dissident who fled China on boat tells BBC
Dong, a police officer-turned-human rights activist, has been jailed in China several times for his activism. In 1999, Dong was fired from the police force
Dong, a police officer-turned-human rights activist, has been jailed in China several times for his activism. In 1999, Dong was fired from the police force after 13 years because he signed a petition to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the brutal Tiananmen crackdown on pro-democracy protesters. Then in 2001, he was imprisoned for three years for "inciting subversion of state power". He was jailed again in 2014 for participating in another Tiananmen commemoration event, according to Amnesty International. Dong had fled China four times previously but was sent back each time. "But I have always held fast to one conviction: I must get out into the free world," he tells BBC Chinese. In September 2015, he travelled to Bangkok with his wife and daughter, where they were granted refugee status by the United Nations and approved for resettlement in Canada. But days before they were scheduled to leave for Canada, Thai authorities deported Dong to China, where he was jailed for "inciting subversion" and "crossing the national border illegally".
He was sentenced to three and a half years in jail. When he was released in 2019, he tried again to escape, by swimming towards Kinmen, a small Taiwanese island, but was picked up by Chinese fishermen who handed him back to police - and he was barred from leaving the country. In 2020, he managed to flee China and entered Vietnam. He lived in hiding for two years in Hanoi, but was eventually deported back to China, where he was sentenced to jail for almost a year. In 2023, he was released from prison again. These failed attempts only strengthened Dong's resolve. He came up with a bolder, riskier plan – to travel more than 300km (186mi) across the Yellow Sea, then along the South Korean coast to get to Japan. "This is a very dangerous route, the risks are extremely high, I knew I'd be putting my life on the line," he said.
In May this year, with just a few hours of sailing practice, Dong started his journey in Weihai, Shandong, in a 3.3m long rubber dinghy equipped with an engine. The poor weather conditions at sea prompted him to reroute and head towards South Korea, which is a closer destination. The long hours at sea also left him dizzy and exhausted. He dozed off at one point and woke up only to realise his boat had just bobbed past a large cargo ship. "I would have crashed into it if I stayed asleep for 20 more seconds," he said. At about 20:30 local time on 25 May, he spotted a fishing boat nearby and shouted at it: "Help me, help me! Call police, call police!" He was eventually pulled ashore in the South Korean county of Taean. Dong was sent to a refugee centre in Incheon and later granted political asylum in Canada.
The BriefWire