Chinese dissident Dong Guangping has finally reached Canada, his long-sought destination, after an arduous 40-hour sea journey in a dinghy with a dying phone and subsequent detention in South Korea. His arrival late last week marks the culmination of more than a decade of perilous attempts to escape his native country.

Mr. Dong’s flight stems from years of persecution in China, where he was repeatedly imprisoned for his activism, including commemorating the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

He described the oppressive environment, stating, “It’s like living in a cage. Very suffocating,” referring to the severe restrictions on freedom of expression. Following his release from prison, the 68-year-old found himself unable to access retirement benefits or renew his passport, living under constant police surveillance.

This recent escape was not his first. Mr. Dong had made at least three prior attempts to flee: in 2015, he traveled to Thailand but was deported back to China; in 2019, he tried to swim to a Taiwanese island off China’s east coast; and in 2020, he reached Vietnam, only to be forcibly returned once more. Each deportation led to further imprisonment.

His latest, desperate bid began in the early hours of May 24, when he set off from Weihai, a coastal city in eastern China’s Shandong province, in a gray rubber dinghy fitted with an engine. Under fine weather, he was initially aiming for Japan, confident its government would not repatriate him.

However, dense fog descended the following day, and terror struck when his phone, crucial for GPS navigation, neared its last bar, and his power bank failed. He quickly pivoted to his contingency plan: South Korea. Despite the profound dread that his tiny vessel might capsize if winds and waves picked up, he pushed forward, shaking off the fear of death.

“Living conditions back in the country are so terrible that being alive is little different than being dead. So there is no point fearing death,” he recounted.

“If you move forward, there’s a chance at life.” In the evening, he saw distant lights and moved towards them. The first vessel he encountered could not hear his cries for help and departed, but he later found a fishing boat that pulled him aboard and called for assistance.

After being rescued, Mr. Dong was detained by the South Korean Coast Guard for allegedly violating the country’s immigration law. While authorities sought a warrant for his formal arrest, a court refused, stating it was “difficult to recognize sufficient grounds and necessity.”

He was subsequently sent to a refugee center in Incheon, a port city near Seoul. Earlier this month, the U.N. refugee agency contacted him via video call, he said. A refugee center manager later asked about his height, weight, and eye color – inquiries that initially worried him but proved to be a positive sign.

His lawyer confirmed these details were requested by the Canadian diplomatic mission. About a week later, Mr. Dong boarded a flight and arrived in Toronto on Friday.

He remains unclear about the precise legal procedures involved in his swift move, but he speculated it was based on cooperation between the South Korean and Canadian governments and the U.N. agency. “I feel very surprised, extremely surprised.

It’s like still in a dream. It’s very fast,” he said. He believed the resettlement status in Canada that his family secured in 2015, before Thai authorities deported him back to China, was still valid. The Canadian Embassy in South Korea, the U.N. refugee agency, and the South Korean government have not immediately responded to requests for comment on his case.

In Toronto, Mr. Dong says he finally feels at home, experiencing freedom for the first time in over a decade. “There’s not even a hint of fear,” he stated. He hopes to make a living, possibly as a truck or Uber driver. Yet, his joy is tempered by the memory of his past deportations by Thai and Vietnamese authorities.

In 2015, Mr. Dong and his family sought refugee status from the U.N. refugee agency in Thailand, but Thai authorities arrested him and returned him to China, according to Amnesty International. His ex-wife and daughter, however, managed to settle in Canada.

He also fled to Vietnam in 2020 but was sent back in 2022, facing imprisonment each time he was returned to China. He now plans to consult a lawyer about suing both Thailand and Vietnam. For Mr. Dong, the fight for democracy is far from over.

The former police officer, who distributed leaflets with his articles on topics such as the Tiananmen crackdown in the late 1990s, was imprisoned for three years in 2001 for inciting subversion of state power. He also spent more than eight months behind bars in 2014 over his participation in a memorial for the crackdown. “My ultimate goal is for China to achieve constitutional democracy,” he affirmed, signaling his unwavering commitment to activism from his new home.