Dong Guangping’s High-Stakes Escape: A Dinghy Journey to Canada

Dong Guangping, a 68-year-old Chinese dissident, recounts his harrowing 40-hour sea voyage in a dinghy, marked by a failing phone and fears of capsizing, before being detained in South Korea. He arrived in Canada last week, a destination he had sought for over a decade.

After repeated detentions in China, including for activism tied to the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, Dong faced restrictions on his freedom and was under constant police surveillance. His attempts to flee earlier— to Thailand, Taiwan, and Vietnam—ended in deportation back to China.

In May 2023, he embarked on a final attempt, sailing from China in a dinghy. As his phone and power bank died, he diverted to South Korea, where authorities detained him for immigration violations. A court declined to arrest him, citing insufficient grounds. He was placed in a refugee center in Incheon, where the U.N. refugee agency later contacted him.

Following coordination between South Korean and Canadian authorities, Dong traveled to Toronto, expressing shock at his swift resettlement. He believes his 2015 refugee status, secured before Thai deportation, remains valid.

Despite his newfound freedom, Dong remains determined to advocate for China’s democratization. Arrested multiple times in the past, including for distributing Tiananmen-related materials and memorializing victims, he continues to push for political reform. His family, including his ex-wife and daughter, now reside in Canada.

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